Let's go back to an older beginning.
The Shree Rudram.
The Rudram is an ancient Sanskrit text, or stotra, a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise." It is a literary genre of Indian religious texts designed to be melodically sung. I'm trying to find an approximate date of when these verses were written, but I cannot. My experience of chanting this text happened in the early 90's at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Ganeshpuri, India where my mother was living. One grabs a little book with the Sanskrit text and translation, sits down, and recites (sing) it for about 30 minutes. The words in the text have signs over them to indicate what tone to sing (example). Between the strange foreign words, the tones, and the breathing necessary to sing, chanting the Rudram requires a lot of focus and stamina. I would finish the chant feeling this strange combination of exhaustion and exhilaration.
There are Brahmin priests who memorize these entire texts-- tones and all-- which reminded me of how I have memorized long pieces of classical music as a child, or how as dancers, we can memorize 20-30 minutes of steps. These undertakings of memorization have always felt like acts of love and devotion.
The full-evening solo I made to Johann Sebastian Bach's The Goldberg Variations was just such an undertaking. Choreographed between 1994 and 1997, I wanted to make an 80-minute solo for myself that would challenge/extend my physical and expressive capacities while simultaneously being entertaining to an audience. The title of this Bach masterwork alludes to a story in which a certain Count Keyserlingk who suffered from insomnia, wanted Bach to write some music for his harpsichordist, Goldberg, that could be played on those nights he could not sleep. I used to jokingly say that The Goldberg Variations were written to help someone fall asleep; I wanted to see if I could keep everyone awake.
I wanted to make one more "big" solo for myself. Another act of love and devotion. To be continued....
The Shree Rudram.
The Rudram is an ancient Sanskrit text, or stotra, a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise." It is a literary genre of Indian religious texts designed to be melodically sung. I'm trying to find an approximate date of when these verses were written, but I cannot. My experience of chanting this text happened in the early 90's at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Ganeshpuri, India where my mother was living. One grabs a little book with the Sanskrit text and translation, sits down, and recites (sing) it for about 30 minutes. The words in the text have signs over them to indicate what tone to sing (example). Between the strange foreign words, the tones, and the breathing necessary to sing, chanting the Rudram requires a lot of focus and stamina. I would finish the chant feeling this strange combination of exhaustion and exhilaration.
There are Brahmin priests who memorize these entire texts-- tones and all-- which reminded me of how I have memorized long pieces of classical music as a child, or how as dancers, we can memorize 20-30 minutes of steps. These undertakings of memorization have always felt like acts of love and devotion.
The full-evening solo I made to Johann Sebastian Bach's The Goldberg Variations was just such an undertaking. Choreographed between 1994 and 1997, I wanted to make an 80-minute solo for myself that would challenge/extend my physical and expressive capacities while simultaneously being entertaining to an audience. The title of this Bach masterwork alludes to a story in which a certain Count Keyserlingk who suffered from insomnia, wanted Bach to write some music for his harpsichordist, Goldberg, that could be played on those nights he could not sleep. I used to jokingly say that The Goldberg Variations were written to help someone fall asleep; I wanted to see if I could keep everyone awake.
I wanted to make one more "big" solo for myself. Another act of love and devotion. To be continued....
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