Buddha Passion

Shenyang, Tan Dun, Orchestre National de Lyon, Internationale Chorakademie, Sen Guo, Chuanyue Wang, Zhu Huiling

Released on 04/08/2023 by Decca Music Group Ltd.
Main artist: Sen Guo
Genre: Classical
Distinctions: Album of the week

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Recorded in 2019 at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, this world-premiere recording of Buddha Passion by the renowned and multi-award-winning composer Tan Dun, deserves a thorough listen. This monumental masterpiece features a full choir and orchestra, a diverse array of soloists and indigenous singers, traditional Chinese instruments, and a dancing pipa player. Tan Dun drew inspiration for Buddha Passion’s core themes of compassion, love, and nature from murals found in ancient caves in Dunhuang, China, and transcribed their essence into his composition.

In contrast to traditional Passions with a Christian narrative, Buddha Passion is the first that embraces Buddhist narratives, featuring six stories from the life of the Buddha in a libretto compiled by Tan Dun in Chinese, English, and Sanskrit. It also fuses traditional Eastern sounds with the Western musical tradition of J.S. Bach's Passions through intricate orchestration, incorporating Tibetan singing bowls, finger bells, a water basin used to suggest splashing, paigu drums, Chinese cymbals, and more.

The six stories from the life of the Buddha are divided into individual acts. In Act One, "Under the Bodhi Tree," the music features a chanting choir, mantra teachings by the baritone, and an alto solo accompanied by embellished strings and a warm, deep choral that depicts enlightenment. In Acts Two through Five, the Buddha encounters different characters, each representing various concepts of Buddhism, such as karma, compassion, sacrifice, zen, and more. Placed after an intermission, Act Five brings a refreshing change in musicality by introducing an indigenous male singer (sung by Batubagen) and an indigenous female singer (sung by Tan Weiwei). Sacrifice is conveyed through exchanged melodic lines, with Batubagen's khoomei overtone, showcasing complex microtonality and beautifully intertwining with Tan Weiwei's Eastern vocal techniques.

Buddha Passion concludes in Act Six, where the Buddha reaches Nirvana. The music shifts between sorrowful and powerful, depicting the Buddha's passing and the wisdom of his teaching. The Buddha (sung by bass-baritone Shenyang) sings stern and firm low melodic lines, while the choir expresses desolation and uncertainty through changing dynamics and dissonances. After acknowledging the Buddha's attainment of Nirvana, the final track of the Passion features a full and robust choir and orchestra concluding with a triumphant cadence. Percussion, including Chinese paigu, creates a sense of hope and jubilation. © Nitha Viraporn/Qobuz

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Buddha Passion

Sen Guo

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Buddha Passion, Act I "The Bodhi Tree" (Tan Dun )

Chant

Shenyang