#4783, Music Based on the Bhagavad Gita
There’s music based on or inspired by ancient Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita, and the larger epic poem that contains it, the Mahabharata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics. At the heart of the saga is a conflict between two branches of a royal family whose feud culminates in a titanic eighteen-day battle, (Wikipedia). Listen to mostly western composers -  Americans like Philip Glass, Douglas Cuomo, and John Adams, and English composer Jocelyn Pook – and a soundtrack to a film, improvised and inspired by this great poem of the world.
Listen to some of a chamber opera by Douglas Cuomo, Arjuna’s Dilemma, drawn from the Bhagavad Gita. The work uses both Western and Indian classical elements, mixed with jazz and Gregorian-style chant, to create a tale of conflict between duty and conscience. There’s also music by English composer/violist/arranger/producer Jocelyn Pook which uses the voice of J. Robert Oppenheimer, quoting from the Bhagavad Gita. Then, hear music from John Adams’ opera Doctor Atomic - the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s creation of first atomic bomb. The specific selection was a translation from the Bhagavad Gita:
At the sight of this, your Shape stupendous,
Full of mouths and eyes, feet, thighs and bellies,
Terrible with fangs, O master,
All the worlds are fear-struck, even just as I am.
When I see you, Vishnu, omnipresent,
Shouldering the sky, in hues of rainbow,
With your mouths agape and flame-eyes staring—
All my peace is gone; my heart is troubled.
Listen also to a portion of Act 1 of Satyagraha by Philip Glass, featuring the New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus. The opera’s text is from the Bhagavad Gita, and sung in the original Sanskrit.  – Caryn Havlik
Program #4783, Music Based on the Bhagavad Gita (First aired 8/24/2023)
ARTIST: New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus | Christopher Keene, conductor
WORK:Â Philip Glass: Satyagraha Act 1:Â The Vow [2:00]
RECORDING:Â Satyagraha
SOURCE:Â CBS/Sony 62960
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
ARTIST:Â Jocelyn Pook
WORK:Â Oppenheimer [6:41]
RECORDING:Â Flood
SOURCE:Â EMI / Venture Records - #8481502
INFO: Available at Amazon.comÂ
ARTIST: New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus | Christopher Keene, conductor
WORK: Philip Glass: Satyagraha Act 1: The Vow [11:40]
RECORDING:Â Satyagraha
SOURCE:Â CBS/Sony 62960
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
ARTIST: Various Artists
WORK: Draupadi [1:32]
RECORDING: The Mahabharata (Original Soundtrack)
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: realworldrecords.com
ARTIST: Various Artists
WORK: Rabindranath Tagore: Ontoro Momo [8:47]
RECORDING: The Mahabharata (Original Soundtrack)
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO:Â realworldrecords.com
ARTIST: Various Artists
WORK: Cities [:34]
RECORDING: The Mahabharata (Original Soundtrack)
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO:Â realworldrecords.comÂ
ARTIST: BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Cond. John Adams
WORK: Doctor Atomic, Act II, Scene 3: Chorus - "At the sight of this" [4:39]
RECORDING: John Adams: Doctor Atomic
SOURCE:Â Nonesuch
INFO:Â nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Douglas Cuomo, Alan Johnson, Amit Chatterjee, Badal Roy, Bob Franceschini, Kathleen Supove, Robert Black, Tony Boutte, ETHEL
WORK: Arjuna's Dilemma: Scene 1, "The Dilemma": O Krishna [5:26]
RECORDING: Arjuna's Dilemma
SOURCE: Innova
INFO:Â innova.mu
ARTIST: Douglas Cuomo, Alan Johnson, Amit Chatterjee, Badal Roy, Bob Franceschini, Kathleen Supove, Robert Black, Tony Boutte, ETHEL
WORK: Arjuna's Dilemma: Scene 3, "The Vision": Epilogue: I Will Fight [4:01]
RECORDING: Arjuna's Dilemma
SOURCE: Innova
INFO:Â innova.mu
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