Planet Songs
The Eight-fold Path
by Marja Slotemaker
The Eight-fold Path of spiritual development is described in Rudolf Steiner's Knowledge of the Higher Worlds. This path, the days of the week and the seven planets (with their scales), are all related to each other. This can be summarised as follows:
Monday – Moon – the Right Word
Tuesday – Mars – the Right Deed
Wednesday – Mercury – the Right Vocation
Thursday – Jupiter – the Right Striving
Friday – Venus – the Right Memory
Saturday – Saturn – the Right Images
Sunday – Sun – the Right Decision
The eighth quality is Right Contemplation and is applied to all the above, with the aim of creating the 'New Sun'.
Marja Slotemaker's settings of words by Anke Weihs relating to the Eight-fold Path are published in this volume in two forms – one with piano accompaniment and one with lyre accompaniment, which later inspired Colin Tanser to write his own music using the same words.
Also included is the 'Venus' setting with lyre accompaniment as prepared by Colin Tanser for the Arion Association Newsletter in 1992 (2 years after Marja's death), and 'Small Planet songs' with different words related to the days of the week.
About the Author
Marja Slotemaker de Bruine was born in Holland in 1898. She was a clergyman’s wife for 25 years and spent many of those years living in Indonesia with her husband. She grew up in a very musical family and she was a very good pianist. Her knowledge of and interest in modern music was phenomenal. She was also always up to date with the latest literature. Her marriage broke up when she was in her fifties and then she became more and more involved with anthroposophy and music therapy. She met Dr Hans Heinrich Engel when she was doing some music in Camphill Christophorus in Holland and she became part of the research group around him in relation to music therapy. She worked together with Hans Heinrich in Glencraig in the therapeutic work, but also began to work on her own ever more.
Marja spent some time as a coworker in Franz Löffler’s home for boys, but she never became a curative educator as such. During that time Marja worked for a time with Annie von Lange and had singing lessons with Maria Führmann. The planetary scales were very close to her heart and she composed many pieces for various instruments in these scales, including the music for passion week, ‘Charwoche’ for 2 voices and instruments, which was performed very regularly in Glencraig for many years.
Marja was a devoted and enthusiastic composer and would write music for any combination of instruments for all possible occasions. She left a large collection of manuscripts into my care at her death in 1990. She still composed until in her late eighties.
Edeline LeFevre, Camphill Community Glencraig
First published by Upper Esk Music
9 pages of music.
29.7 x 21 cms, 11¾ x 8¼ inches.
Stitched.
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