Rated 4.5 out of 5
Based on 20 reviews

Just Being Here

Rumi and Human Friendship
Audio
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Audio
$17.47
Streaming Audio (Immediate Access)
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Full Description

“What I had thought of before as God, I met today in a human being.”

Those were the words of the Persian mystic poet Rumi upon meeting the wild dervish Shams Tabriz. And out of their friendship bloomed many of Jelaluddin Rumi’s most inspired verses. On Just Being Here, the acclaimed poet Coleman Barks joins master cellist David Darling in a celebration of friendship—some of Rumi’s most memorable poems on the subject and five of Coleman’s own—illuminated within the interplay of Coleman’s inspired readings and David’s music. Listen in and let them widen and deepen your senses, like a fresh breeze that invites you to breathe freely and surrender to love in all of its changing guises.

Format Details
Audio
Contents Digital Audio (2 hours, 39 minutes)
Product Code AW02123W
ISBN Number 978-1-60407-648-6
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Coleman Barks

About Coleman Barks

Coleman Barks is a leading scholar and translator of the 13th-century Persian mystic Jelaluddin Rumi. In addition to publishing two books of his own poetry (The Juice and Gourd Seed), Barks has published 12 volumes of translations from Rumi and others, and contributed to over 20 anthologies. The next edition of the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces will include selections of his Rumi translations. He is currently a member of the English Department at the University of Georgia.

David Darling

About David Darling

“Maverick cellist” is the phrase most often assigned to Grammy-nominated artist David Darling (1941–2021), but it hardly captures the richness, diversity, breadth, and sense of humor of a man who literally redefined the way the cello is played and the way music is taught. His prolific collection of recordings and innovative performance style represent an eclectic variety of musical genres. His playful and unconventional teaching methods helped open the world of music and improvisation to thousands of individuals.

Darling began piano lessons at the age of 5 and the study of classical cello at age 10. He attended Indiana State University, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. He studied cello with internationally recognized artists/teachers Lorne Munroe, Gilbert Reese, Fritz Magg, and János Starker, while at the same time pursuing studies in music composition. He was a scholarship student with the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, and he studied jazz performance at Berklee School of Music in Boston.

In summer 1970, Darling joined the Grammy Award–winning group the Paul Winter Consort. He made his home in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as assistant principal cellist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and worked as a studio session player in the Nashville recording scene. But his main focus was the Consort, an extraordinarily progressive band. He retired from the Paul Winter Consort in 1987 and began to explore the new experiences of working as a solo performer, teaching, and making recordings.

Throughout the years, Darling collaborated with a wide variety of international artists including Paul Winter, Ralph Towner, Glen Moore, Collin Walcott, Paul McCandless, Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen, Paul Horn, Steve Kuhn, Terje Rypdal, Jon Christensen, Ketil Bjørnstad, Pierre Favre, Glen Velez, Bobby McFerrin, Spyro Gyra, Allaudin Mathieu, Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai, Patrick Leonard, Joseph FireCrow, Arlo Guthrie, John Marshall, and Baba Olatunji. Darling’s self-produced CD, Cello Blue (2001), earned rave reviews as well as a 2002 Grammy nomination and the AFIM Indie Award from the Association for Independent Music.

In 1986, Darling cofounded Music for People, an internationally recognized nonprofit educational network dedicated to teaching and fostering music improvisation as a means of creative self-expression. Music for People’s training and certification program, now in its 35th year, continues to flourish in the United States and has expanded to offer seminars and workshops at the Center for Wellbeing and Creativity in Kiental, Switzerland. Darling traveled extensively for more than 40 years, enthusiastically encouraging all humans to explore their musical talents and creative abilities. He inspired and encouraged thousands at numerous holistic facilities and retreat centers such as Esalen, the New York Open Center, Hollyhock, and Omega Institute.

Starting in 1986, Darling worked for Young Audiences, a National Medal of the Arts award-winning organization dedicated to enriching children’s lives by providing in-school programs in the form of workshops, artist residencies, and guest performances. In 1995, he received the Artist of the Year Award by the Board of Directors of Young Audiences, given “in recognition of his hard work, innovation, and creativity in the service of arts-in-education.” In 2001, Darling received the Arts Advocate of the Year Award presented by the Connecticut Music Educators Association for “his excellent work in music education and improvisation.”

REVIEWS

average rating 4.5 out of 5
Based on 20 reviews
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100% of reviewers would recommend this product to a friend
20 Reviews
Reviewed by Kathryn N.
Verified Buyer
I recommend this product
Rated 5 out of 5
Review posted

Renewed

Sounds True has become my nighttime listening ritual. I have become noticeably calmer and more at peace with myself.

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Reviewed by Mary M.
Verified Buyer
I recommend this product
Rated 5 out of 5
Review posted

Just Being Here

Very Enjoyable Listening

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Reviewed by Stephanie
I recommend this product
Rated 5 out of 5
Review posted

Subtly powerful and deep

The pacing and gentle invitation to go deeper and deeper into the truth of who we are...is both heartbreaking and liberating.

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Reviewed by Stephanie
I recommend this product
Rated 4 out of 5
Review posted

Subtly powerful and deep

The pacing and gentle invitation to go deeper and deeper into the truth of who we are...is both heartbreaking and liberating.

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Reviewed by Jackie
I recommend this product
Rated 4 out of 5
Review posted

Very unique and beautiful!

The soulful, beautiful cello of Grammy winner David Darling is a wonderful accompaniment to the reading of Rumi poetry by Coleman Barks, with his beautiful voice.

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