Pillars of the temple : the Busoni-Sitsky esoteric tradition

Abstract

The occult philosopher Eliphas Levi, in hi book Transcendental Magic, write Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrine, behind the darkness and strange ordeal of all initiation , under the seal of all sacred writing, in the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling to stones of old temple and on the blackened visage of the Assyrian or Egyptian sphinx , in the monstrous or marvellous painting which interpret to the faithful of India the inspired page of the Veda , in the cryptic emblems of our old book on alchemy, in the ceremonies practised at reception by all secret societies , there are found indication of a doctrine which is everywhere the same and carefully concealed. The thesis proposes the existence of an elite, esoteric tradition of music composition in which the doctrine referred to by Levi is both revealed and concealed. From antiquity to the present day, this doctrine has been conveyed from teacher to pupil in the manner of an oral tradition. I have highlighted two of the tradition's central figures, Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) and Larry Sitsky (1934-). Sitsky was a piano student of Busoni's famous disciple Egon Petri, and through him, a vicarious composition student of Busoni. Their respective Faustian operas, Doktor Faust and The Golem, clearly articulate the philosophical and theoretical basis of this doctrine. The first volume discusses the Busoni-Sitsky esoteric tradition as it is revealed in Doktor Faust and The Golem, and in the writings and testimonies of the compsers. The second volume is an articulation of the same doctrine in my own original composition, Leonardo: the Italian Faust, an opera in three acts for symphony orchestra, choir and singer, with a libretto by Justice Kenneth Crispin. Scores and recordings of satellite works have been included as an appendix to the opera score.