Kena

The final editing/polishing/proofreading of this slender little piece (generally a thing of a few hours) occupied me for three days. This is my first ever essay for standard brass quartet outside an orchestral environment; and I was taken aback by the sheer gravity of the bass ranges in the horn, trombone, and tuba (as well as the relatively weak treble range in the trumpet) which seemingly exposed every last chord progression to potential muddiness and enhanced dissonance. Time and again I needed to monkey with the voice-leading to clarify and pacify the harmonic passages. I can't help suspecting this fact may help explain various cringe weaknesses in my earlier orchestral works that I never quite understood at the time. Not too late for an old dog to learn the new trick that the brass section always needs special attention and focus!

For the uninitiated, the Kena Upanishad is one of the noblest and most ancient Hindu scriptures:

"Him the eye does not see, nor the tongue express, nor the mind grasp. Him we neither know nor are able to know. Different is he from the known, and different is he from the unknown. So we have heard from the wise. That which cannot be expressed in words but by which the tongue speaks - know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men. That which is not comprehended by the mind, but by which the mind comprehends - know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men. ....He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge."

"I have told you the secret knowledge. Austerity, self-control, performance of duty without attachment - these are the body of that knowledge. The vedas are its limbs. Truth is its very soul."