The Impact of the Live Performance by "Aquamarine," the Creators of the Choral Piece COSMOS

Attending the year-end concert of the musical duo "Aquamarine," the creators of the choral pieces COSMOS and Earth Star Song

It was wonderful...!
I truly understood that their personalities, their sensibilities, and the scenery they have witnessed are what give birth to these melodies and lyrics.

Once again today, I had a major realization through the concert (which I will write about in the second half), but first, please let me talk about the beauty of COSMOS and Earth Star Song, which I particularly love.🤲

🎤🪐🌌

Encountering COSMOS as a required song

I first encountered COSMOS when I was in my first year of junior high school.

It seems it has been sung as a choral piece since 2000, making this year its 25th anniversary as a choral work.

Did you all sing it too?

When I first read the lyrics to COSMOS,
I was deeply moved by its cosmic perspective,
and I wondered how anyone could write such lyrics.

My father, who I believe is well-versed in literature,
read the lyrics to COSMOS and let out a sigh of admiration,
and the fact that he was so impressed only strengthened that feeling.

The message of COSMOS
has something in common with the worldview of Shuntaro Tanikawa...! As someone who has identified as a fan of Shuntaro Tanikawa since elementary school,

(as expected, top-tier artists see the same world)
I remember being moved by that realization.

These are the lyrics I particularly love:

Your warmth was the universe burning
A remnant of a distant era, you are the universe
A history of ten billion years still flows through my body today

If we were born in the flow of time
Everyone, without exception, should be able to be happy
Everyone, let your life burn

The long, long history of the Earth
The world of the universe, which has layered even more time

We, who are a part of that life,
are also made of elements created by the explosion of stars.

Though everyone may seem separate,
everyone is actually connected.
Over a long, long time,
Deeply, deeply.

Since the moment I was born, or perhaps even before that,
I have had the feeling that we are being told
that we are one,

and I almost cried at the beauty of that world and melody,
and the sense of peace it brought.

That no one is ever truly alone.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Earth Star Song, which makes you feel that this world is beautiful and all life is connected

Earth Star Song conveys that sentiment even more concretely,
focusing on the planet we call Earth.

😭
What a sense of relief, beauty, kindness, and reassurance

Your every day creates the world
And the love you feel spreads to the Earth
I pray for the sake of tomorrow
For the sake of your smile that I have yet to see

I think, this is the truth.

My every day creates the world.
Not by doing something grand,
Not by doing something that stands out,
But just by living one's own life sincerely

I wonder if that leads to world peace,
And to world harmony.

Mother Teresa also said it.
What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.
That is what she said.

It is not about accomplishing something special.

Also,
the lyrics that have particularly encouraged me are these

The moon you look up at all alone
A whale in a distant sea is looking back at

How many times have I been saved by this poem and this scene?
If the moon I look up at alone is being looked back at by a whale swimming in some distant sea...

Then this moment, right now,
Feels a little more precious,
Feels more reassuring.

That lives are connected to one another.
But lately, we
Are starting to forget that.

It reminds me of things like that.

The feeling I get from COSMOS and Earth Star Song
is very similar to when I read Shuntaro Tanikawa's [Morning Relay].

(I wrote about this two years ago too, lol ⬇️)

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

And... what I felt at today's concert,
what I received was

I don't convey it because I want to convey it, but because I cannot help but convey it. It doesn't matter who creates it.

One of the wonderful points about Aquamarine is that they are a music duo who are a married couple,

I think it is amazing to be partners both publicly and privately.
It is a form that can only exist between those who have mutual respect, honor, and love, and who see a similar world.

Seeing Mimas-san playing the piano while happily watching his wife, Sachiko-san, singing,
gave me a truly beautiful feeling.

I was also happy to hear so many secret stories
about the birth of COSMOS.

And then, at that moment...

Watching Sachiko-san sing,
I was struck by another realization that hit me hard.

💭💭
Ah... what's important isn't who is singing or who created it.
That's not what it's about.
In fact, that should be left behind.


The true essence of art might be for the work to take flight and bloom within the receiver.It might be about sharing what moved your heart because your feelings came first,and sharing what you want to share.
Creating while truly wishing to deliver

what you want to convey to the people you want to reach.
That is what is most important of all.

It's not about "who is the target audience?" or
"how do I communicate it?" or
"how do I manage it?"

You communicate because you cannot help but communicate.
You sing because you cannot help but sing.
You write (or draw) because you cannot help but write (or draw).

First and foremost, that is it.

......

Haven't I had many such moments myself?

Wasn't that my daily life?

At some point, fearing that it would be seen as annoying,

fearing that without skills it wouldn't be persuasive,

and above all, not wanting to be thought of as a narcissist who is just getting emotional and basking in self-satisfaction,

I might have turned it into art that I had to squeeze out.

🌱

Art is always,nestled close to someone's heart.
So casually, and yet so deeply.
That is why,
perhapsits power goes unnoticed.
And perhaps that is for the best.

(´>ω∂`)

It's obvious, but
for the first time, it wasn't just in my head,
it hit me in the gut and I was moved.

Sachiko-san's words:

Before I knew it, the song (COSMOS) grew wings
and bloomed in everyone's hearts.

Those words.

Mimasu-san's words:

Singing in harmony with 30 classmates and becoming one,
and 8 billion people living on Earth 🌍,
are the same thing, on the same continuum.
Those words come to mind.

The melody, the singing voice, and the lyrics supporting it were truly as if they had fallen from the sky. It was beautiful.

Thank you for a wonderful end to the year❣️

Everyone, let's go to Aquamarine's year-end concert together next year!!

COSMOS

Earth Star Song