Work
na jayate mriyate...
for female vocal sextet and harp
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“[the soul] never takes birth and never dies…” (title translation)
In this work, I have used ancient words (2 verses) from Bhagavad Gita, taken from the English translation of the original Sanskrit, and then translated into the living language of Hindi, as a symbol of the eternity of the soul manifesting beyond the ages of human-measured time. I have added two Māori words, which appear throughout the piece: “atua” (which I interpret to mean an individual soul – interestingly similar in sound to the Hindi word “aatma”) and “wairua” (which I interpret as the spirit within each living being), and the Sanskrit title, “na jayate mriyate”, is also sung. As I was writing the work, the universal phrase “aum namah Shivaya” (in celebration of life and of the Hindu god Shiva) kept coming to mind, and this is integrated into the music, its recurring meditative presence eventually culminating in positive outbursts of joy.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by Baroque Voices with funding from Creative New Zealand