Shenyang, Tan Dun, Orchestre National de Lyon - Buddha Passion (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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 Dan 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.

TRACKLIST

1. Shenyang - Chant
2. Zhu Huiling - Little Prince
3. Zhu Huiling - Mantra
4. Zhu Huiling - Under the Bodhi Tree
5. Internationale Chorakademie - Equality
6. Wang Chuanyue - Deer of Nine Colors
7. Wang Chuanyue - Gratitude
8. Shenyang - Betrayal
9. Shenyang - Trees Wish to Be Still, yet the Wind Doesn't Let Go
10. Yining Chen - Karma
11. Yining Chen - Apsaras
12. Shenyang - Father and Three Daughters
13. Shenyang - My Dear Father
14. Shenyang - Sacrifice
15. Shenyang - Mantra of Nine
16. Wang Chuanyue - A Body is a Bodhi Tree
17. Wang Chuanyue - Is it the Wind or a Banner Moving, or is it My Soul?
18. Internationale Chorakademie - Zen Dream
19. Batubagen - A Solar Eclipse
20. Tan Weiwei - Silk Road: An Invisible Road
21. Tan Weiwei - Home Lies so Far Away
22. Tan Weiwei - Love is Destined to Part
23. Shenyang - Heart Sutra
24. Shenyang - In No Time, I Shall Enter Nirvana
25. Shenyang - All Creatures in the Universe
26. Shenyang - The Other Side
27. Shenyang - Buddha Was Man, Man Will Be Buddha
28. Shenyang - One Last Question
29. Shenyang - Nirvana



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