Apus
Bird of Paradise
Reconciliation
This is an aurora in the Southern Hemisphere, photographed from the International Space Station as it orbited above the Indian Ocean, southeast of Madagascar. Auroras are often associated with the Northern Hemisphere, but those in the Southern Hemisphere, known as the Southern Lights, can be particularly vivid in colour. Some are even said to turn the entire sky a brilliant red. This image beautifully captures the aurora, sometimes described as the “boundary between Earth and space”.
There are no particularly prominent celestial objects in the region of Apus. This photograph was taken in Namibia, in southwestern Africa, and the Milky Way forming a magnificent arch across the sky is a breathtaking sight. The cross at the highest point of the Milky Way is Crux (the Southern Cross). To its left is Circinus, and below that, the small constellation shaped like a key is Apus. (I have marked it in red.) The two cloud-like objects visible low in the sky are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
Sisask’s image for Apus is “Reconciliation”.
The bird-of-paradise was once a mythical creature in the eyes of Europeans. It was believed to be a messenger from heaven, to feed on the wind, and to have neither legs nor flesh. For the people of New Guinea, the feathers of the bird-of-paradise represent souls dancing through the sky and are also said to be associated with the origins of the world.
At the end of the accompanying story, Sisask writes: “The bird-of-paradise takes human beings and other living creatures from Earth to another world, reconciling us with the eternal universe.” The subtitle Reconciliation means both “coming together in harmony” and “making peace”. Perhaps the bird-of-paradise connects us with the universe. I do not know whether Sisask had an image of the Southern Lights in his mind, but the NASA photograph at the beginning reminded me of the beautiful, vividly coloured feathers of the bird-of-paradise. When we ascend to heaven, will we be able to see this light, in which Earth and the universe seem to merge into one?
According to Sisask, Circinus, which lies within the Milky Way, represents the world of all living beings, whereas Apus, situated in a sparsely populated region of the sky between the south celestial pole and the Milky Way, represents the world inhabited by the spirits of our ancestors. He also refers to an Aboriginal legend in which the souls of the dead journey to the heavens accompanied by a flock of black cockatoos. These souls are invisible to those still living on Earth, but are said to retain something of their appearance in life.
The first half of Sisask’s music for Apus is exactly the same as that of Circinus. Could this seamless transition, in which it is impossible to tell exactly when Circinus gives way to Apus, represent the gradual transformation of those who have passed away as they leave the earthly world behind? In the second half, the music seems to depict the souls departing for Apus, gradually coming into harmony with the universe.
The resonances (harmonics) that emerge when chords are silently depressed seem to me like light appearing at the very moment when a being becomes a soul, or when a soul merges with the universe.
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