Symphony No. 10
(Journey of Awakenings, Joys and Sorrows)
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Facets of a Himalayan pilgrimage, transfigured by choir and tubular bells…
For some two to three years I'd had the idea in my mind of a choral work in which the only accompaniment would be from the sound of tubular bells. The latter, in my mind, were both an ordinary set of orchestral tubular bells being played 'live' and a wide-range MIDI keyboard using a quality sampled sound of tubular bells, in which the sound could be played over the full range of a concert grand piano.
As probably most concert halls these days have loudspeaker systems that could reproduce with sufficient volume and low frequencies, the work should thus not be thought of as unrealizable except as computer-generated simulations, but indeed as a fully performable work, simply requiring a suitable MIDI keyboard, possibly with a selected sound module or sampler attached, connected to the concert hall's quality loudspeaker system.
Unusually for me, I envisaged the work as being entirely atonal, but with the harmonics of the bells ensuring that the music still sounded harmonious; the choir would have simple chant-like melodic lines, which would float among the bell sounds, and, without anything much of harmony or counterpoint, it would have no opportunity for the atonality to bring about any great discordance.
In the event I haven't realized exactly that original intention in the present work, but rather, I've drawn from it. The particular stimulus for composing the work was (a) my wanting to see what I could do with the Gayatri mantra (associated with Hinduism) used to shape the main melodic material and be musical building blocks, and (b) a particular photo of pilgrims on their way to Gosainkund in the foothills of the Langtang Himal (Nepal).
At that time, although recognising religion as problematical, I myself was aspiring to 'spirituality', and felt a certain affinity with those pilgrims. They looked so much to be happy and enjoying themselves. Thus I had that latter image in my mind when composing the work, and entitled it Pilgrimage to Gosainkund. However, as I nowadays recognise, actually their reason for going there wasn't for their, nor anyone's, ultimate good (see Exit 'spirituality' — Enter clear-mindedness). Thus it was that in late 2008 I changed the original title of the symphony to the current one, which much better reflects the actual character of the work.
As I started composing the work I abandoned the 'live' set of tubular bells, just keeping the extended-range MIDI tubular bell sounds. Although there is a certain atonality in places, overall it's modal, and not an atonal work. In a few places a twelve-tone row appears, but it's used just as a strangely ethereal passing comment and never becomes a significant part of the overall musical structure.
The choir's parts are mostly in (a) the whole tone scale, (b) a serious mode which still feels quite connected to the former, and (c) a 'free atonal' section, which doesn't altogether dismiss tonal centres. In (b), I found that when the choir parts were put together canonically a considerable emotional intensity resulted, which seemed to reflect something of the sadness and anguish that many were feeling over the events in Nepal that occurred as I started upon this work, and which seemed to be pointing towards darker times ahead for the people of that beautiful and inspiring country. By contrast, the whole tone scale and more atonal passages give a rarefied and impersonal effect.
As for this work's standing as a symphony, I acknowledge that many people would insist that it isn't a symphony because it isn't even orchestral. However, it does actually fit into the special category of symphonies that I initiated with my 7th Symphony. True, it has no orchestra, but actually the presence of an orchestra isn't an intrinsic part of the definition of a symphony. Indeed, some works for solo organ and even piano have been called symphonies.
One needs to remember that nothing is intrinsically 'a symphony', just as nothing is intrinsically good or bad. 'Symphony' is merely a label, a categorization, which is usefully meaningful only to the extent that people are each applying the same criteria for using that label. People vary widely in precisely what they mean by 'symphony' — various traditions having their own definitions, which in some cases are held like religious beliefs, so seeking to stifle the flexibility and outgoing mindset of genuine creativity.
Centuries ago, the widely accepted use of that word was simply to mean 'a sounding-together' — with no prescription nor proscription as to what sort of instrumentation, size, scale or structure a 'symphony' would have. That needs to be remembered by all those opinionated 'That isn't a symphony, this one is' individuals, who readily make out to know more about a composer's music than the composer himself, and all on the basis of their personal beliefs rather than genuine knowledge / understanding!
The first passage for the choir is simply a repetition of the first syllable of the mantra — om. The second passage uses just the first line of the mantra, and it isn't till the third choral passage — when the mode (b) arrives — that the entire mantra is used.
N.B. For the healthiest performing and listening, it's important, as with all works of mine using mantras, to disregard completely any metaphysical, religious, mystical or 'spiritual' connotations of the mantra.
It's particularly worth bearing in mind that one of the most popular exponents of the Gayatri Mantra in modern times was the Indian 'guru', the late Sai Baba, who is quite widely known to have been more or less openly working for 'forces of darkness', and thus the garbage, and who was effectively a black magic practitioner and caused serious problems for many people. I don't wish myself or any of my music or other creative work to be associated in any way with such people.
Om. bhur bhuvah suvahah
Tat Savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhi yo yo nah prachodayat
(Note that in this work 'suvahah' is pronounced 'swahah'; elsewhere you may find it pronounced even as 'svah' or 'swah'.)
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(N.B. My publisher has STILL not updated the symphony's title!)
Symphony
no. 10 Journey of Awakenings, Joys and SorrowsBy Philip GODDARD. For SATB choir and MIDI Keyboard or CD (set of 6 scores). Published by Musik Fabrik (French import). (mfpg013) See more info… |
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Symphony
no. 10 Journey of Awakenings, Joys and SorrowsBy Philip GODDARD. For performance CD. Published by Musik Fabrik (French import). (mfpg013cd) See more info… |