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Contemporary classical music based on Buddhist chants
Until the 18th century, most European music was closely connected with spiritual practice. While working with sacred texts, a composer would dare to accompany a canonical melody with newly-composed sounds not to bring aesthetic pleasure to himself or his listener, but instead to penetrate the meaning of these texts and help bring this meaning to life. The process of listening demanded the same approach. Textless compositions had never been based on arbitrary principles, anyway: they were built upon rhetorical figures reflecting the states and motions of a soul immersed in contemplation of the Lord. At best, most music today is geared towards aesthetic enjoyment and emotional expression. Nevertheless, many contemporary musicians are carrying on in the footsteps of their colleagues from several centuries ago, inventing new forms better suited towards modern challenges and modern audiences. Such compositions are based not only on Christian doctrine but on other religious traditions’ ideas and texts as well. Among these composers are Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Part, and Vladimir Martynov. I, too, am trying to move in this direction. My works of this type are based principally on Buddhist philosophy and practice. In the Tibetan tradition, sacred texts are chanted without any written notation, and the principles of chanting are transmitted from guru to disciple. In my compositions I use Buddhist canonical texts chanted in authentic traditional manner by Tibetan lamas as a foundation. The first step is recording a Tibetan prayer or a philosophical poem chanted by a lama. This recorded material becomes a core of a new composition. In fact, the same technique had been used by all the European composers from Perotin (12 th Century French composer) to Bach. Now we can add the power of computer technology to this technique, and is helps bring the depth of authentic monastic chanting to the realm of contemporary music. The resulting effect is extremely strong. A professional singer would never be able to perform this "vocal part" with such a deep emotional and spiritual sincerity. These ancient sacred chants give birth to a multidimensional cross-cultural construction which is capable of transmitting a message of global love and universal compassion to the modern audience. My "Buddhist" works do not fall in "ethno" and "new world music" categories. These genres have become a part of consumer-based pop culture. My intention is just the opposite: to bring sacred dimension to our secular world. My compositions are large-scale works that belong to the contemporary classical music category rather than to any other one. I wouldn't like to draw too much attention to the Eastern coloring of Tibetan chants. What really attracts me is their spiritual content. I am not a Tibetan musician, and I hear something really universal in these tunes. Sometimes it sounds like a Gregorian chant, sometimes it resembles Georgian folk polyphony, sometimes it reminds me a liturgical chant of the Russian Old- Believers, and sometimes I clearly hear rock and blues intonations. Buddhism is a truly global teaching which is not tied to a specific geographical, national or cultural location. In my compositions I do not cling to any musical style. I use minimalist techniques as a compositional tool because these chants themselves have natural minimalist structure, and I fill this structure with sounds that bear the imprint of a variety of musical styles, traditions and epochs. My works are not an adaptation of an Eastern cultural phenomenon to the Western standards but an attempt to dig deeper and discover an inner unity of things that look different on their surface. It is not at all necessary to be a Buddhist to listen to this music. These compositions' form, structure, dramaturgical principles, and so forth, are quite familiar to a modern listener. It is certainly possible to treat them simply as a contemporary post-modernist works without paying attention at their spiritual content. But if one regards oneself as a person interested in self-improvement, this music is a helpful tool for spiritual practice. Each Tibetan lama is a unique personality who links modern civilization to the ancient wisdom. It is not just an empty pathetic phrase or an abstract philosophy. We cannot rely on anything in this impermanent ever-changing world but we are fortunate enough to meet those who can help us apply this wisdom to our life. As a musician, I am really happy to have a chance to create something that would not be just a product of my egoistic self-expression but a fruitful collaboration between the 21 st Century Western culture and one of the greatest spiritual traditions in human history. If these sounds help at least one person experience sincere love and compassion towards other beings it will be much more valuable than all the awards musicians usually get for their achievements.
Anton Batagov,
Compositions written in this technique and released on CDs:
(c)(p) 2009 Tummo TCD09017 This composition is based on selected chapters from the famous poem BODHICHARYĀVATĀRA (The Way of the Bodhisattva), composed by the eighth-century Indian master Shantideva. The vocal part is chanted by Telo Tulku Rinpoche, The Shajin-Lama (Supreme Lama) of Kalmykia. At the age of seven he was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the current reincarnation of Tilopa (988—1069), a great Buddhist saint. In the original music written by Anton Batagov, stylistic patterns from renaissance ballads and minimalism, Tibetan ritual music and rock, chamber/symphonic textures and modern jazz, constitute a seamless unity. Telo Tulku Rinpoche has said about the music: "It's not just a meditation music. It's a real drama which leads a listener towards deeper understanding of a heroic path of the Bodhisattvas, those who vow to become enlightened in order to help all beings awaken into the state of freedom and fulfillment".
THE MONK THOGMEY'S THIRTY-SEVEN PRECEPTS This composition is based on the poem The Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices by Gyalsey Thogmey Zangpo. The Tibetan monk, yogi and philosopher Gyalsey Thogmey Zangpo (1285-1369) was renowned for his vast knowledge and high spiritual realizations. Resolving to compose a brief and lucid teaching that could be understood by the unsophisticated layman, he composed The Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices, a didactic poem setting forth the main tenets of the Bodhisattva Path—the essence of the Mahayana teachings. This poem, written in the fourteenth century, remains one of the best known and most popular works of Tibetan Buddhist literature. For almost seven hundred years it has been a source of inspiration for those entering the path of the Dharma. These teachings are truly timeless and universal. Lama Tsering Dondrub had been an official spiritual representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia from 2003 to 2006.
DAILY PRACTICE This CD is a collaboration with Lama Sonam Dorje, the first Russian Buddhist practitioner who spent 7 years in Himalayas in a strict solitary retreat. After the retreat he received permission and blessing from his guru, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, one of the greatest Tibetan lamas of our times, for teaching Dharma in Russia. For this CD Lama Sonam Dorje chose eight canonical texts and a dzogchen meditation on a sound “A”. He asked a composer to write instrumental tracks, along with two textless instrumental pieces: an introduction, and music for daily meditation. The order of all tracks on this CD was also given by Lama Sonam Dorje.
LAMRIM. A Prayer to the Lineage Gurus (c)(p) 2009 Rinpoche Bagsha Traditional Tibetan Buddhist chant performed by Yeshe Lodoi Rinpoche and Geshe Lharamba Tenzin In this prayer a practitioner chants the names of all those enlightened masters who have been the holders of the Buddhist tradition for 25 centuries, and asks them to bestow their blessing. The list begins with the name of Buddha Shakyamuni, and ends with the name of a living lama. Yeshe Lodoi Rinpoche, one of today's greatest Buddhist teachers, told me that he'd like to record this prayer and asked me to write an instrumental arrangement. The prayer was recorded in May'2009. Rinpoche chants the first part of the prayer, and Geshe Lharamba Tenzin, his closest disciple, joins him in the second part. I added just a few chords accompanying the vocal part. I hope these sounds would help to emphasize the amazing combination of fathomless depth, sincere warmth and profound expression which fills every word of this prayer and every note of this simple melody.
(c)(p) 2001 Tummo TCD 0102 Lama Zopa Rinpoche is one is of today's greatest Tibetan lamas, a founder of FPMT (Federation for the preservation of Mahayana tradition). Ven. Ani Karin is a Western Buddhist nun who has been living and practicing in Kopan Monastery ( Nepal) for over 25 years. Mr. Bill T.Jones has used this composition for the dance performance called Another Everning: I Bow Down (2006). |
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