A Tapestry of Sacred Music 2015 Festival Guide by Esplanade

16 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19 Apr 2015

Festival Guide

An adventure through continents and cultures. A journey through histories and hearts. In love with life. In quest of peace. Come.

CEO’s Message Throughout the ages, across all cultures, sacred music has been the channel through which humans seek the divine and a greater truth. Through song, chant and dance, we also hear and see expressions of inner devotions, supplications, and hopes for peace, protection and plenty. A Tapestry of Sacred Music celebrates the immediacy and universality of this human experience in sacred music. As we present our 7th edition of this Festival, we bring together communities near and far, cultures both similar and disparate, in sharing this music. Over four days, the Festival offers glimpses of how communities in Singapore and around the world seek the divine through serene Buddhist chants, exalting Islamic qasidahs, spirited music from South African townships, and shamanistic epic songs from the Manchurian plains. This season, we also contemplate the poetry of the mystic Kabir as you immerse yourself in the late British composer Sir John Tavener’s intensely powerful work Flood of Beauty, a cocommission by Esplanade and the Barbican Centre in London. I hope that these encounters with sublime and soul-stirring music from diverse cultures and communities will teach us that, in spite of our differences, we are not that different after all. It is in this spirit that I invite you to join us, with open hearts and minds, and let the music resonate and move you in your own quest for fulfilment. Welcome to Tapestry 2015.

Benson Puah Chief Executive Officer The Esplanade Co Ltd

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Contents Soweto Gospel Choir

A Tradition of Deep Musicality

John Tavener

An Appreciation of a Mystery within the Waves of Beauty

Noureddine Khourchid and the Whirling Dervishes

Music and Movement of Spiritual Ecstasy

Nishimura Kagura Shachu

Kagura: Music, Dance, Myths and a Lifetime of Magic

LO CĂ&#x2019;R DE LA PLANA

A Language and Labour of Love

Masato Suzuki: Pipes in Harmony

A Sound that Echoes Across Time, Culture and Faith

SACRED RHYTHMS Tibetan Sacred Music by Peace Monastery (He Ping Shi) Tibet

The Native Sounds of Ecuador by SISAY

Qasidah: Poems of Devotion by Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble

Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University

Saman - Dance of a Thousand Hands by Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur

Rhythms of Cuban Santeria by Yemaya Folklore Group

29 30 31 32

33 34

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STIRRINGS The Shaman Sings: Music of Manchuria by Xiao Han & Abka Band

Sacred Music of the Renaissance and Baroque by Singabella

Kabir Project: Journeys into Ajab Shahar by Shabnam Virmani, Vipul Rikhi and Gopal Singh Chouhan

Suttas in Pali by Dhammānusāri Chanting Group

Workshops Esplanade Rehearsal Studio

Talks Library@Esplanade

Visual Arts

37 38 39 40

41 42 44

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Soweto Gospel Choir A Tradition of Deep Musicality In 2003, the reviewer for The Australian who was evidently entranced by the choir’s performance highlighted a difference between the European and African traditions of gospel music: one being austere and personal; the other, dynamic and one which invites an emotional ownership from the audience to the music:

While the European tradition of gospel music is about austerity and a personal response to the divine — think of a Bach mass or passion — African gospel music is vibrant, outgoing and a celebration of community. The music is designed to make you get up, dance and wave your arms about — which is exactly what the choir are doing on stage, with obvious joy and enthusiasm…

Here it may perhaps also come as a surprise to learn that some writers have noted that the burst in popularity of the African- American gospel genre in the South African music scene – the genre which the Soweto Gospel Choir can be said to perform – can be considered to be a fairly a recent one. South African gospel after all, is a “local varietal sprouted from musical vines from African-American gospel in the 1960s.” As anthropologist David Coplan says in his pioneering work on the social history of black South Africa city music, In Township Tonight!:Three centuries of South African City Music and Theatre: African-American gospel already had an audience when I first visited South Africa in the mid-1970s, as well as high quality local practitioners such as the all-male Mighty Clouds of Joy. But there was no trend at that time that might have prepared the music industry for the explosion that coincided with the end of apartheid in the early 1990s. The “explosion” was a considerable one, as Coplan further states that it would not be possible to study South African city music without considering gospel’s “massive and ubiquitous impact on the South Africa music industry and the output of leading artists in virtually every genre.”

The Most Original and Frequently Used Music Instrument: Voice, Body and Choral Performance in South Africa Several factors and forces have allowed for African-American gospel to take root in South Africa. These are that of: the significance accorded to the human voice within the musical practice of the community; the influence of Christian missionaries and the advent of church music; a musical and choral tradition that was in part influenced by European and American models. Bearing in mind several elements of the Soweto Gospel Choir which have so captivated audiences – that of the high level of vocal accomplishment, the variety of repertoire and the lively choreography – it useful to look at some distinctive elements of African and South African music culture. Here, while Africa is well-known for its fondness of the human voice – whether in solo or collective singing or whether in simple call and response or complex polyphony forms – in South Africa “it is certainly the human voice that is the original and most frequently used musical instrument.” 4

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16 Apr, Thu, 8pm Esplanade Theatre $48*, $68*, $88 Concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens at $38* and $58*. Image credit: Lorenzo Di Nozzi

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Image credit: Lorenzo Di Nozzi

Another distinctive element of note in African musical and cultural style is that of the use of the body, which is central to all performance: The rhythm of the body expressed in individual and communal dance is integral to powerful musical performances in many parts of Africa. Typically the rhythms produced by instrumental performers exist in tension with the rhythms of the dancers in the same musical performance. Other key elements of African music which audiences to the Soweto Gospel’s Choir performances are able to identify with include: the call-and-response form; the cyclical structure of the music which means there is no clear sense of beginning, middle or end; the complex rhythms of the music; song texts which articulate the plight of the poor and oppressed and which criticise the powerful; nonverbal utterance in which interactive polyphony and rhythms generated by the singers’ improvisations are sometimes more important than the actual words. Choral performance as such – whether sacred and secular – has a long history in South Africa. In what can be called “precolonial” Africa, collective singing was already practised. With the arrival of arrival of missionaries from Europe and America, choral singing took on the dimensions of Western art music: the four part harmony structure of the European Christian hymn and its various incarnations in the spiritual movements of the 18th and 19th centuries in both England the United States. The influence of European and American choral practices indeed became models for black South African singing for much of the 20th century. The 1980s saw youth choirs selecting music from the mass media, preferring what has been defined as “the ‘more African’ gospel performance” that allowed for “greater bodily movement, vocal inflection” and “increased freedom in the use of the voice”.

However, it was not just Western models which had an impact on choral music in South Africa. The struggle for political freedom also found expression in worship and saw the introduction of traditional African musical elements into church music. South African ethnomusicologist David Dargie has pointed out how during the 1960s and 1970s, the use of drums, marimbas and other instruments for worship together with the use of new church music composed in African style in Zimbabwe inspired similar developments in South Africa.8 In the 1990s, the newly achieved political, cultural and musical power as well as that of liberation (apartheid fell in 1994) saw flowing, robe-like multi-coloured choir uniforms – not unlike some of those worn by the Soweto Gospel Choir – replacing the tighter fitting, buttoned blouses and skirts of the earlier more formal choirs. The clothing has become freer and more “African” as it were.

Of Intense Suffering and Spiritual Release: South African Gospel Music While there were already gospel groups in South Africa before the 1990s – most popular South African performers were either children of clergy or introduced to religious music at an early age – one musician who played a key role in bringing about the rise of South African gospel music was the singer Rebecca Malope (b 1968). Malope, who rose to fame after winning a national talent competition, brought a dimension to gospel music which perhaps embodied the ethos of the immediate post-apartheid period: While the expressive mode of most of these singers tends to bright eyes and fixed beatific smiles, Rebecca’s facial and body language communicates rather an intense spiritual suffering and search for release, while her voice, astonishingly soaring and powerful for so small a person, liberates the hidden

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Image credit: Brett Schewitz

sorrows of her listeners like doves from a cage. In her wake, it seemed as if every popular singer of the time was suddenly doing a gospel album or featuring one or two gospel songs on secular popular music albums. Yet, it is more than just the advocacy of one or several performers that brings about the rise and sustained popularity of a musical genre. Beyond the music itself, Coplan has drawn attention to the role of religion in the formation and operation of contemporary African social networks. In the various functions which churches and social movements play – whether in celebration of new economic development among various segments of the society or giving aid to the needy or providing networks of social support– gospel has become a musical dimension of “hope and relief in despair”, providing a musical healing that is emotional. Gospel music, as Coplan puts it, is the “tonic of brotherly love”.

A Sense of Pride and Triumph: The Soweto Gospel Choir The name “Soweto” (an abbreviation of South Western Townships) is one that is emotionally charged and historically fraught. In 1955, at a dusty square now known Walter Sisulu Square, 3,000 people gathered to adopt the Freedom Charter that forms the basis of the present South African Constitution. On 16 June 1976, 20,000 Soweto school children marched in protest against a decree by the government that Afrikaans had to be used as one of the languages of instruction in secondary schools. Within hours, the initially peaceful and high spirited march had sparked off a violent confrontation with the police: at least 176 lives were lost in one week. Since 1991, that date has been declared the International Day of the African Child.

that has the residences of two Nobel Prize Winners: Bishop Desmond Tutu and the late Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013). For the present, the social change which gospel music has brought about is evident in the work of the Soweto Gospel Choir since its formation in 2002. Beyond the numerous musical accolades that it has garnered worldwide, the choir has also founded its own AIDS orphans foundation, Nkosi’s Haven Vukani, to assist organisations that receive little or no funding. To date, the choir has collected over R 4 million for their foundation and the choir also continues to perform for a variety of charitable organisations in South Africa. As the choir’s drummer, Mandla said in an interview in 2014 of the choir’s impact on the community: “Previously Soweto was known as a pretty rough and dead end place but now we have shown the people of South Africa and the world that our people can do things for themselves. We have brought joy and hope to many young people out there while also giving them a sense of pride and triumph in life.” The Australian, 24 Feb 2003 http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/Reviews. html Coplan, David B., In Township Tonight!: Three Centuries of South African Black City Music & Theatre (South Africa: Jacana Media, 2007, 2nd Edition), p. 323 Coplan, ibid, p. 322 Muller, Carol A., South African Music: A Century of Traditions in Transformation (Santa Barbara, California: ABC Clio, 2004), p. xx Muller, ibid, p. xxvi Muller, ibid, p. xxv Muller, ibid p. 3 Dargie, David ‘Christian Music Among Africans’, Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social & Cultural History (Elphick, Richard and Davenport, Rodney eds), (Cape Town: David Philip, 1997), p. 326 Muller, South African Music: A Century of Traditions in Transformation, p.5 Coplan, In Township Tonight!: Three Centuries of South African Black City Music & Theatre, p. 323 Coplan, ibid, p.324 Coplan, ibid, p.325 Elsabé Brink, Gandhi Malungane, Steve Lebelo, Dumisani Ntshangase and Sue Krige (compilers), Soweto: 16 June 1976, Personal Accounts of the Uprising (Cape Town, South Africa: Kwela Books, 2001), p. 19 Peters, Kris, ‘Soweto Gospel Choir’, NQ Music Press 21 Aug 2014, http://www. nqmusicpress.com/news/interview-news/soweto-gospel-choir/

Soweto is also one of the few places in the world with a street 7

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John Tavener An Appreciation of a Mystery within the Waves of Beauty

The first sentence of the liner notes for a recording of British composer John Tavener’s popular work for cello and orchestra, The Protecting Veil, says it all: “To listen to Tavener’s music is to confront mystery.”

instrumental soloists and an ensemble of traditional Indian instruments – and reviewers were left astounded at its world premiere at the London’s Barbican Hall in 2014. Said the New Statesman:

Indeed.

When we enter a particularly impressive building, such as a cathedral, instinct tells us to stand still and take it in. Revolving on the spot, we grope towards an understanding of the overarching scheme governing all the vaulting arches, both comforted and awed by the sheer scale of human endeavour that contains us.

The experience of listening to Tavener’s Flood of Beauty has been likened to that sense of awe that overwhelms one when entering a building of immense grandeur. Unpublished at the time of his death, Tavener’s final manuscript was co-commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Barbican Hall and Chester Music, to be transcribed and performed. Flood of Beauty calls for immense forces – orchestra, vocal and

With Flood of Beauty, John Tavener created a piece of music that evokes this very feeling. Perhaps such a description should not surprise.

Whether it his music (The Protecting Veil and the Ikon of Light for instance) or the way he looked (gaunt and with “long, straight Jesus-hair”), Tavener (1944 – 2013) conjured, and conjures up “mystery”: as a religious truth; as something beyond understanding; as something profound and inexplicable. In the late 1960s, the composer Sir Arthur Bliss (1891 – 1975) thought Tavener had “gone haywire” when he saw the score of Tavener’s oratorio, The Whale. In 1997, ,Tavener’s Song for Athene reached an international audience when it was sung at Princess Diana’s funeral. In 2000, he was knighted for his services to music. Following his death in 2013, UK’s Daily Telegraph editorial commented that Tavener “brought to the public the serious, the beautiful and the holy.” In fact, since this youth, religion, the spiritual and the divine had always served as primary sources of inspiration for Tavener. Here, the BBC Music Magazine has compared Tavener with the great Baroque composer J S Bach “for whom art and faith have been inseparable companions in a rocky journey.”

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17 Apr, Fri, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall $28*, $48**, $68 Concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens: $18*, $38** Image Credit: Simone Canetty-Clarke

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How then does one begin to approach to the music of Tavener? Does one need to be of a particular faith or religious denomination to fully appreciate his art or can one just let the music flood one’s senses?

Presbyterian Beginnings and Catholic Mysticism: A Touch of Subversion from The Whale to Therese Born in 1944 in north London, Tavener spent most of his childhood playing the organ either in Presbyterian churches or at the chapel of Highgate School where he studied. His father was an organist at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Hampstead and his family attended a Presbyterian church. Later on however, Tavener studied composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music with the composer Sir Lennox Berkley (1903 – 1989) who was a devout Catholic. Tavener first public gained attention in the late 1960s through his oratorio The Whale that was based on the biblical story of the prophet Jonah. Its premiere at a high profile concert in 1968 that also marked the debut of the London Sinfonietta and the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall of London’s Southbank Centre resulted in Tavener being hailed by The Guardian as “The musical discovery of the year”. It was also during this time – from the late-1960s to mid1970s – that Tavener turned away from his Presbyterian upbringing and embraced Catholic mysticism, finding new musical possibilities in the ritualistic elements of Roman Catholicism. The works from this period, such as In Alium (1968) and Ultimos ritos (1969 -1972) has been noted to contain “a theatricality … that was entirely characteristic” while Tavener claimed that he was reacting against the “po-faced serialists” of that time. This period of Tavener’s encounter with the Catholicism culminated with the controversial opera Therese (1979) about the agonizing death of St Therese of Lisieux .The work however was a critical failure. This proved to be a watershed period for Tavener: Therese’s long gestation was accompanied by a musical and spiritual crisis from which he would emerge renewed through his conversion to Orthodox Christianity in 1977.

Orthodoxy: From The Protecting Veil to a Song for Athene Some commentators have noted that the music from this phase of Tavener’s life had an even “greater spiritual focus and intensity” than before. Most of the works written during this phase of his life were - with few exceptions vocal or choral, heavily influenced by Orthodox liturgical texts, Russian and Greek writers and themes and the music

mirrored “the stark, sluggish severity and ancient tonal structures of that church …”. For many, it was the works written during this period that are Tavener’s most enduring, popular and accessible. Scored for cello and string orchestra, The Protecting Veil from 1988 with its sustained long melodic lines and shimmering harmonies that are punctuated by dramatic interjections was the work which made Tavener a household name among classical music lovers worldwide. An earlier work four-minute choral work from 1982, The Lamb, remains a Christmas favourite while the aforementioned Song of Athene from 1993 is memorable for the way its melody blends the solemnity of a chant with lyrical contemporary idiom and impactful in the way the melody is heard over a deep sustained bass. The popularity of these works allowed Tavener to reach a worldwide audience. But, to be popular was never on Tavener’s agenda as he told the BBC Music Magazine just before his death: “I seem to have a God-given talent for connecting with people, and I’m grateful for that. But I have never cynically written with that intention …. ”.

The Universalist: The Veil of the Temple, Requiem and Flood of Beauty In the late 1990s, Tavener further expanded his outlook on life and religion, seeking inspiration from other sources and traditions, in particular those from the East: Hindusim, Islam and even Shamanism. While remaining an Orthodox Christian, Tavener embraced the Universalist belief that all organised religions are simply different interpretations of the same underlying forces. It was this final phase of his life that saw the outpouring of the monumental masterpieces: the seven-hour The Veil of the Temple from 2002; the Requiem from 2007 which draws from the Latin Mass, the Upanishads, the Koran; and the ambitious Flood of Beauty written between 2006 and 2007 without any commission or intended performance. Set to the over 100-stanza poem Saundarya Lahari by the revered Hindu philosopher and theologian Adi Sankarachacarya, Flood of Beauty, is a work in which Tavener envisaged an aural and musical experience like no other before: for its performance, he had specified that the groups of instruments and choirs “should be as far apart as possible, surrounding the audience so that the music whirls around the building”. FollowingTavener’s death, Flood of Beauty was subsequently co-commissioned by Singapore’s Esplanade – Theatres on

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the Bay and UK’s Barbican Centre after Chester Music, – Tavener’s publisher – had approached Esplanade and other major international performing arts venues to commission the work so as to enable its publication and performance worldwide. Flood of Beauty received its world premiere in 2014 by the Britten Sinfonia under Martyn Babbins while its Asian premiere will be held at Esplanade’s A Tapestry of Sacred Music. The reviewer for New Statesman at the Barbican concert felt that the work, “for all that it is noisy and strange to the ear” was undoubtedly part of what Tavener saw in his quest as a composer: to search for “the uncreated music of God”.

Music, Death and Life Plagued by ill health throughout his life, Tavener once made a comparison between his compositions and that of death: “Almost every piece I write is, in a sense, kind of viewing death in different lights.” On hindsight, there is more than a grain of truth to Tavener’s words. As acclaimed Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko who premiered Tavener’s Requiem – a mass for the dead – said once: “… His music is on a totally different time scale from the one we use in our everyday lives – it’s music about eternity, meditation, the exploration of your own soul and the journey we are all on. To really get inside John’s music, you need to extract yourself from the hurried, rushed and crazy world of today and listen to your own inner voice.”

“I started meditating a few months ago and I find while I'm conducting this work, although there is a lot to think about in terms of what's going on at any given moment, I feel compelled to meditate, to be mindful and present whilst being immersed in the music and experiencing the beautiful wash of sound that surrounds me!" - Jason Lai, Conductor “Renowned for his spiritual outlook and beliefs, John Tavener’s Flood of Beauty is indeed a masterpiece to behold. Providing a surround-sound of orchestra musicians, choristers, in a great concert hall, this will no doubt be a once in a lifetime experience for the listener.” - Adrian Chiang, Assistant Conductor "John Tavener's Flood of Beauty is indeed, as the title suggests, a sensuous and sonic soundscape; a delightful tapestry of beautiful colors. Written with a very different sense of space and time from what modern Western classical ears are attuned to, this concert promises to be a once-in-alifetime experience that is not to be missed...!" - Leonard Tan, Assistant Conductor "The melodies are endlessly varied, and we are given different performance directions according to the Sanskrit verse - “With a lightning-like radiance”, “Shining like crystal, radiant as moonlight”, “Thunderous, then rapt with Cosmic Beauty” and “At once tender, angry and full of wonder” are some of my favourites." - Jennifer Tham, Chorus Director

Perhaps, at the end of it all, Tavener’s music remains universal in its appeal because each of his works is an invitation for the listener, regardless of belief, to just contemplate and reflect: on his or her own existence and then, on the meaning of the world that is all around us.

Adolphe, Bruce and Tavener, John, liner notes for The Protecting Veil, Sony Classical, SK 62821, 1998 Crampton, Caroline, ‘Sound and Vision: John Tavener’s Flood of Beauty’ , New Statesman, 9 October 2014, http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/10/ sound-and-vision-john-taveners-flood-beauty White, Michael, ‘A Time for Reflection’, BBC Music Magazine, December 2013 John Tavener quoted in ‘A Time for Reflection’, ibid Telegraph View, ‘Heavenly Music’, Daily Telegraph, 12 November 2013 http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/10443805/Heavenly-music. html White, ‘A Time for Reflection’ Moody, Ivan in ‘Sir John Tavener: A World of Light’, Gramophone, January 2014

Moody, ibid Stewart, Michael, liner notes for Svyati: Steven Isserlis plays the music of John Tavener, BMG Catalyst, 09026-68761-2, 1997 White, ‘A Time for Reflection John Tavener quoted in ‘A Time for Reflection’ Tavener, John, programme notes for Flood of Beauty Crampton, ‘Sound and Vision: John Tavener’s Flood of Beauty’ Barr, Robert, ‘John Tavener, Composer and Seeker, dies at 69’, Associated Press, 13 November 2013, https://www.yahoo.com/music/s/john-tavenercomposer-seeker-dies-69-175240574.html Vasily Petrenko quoted in ‘Remembering the Composer’ from ‘Sir John Tavener: A World of Light’ 11

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Noureddine Khourchid and the Whirling Dervishes Music and Movement of Spiritual Ecstasy For close to 30 years, Noureddine Khourchid and the Whirling Dervishes have continuously held audiences spellbound. Whether it is at festivals in Europe, the Middle East or in Asia, the ensemble’s performances seem to bear out the publicity material that states how Noureddine’s “deep yet celestial voice” seems to “materialise the presence of almost metaphysical whirling dervishes.” Here in Singapore, the ensemble performs for the first time at 2015’s A Tapestry of Sacred Music Festival.

While audiences may recall that whirling dervishes – in a performance by the Al Kindi Ensemble – were featured at the first Tapestry in 2011, the inclusion of Noureddine’s ensemble in 2015’s programme suggests a musical and performance tradition that continues to fascinate audiences. Hence the questions: What is it about the music and the sight of the whirling dervishes that continues to appeal?; What are the origins of this musical tradition?; What do the whirling dervishes actually symbolise?

Sufi and Sufism To prepare oneself for a performance such as that by Noureddine Khourchid and the whirling dervishes, one has to first begin by understanding the function and use of music within the culture and tradition from which Noureddine originates. In this, the music and dance of Noureddine Khourchid and the whirling dervishes are born from the Sufi tradition where both these art forms serve a spiritual purpose. As such, before one explores the music, one has to first look at the word ‘sufi’ itself. Commonly used in reference to Islamic mystics and Islamic mysticism, the words ‘sufi’ and ‘sufism’ have been used since the first century of the hijra (ie eight century C.E, the hijra referring to the migration of Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina). While different scholars have claimed various origins for the words ‘sufism’ and ‘sufi’, the French translator and scholar Jean-Louis Michon who specialises in Islamic art and Sufism points out that the word ‘sufism’ in Arabic is tasawwuf, referring to the wearing of a garment made of wool (suf) as an emblem of purity. This term was later adopted to refer to the quest for spiritual illumination while ‘sufi’ was applied to charactertise the “person who had attained an obvious degree of proximity to God”.

Two Sufi Orders Over time, several Sufi orders emerged and of significance in the instance of Noureddine Kourchid and the Whirling Dervishes are the two following Sufi orders: the Shâdhiliyya and the Mawlawi. Noureddine himself is a descendant of the Shâdhiliyya order which was founded by the great Moroccan mystic Abu al-Hasan al Shadhili (1196 – 1256) who settled in Alexandria in Egypt and whose teachings spread from there thereafter while the two dervishes who appear with Noureddine are from the Mawlawi (or Mevlevi) order which was founded in Anatolia in the13th 12

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18 Apr, Sat, 8pm Esplanade Concert Hall $38*, $48 Concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens: $28* Image credit: Valerie Pinard

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century by the great Persian poet and mystic Jaladdin al-Rumi (1207–1273) – more commonly known as Rumi. It was from the Mawlawi order, that which is now commonly called the ‘whirling dance’ developed into an obligatory means of inducing ecstasy or rapture (wajd). This is a state which has been defined as that “of mental and physical excitement that manifests itself when the heart of the devotee is undergoing divine illumination.”

The Spiritual Concert and the Whirling Dervish It is thus perhaps not surprising that composer and ethnomusicologist Habib Yammine’s essay on music and whirling dervishes that accompanies the publicity material of Noureddine should be titled The Path of Ecstasy. Music in Islam has been said to be of divine origin, as Habib Yammine states: Several mystical tales attribute a divine origin to music recounting that the soul, whose very nature is celestial, refused to take form, but was seduced by the voice of an angel ordered by God to settle inside the body so as to attract it there. It is now trapped inside the body, but has kept a nostalgia for its origins ever since it was parted from them. A sense of this yearning for the divine can be found in Rumi’s famous poem The Song of the Reed which is also known as The Ney’s Lament: Listen to the reed flute, how it is complaining! It is telling about separations, ‘’Ever since I was severed from the reed field, men and women have lamented in the presence of my shrill cries. But I want a heart which is torn, torn from separation, so that I may explain the pain of yearning This deceptively simple verse is fraught with symbolism. To

state but two: the first word “listen” refers to the act of listening to mystical poetry and music which induces a state of spiritual ecstasy; the ney (reed flute) was a favourite musical instrument of Rumi and it has always been associated with the religious services of the Mawlawí. As such, the performance for this evening presented by Noureddine is thus that of the sama or ‘spiritual concert’. As Michon explains in his essay ‘Sacred Music and Dance in Islam’: To listen to music is therefore, in the final analysis, to open oneself to an influence, to a vibration of a suprahuman origin “made sound” in order to awaken in us the echoes of a primordial state and to arouse in the heart a longing for union with its essence. Michon has further noted that the elements within the sama, such as the instruments used and the dancing, are invested with symbolism and serve as an aid in the recollection and invocation (dikhr) for the divine to purify the soul. Here, the Persian mystic writer and preacher Ahmad Gazzali (d. 1123) who taught Sufism 150 years before Rumi has written that: the voice of singer “is a reference to the divine life which comes down from the innermost arcana to the level of the spirits, the hearts ..”; the dance is a “reference to the circling of the spirit round the cycle of existing things in order to receive the effects of the unveilings and revelations …”; and the whirling is a reference to “the spirit’s standing with Allah in its inner nature (sirr) and being (wujud) …”. As such, to avoid confusion with any sense of merrymaking or entertainment, the Sufis avoid using the Arabic word raqs which means ‘dance’ to refer to their whirling dance. In fact, as Michon points out, the ‘dance’ of the Sufis has nothing in common with ‘dance’ as it is understood in Western culture.

Noureddine Kourchid Born in Damascus in 1966 to a sheikh of the Shâdhiliyya Sufi order, Noureddine Khourchid started attending weekly dhikr ceremonies, was taught the Koran as well as received training in

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religious singing and chant from an early age onwards. After an education in economic science at the University of Damascus, Noureddine decided to devote himself to religious studies.

al-Nabulsi (1641-1731), al-Barazanji who lived and died in the 18th century, al-Bura’i who lived and died in the 13th century) and al-Busiri (1213-1295).

Following training in Quranic recitation and chant and subsequent participation in several competitions in Muslim Arab countries, Noureddine’s vocal talents and skills began to attract attention. In response to requests to sing at religious festivities, he founded the troupe in 1987 which specialises in performing religious hymns and songs in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. At the same time, Noureddine continued to develop his skill in mastering the maqamat (the modal system) and the art of muwashshat (an Arabic poetic form as well as religious song form) with various teachers in Damascus.

The melodies of these invocations and songs are developed from a series of modes in which each mode bears a specific name and has special significance. The name of a mode for instance could denote the following: geographic origins; the position of a note on the ud; suggest the state of the soul or the “cosmic phenomenon” that the mode is supposed to translate into music for instance, ‘the joyous’, ‘the breeze’ or ‘the bringer of longing. ’ The rhythmic patterns of the music on the other hand, sustain the melody and provide it with a temporal framework and a sonorous majestic base.

The Performers, the Performance and the Programme

Given the origins and the purpose of the spiritual concert, the rich melodic and rhythmic variety of the music, the hypnotic sight of the whirling dervishes, and the state of spiritual ecstasy which the entire performance aims to induce, it is no wonder that Noureddine and the whirling dervishes of Damascus continue to enchant, enthral and open new vistas of experiences to audiences.

Noureddine’s ensemble comprises seven munshid (hymn singers) – who like himself are from the Shâdhiliyya order – together with two whirling dervishes. Of the seven munshid , Noureddine will serve as the lead voice while four others will play the riqq (a frame drum or a tambourine which marks the beat), the daff (a frame drum or tambourine), the tombak (a goblet drum) and the ud (a short necked lute). The repertoire performed – comprising religious songs (designated by the generic term 1 which refers an aspiration or striving towards something and from which the word nashid, a hymn or canticle, is derived) – will include invocations, songs of praise, prayers, praises of the Prophet, the story of the Prophet’s birth and his life, together with songs set to Sufi poems based on the themes of divine love and ecstasy. Habib Yemmine has pointed out that as the texts for these songs are compilations of excerpts taken from poems that originate from different sources and different periods of history, identification of the actual authors of the texts difficult. In general, the mystic poets whose texts are most frequently encountered in this repertoire can be said to include Ibn al-Farid (1181-1235),

Shanghai World Music Festival http://worldmusicshanghai.com/en/history/2011/ show.asp?ID=198 Michon, Jean-Louis, ‘Introduction’, Sufism: Love & Wisdom (Jean-Louis Michone & Roger Gaetani eds), (Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, 2006), p xxi Michon, ibid Bowker, John, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions http://www. encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Wajd.html HabibYammine,The Path of Ecstasy, essay accompanying biographical material for Noureddine Khourchid and the Whirling Dervishes Adapted from a translation of the poem from http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/ n-I-0001.html, ibid Michon, ‘Sacred Music and Dance in Islam’, Sufism: Love & Wisdom (Jean-Louis Michone & Roger Gaetani eds), p. 162 ibid, p. 167 ibid Michon, ‘Sacred Music and Dance in Islam’, Sufism: Love & Wisdom (Jean-Louis Michone & Roger Gaetani eds), p. 174 Habib Hassan Touma, The Music of the Arabs, (Portland: Amadeus Press, 2003) Habib Yammine, The Path of Ecstasy Michon, ‘Sacred Music and Dance in Islam’, Sufism: Love & Wisdom (Jean-Louis Michone & Roger Gaetani eds), p. 169

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Nishimura Kagura Shachu Kagura: Music, Dance, Myths and a Lifetime of Magic

It is the sound that first seizes the attention; the continuous cry of the flute, the incessant beating of the drums and unceasing ring of the cymbals that fill the air with tension and a sense of foreboding. Then they appear; eight horned serpents with thick and garishly coloured scales which twist and turn grotesquely around the stage area. Sometimes, they strike fierce and terrifying poses while at other times, they come together so as to appear as if they were one giant snake.

In one corner, away from the serpents, a masked maiden stands, trembling. Then, the serpents see what appears to be a wooden vat. They group around the vat and each take turn to touch it after which, their movements gradually slow down. At this point, the hero appears, dressed in bright yellow, brandishing a long sword. A fierce battle ensues between the hero and the serpents which encircle and attempt to crush him with their vice-like grip.

But, the hero eventually breaks free and “beheads” the serpents, one after another. Welcome, to the story of Tavener, the legend of the eight headed serpent, as told through a performance of kagura, Japan’s most ancient ritual and oldest performing art form.

Kagura: A Definition, the Division and the Variations Definition The term kagura generally refers to any performance that is part of the annual festival of a local Shintõ shrine – Shintõ being the indigenous folk religion of Japan – and it is usually a combination of song, dance and/or theatre. While kagura today is presented and appreciated as a performing art form in both Japan and around the world, its original functions were that as a ritual of thanksgiving for the blessings of the kami (the Shintõ deities or sacred spirits) and as prayers for their continued favours. In this, kagura is both ritual and entertainment: the first part of the kagura being an invocation of the kami while the second part, which is more theatrical, comprises entertainment for the kami. The actual meaning of the word kagura though has been much discussed. Mention of kagura first appeared in court records of the 9th century and based on the word being formed from two Chinese characters meaning kami and “music”, kagura could mean 16

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17 Apr, Fri, 7.30pm 18 Apr, Sat, 3pm Esplanade Recital Studio $30 Concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens: $18 17

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“entertainment for the kami”. Scholars however have also said that the word is a contraction of the phrase kami no kura which means “seat of the kami”, implying the presence of a deity in the performance of a kagura and that the performance itself is a dwelling place for the deity.

Division and Variation Researchers have noted the great diversity and the radically different performances that constitute kagura throughout Japan. As such, for convenience, two types of kagura have been identified: the kagura that is performed in the palace and the shrines related to the palace; the folk kagura that is performed in the countryside. The style and characteristics of the folk kagura in turn are defined by the locality in which it is practised and performed. Here, for A Tapestry A Sacred Music Festival, the kagura which is presented is Iwami kagura which as its name implies means kagura from the Iwami area.

Origins: The Prefecture of Shimane and Iwami Kagura Shimane Iwami is a region located in the western part of Shimane, a prefecture in southwest Japan that lies between a mountain range on one side and the Sea of Japan on the other. Shimane is a place is steeped in myth and history; its eastern part is regarded as the birth place of the Shintõ deities hence Shimane also being called “the birth place of Japan” and the “province of the gods” while the prefecture’s geographical isolation from the rest of the country and it being the second least populated prefecture in the country further adds to its mystique. Origins and Development The exact origins of kagura in Iwami however are unclear. While the earliest written text on Iwami kagura dates from the mid-1700s, scholars have been inclined to put its origins back much earlier. This is based on evidence of a preserved mask from the early 1500s that indicate the presence of shrinerelated theatrical activities. Researchers have also noted in Iwami kagura the use of a folk music style that is different from that of kagura practised in eastern Shimane which in the 1600s was influenced by music nõ theatre. That which is certain though is that at least up till the mid-18th century, the practice of Iwami kagura was transmitted orally. The greatest impact on the development of Iwami kagura (and on other theatrical kagura traditions in general) took place during the beginning of the Meiji period in the late 1860s when priests were banned from performing kagura. This was

a result of the Meiji government’s attempt to standardize the Shintõ ritual. The Meiji saw performances of theatrical pieces unsuitable as shrine activity and regarded it undignified for priests to perform them. In Shimane prefecture, the ban was implemented in 1870 and it was from then that the tradition of kagura was taken over by lay people such as farmers and fishermen who formed their own performing groups. The priests however played an active role in teaching kagura to these groups so as to continue the tradition. With revisions subsequently made to the music and dance of kagura in the mid-1880s, a new style emerged and spread.

Yamata-no-Orochi: A Story The kagura repertoire largely comprises myths and stories from two historical Japanese texts, the Kojiki (which means ‘Record of Ancient Matters’ and it is the oldest existing record of Japanese history) and the Nihongi together with medieval epics, ancient Japanese folk tales and stories from local traditions. Among these myths, one which is commonly seen in kagura performance is the story of Yamata-no-Orochi which tells of how the Shintõ storm god Sausano-o, kills the eight headed serpent, the Yamata-no-Orochi, by means of luring it to vats of wine. When the serpent has taken its fill of the wine and is drunk, Sausano-o beheads it.

Iwami kagura: Costumes, Music, Performance and Performers Iwami kagura essentially distinguishes itself through a combination of dynamic drum beating that is accompanied by a melancholic melody on the flute and the use of colourful costumes and masks. Characteristics: Costumes et al The visual elements of Iwami kagura are indeed unmistakable. Grand, exaggerated and outsized in all areas ranging from the brilliant and intricate costumes decorated with gold and silver threads to the vividly coloured and deformed masks that emphasise the good and evil natures of the characters, Iwami kagura presents a spectacle to behold. The Music The ensemble which performs the music of Iwami Kagura comprises primarily of large and small drums (the odaiko and shimedaiko respectively), the dobyoshi (small brass cymbals) and the fue (the transverse flute). The percussion is the predominant musical component of Iwami kagura or for that matter any kagura. The drumming is first lead by the odaiko and then followed by the shimedaiko and finally accompanied by two melodies, one which is sung by the odaiko player and the other performed on the flute.

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The ear piercing jangle of the the small brass cymbals in turn provides accompaniment to the drums as well as set the beat for the dancers. Of note here is that the relation between two melodies that are sung by the odaiko player and that played on the flute is nebulous; they are both in different modes and different keys. This “non-relationship” however is not unique to Iwami kagura: it can also be found in the music of nõ and kabuki. Given that the performance instructions of kagura are primarily the result of an oral tradition with no fix score for the musicians, the recreation of the music at each kagura is to some extent an organic process; no performance of kagura music is exactly the same as that of the previous or following performances. The Performers To date, there are more than 100 kagura groups in the Iwami region and the neighbouring areas of Hiroshima prefecture, each with slightly different performing styles and interpretations of the myths and stories from the Kojiki and Nihongi. The groups usually consist between 15 and 30 members who come from the local villages and towns and are from various professions, ranging from farmers, fishermen, salary men, to store keepers and truck drivers. There is also fluidity in membership, with members of one group often to participating in the performances of another. The Nishimura Kagura Shachu that will be seen at Tapestry is based in the city of Hamada that is in the Iwami region. The group’s repertoire comprises more than 30 different stories that are drawn from the legacy of Japanese myths and legends.

Most villagers, young and old, tried to secure a viewing spot for their family near the center stage. However, the closest spots were always reserved for the village officials, dignitaries and land owners who donated large amounts of money for the festivity. My family spot used to be far from the center stage and was different every year, sometimes we could not see the center because of the pillars and other large families …. The excitement of Iwami-Kagura sometimes made us forget the penetrating coldness coming from the ground when the temperature dropped to near freezing during the night. Kagura, it would seem, leaves a memory that lasts a lifetime.

Averbuch, Irit, The Gods Come Dancing: A study of the Japanese Ritual Dance of Yamabushi Kagura (Ithaca, New York: Cornell East Asia Series), p. 9 from Averbuch, Irit The Gods come Dancing: A study of the Japanese Ritual Dance of Yamabushi Kagura and Lancashire, Terence, ‘Music for the Gods: Musical Transmission and Change in Iwami Kagura’ Asian Music, Fall/ Winter 1997/1998 Vol XXIX No. 1 Averbuch, The Gods Come Dancing: A study of the Japanese Ritual Dance of Yamabushi Kagura, p.73 Averbuch, ibid, p. 9 http://visitshimane.com/ Lancashire, ‘Music for the Gods: Musical Transmission and Change in Iwami Kagura’ p.88 Lancashire, ibid, p.89 - 90 Lancashire, ibid Averbuch, The Gods come Dancing: A study of the Japanese Ritual Dance of Yamabushi Kagura, p.86 See Lancashire, ‘Music for the Gods: Musical Transmission and Change in Iwami Kagura’, p. 117 http://iwami-kagura.com/?page_id=28

A Living Tradition: Recollections of Kagura in Iwami The late 1940s: in a small village in the Iwami region, villagers prepare for a Shintõ festival that takes place after the year’s harvest. In the nights, kagura performances of the legends and myths of Japan – such as that of the story of Yamata-no-Orochi – are staged. On these cool autumn nights, a young child watches kagura and is transported by the dances and music, that alternate between being dynamic and exciting and slow and calm, to a faraway world of myths and magic. The early 2000s: many years later, the child, now an adult, fondly recalls those childhood memories of kagura in a blog online: Watching the Iwami-kagura … had been one of the most exciting annual events in the village. ….

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LO CÒR DE LA PLANA A Language and Labour of Love

The high energy level of Lo Còr de La Plana’s performances is palpable: comprising just five men with three handheld percussion instruments, the group’s performances are physical, vocally accomplished and driven by raw passion and vocally accomplished. Audiences are visibly hooked by the essentials which make up Lo Còr’s electrifying brand of musicmaking: the wolf howls and wails which punctuate the hand clapping, feet stomping, knee slapping and

the use of the bendir (African frame drum) and tamburello (frame drum with cymbals); the constant tempo shifts; the varied harmonic textures of the vocals. At Morocco’s Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in 2013, the group received both standing and “dancing” ovations from the audience while at Czech Republic’s world music festival, Colours of Ostrava, Lo Còr prompted the capacity crowd to join hands and participate in dance to a folk song.

At the heart of Lo Còr de la Plana’s high-energy performances however is a single word that evokes a sense of mystery and romance: Occitan. In the 12th century, Occitan was the language of the French troubadours (professional artists who are primarily poet-musicians); in the 21st century, it is a language spoken primarily in southern France; and it is a language that some consider to be in danger of extinction. The Occitan heritage is indeed central to the artistic philosophy of Lo Còr which was formed in 2001 in the southern French port city of Marseilles. As founder and lead songwriter of the group, Emmanuel Theron, said in an interview in 2012: “Our aim is to re-appropriate the Occitan cultural heritage, in song in particular, and make it our own. We adapt things according to our contemporary taste, but do so using archaic means — just voice and percussion.” The name of group itself is in the Occitan language: it means “heart of the plains” with the plains or “La Plana” referring to a huge square and its neighbourhood in Marseilles known for its weekly market.

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19 Apr, Sun, 5pm Esplanade Recital Studio $30 Concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens: $18 Image credit: Augustin Le Gall

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At a Glance 16 – 19 Apr 2015 Recital Studio Photo Credit: Gerard Rowan

16 Apr, Thu

Theatre

Peace Monastry Tibet

Soweto Gospel Choir, 8pm

Sacred Chants of Tibet by Peace Monastery Tibet 7.15pm - 8pm, 8.30pm - 9.15pm

Photo Credit: Simone Canetty-Clarke

17 Apr, Fri

Concert Hall

19 Apr, Sun

Sacred Chants of Tibet by Peace Monastery Tibet 7.15pm - 8pm The Native Sounds of Ecuador by SISAY 8.30pm - 9.15pm Qasidah: Poems of Devotion by Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble 9.45pm - 10.30pm Iwami Kagura - Ritual Theatre of Shimane by Nishimura Kagura Shachu, 7.30pm

Photo Credit: Valerie Pinard

18 Apr, Sat

John Tavener’s Flood Of Beauty, 7.30pm

Noureddine Khourchid and the Whirling Dervishes of Damascus, 8pm

Pipes in Harmony by Masato Suzuki, 3pm

Outdoor Theatre

Iwami Kagura - Ritual Theatre of Shimane by Nishimura Kagura Shachu, 3pm

Sacred Songs of Occitan by Lo Còr de la Plana, 5pm

Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University 6.15pm - 7pm, 7.30pm - 8.15pm The Native Sounds of Ecuador by SISAY 8.45pm - 9.30pm Qasidah: Poems of Devotion by Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble 10pm - 10.45pm

Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University 6.15pm - 7pm The Native Sounds of Ecuador by SISAY 7.30pm - 8.15pm Qasidah: Poems of Devotion by Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble 8.45pm - 9.30pm

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Courtyard

Concourse

Library@Esplanade

Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University 7.15pm - 7:45pm, 8.15pm - 8.45pm The Shaman Sings: Music of Manchuria by Xiao Han & Abka Band 9.30pm - 10:15pm

Xiao Han

SISAY

Saman - Dance of a Thousand Hands by Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur 8pm - 8.30pm, 9.15pm - 9.45pm

The Shaman Sings: Epic Songs of Manchuria Xiao Han & Abka Band 7pm - 8pm Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University 8.30pm - 9pm, 9.30pm - 10pm

Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble

Saman - Dance of a Thousand Hands by Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur 8.15pm - 8.45pm, 9.30pm - 10pm

Sacred Music of the Renaissance and Baroque by Singabella 4pm - 4.30pm, 5pm - 5.30pm The Shaman Sings: Epic Songs of Manchuria by Xiao Han & Abka Band 6pm - 7pm, 7.30pm - 8.30pm Kabir Project: Journeys into Ajab Shahar by Shabnam Virmani, Vipul Rikhi and Gopal Singh Chouhan 9pm - 10pm

Vipul Rikhi and Shabnam Virmani

Singabella

Yemaya Folklore Group

Rhythms of Cuban Santeria byYemaya Folklore Group 7pm - 7.30pm, 8.15pm - 8.45pm

Talk: The Musical Tradition of Occitan by Manu Théron (Lo Còr de la Plana) 5pm - 6pm

Suttas in Pali by Dhammanusari Chanting Group 3pm - 3.30pm, 4pm - 4.30pm Kabir Project: Journeys into Ajab Shahar by Shabnam Virmani, Vipul Rikhi and Gopal Singh Chouhan 5.15pm - 6.15pm Sacred Music of the Renaissance and Baroque by Singabella 6.45pm - 7.15pm, 7.45pm - 8.15pm

Talk: Introduction to Kabir - Poems of a Mystic by Shabnam Virmani and Vipul Rikhi 3pm - 4pm Talk: A History of Native South American Sacred Music by Luis Maigua 5pm - 6pm

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“La Plana has a very mixed population — I’m just passing the soup kitchen,” Theron once explained. “For the Marseillais it’s always been a place of entertainment and diversion… It’s also where the Occitan conscience of Marseille was reborn. La Plana’s cultural orientation is very strong with the population, whatever their origins. The main focus is the rediscovery of popular heritage … .”

Occitan: The Language of Courtly Love With its present use in family and social settings seen to be in continual decline, it is perhaps hard to imagine that up till the 13 century, Occitan was the primary language of southern France and a language once held in high esteem in Italy, Spain, Germany and England. It was said to be the favourite language of King Richard I of England. The popularity of Occitan between the 12th and 13th centuries had partly to do with the rise of the troubadours who wrote poetry which subsequently was to have enormous influence on Western literature and society up till the present day. These works of the troubadours drew inspiration from Latin lyric, took musical elements from plainchant and stylised the court conventions of their time into what is known as “courtly love”: the worship from afar of an unattainable ideal woman; and acts of heroism and courage on her behalf. In fact, through the poetry of the troubadours, Occitan has also been said to be the first vernacular language to produce literary works of significance to the history of music.

The early 13th century however saw the conquest of southern France by northern French armies in the form of the Albigensian Crusade against the Carthars who lived predominantly in the south.The Cathars and Occitans were eventually defeated and persecuted. In 1539, the French language replaced Occitan in public administration. Today, no official documents in France are published in Occitan and it cannot be used in the French court of law. In schools, French is the only language of instruction and Occitan is rarely taught. In fact, some academics have been bleak in their view on the future of Occitan, fearing that only “an incurable optimist would think that the future of Occitan was uncertain: it is facing extinction, unless there is a drastic change in the economy.” Nevertheless, Occitan’s presence in literature, language courses and teaching materials on radio, the internet and in cultural events has been noted to be on the increase.

The Songs of Lo Cor: Of Saints and a Promised Land Lo Còr de la Plana’s programme for Tapestry A Festival of Sacred Music draws primarily upon religious songs and traditional texts of the Occitan area. Here, the texts — ranging from the humorous to the sombre — refer to battles between the old pagan order and the arrival of Christianity, stories from the Bible as well as scenes of daily life and concerns of the medieval period.

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Image credit: O. Santi

Of note in the programme are two songs which combine the spiritual and historical: Sant Trofima (Saint Trophimus) which is a protest song from the Marseille Commune of 1871 when some of statues of regional saints were destroyed; Nòste País (Our Country) which talks about the trials and tribulations of the immigrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of what they had hoped to be a promised land. While the texts may be about of subject matters that hark back to a distant past, the music, either adapted or composed by Theron, is eclectic in style. Here, the music of Lo Còr draws from the influences of Hungarian composer Bela Bartók, Gregorian chant, reggae, Arabic music and even Velvet Underground. This perhaps explains Lo Cor’s universal appeal; there is at once something familiar about the music despite the unfamiliarity of the language. To date, the group has released three highly influential albums since its founding: Es Lo Titre, from 2003 which concentrates on Occitan religious songs and chants; Tant Deman from 2007 which features a more festive repertoire; and Marcha from 2013 which celebrates the political heritage.

Talk: The Musical Tradition of Occitan by Manu Théron (Lo Còr de la Plana) 18 Apr, Sat, 5 – 6pm Library@Esplanade Join the artistic director of Lo Còr de la Plana, Émmanuel Theron, as he introduces the musical traditions of Occitan, the ancient language of the south of France. Favoured by the medieval poet-musicians of the region, the troubadours, Occitan declined from the 13th century but it has enjoyed a revival of late, with musicians and artists re-appropriating the cultural heritage of the language through contemporary sensibilities. In this talk, Manu Theron will explore the rich history of Occitan song and poetry and also look at ways in which groups like Lo Còr de la Plana are reviving and adapting this ancient tradition for 21st century audiences.

If anything, these albums show that it is through the efforts and ingenuity of performing groups such as Lo Còr de la Plana that Occitan continues to be kept alive and relevant on the world stage.

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Masato Suzuki: Pipes in Harmony A Sound that Echoes Across Time, Culture and Faith 1663, Paris: When cardinal Giovanni Bona (1609 – 1674) wrote that the sound of the organ “brings joy to the sorrowful soul, evokes the happiness of the heavenly city, rouses the lazy, refreshes the watchful, induces love in the just, and brings the sinner to repentance”, he probably did not envision the impact and reach the instrument would have on composers from beyond Europe. 1970, Tokyo: The Tsukiji Honganji Temple – widely known for its unique architecture that draws upon influences from various temples in Asia – receives a German-made organ. Comprising 2,000 pipes, the instrument is a donation from the Reverend Ehan Numata, founder of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism) with intent of modernising and promoting Buddhist music. This instrument has two features of interest: on its front, 48 pipes are symmetrically arranged by height while six other pipes are on placed either side of the instrument. The society says that the pipes in front symbolise the 48 oaths for salvation in the Japanese Buddhist faith while those on the side represent the six Chinese characters for Namu Amida Butsu, a Japanese phrase recited for salvation. Today, monthly lunch time concerts are held at the temple. 2015, Singapore: Japanese musician Masato Suzuki’s concert in A Tapestry of Sacred Music features a work by contemporary Japanese composerToshio Hosokawa (b.1955) who has likened the “compositional process to be instinctively associated with the concepts of Zen Buddhism and its symbolic interpretation of nature” . The recipient of numerous international awards and commissions, Hosokawa’s music is at once atmospheric with subtly layered and textured sonorities and elegant in craftsmanship. It is also distinguished by what some writers have called a rare combination of the Japanese traditional music and the compositional model of the German musical vanguard of the post-war period. Perhaps then it is no wonder that in his work for organ titled Cloudscape that will be performed at Tapestry, the organ is intended to represent the shō, a Japanese mouth-organ and one of the three wind instruments of gagaku (traditional

19 Apr, Sun, 3pm Esplanade Concert Hall Free Admission Japanese court music and dances). The shō was also used in a religious context, for instance on occasions such as the consecration of a temple. Comparisons between the sonority of the organ and timbre of the shō have been noted by commentators and as such, the familiarity of the sound of the organ owing to it being reminiscent of the shō is perhaps be one of the reasons that led to is use in Buddhist liturgy in some temples in Japan. The inclusion of Cloudscape by Hosokawa in Suzuki’s programme thus provides an occasion to reflect upon the impact which the organ has on other musical cultures around the world, transcending its function in Christian liturgy and Western art music.

The Programme: 800 Years Across Time and Space Excepting Hosokawa’s Cloudscape, Suzuki’s Singapore programme essentially features well-known works across eight centuries of music history that showcases organ music in a sacred and secular context. The BachToccata and Fugue in D minor surely ranks as perhaps one of the most often heard work in the Western art music canon. It is virtually synonymous with organ music and vice versa. The now-familiar opening phrase of the Toccata that comprises a three note motif followed by a descending scale has been used endlessly in popular culture to evoke drama and horror.

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It must be borne in mind here that in the absence of an autograph manuscript, scholars have since challenged Bach’s authorship of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Musicologists have pointed out that the Toccata and Fugue could have been a transcription of a work originally written for the violin as well as the possibility that Bach wrote neither of the two works. Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on a theme of B-A-C-H, possesses the same high drama of the Bach Toccata and Fugue although it is drama delivered in a different style. Here, Liszt’s work remains startlingly original for its chromatic and virtuosic writing which conveys a turbulent emotional soundscape tinged with a sense of the sinister and demonic. For his concert, Masato will only play the Prelude. Bach’s chorale-prelude Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and 16th century Dutch composer Jan Sweelinck’s 3 Variations on Psalm 36 have their origins in Biblical texts while the fanfarelike Estampies which is from the 14th century Robertsbridge Codex, the earliest known manuscript of works for keyboard, serves as an apt opening to the programme. Hosokawa’s Cloudscapes which uses the organ to recall a traditional Japanese instrument and with its rich harmonic layering and contrasting textures thus serves as a cultural and stylistic juxtaposition to the other works. Here, Suzuki’s programme is indeed an occasion to be reminded of the universal appeal which the sound of the organ is able to command. As another Japanese organist, Shigeru Ito, who also teaches at the Buddhist-run Musashino University in Tokyo, once said about the instrument’s unique versatility: “The pipe organ’s sounds and human voices easily meld into each other, and they are effective in creating an atmosphere, as in Christian churches.” Masato Suzuki Born in 1981 in The Netherlands, Masato Suzuki is a multifaceted musician who has participated in prestigious musical projects and major festivals around the world in his capacity as conductor, composer, pianist, harpsichordist and organist. As an organist, Suzuki was trained at The Royal Conservatory inThe Hague and since 2009 he has been the principal organist of Ensemble Vox Luminis. Suzuki is also organist at Tokyo Oncho Church and the Japanese Reformed Church in The Netherlands and holds regular master classes for organists. Suzuki is also well-known for his work with the Bach Collegium Japan where he appears as a regular performer and soloist. He has participated in concerts, tours and recordings of the complete cantatas of J.S. Bach by the Bach Collegium Japan since 2002. Together with his father, Masaaki Suzuki, Masato Suzuki also reconstructed lost movements of Bach’s Cantata No. 190 that was also recorded by the ensemble.

Suzuki is also active in projects that cross musical genres and art disciplines. He is the music director and the co-founder of Ensemble Genesis which wide ranging programmes from early to contemporary music have been highly acclaimed. After their successful opening series, “Four Seasons”, the ensemble was featured by NHK, the national television programme in Japan in a unique programme of Biber, Hindemith, Feldmann and Niigaki, the composer in residence of the ensemble. Their recent performance, Eurydice’s grief (a coproduction with Yokohama City) was highly acclaimed for its complex creation with music, dance, image, light and electronics sound. Suzuki has been the principal conductor of Yokohama Sinfonietta since 2013. Programme Robertsbridge Codex Estampie (5’) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) Wachet auf, ruftuns die Stimme (“Wake, Awake for Night is Passing”) BWV 645 (5’) Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562 -1621) Three Variations on Psalm 36 (9’) Johann Sebastian Bach Toccata and Fugue in D moll, BWV 565 (8’) Toshio Hosokawa (b.1955) Cloudscape (7’) Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Prelude from Prelude and Fugue on a theme of B-A-C-H (4)

Giovanni Bona, De divina psalmodia cited in Higginbottom, Edward, ‘Organ Music and the Liturgy’, The Cambridge Companion to the Organ (Nicholas Thistlewaite & Geoffrey Webber eds), (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 130 statement from Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism) cited ‘Japanese Buddhists blow winds of change with pipe organs’, Ecumenical News International, http://journeyonline.com.au/japanese-buddhists-blow-windsof-change-with-pipe-organs/ http://mcha-jp.com/5432 and in ‘Japanese Buddhists blow winds of change with pipe organs’, Ecumenical News International, http://journeyonline.com.au/ japanese-buddhists-blow-winds-of-change-with-pipe-organs/ http://tsukijihongwanji.jp/wp_eng/?page_id=61 http://www.schott-music.com/shop/persons/az/toshio-hosokawa http://sonograma.org/2011/01/interview-with-toshio-hosokawa/ Quoted in ‘Japanese Buddhists blow winds of change with pipe organs’, Ecumenical News International ibid ibid

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Sacred Rhythms Esplanade Courtyard Green and Outdoor Theatre Seasons, heartbeats. Lunar cycles, tides. Virtually everything natural on earth happens in cycles, flows in rhythm. So does Man. Give us the sensual throb of a beat, a hard driving rhythm or a rich pulsing drone; and we’ll feel it in our bones. Something tingling in us, natural, spontaneous… an innate urge, for some, buried beneath layers; for others, fresh and alive as with young children… it’s an awakening to the pulse of life.

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Tibetan Sacred Music by Peace Monastery (He Ping Shi) Tibet 16 Apr, Thu, 7.15 - 8.pm & 8.30 - 9.15pm; 17 Apr, Fri, 7.15 - 8.pm Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

“When you open your eyes, I see your heart. When I close my eyes, I see the world.” —Tibetan saying Practices of Faith at the Top of the World Before Buddhism was introduced to Tibet, an animistic and shamanistic spiritual tradition called Bön, speculated to date as far back as before 16,000BC, was the indigenous religion. Not much is known about its early form except that it has evolved into a religion bearing close similarities to Tibetan Buddhism. In the 7th century, Bön was banned when then ruler Songstsen Gampo brought Buddhist teachings into Tibet. As Buddhism took root in the lives of the Tibetan people, it gradually seeped into their culture and philosophy. Music, like other arts, was imbued with a deeper meaning and endowed with spiritual content.

Sacred Music in Tibetan Buddhism Sacred music plays an important role in Tibetan religious traditions because of its ability to transform lives and bring enlightenment. Rich and complex, the tradition of native Bön music, along with a range of instrumentation and foreign influences from China and India, are incorporated into it. One important component is vocal music, such as the chanting of mantras (sacred utterance). Chanting is believed to lift one towards a higher lever of consciousness, allowing the restless mind to find respite and enlightenment as it brings an inner transformation. Tibetan monks are known for their skill in throat singing, a form of chanting that amplifies the upper partials of the voice and allows for multiple pitches to be made simultaneously. Recited along with other instruments including the rolmo (large cymbals), dung dkar (conch shell trumpet), drilbu (hand bells), dung (10-foot metal trumpet), and drums and oboes, the reverberation and sounds of the mantra is said to have the power to awaken one’s spiritual life force. There are several forms of chanting among the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingmapa, Sakyapa, Kargyudpa, and Gelugpa, each of which has its own musical

tradition. With over 1,000 chants, often recited by monks from memory,Tibetan Buddhism has one of the largest vocal music repertoires in the world.

Praises to the 21 Taras A traditional prayer that pays homage to the female Bodhisattva Tara, the mother and protector of all Buddhas, this chant is recited by all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. It contains 21 stanzas that praise her different manifestations and her embodiment of enlightenment, compassion, longevity and protection. It is one of the foundation pieces in Tibetan Buddhism and is performed with mudras (hand gestures), the rolmo and synyan (both cymbals), jyaling (trumpet), drums and bells to invoke her presence and to receive her blessing.

The Aspiration Prayers – Samantabhadra Also known as ‘The King of Aspiration Prayers’, this chant was drawn from the Gandhavyuha Sutra, which is considered to be one of the greatest and most extensive Mahayana sutras of Indian Buddhism. It extols Samantabhadra, the Buddha of Great Conduct, and the profound and extensive activities of all Buddhas. Samanta loosely translates to “the universal good” while bhadra connotes blessing, goodness and auspiciousness. It is one of the most important prayers performed by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The performance starts off with a prostration of the body to be offered for use as a vessel so all divine teachings may be received through it. It is performed with mudras (hand gestures), the rolmo and synyan (both cymbals), jyaling (trumpet), drums and bells. 29

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Ecuadorian Panpipe Music, The Native Sounds of Ecuador by SISAY 17 Apr, Fri, 8.30 - 9.15pm 18 Apr, Sat, 8.45 - 9.30pm 19 Apr, Sun, 7.30 – 8.15pm Esplanade Outdoor Theatre In one of the most popular originating stories of the panpipe, an Arcadian nymph is transformed into a bed of hollow reeds in a desperate attempt to escape the advances of a Greek god. Enchanted by the sounds of the reeds against the wind, the god, Pan, fashions a set of pipes in memory of her. Considered to be one of the oldest wind instruments in history, evidence of its existence has not only been found in ancient Greece but all over the world and in different periods of early world history.

Pre-Columbian South America Faith and Music Music in pre-Columbian South America was a sacred art and a powerful source of communication with the spiritual world. It was inseparable from religious ceremonies and included a range of wind and percussion instruments. Loud and raucous yet reverent and jovial, the music was pentatonic and the melodies were festive. The agricultural calendar was an integral part of daily life, marked with different celebrations and musical traditions. Indigenous communities from the region were mainly farmers, who looked to nature for blessings and filled their celebrations of their deities (who were closely associated with different elements of nature) with music and dance. One of them was the most revered Pachamama (Mother Nature), whom the indigenous folk continue to celebrate to this day. Panpipes have a religious significance in pre-Columbian South American civilisations, such as the Moche. Ritual pottery dug up at excavation sites has brought the discovery of musicians depicted in ceramic pairs—a motif usually considered to reference the duality of life and death—holding or playing panpipes. This finding has revealed much about the symbolism of the instrument and the important place it had in the imagined world of the Moche and their religious practices.

Panpipes in Ecuador The Ecuadorian panpipe, known as a rondador, is the country’s national instrument. Made from cane or bamboo, it is a set of chorded panpipes that produces two tones

simultaneously. The instrument has a single row of pipes arranged pentatonically, interlaced from major to minor. What sets the rondador apart from the other single-row Andean panpipes is that each ‘main’ pipe is followed by a shorter pipe tuned a third lower, allowing for the melody to be played in parallel thirds.

Continuing Traditions In Ecuador, the Spanish Conquest in the mid-16th century brought with it many changes to the region, such as the introduction of string instruments, the western musical scale, even the term zampoña, which is now widely used in the region to refer to a panpipe. During their colonisation, the Spanish also transported African slaves whose rhythms and music gradually assimilated with the indigenous music cultures. Today, Ecuador is home to a number of music traditions that reflect its multiethnic and multicultural roots. Many are linked to ancient Incan religious ceremonies and are still practiced by the native communities. One such celebration that has survived centuries is the Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun), considered to be the most important ancestral celebration for indigenous communities throughout the Andes. During the summer solstice, celebrants go to sacred springs, rivers and waterfalls to carry out a communitarian ritual for spiritual purification and to strengthen their bonds with Mother Nature. Dancers, mostly women and young girls, stamp their feet to honour and celebrate the fertility of Pachamama while musicians play the quena, zampoña and rondador, along with other string and percussion instruments.

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Qasidah: Poems of Devotion by Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble 17 Apr, Fri, 9.45 - 10.30pm 18 Apr, Sat, 10 - 10.45pm 19 Apr, Sun, 8.45 – 9.30pm Esplanade Outdoor Theatre Qasidah is one of the oldest, most formal and highly respected forms of poetry in the Islamic world. Originating in pre-Islamic tribal and court poetry, the form can run up to more than 100 verses, arranged according to a single rhythm metre and rhyme scheme throughout. From its origins in pre-Islamic Arabia, it spread throughout the Islamic world to Persia, North and East Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Of Satire, Social Virtues, and Religion Historically, qasidah was written to be sung and read. The conventional form of the poem comprises three parts: a nostalgic introduction in which the poet reflects on the past; a middle section where the poet contemplates his present environment such as scenes from the desert, warfare or life away from the tribe; and a concluding section which contains praise of the poet’s tribe, patron and the main moral message of the poem. Over the centuries, qasidah evolved to express social ideals, political commentary and sometimes satire. Historical images often mingle with religious and political ones in the framework. Poems of religious praise also took prominence, with the most well known of them being Qasidah Al-Burdah (Qasidah of the Mantle), written in the 11th century by Egyptian poet Imam Al-Busri. The story goes that Imam Al-Busri was stricken by semiparalysis after a stroke. In his despair, he composed the AlBurdah in honour of the Prophet Muhammad. It was said that while reciting the poem in sincerity and concentration, a sleep came over him during which he dreamt of the Prophet, who covered the poet with his mantle. Imam Al-Busri woke up from the dream, completely cured of his affliction. Ever since, the poem has been venerated by many Sunni Muslims, recited as well as used to decorate the walls of public buildings and mosques. Some believe that reciting the poem confers blessings in life, removing them of difficulties, cures against illnesses and successes in different endeavours.

From the Arabia to Southeast Asia In 1200CE, Islam and qasidah poetry spread across Southeast Asia with the immigration of Arab traders. The poems were sung in Arabic, with some more popular ones such as the

Qasidah Al-Burdah translated into the Malay language as early as before the 1600s. The text was sung in village communities in commemoration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, in rites of passage as well as weekly religious congregations. Shorter songs with verses taken from the original long-form qasidahs were also popularised in performance. The sung poetry is usually accompanied with frame drums such as the Malay rebana (equivalent of the Arabic daff), and the pear-shape lute, gambus.

The Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble Al Khidmah Qasidah Ensemble comprises mainly youths below the age of 25 from various secondary schools and tertiary institutes. Formed from a Dzikir and Selawat Majalis (weekly congregation which recites remembrances of Allah and praises to Prophet Muhammad), the group members are united in their passion for Islamic music. The ensemble aims to showcase the unique musicality of qasidahs from the Southeast Asian region, as well as its relevance to mainstream society today. 31

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Ceremonial Dances of North Thailand by Ban Nattasin School of Dance and Songkhla Rajabhat University 18 Apr, Sat, 6.15 - 7pm & 7.30 - 8.15pm 19 Apr, Sun, 6.15 - 7pm Esplanade Outdoor Theatre Sacred Dances of Northern Thailand With a history dating as far as back to the 13th century kingdom of Lanna, northen Thailand has a rich cultural legacy of rituals and folk dances. Filled with songs and stories that have roots in animism, Hinduism and Buddhism, much of the region’s folk art forms belong to the heritage of a number of ethnic groups. Northern Thailand is home to many tribes whose beliefs and practices have been preserved for 100 years. Religion constitutes a large part of their identity and is expressed through music and dance.

and the Sangha—and expresses the calm and peace of the country. Khan dok, meaning “gaining merit by offering flowers”, is graceful and slow; dancers carry a wooden tray full of flowers as part of the performance.

The People of the North The largest ethnic group in northern Thailand is the Khon Mueang (people of the cultivated land), also known as the Tai Yuan, who live in the lowlands of this mountainous region. There are also several major hill tribes—Tai Yai, Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha, Mien, and Yao—each of whom has a distinct language, culture and sacred tradition. Most of the beliefs of the hill tribes are animistic, although tribes such as the Karen have renounced animism in favour of Christianity.

Fon King Kala

What sets each ethnic group apart is their cultural traits which constitute tribal identity and establish the tribes as distinct ethnic groups. Music and dance are part of their spiritual traditions, and are used to reenact folk stories and myths from sacred texts such as the Ramayana, as well as to pay homage to, or ask for blessings from, their deities or gods.

Accompanying the dance are wind instruments including the pihom (gourd pipe), the pi joom(reed pipe), the kan nam tao (gourd flute), characteristic of the northern Tai Lue, Tai Yuan and Lisu tribes. Drums such as the pu-che are occasionaly featured in this type of performance.

Adorning beautiful costumes and huge fans on their backs that look like large wings, female dancers evoke the movements of a bird through hand gestures and choreography. The fon king kala is a traditional dance of the Tai Yai people, who were originally from the Burmese Shan State. It is performed on the day after Buddhist Lent, also known as och pansa, to welcome Buddha back to Earth.

Fon Ngiao Types of Dances The northern styles of dance are based on the fon-style of dance from the ancient kingdom of Lanna. Dances performed by females are often slow and highlight the gentle and graceful movements. These are traditionally performed in large groups to the rhythms of folk instruments such as sueng (4-stringed Lanna instrument), salor (a bowed string instrument), and phin-phia (a type of lute). Dances performed by males often feature the thunderous sound of drums, which highlights their strength and boosts the morale of the people. Fon Khan Dok Traditionally part of ritual ceremonies, khan dok pays homage to the spirit of the Chiang Mai City Pillar, Sao Inthakin. It is performed by female dancers as a blessing of the Tri Ratana—which comprises the Buddha, the Dharma

An ethnic dance of the Ngiao tribe who live in the mountains of northern Thailand, this performance is one of welcoming and blessing of guests from outside the tribe. It is an auspicious ceremony and is also performed at weddings and housewarmings.

Fon Phang Prathip Traditionally an all-male performance in homage to Buddha, this religious ceremony now includes female dancers. This piece has roots in Burmese culture, as a result of the influences the Burmese had on the Thais during and following their occupation in the mid-16th to 18th centuries. Slow yet festive, it involves dancing with tiny lamps on the palms. Fon phang prathip, is a significant part of royal performances; dancers were, in the past, picked by the royal court to undergo training. This candle dance is originally from the Tai Kheun tribe.

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Saman - Dance of a Thousand Hands by Sekolah Indonesia Kuala Lumpur 17 Apr, Fri, 8 - 8.30pm & 9.15 – 9.45pm 18 Apr, Sat, 8.15 - 8.45pm & 9.30 – 10pm Esplanade Courtyard

A group of dancers move in perfect unison, conjuring the movement of the wind and forest, even the flow of water, with every gesture of their hands. It is a demonstration of absolute control of the mind and body. This captivating spectacle of 8–20 men performing a series of seamless rhythmic claps, chest slapping and hands hitting the floor (and other parts of the body) has earned Saman the title of “the dance of a thousand hands”. Electrifying and powerfully intense, it is because performers kneel in a tight row throughout the entire performance, drawing focus to their hands and heads as they execute each movement with deft precision, cohesiveness and speed.

Traditionally performed by an exclusively all-male group, often in odd numbers. Each performer wears a black costume with Gayo kerawang (filigree and embroidery) symbolising noble values and nature. Motifs on Saman costumes carry particular meaning: black represents tradition; red for courage, white for sincere intention, green for determination and diligence, and yellow for mindfulness in all conduct.

The Call of Saman through Music and Dance Saman is a tribal dance from Indonesia’s Gayo highlands in Banda Aceh, based on a folk game called Pok Ane, which means clapping hands while singing.Traditionally performed in celebration of national and religious holidays such as the birth of the prophet Muhammad, it is deeply rooted in Islam and Gayo culture, and festive in nature. Each performance combines dance and the singing of songs and poetry. The lyrics contain folk verses about nature, love and the everyday as well as Islamic teachings, mostly in the Gayo language, guided by the leader of the group known as a syech, who sits in the middle.

Embodying the Spirit of Islam and Gayo Culture Historically, Banda Aceh has been known as the centre of Islamic teaching in Southeast Asia as it was one of the first kingdoms to embrace the Islamic faith in the Indonesia Archipelago. It was also where thousands of hajj pilgrims from all over began their journey to Mecca. The region is rich in Islamic devotional art forms such as dance, music and shadow puppetry, which were used by religious teachers to spread their faith. Saman was created by and named after a 14th century cleric called Syech Saman, an ulama (religious teacher) who used it as a medium for Islamic preaching, infusing poetry of religious teachings with dance while expressing the values and beliefs of the Gayo people. He believed that loudness and motion were necessary and effective in producing the desired mental state to gain heightened awareness of a divine presence.

Born out of the natural and cultural landscape of the Gayo people, harmony is central to Saman. The aim of every performance is to move as a single entity so as to strengthen the bond with God, nature and one another. This sense of community is articulated with great precision in the interlocking rhythms and intertwining gestures. Whether in expressing the gentle rustling of leaves or the rolling winds from beyond the hills, Saman at its very heart embodies humility, equality, solidarity and unity. Before every performance begins, an elder from the community will address the performers and audience to impart some words of wisdoms. Unlike other Acehnese song and dance forms where vocalists had distinct roles, the Syech blends in with the group. There are five singing components in every performance, which changes in pace, accompanied by its own set of movements and rhythms: rengum, an opening hum, or the preamble of the dance, performed by the syech; dering, the collectively response of the other performers to establish their presence in nature; redet, a short song sung in a low tone by the syech; syek, the song sung with a long, high-pitched voice to signal a change in movement and pace; saur, a call-and-response vocalised by a performer and simultaneously repeated by the others. Saman was recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2011 and was named the best ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort by the ASEAN Tourism Association the following year. Today, it is performed all around the world in countries such as Australia and Europe. 33

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Rhythms of Cuban Santeria by Yemaya Folklore Group 19 Apr, Sun, 7 - 7.30pm & 8.15 - 8.45pm Esplanade Courtyard Clandestine Practices of Santería With roots in slave history and oppression, Santería is a syncretic religion of the African Diaspora in Cuba that is based on Yoruba—or Lucumi as it is called in Cuba—beliefs and traditions (namely, the worship of semi-divine spirits or deities called orishas), fused with elements of Spanish Catholicism. Santería (the Spanish word for “the worship of saints”) in its earliest days was once an exclusive slave practice that was shrouded in secrecy. Rejecting their masters’ Catholic beliefs, and in preserving their religious traditions, the priests and priestesses of the orishas operated clandestinely, disguising their deities behind Catholic saints to escape the draconian command of slave masters and the intolerance of the Cuban Catholic Church. Much of their spiritual rituals, invocations and songs were passed down generations through oral tradition. It is Santerían belief that the orishas they worshipped came in different forms. Each possessed an attribute that matched the saints of Catholicism, which Santerían priests and priestesses paired together, incorporating the saints’ images within their own altars.

Rites of Secrecy According to the faith, everyone is appointed his or her own orisha, a spirit guide. The relationship between the person and their orisha is initiated and deepened through divination and consecration, in a weeklong process known as “making santo”. They are also tasked with attending to their orisha, which usually involves holding drumming ceremonies known as the toques de santo. Such is one of the roles of ceremony in Santería, for calling out to the spiritual world, to connect through music. It was in the secret ceremonies and rituals of the 1930s where the first rhythms took form, rhythms that not only complemented the tonal language of the Yoruba but would also influence the earliest form of Latin music. Drumming, chanting and dancing became central to worship as the rhythms grew more interlocking, subtle and intricate, and as the melodies of the chants and ceremonial music became more profound and haunting. Precise rhythms are performed for specific deities while worshippers sing call-and-response songs in archaic Yoruba, led by the lead singer known as an apón, in attempt to reach out to the spiritual world via spirit possession. The entire ceremony often lasts between four to six hours.

Instruments of Spirituality Rhythms play a vital role in Santería music. Batá drums, or consecrated drums, are regarded as manifestations of the orishas. Comprising a set of three hourglass-shaped drums of different sizes, the largest of the lot, which is always in the middle, is the Iya (mother), dedicated to the orisha Yemaya, the patron deity of women and the Ogun river. The mediumsized drum is called the Itotele, dedicated to Oshun, who presides over love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy. The smallest drum, called the okonkolo, belongs to Shango, the spirit of thunder and lightning. Batá drums are double-headed, carved from solid wood with their open ends covered in goat skins. One end is larger than the other, which allows the percussionist to exercise a latitude of intricate rhythms as he strikes both heads. The large end of the drum is called the inu (mouth) while end the other is called chacha. Batá drummers are all male and belong to a fraternity accessible only through ritual initiation. They are valued not only for knowing how to play a toque correctly, but are admired for their creative interpretations. Central to their drumming aesthetics is the development of a signature sound and representing the stories of the orishas in engaging ways.

From Secret to Secular Today, Santería is gaining ground as an accepted and popular religious practice in Cuba and other parts of the world (due to the mass migration of Afro-Cubans to the USA during the 19th century). Many well-known Latin musicians are Santería followers. Carlos Santana, for example, incorporated orisha-themes and rhythms into his songs, including Hannibal, which includes a Yoruba chant to Shango. Another popular singer is Adalberto Alvarez, whose song Y Que Tú Quieres Que Te Den opens with an a capella rendition of a Santería prayer and makes references to orichas.

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Symphony of

Colors

Mid 19th Century Isfahaan cyprus tree

Lotto Carpets Gallery

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Stirrings Esplanade Concourse Sacred music has the ability to awaken in us thoughts and emotions at once intuitive and obscure, transcendental yet remarkably, deeply comforting. Come experience the different expressions of faith as we bring you ritual music of Central Asia shamanism, choral works from the Renaissance and Baroque, devotional songs from India â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sounds to stir the depths of your soul.

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Music of Manchuria by Xiao Han & Abka Band 16 Apr, Thu, 9.30 – 10.15pm 17 Apr, Fri, 7 – 8pm 18 Apr, Sat, 6 – 7pm, 7.30 – 8.30pm Esplanade Concourse

Tanggu aniya taran aku, Ninju aniya nimeku aku “May we be for a hundred years without sweat, may we be for sixty years without sickness.” —Hereditary shaman prayer Bordered by modern-day Russia and North Korea, the northeastern Chinese region of Manchuria is a land of fertile plains, rugged mountains and forests. It is also the traditional home of the Jurchen people—later known as the Manchus. The Jurchens took pride in horsemanship, archery and led a semi-normadic lifestyle in which living, convening and negotiating with the forces of nature was of importance to everyday life.

Manchurian ritual music include flutes and metal jaw harps. During the ritual, the chief shaman is also the one with the richest shamanic experience, the most proficient playing techniques and with the most expressional performance. Traditional scriptures may be chanted, along with epic songs of creation myths containing the names of the deities, ancestors and spirits. Aside from being healers and mediums, the shaman is a tribe’s repository of myths, legends and history.

Shamanism in Manchuria Shamanism was practiced by the Jurchens at least as far back as the 11th century, and through the diverse background of its tribes, three main types of shamanism evolved: the “wild” shaman, chosen by spirits to act as a medium to heal and exorcise; the “hereditary” shaman whose role is passed down through families; and the “court” shaman who attended to shamanic rites of the imperial court during the Aisin and Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). All three branches of shamanism share a common belief that the universe is divided into three worlds—a heavenly realm where deities lived, the world of living beings, and the nether world inhabited by evil spirits and the dead. The three realms were said to be linked by a cosmic tree, through which the shaman could travel across the realms to intercede with deities as well as to fend off evil forces and illness.

Music and Tales of Manchurian Shamanism The primary instrument of the shaman is a frame drum, which acts as a vehicle in his spiritual journeys, with the drumstick symbolising a mystical horse. It is believed that through a shamanic trance the gods and spirits could be contacted by varying the sounds and rhythm patterns of the drum. Waist bells may also be worn in ceremonies to ward off demons as they symbolise wind and thunder. Other instruments linked to

One popular shamanic epic describes the battle between a “Heavenly Mother”, Abka Hehe, who symbolises the good of the world, against the forces of evil in the form of the deity, Yeluli. In the legend, Yeluli personifies evil, darkness, destruction and deceit. With the help of several animal deities, Abka Hehe successful banishes Yeluli to live in the Netherworld. She then becomes an immortal and invincible goddess of the universe who protects heaven and earth for generations to come.

Bio of Xiao Han A singer-songwriter of more than 20 years, Xiao Han has adopted northeastern Asian music elements in his work for the past decade. Shaman Epic Music is a conceptual work of neo-nationalist music based on academic research combining anthropology, musicology and cultural studies of ethnic music in northeast Asia. It also incorporates the mythology of shamans of the age-old northeastern Asian ethnicity, the majority of whom are Tungusic Manchu. Integrated with postmodern technique of musical expression, the physical shape and structure of the instruments, the acoustics, and even the compositional guidance adhere to the logic of the northeastern Asian ethnicity of Manchu. Xiao Han’s representative works, The Manchu Epic Music and The Monument of Youth, are characteristic of serial Manchu shamanist musicals. 37

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Free Programmes

Sacred Music of the Renaissance and Baroque by Singabella 18 Apr, Sat, 4 – 4.30pm & 5 – 5.30pm 19 Apr, Sun, 6.45 – 7.15pm & 7.45 – 8.15pm Esplanade Concourse In early modern history, the Renaissance (14th–17th century) marked a great cultural awakening and the blossoming of the arts, philosophy and sciences in the western hemisphere, an era loosely referred to as the Age of Exploration. As voyagers set sail to explore new lands and as scientists made significant discoveries, a newfound interest in Classical learning and humanism brought about a search for realism and human emotion in the arts. This reverence for the humanist ideal and revival of Classical thinking had a profound influence on sacred music. One of the most significant events in the Renaissance period was the Protestant Reformation, which originated in Germany, 1517, led by a friar named Martin Luther. It was Luther’s belief that music played a vital role in connecting people with God, and that it was every man and woman’s right to be allowed to worship in his or her own language. Luther created a repertory of hymns and chorales, merging religious texts with secular music and adapting existing chants and melodies while composing entirely new chorales of simple metrical tunes with rhyming verses. In response, the Catholic Church set up its own countermeasures to rid itself of unwanted practices and to encourage greater piety. This not only resulted in many liturgical reforms but also drew emphasis to music and its ability to affect the emotions of the faithful. Influenced by the humanist ideal of the Renaissance, music became a means of lifting the human spirit and conveying sacred texts intelligibly and expressively. One of the leading composers of church music during this period was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who has been credited with saving sacred polyphony. Pure and unrestrained, Palestrina’s music was praised for its clarity and balance, and said to capture the essence of the conservative, sober, yet elegant Counter-Reformation spirit. His style continues to be a model for church music composition.

The Baroque Period (1600–1750 AD) As the Renaissance came to an end, the Baroque period that followed heralded an age of mathematical, philosophical and scientific progress that signaled the birth of modern Europe.

The intellectual, artistic and social landscape flourished, and along with it, a new musical language which departed from the Renaissance style of clarity, balance and purity, to a more florid expression of emotion. Where Renaissance composers focused on music as an extension of a text, Baroque composers sought to convey the ‘affectional’ content of texts through order, ornamentation and complexity. One defining characteristic of Baroque music is that each piece or movement describes an emotion, as it was the belief that an individual can only be controlled by a single affect or emotion at any given time. In contrast to Renaissance polyphony, which gives equal focus to the voices, Baroque polyphony is dissonant; the voices in the chorus take distinct characteristics of their own, showing contrast in emotion as one section ends and another begins.

Sacred Vocal Music of the Baroque Period Much of the sacred music in this period was written for Mass. The Baroque era gave rise to the sacred oratorio and cantata. Many musicians who enjoyed the patronage of the church wrote sacred cantatas. These liturgical cantatas were in great demand in the both the Catholic and Protestant churches. Oratorios, on the other hand, were the most operatic of sacred works, complete with narratives, acts, real characters and implied action. Join the Singabellas as the take you on a journey through Renaissance and Baroque Europe, when the waves of religious change that swept across the continent had a profound impact on the sacred music of the times. Formed in 2015 by local soprano Wendy Woon, the Singabellas are made up of early music enthusiasts who come together to explore the rich repertoire of choral music from medieval times to the present day.

Programme Francisco Guerrero: Salve Regina; Josquin des Prez: Gaude Virgo; Francesco Gasparini: Adoramus Te Claudio Casciolini: Stabat Mater Dolorosa and Panis Angelicus; Henri du Mont: Panis Angelicus Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina: Adoramus Te; Loyset Compere: O Vos Omnes; Tomàs Luis de Victoria: Animam Meam Dilectam; Francisco de Penalosa: Adoro Te

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Free Programmes

Kabir Project: Journeys into Ajab Shahar by Shabnam Virmani, Vipul Rikhi and Gopal Singh Chouhan 18 Apr, Sat, 9 – 10pm 19 Apr, Sun, 5.15 – 6.15pm Esplanade Concourse If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong? If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without? Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West. Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram; All the men and women of the world are His living forms. Kabîr is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir. —jo khodâ masjid vasat hai, Kabir, tr. Rabindranath Tagore The poetry and songs of mystic poet-saint Kabir are some of the most quoted and influential texts in Indian literature and philosophy. Despite his use of arcane words and allusions, his works have an immediacy that is at once transcendental, truthful and universal. Pithy in style and replete with imagery, they draw from Hindu and Islamic teachings to express the everyday. To understand Kabir, one must first understand the society that influenced his life and work.

At one point in his life, Kabir was a disciple of the Hindu ascetic figure, Ramananda, for many years. The latter had a huge influence on his life, as evident in Kabir’s poems. It was in their discourses that he got acquainted with the Mullahs and Brahmins of today. He was also heavily inspired by Sufism, namely by the idea that Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians were all striving towards the same goal and that the outward observances that differentiated them were all false.

Indian Society and the Cultural Mix

Kabir became associated with the Sant Mat, a group of gurus from the northern Indian subcontinent whose teachings were guided by simple principles, such as the belief that the God that people worship across different cultures is in fact one of the same.

In the centuries preceding his birth, India was a place of unrest marked by holy wars between the Hindus and Muslims that were said to be more politically-motivated than they were religiously-driven. Warring kings and dynasties of Northern and Central India used religion as a means to gather support. Despite the conflict, the cross-cultural exchange between the two communities was undeniable; the Hindus adopted Muslim social customs such as the purdah (the practice of preventing men from seeing women) while the Muslims borrowed ideas from the Hindu caste system. Indo-Aryan languages evolved, influenced by Muslim literary languages such Persian and Arabic, and Hindu languages such as Sanskrit and the dialects. In the mid-11th century, Persian and Turkish immigrants also settled in India, bringing Sufism along with them.

Weaver by Trade, Philosopher at Heart

Poetry and Song Kabir rejected any associations with religious groups, choosing instead to express the truths of his soul and embrace the spectrum of life in India. Through music he was able to express the infinite. Many of his teachings consist of religious and philosophical poetry. While he was known to openly criticise religion, his works carry the teachings of Sufism and the North Indian Hindu bhakti movement, the central tenet of which was that ritual was not as important as devotion. Furthermore, he regarded caste as irrelevant to liberation and stories exist of his challenges to the caste system.

While his early life remains shrouded in mystery, it is believed that Kabir lived in the Indian city of Benares in the 15th century, nearly 100 years before Shakespeare. One of the more popular legends has it that he was the son of a virgin Brahmin woman who abandoned him at birth, only to be found and adopted by a family of Muslim weavers. Growing up into the trade, he was never formally educated and was almost completely illiterate. It was believed that the only word that he learnt to write was “Rama”.

It was his songs, poetry, and the universality and spontaneous expressions of his philosophy that made his works so accessible to the common people. Kabir’s works captured a diverse range of mystical emotions, expressed in his metaphors and religious symbols drawn from Islamic and Hindu beliefs. At the same time, they were rooted in reality in the way he exalted the value of home and life while expressing the trials of the people in his caste.

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Free Programmes

Suttas in Pali Dhammanusari Chanting Group 19 Apr, Sun, 3 – 3.30pm & 4 – 4.30pm Esplanade Concourse

Etena sacca vajjena dukkha vupa samentu te! (By the power of this truth, may you be free from suffering!) —from the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

The island nation of Sri Lanka is known to be the oldest Buddhist country, with Theravāda Buddhism arriving on its shores in the 3rd century BCE and being adopted as the state religion. The teachings and discourses of the Buddha and his disciples were first passed down orally before they were recorded as suttas in Pāli(a classical literary Indian language) in 29 BCE. These suttas formed the first known and most complete collection of Buddhist scriptures known today.

The Practice of Chanting For the Theravāda Buddhists of Sri Lanka, chanting Pāli suttas serves several purposes. It is a way for the Buddha’s teachings to be memorised, learned and transmitted. The chanting also serves as a form of meditation and focusing the mind. The calming and repeated lines of text are chanted with different melodic patterns, with distinct rhythmic patterns denoting the various parts of the sutta.

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Sermon in a Deer Park One of the important suttas of the Pāli cannon is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, also known as The Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth, thusly named as it was the Buddha’s first sermon, which set Buddhism in motion. The discourse took place in the 6th century BCE, within the scenic deer park of the city of Isipathana (present day Sarnath, north of Varanasi).

The Dhammānusāri Chanting Group The Dhammanusari Chanting Group of Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple was founded in 2007 when a small group of devotees gathered to learn the chanting of key Buddhist suttas in Pāli. These suttas are usually recited as part of daily Buddhist devotional practice and during festivities and religious ceremonies. In 2014, the group made their first appearance when it recited the Buddha’s first discourse, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, at the Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple’s Relics Exhibition held on Vesak Day as part of the temple’s religious observances. The group subsequently produced a CD and booklet of the sutta. Comprising devotees from all walks of life,The Dhammānusāri Chanting Group is led and trained byVenerable K Rathanasara, resident monk of the Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple. For its performance at A Tapestry of Sacred Music, The Dhammānusāri Chanting Group will recite excerpts from Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.

This poetic text is treasured by Buddhists as it introduces the central concepts of Buddhist teachings, such as The Four Nobel Truths and The Middle Path. It instructs followers on the causes of suffering and the path leading to perfect happiness and peace.

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Free Programmes

Workshops Esplanade Rehearsal Studio By Registration Only

Introduction to African Gospel Music by Soweto Gospel Choir 15 Apr, 8pm Participants will get to learn more on the background of the music behind Soweto Gospel Choir as well as the fundamentals of choir singing. No experience required.

Nasheed Masterclass by Noureddine Khourchid 19 Apr, 11am Observe Noureddine Khourchid as he conducts a masterclass to three groups of local nasheed practitioners. Limited Capacity. Interested participants please RSVPs to rtejala@esplanade.com and leave your names, email and contact details. Registration will close once capacity is full.

Beginners Workshop to Playing Ecuadorian Panpipes and Flutes by SISAY 18 Apr, 3pm The Ecuadorian panpipes (zampona) and flute (quena) are traditional South American instruments used in ceremonies, celebrations and even popular music. Learn how to play these flutes in our workshop with the members of SISAY. No experience required, suitable for aged 6 and above.

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Free Programmes

Talks Library@Esplanade Free Admission

The Musical Tradition of Occitan by Manu Théron (Lo Còr de la Plana) 18 Apr, Sat, 5 – 6pm

A History of Native South American Sacred Music by Luis Maigua (SISAY) 19 Apr, Sun, 5 – 6pm

Join the artistic director of Lo Còr de la Plana, Émmanuel Theron, as he introduces the musical traditions of Occitan, the ancient language of the south of France. Favoured by the medieval poet-musicians of the region, the troubadours, Occitan declined from the 13th century but it has enjoyed a revival of late, with musicians and artists re-appropriating the cultural heritage of the language through contemporary sensibilities. In this talk, Manu Theron will explore the rich history of Occitan song and poetry and also look at ways in which groups like Lo Còr de la Plana are reviving and adapting this ancient tradition for 21st century audiences.

For the native people in Abya-Yala (original name of America before Columbus), music was a sacred art, and a powerful means of communication with the divine world, balancing people minds and souls to live in harmony with Mother Earth. The music was present in ceremonies for healing, bringing success in battle and hunting. Comprising of a strictly symbolic and abstract meaning, the music was passed down orally and over time was integrated into the secular folk music of South America and continues to be the part of a popular musical expression today. Learn more about the spiritual music of the Native South Americans in this talk by SISAY’s Executive Producer, Luis Maigua, himself a descendent of the Imbayas people of the Incan Impire. He will share about the history and background of this unique sacred music, its meaning, and how it seeks to connect with nature.

Introduction to Kabir - Poems of a Mystic by Shabnam Virmani and Vipul Rikhi 19 Apr, Sun, 3 – 4pm The circumstances of the Indian mystic-poet Kabir’s life are shrouded in mystery just as his exquisite poems are. What is known is that he was born into a family of recently converted Muslim weavers in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. His writings thus draw as much on Hindu notions of Bhakti (devotional love) as they do on Sufi philosophy, creating a uniquely Indian brand of Sufism that would spread across the sub-continent and impact both Hindus and Muslims for generations to come. Join researchers and musicians Shabnam Virmani and Vipul Rikhi as they share their journeys through the worlds of Kabir, exploring the breadth of his influence of music in India today. 42

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Esplanade Presents

You are invited. Enjoy an entertaining, engaging and inspiring arts experience with us at our diverse programmes throughout the year as we celebrate our 50th year of nationhood. Join us in expressing who we are through the arts and collect limited edition Esplanade SG50 magnets at selected Esplanade Presents festivals or series throughout 2015.

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Es Pr plan es ad en e ts

Esplanade Presents

Visit www.esplanade.com/sg50 for more details.

An Invitation To Seek

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An Invitation To Understand

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EsplanadeSG

An Invitation To Dare

An Inv itat To Dion are

An Invitation To Be One

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UEN: 199205206G Information correct at time of print.

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Visual Arts Tunnel

Memories by Chua Chye Teck 16 Apr – 19 Jul

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose* As Chua wanders around on his daily outings, he picks up objects of interesting shapes and sizes that catch his attention. Many have turned out to be materials left from construction projects. Similar to how modern, high-rise buildings are realised from simple, unassuming construction materials, these discarded objects are transformed through photography into works of art. The subtleties in Chua’s photography echo the development of Singapore; its ability to shift our perception mimics the constant changing of our landscape and the cloaking of the essentials by ever-shifting façades. * The more things change, the more they stay the same – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse KARR, 1849

Community Wall

Making Working Time by Izziyana Suhaimi 10 Apr – 24 May

Embroidery – incorporating motifs from traditional and contemporary embroidery – is the medium through which the artist expresses and visualises time as a thing that can be physically handled. Each stitch represents a moment passed, an instant filled with sentiment. The building of stitches becomes a representation of time passing, a recording of the maker’s thoughts and emotions. The final work is a physical manifestation of time - a time object. Like a diary, it documents a period in the maker’s history, a story shared and yet withheld. 44

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Concourse Steps

Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning In collaboration with Mohamad Riduan 15 Jan -19 Apr

Delving into the history of the pre-Islamic Melayu world, the artist learnt about the empire of Srivijaya (7th-13th century) which began with visionary Malay king Dapunta Hyang Jayanasa who aspired to conquer Southeast Asia. It is said that King Dapunta, with 20,000 men, began his conquest in year 684 in a journey called Siddhayatra, and acquired the Straits of Malacca, the Sunda Straits, the South China Sea, the Java Sea and the Karimata Straits. The artist found the story of Dapunta’s conquest fascinating. He envisaged a 7th century Malay Buddhistic/ animistic world where ships were vessels seeking power, fortune and magic power, each vessel a house of knowledge and a dungeon of death and torture. This installation explores the structure of warring ships in this region. For this purpose, the artist chose his own ancestry - Bugis of Makkasar - as the Bugis warlords were one of the most sophisticated ship builders, and chose the Phinisi boat – which combines the design of a fishing boat and a warring ship – as his inspiration. The question remains: how did such an important part of history become obsolete and forgotten? The artist found poignancy in representing this with the ship dragging on pillars of books, each a vessel of the transmission of knowledge.

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Esplanade Presents

da:ns series

“…a roaring, madcap success” Financial Times, UK

14 – 17 May 2015, Thu –Sun Esplanade Theatre

The Independent

In this swashbuckling tale of harem girls and pirates, love and betrayal, deception and conspiracy, witness the sheer energy of the English National Ballet, led by Tamara Rojo, as they make their long awaited arrival to our shores with one of ballet’s most thrilling adventures.

“visually gorgeous” The Observer

Student Concessions: $30*, $50** NSFs and Senior Citizen Concessions: $42*, $70**

Book Now!

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Photography by ASH

$60*, $100**, $140, $180, $220 Alina Cojocaru and Junor Souza

Tickets available at Esplanade Box Office, SISTIC authorised agents and website. SISTIC hotline: 6348 5555. Terms and Conditions apply. LIFESTYLE SPONSOR

Q ua lity pro ducts o f VIZ BRANZ

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CMY

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ith the w s e v Gif Li g to n i h

“The beneficiaries discovered themselves and found the session A Community Engagementbetter Programme to be a therapeutic experience.” – A VWO facilitator on a creative workshop. “It was a new experience and wonderful evening that was simply perfect. We will remember this for a long time.”– On being hosted at a performance at Esplanade Concert Hall.

You can help make a difference. Your generous donations will help in creating incredible arts experiences for more. For more information, please contact us at 6828 8321 or donations@esplanade.com. A Community Engagement Programme by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore 038981 Tel: 6828 8222 Fax: 6337 3633 Customer Service Hotline: 6828 8377 SISTIC Hotline: 6348 5555

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As part of Esplanadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s year-long celebration of Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s golden jubilee, A Tapestry of Sacred Music invites you to seek fulfilment through paths illuminated by the sounds and voices of devotion.