recordings
Symphony No. 5
Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya
2000
Music by Philip Glass
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

Catalog

Nonesuch 79618-2

Tracks

DISC ONE
1. I Before the Creation 6:56
2. II Creation of The Cosmos 6:36
3. III Creation of Sentient Beings 7:41
4. IV Creation of Human Beings 7:27
5. V Love and Joy 8:23
6. VI Evil and Ignorance 5:56

DISC TWO
1. VII Suffering 8:29
2. VIII Compassion 9:14
3. IX Death 8:38
4. X Judgment and Apocalypse 8:52
5. XI Paradise 8:32
6. XII Dedication of Merit 10:03

Notes

A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PAST, THE PRESENT and THE FUTURE

The symphony was commissioned and conceived as a millennium celebration work for the Salzburg Festival. My plan has been for the symphony to represent a broad spectrum of many of the world’s great “wisdom” traditions. Working together with the Very Reverend James Parks Morton of the Interfaith Center of New York and Professor Kusumita P. Pedersen of St. Francis College, we synthesized a vocal text that begins before the world’s creation, passes through earthly life and paradise, and closes with a future dedication. We are looking at the moment of the millennium as a bridge between the past (represented by the “Requiem” and embodying the first nine movements up to the moment of Death) the present (the “Bardo” representing the “in between”) and culminating in “Nirmanakaya” (rebirth as manifestation of enlightened activity). We have elected to present the original texts (Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and indigenous languages) in one language, English, to show the commonalities with which all these traditions resonate. For a work of this scale it seemed fitting to add chorus, children’s choir and soloists to the usual symphonic ensemble, thereby giving it ample breadth and dramatic capability.

Besides being a compendium of reflection on the process of global transformation and evolution, it is hoped that the work will serve as a strong and positive celebration of the millennium year.

— Philip Glass

Texts

Compiled and edited by Philip Glass, James Parks Morton, and Kusumita P. Pedersen.

I BEFORE THE CREATION

There was neither non-existence nor existence then;
there was neither realm of space nor the sky which is beyond.
What stirred? Where? In whose protection?
Was there water, bottomlessly deep?

There was neither death nor immortality [then].
There was no [distinguishing] sign of night nor of day.
That One breathed, windless, by Its own impulse.
Other than that there was nothing beyond.

Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning;
with no [distinguishing] sign, all this was water.
The life force that was covered with emptiness,
That One arose through the power of heat.

Desire came upon That One in the beginning;
that was the first seed of mind.
Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom found
the bond of existence in non-existence.

Their cord was extended across.
Was there below? Was there above?
There were seed-placers; there were powers.
There was impulse beneath; there was giving-forth above.

Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of the universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen –
perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not –
the one who looks down [on it], in the highest heaven,
only he knows – or perhaps he does not know.

– The Rig Veda 10.129

II CREATION OF THE COSMOS

When He decrees a thing,
He but says to it,
“Be,” and it is.

– The Qur’an 2:117

In the beginning
when God made heaven and earth,
the earth was without form and void,
with darkness over the face of the abyss;
and a mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light;
And God saw that the light was good;
and He separated light from darkness.
He called the light day, and the darkness night.
[So evening came and morning came, the first day.] So God said:
“Let there be a vault between the waters,
to separate water from water.”
[So God made the vault,
and separated the water under the dome
from the waters which above it,] and so it was;
and God called the vault Heaven.

– Genesis 1:1-8

When space turned around, the earth heated,
When space turned over, the sky reversed,
When the sun appeared standing in the shadows
To cause light to make bright the moon,
When the Pleiades are small eyes in the night,
From the source in the earth was earth formed.
From the source in the dark was darkness formed.
From the source in the night was night formed.
From the depths of darkness, darkness so deep;
Darkness of day, darkness of night,
Of night alone.

– The Kumulipo

“White clouds shall float up
from the great waters at the border of the world
clustering about the mountain terraces.
They shall be borne aloft and abroad
by the breath of the surpassing soul-beings,
by the breath of the children,
they shall be hardened and broken by your cold,
shedding downward, in rain-spray, the water of life
into the hollow places of my lap.”

“Not only you shall help our children!”
And he spread his hand out with the palm downward.
Into all the wrinkles and crevices
he set things looking like shining yellow corn-grains;
in the dark of the early world-dawn they gleamed like sparks of fire.
They moved as his hand moved over the terraces,
shining up from below,
moving in the depths of the water.

“And as these grains gleam up from the water,
so shall seed grains like them, but numberless,
spring up from your bosom
when touched by my waters
to nourish our children.”

– Zuñi Creation Story

III CREATION OF SENTIENT BEINGS

Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto stood on the floating bridge of Heaven and held counsel together, saying,

“Is there not a country below?”

Thereupon they thrust down the jewel-spear of Heaven,
and groping about found the ocean.
The brine which dripped from the point of the spear came together
and became an island. This island was named
Ono-goro-jima,
and they made Ono-goro-jima the pillar of the center of the land.

Now the male god circled to the left,
and the female god circled to the right,
they went round the pillar separately.
When they met
they united as husband and wife.
They gave birth to the islands, the sea, the rivers, the mountains,
the ancestor of the trees, the ancestor of the herbs.

– The Nihongi

In the lead the whales proceed,
Mingling [and submerging] beneath the sea;
The ‘opule fish advance in the distance;
They fill the deep ocean;
Like kumimi crabs clustered on the reef;
the youngest is carried by the current into darkness.
Black as night the opaque sea.

– The Kumulipo

Zambe, the son of the One Who Bears the World,
dipped his hands in the water, and sprinkled hair all over the body of the chimpanzee and said to him, moreover, “You will always live in the forests.”

– Bulu Creation Story

Still Bumba our Creator was in pain.
He strained once again and from his mouth
nine living creatures came forth:
the leopard named Koy Bumba,
and Pongo Bumba the crested eagle,
the crocodile, Ganda Bumba,
and one little fish named Yo;
next, old Kono Bumba, the tortoise,
and Tsetse, the lightning, swift, deadly, beautiful like the leopard,
then the white heron, Nyanyi Bumba,
also one beetle,
and the goat named Budi.

The creatures themselves then created all the creatures.
The heron created [all] the birds of the air,
The crocodile made the serpents and the iguana,
The goat produced every beast with horns.
Yo, the small fish, brought forth all the fish of all the seas and waters.
The beetle created insects.
Then the serpents in their turn made grasshoppers
and the iguana made the creatures without horns.

– Boshongo Creation Story

IV CREATION OF HUMAN BEINGS

The dawn has approached
Preparations have been made
and the morning has come
for the provider, the nurturer
born in the light
begotten in the light

Morning has come for humankind
for the people of the face of the earth

The Creators went on thinking in the darkness, in the night
as they searched and they sifted
they thought and they wondered
and here their thoughts came out in clear light
they sought and discovered what was needed for human flesh

the yellow corn
the white corn
from the Split Place
from the Bitter Water Place
[the ears of yellow corn and white corn]

the corn became the human flesh
the water became the human blood
the making, the modeling of our first mother-father
This was done by the Bearer, Begetter
Sovereign Plumed Serpent

– The Popul Vuh

Surely We created man of clay
of molded mud
and before man, We created the jinn
of fire flaming.
And your Lord said to the angels,
“See, I am creating a mortal of clay
of molded mud.

When I have shaped him, and breathed My spirit in him, fall down,
and bow before him!”
Then the angels bowed [themselves
all together,] save Iblis; [he refused to be among those bowing.]

God said, “What ails you, Iblis, that
you are not among those bowing?”

Said he, “I would never bow
before a mortal
whom You have created of a clay
of molded mud.”

Said He,
“Then go forth from here;
you are accursed.
Upon you shall rest My curse, till
The Day of Doom.”

Said Iblis, “My Lord, respite me til the day
they shall be raised.”

Said He, “You are among those
that are respited unto the day
of a known time.”

Said he, “My Lord, since you have seduced me
I shall tempt mankind [so] on earth.”

– The Qur’an 15:26-37

V LOVE AND JOY

Come to the orchard in spring.
There is light and wine and sweethearts
in the pomegranate flowers.
If you do not come
these do not matter.
If you do come
these do not matter.

– Rumi

My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away!
for lo, the winter is past,
[the rain is over and gone.] The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”

Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden, let its fragrance be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits.

I come to my garden, my sister, my bride,
I gather my myrrh with my spice,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I drink my wine with my milk.

– The Song of Songs 2:10-12, 4:16, 5:1

As the mirror to my hand,
the flowers to my hair,
kohl to my eyes,
tambul to my mouth,
[musk to my breast,] necklace to my throat,
ecstasy to my flesh,
heart to my home –

as wing to bird,
water to fish,
life to the living –
so you to me.
But tell me,
Madhava, beloved,
who are you?
Who are you really?

Vidyãpati says, they are one another.

– Vidyãpati

At the first note of his flute
down came the lion gate of reverence for elders,
down came the door of dharma,
my guarded treasure of modesty was lost,
I was thrust to the ground as if by a thunderbolt.
Ah, yes, his dark body
[poised in the tribhanga pose] shot the arrow that pierced me;
no more honor, my family
lost to me,
[my home at Vraja
lost to me.] Only my life is left – and my life too
is only a breath that is leaving me.

– Jagadãnanda-dãsa

Come, come, whoever you are!
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
Come.
This is not a caravan of despair.
It doesn’t matter if you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Still come, and yet again come!

– Rumi

VI EVIL AND IGNORANCE

Thoughts came into existence and they gazed
Their vision came all at once
Perfectly they saw, perfectly they knew
[everything under the sky, wherever they looked] Everything was seen without obstruction
As they looked, their knowledge became intense
Their sight passed through trees, through rocks, through lakes,
through seas, through mountains, through plains
[they saw everything under the sky perfectly
they understood everything perfectly.]

“We have understood everything!” they said,
though they were only works and designs.
And so the Bearer, [Begetter,] took back their knowledge.
They were blinded as the face of a mirror is breathed on.
Their vision flickered.
They could only see clearly close up.

Such was the loss of understanding,
with the means of knowing everything.

– The Popul Vuh

All things, O monks, are on fire.
And what are things are on fire?

The eye is on fire, forms are on fire
the ear is on fire; sounds are on fire
the nose is on fire, odors are on fire
the tongue is on fire, tastes are on fire
the body is on fire, things touched are on fire
the mind is on fire, thoughts are on fire.

[And with what are these on fire?] Fire of passion
Fire of hatred
The fire of infatuation with birth, old age and death.

– The Fire Sermon,
from The Mahã-Vagga 1:21

Lost souls of little understanding and fierce deeds
rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction.

“This have I gotten today,
and that desire I will fulfill.
This wealth is mine, and that also shall be mine.
That enemy I have killed
and others I will kill.
I am the lord of all.
I enjoy, I am [prosperous], mighty and happy.
I am rich, of high birth.
Who is equal to me?
I will offer sacrifice, I will give, I will enjoy.”
Thus, deluded by ignorance,
[bewildered by so many fantasies,] entangled in the meshes of desire,
addicted to pleasure
they fall into loathsome hell.

– The Bhagavad Gitã 16:9, 13-16

VII SUFFERING

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but find no rest.

– Psalm 22:1-3

My limbs fail and my mouth is parched.
My body is shaken and my hair stands on end.
The bow Gandiva slips from my hand
[and my skin is on fire.] I cannot hold myself steady;
my mind seems to whirl.

– The Bhagavad Gitã 1:29-30

Let the day perish wherein I was born,
and the night which said,
‘A child is conceived.’
Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
nor light shine upon it.
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds dwell upon it;
let the blackness of [the] day terrify it.
That night – let thick darkness seize it!

Why did I not die at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should suck?
For then I should have lain down and been quiet;
I should have slept; then I should have been at rest.

Why is light given to him that is in misery,
and life to the bitter in soul,
who long for death, but it does not come,
they search for it more than hidden treasure,
who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad,
when they find the grave?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
For my sighing comes as my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like water.
For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
and what I dread befalls me.

– Job 3:2-6, 11-13, 20-25

There is no faithfulness or kindness,
and no knowledge of God in the land;
there is swearing, lying, [killing], stealing, [and committing adultery],
they break all bounds and murder follows murder,
Thus the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
and the beasts of the field,
and the birds of the air,
and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

– Hosea 4:1-3

VIII COMPASSION

All people have the heart
which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others.

– Mencius 2.A.6

Gladly do I rejoice
In the virtue that relieves the misery
Of all those who suffer
And place them in happiness.

Thus by the virtue collected
Through all that I have done,
May the pain of every living creature
Be completely cleared away.

May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Til everyone is healed.

May a rain of food and drink descend
To clear away the pain of thirst and hunger
And during the aeons of famine
May I myself change into food and drink.

May I become an inexhaustible treasure
For those who are poor and destitute;
May I turn into all the things they could need
And may these be placed close beside them.

– Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:1, 7-10
Sãntideva

The heart of compassion
Is the seed of benevolence.

– Mencius 2.A.6

May I be protector for those without one,
A guide for all travelers on the way;
[May I be] a bridge, a boat and a ship
For all who wish to cross the water.

May I be an island for those who seek one
And a lamp for those wishing light,
[May I be] a bed for all who wish to rest
And a slave for all who want a slave.

May I be a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
Powerful mantras and great medicine,
[May I become] a wish-fulfilling tree
And a cow of plenty for the world.

Just like space
And the great elements such as earth,
May I always support the life
Of all the boundless creatures.

And until they pass away from pain
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach unto the ends of space.

– Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:18-22
Sãntideva

I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you covered me,
I was sick and you visited me,
I was in prison and you came to me.

Truly I say to you, as you did it
for the least of [these] my brothers and sisters
You did it for me.

– Matthew 25: 35-36, 40

IX DEATH

People seldom find their way
To this wide and desolate plain.
Except for my grave, there is nothing here,
Only wild beasts roaming about
And quarreling over my bones.
The wandering ghosts that haunt this tomb
Fly with the wind over the pines,
Quick as a lightening flash before the eye,
And brief as the morning dew.
Must I remain forever hidden beneath the moss,
Here in these shadows of grass?
[Then] I would rather be buried once and for all,
in dark oblivion!
Such pains of desire burn my soul!
This is my dwelling, the Burning House,
This is my dwelling, the Burning House!

– The Sought-for Grave
Kanze Kiyotsugu Kan’ami

In this world
the living grow fewer,
the dead increase
how much longer must I carry this body of grief?

How sad,
to think I will end
as only
a pale green mist
drifting the far fields.

– Ono no Komachi

On a journey, ill
And over fields all withered
Dreams go wandering still.

– His Death Haiku
Bashõ Matsuo

My foes will become nothing.
My friends will become nothing.
I too will become nothing.
Likewise all will become nothing.

Just as in a dream
whatever I enjoy

will become a memory,
whatever has passed will not be seen again.

Leaving all I must depart alone.

– Bodhicaryãvatãra 2:35-36, 34
Sãntideva

X JUDGMENT AND APOCALYPSE

When heaven is split open,
when the stars are scattered,
when the seas swarm over,
when the tombs are overthrown,
then a soul shall know its works, the former and the latter.

– The Qur’an 82:1-5

When the sun shall be darkened,
when the stars shall be thrown down,
when the mountains shall be set moving,
when the pregnant camels shall be neglected,
when the savage beasts shall be mustered,
when the seas shall be set boiling, when the souls shall be coupled,
when the buried infant shall be asked for what sin she was slain,
when the scrolls shall be unrolled,
when heaven shall be stripped off,
when Hell shall be set blazing,
when Paradise shall be brought nigh,
then shall a soul know what it has produced.

– The Qur’an 81:1-14

Upon that day men shall issue in scatterings to see their works,
and whoso has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it,
and whoso has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.

– The Qur’an 99:5-6

That you are suffering so comes from your own actions;
it is not due to anybody else.
it is by your own actions.
The good spirit born with you,
will come now and count out your good deeds with white pebbles,
and the evil spirit born with you,
will come now and count out your evil deeds with black pebbles.
Then you will be frightened, awed and terrified.

Then the Lord of Death
will place round your neck a rope and drag you along;
he will cut off your head, extract your heart, pull out your guts,
lick up your brain, eat your flesh, and gnaw your bones,
but you will not die.
Although your body be hacked to pieces, it will live again.
and cause great pain and torture.
But be not frightened and terrified,
and fear not the Lord of Death.
Your body is the nature of emptiness,
you need not be afraid.
Emptiness cannot injure emptiness.
That is the emptiness of your true nature,
before whcih your mind shines clearly and lucidly,
and at which you feel awe,
emptiness by nature luminous,
luminous light inseparable from emptiness.

– The Tibetan Book of the Dead

At the end of four ages
The earth’s surface is wasted.

There arises a dreadful drought that lasts for a hundred years.
Then all these earthly beings perish completely through oppression.

And so Lord Vishnu, who abides in himself,
Appears as terrifying Shiva and destroys all creatures.

Through the sun’s seven rays, he drinks up all the water.

Then seven rays become seven suns
and, blazing, ignite all three worlds.

These worlds then blaze like a frying pan.

All things are consumed by flames.

Dreadful clouds arise.
Like elephants they fill up the sky.
Roaring loudly, pouring down rain,
They completely extinguish this dreadful fire.

When the fire is thoroughly quenched,
The clouds, raining day and night,
Overwhelm the entire world with water.

When everything has perished in the watery darkness,
Rain pours down for another hundred years.

So it is at the end of every Eon.

– The Vishnu Purãna

XI PARADISE

It is the time of union,
It is the time of vision,
It is the time of resurrection,
It is the time of grace,
It is the time of generosity,
The treasure of gifts has arrived,
The brilliance of the sea has flashed forth.
The dawn of blessing has arisen.

– Rumi

As was the man of dust,
so are those who are of dust;
as is the man of heaven,
so are those who are of heaven.
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,
we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
[When the perishable puts on the imperishable,
and the mortal puts on immortality,] then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

– First Corinthians 15:48-49, 54

On that shore [there] is a city, where the rain of nectar [pours and pours, and] never ceases.

There the sky is filled with music.
The harp strings jingle and there the drums beat.

There is no rising and setting of the sun;
In this ocean of love, day and night are one.

There I have seen joy filled to the brim.
There falls the rhythmic beat of life and death:
Rapture wells forth, [and all] space is radiant with light.

Millions of lamps of sun and of moon are burning;
There the drum beats, and the lover swings in play.
There love-songs resound, and the light rains in showers.

– Kabir

XII DEDICATION OF MERIT

May I be a protector for those without one
And a lamp for those desiring light,
[May I be] a bridge, a boat, a ship
For all who wish to cross the water.

May the forest of razor-sharp leaves
Become a beautiful pleasure grove,
And may the trees of knives and swords
Grow into wish-fulfilling trees.

May the regions of hell become places of joy
With vast and fragrant lotus pools
Beautiful with [the] exquisite calls
Of wild ducks, geese and swans.

May the heaps of burning coals change to heaps of jewels,
May the burning ground become a polished crystal floor,
And may the mountain of [the] crushing hells
Become celestial palaces of worship filled with Buddhas.

May the rains of lava, blazing stones and weapons
[From now on] become a rain of flowers,
And may all battling with weapons
[From now on] become a playful exchange of flowers.

May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food;
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the forlorn find new hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.

May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their illness,
And may every disease in the world
Never occur again.

May the troubled wanderers who have lost their way
Meet with fellow travelers,
And without any fear of thieves or tigers
May their going be easy without [any] fatigue.

May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wilderness –
The children, the aged, the unprotected,
Those stupefied and the insane –
Be guarded by beneficent celestials.

And may the land everywhere be pure,
Smooth and devoid of any rocks,
Level like the palm of the hand
[And] of the nature of lapis lazuli.

May the celestials bring timely rains
So that harvests may be bountiful.
May kings act in accordance with Dharma
And the people of the world always prosper.

By the merits I(‘ve accumulated),
May every single being
Abandon all forms of evil
And forever engage in virtue.

For as long as space endures
And (for) as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.

– Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:18, 10:6-9, 19-27, 35, 39, 31, 55
Sãntideva

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

I BEFORE THE CREATION
The Rig Veda 10.129 (Sanskrit)

O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, trans. “Creation Hymn” (Nasadiya). In The Rig Veda. Penguin Classics, 1981. © 1981 by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. Pages 25-6.

II CREATION OF THE COSMOS
The Qur’an 2:117 (Arabic)

Arberry, A. J. “The Cow.” In The Koran Interpreted, Combined in One Volume. New York: Macmillan, © 1973, 1955. Volume I, page 42.

Genesis 1:1-8 (Hebrew)

Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. The New English Bible. The New Testament, 2nd edition. [First edition 1961; The Old Testament first published 1970.] Reprinted by CollinsWorld.

The Kumulipo (Hawaiian)

Johnson, Rubellite Kawena, trans. Kumulipo: Hawaiian Hymn of Creation, Volume I. Honolulu: Topgallant Publishing, © 1981. Page 3, slightly adapted.

Zuñi Creation Story (Zuñi)

Adapted from Frank Cushing, “Outlines of Zuñi Creation Myths,” Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1896, pages 379-381. As cited in Barbara Sproul, ed. Primal Myths. San Francisco: HarperCollins, © 1979. Pages 285-6.

III CREATION OF SENTIENT BEINGS
The Nihongi (Japanese)

Aston, William George, trans. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697. London: 1896. As cited in Sources of Japanese Tradition. Volume I. Edited by William Theodore de Bary, Donald Keene, and Ryusaku Tsunoda. New York: Columbia University Press, © 1958. Pages 25-6.

The Kumulipo (Hawaiian)

Johnson, page 109.

Bulu Creation Story (Bulu)

Adapted from Adolf N. Krug, “Bulu Tales from Kamerun, West Africa,” Journal of American Folklore, 25 (1912-1913), pages 111-112. As cited in Barbara Sproul, ed. Primal Myths. San Francisco: HarperCollins, © 1979. Page 46.

Boshongo Creation Story (Bantu)

“Bushongo: Bumba Vomits the World,” adapted from Maria Leach, The Beginning. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1956, pages 145-147. As cited in Barbara Sproul, ed. Primal Myths. San Francisco: HarperCollins, © 1979. Pages 44-5.

IV CREATION OF HUMAN BEINGS
The Popul Vuh (Quiché Maya)

Tedlock, Dennis, trans. Popul Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. Revised edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, © 1985. Page 145, slightly adapted.

The Qur’an 15:26-37 (Arabic)

Arberry, “El-Hijr,” pages 282-3, slightly adapted.

V LOVE AND JOY
Rumi (Persian)

Barks, Coleman with John Moyne. The Essential Rumi. New York: HarperCollins, ©1995. Page 37.

The Song of Songs 2:10-12, 4:16, 5:1 (Hebrew)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, © 1946, 1952, and 1971. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Vidyãpati (Bengali)

Dimock, Edward C., Jr. and Denise Levertov. In Praise of Krishna: Songs from the Bengali. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, © 1967. Page 15.

Jagadãnanda-dãsa (Bengali)

Ibid., page 28.

Rumi (Persian)

Barks, Colemen and Michael Green. The Illuminated Rumi. New York: Doubleday, © 1997. Page 3.

VI EVIL AND IGNORANCE
The Popul Vuh (Quiché Maya)

Tedlock, pages 147-148, adapted.

The Fire Sermon, from the The Mahã-Vagga 1.21 (Pali)

Warren, Henry Clark, trans. Buddhism in Translations. © 1970 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission of Harvard University Press. The Mahã-Vagga is part of the Vinaya-pitaka. Page 352.

Bhagavad Gitã 16:9, 13-16 (Sanskrit)

Nikhilananda, Swami, trans. The Bhagavad Gitã New York: The Ramakrishna- Vivekananda Center of New York. © 1965 by Swami Nikhilananda. Pages 175-7.

VII SUFFERING
Psalm 22:1-3 (Hebrew)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Bhagavad Gitã 1:29-30 (Sanskrit)

Nikhilananda, pages 7-8, slightly adapted.

Job 3:2-6, 11-13, 20-25 (Hebrew)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, slightly adapted.

Hosea 4:1-3 (Hebrew)

Ibid.

VIII COMPASSION
Mencius 2.A.6 (Chinese)

Lau, D. C. Mencius. New York: Penguin, © 1970. Page 83, slightly adapted.

Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:1, 7-10 (Sanskrit)

Batchelor, Stephen. A Guide to the Bodhisattava’s Way of Life (Bodhicaryãvatãra) by Shantideva. Translated from the Tibetan commentary by Thog-me Zang-po. Dharmsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, © 1979. Pages 22-3.

Mencius 2.A.6 (Chinese)

Lau, page 83, slightly adapted.

Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:18-22 (Sanskrit)

Batchelor, page 25.

Matthew 25:35-36, 40 (Greek)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

IX DEATH
The Sought-for Grave (Japanese)

Kanze Kiyotsugu Kan’ami. “The Sought-for Grave” (Motomezuka). Translated by Barry Jackman. In Twenty Plays of the Nõ Theater. Edited by Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press. Page 45.

Ono No Komachi (Japanese)

Ono no Komachi. “In this world” and “How sad.” Translated by Mariko Aratani. In Jane Hirshfield, The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan. New York: Vintage Classics, 1990. © 1986 by Jane Hirshfield. Used by permission. Pages 28, 30.

His Death Haiku-Matsuo Basho (Japanese)

Henderson, Harold G. An Introduction to Haiku. © 1958 by Harold G. Henderson. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. Page 30.

Bodhicaryãvatãra 2:35-6, 34 (Sanskrit)

Batchelor, page 16.

X JUDGMENT AND APOCALYPSE
The Qur’an 82:1-5 (Arabic)

Arberry, “The Splitting.” Volume 2, page 328.

The Qur’an 81:1-14 (Arabic)

Ibid., “The Darkening,” page 326.

The Qur’an 99:5-6 (Arabic)

Ibid., “The Earthquake,” page 347.

The Tibetan Book of ohe Dead (Tibetan)

Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. © 1960 by W. Y. Evans-Wentz. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc. Pages 166-7, slightly adapted.

The Vishnu Purana (Sanskrit)

Dimmit, Cornelia and J. A. B. van Buitenen, trans. and ed. Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in Sanskrit Puranas. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, ©1978. Pages 41-3.

XI PARADISE
Rumi (Persian)

Harvey, Andrew and Anne Baring, ed. The Mystic Vision. Translated by Andrew Harvey. Produced by Godsfield Press, England, for HarperCollins San Francisco, © 1995. Page 158.

First Corinthians 15:48-9, 54 (Greek)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Kabir (Hindi)

Tagore, Rabindranath, trans., with Evelyn Underhill. One Hundred Poems of Kabir. New Delhi: MacMillan of India, © 1972 [1915]. Pages 25, 24, and 20.

XII DEDICATION OF MERIT
Bodhicaryãvatãra 3:18; 10:6-9, 19-27, 35, 39, 31, 55 (Sanskrit)

Batchelor, pages 25, 184 ff.

Credits

Original music composed by Philip Glass. Texts compiled and edited by Philip Glass, James Parks Morton, and Kusumita P. Pedersen.

Performers: Ana Maria Martinez, soprano. Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano. Michael Schade, tenor. Eric Owens, baritone. Albert Dohmen, bass-baritone. Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Morgan State University Choir. Dr. Nathan Carter, music director. Hungarian Radio Children’S Choir. Gabriella Thész, music director. Dennis Russell Davies, conductor. Dante Anzolini, assistant conductor.

Produced by Michael Riesman and Kurt Munkacsi for Euphorbia Productions, Ltd.

Recorded April-May 2000 at the Austrian Broadcasting Studios (ORF), Vienna. Engineer: Anton Reininger. Assistant Engineer: Gerald Ernst.

Additional Recording July 2000 at Clinton Studios, New York City, and at The Looking Glass Studios, New York City. Engineer: Dave Winslow. Assistant Engineer: Steef van de Gevel. Assistant Engineers at Clinton Studios: Keith Shortreed, Jeremy Welch.

Mixed July 2000 at the Looking Glass Studios, New York City. Engineer: Dave Winslow. Assistant Engineer: Steef van de Gevel. Technical Engineer: Jamie Mereness.

Production Coordinator: Kara Bilof. Interns: Mark Agrusti, Greg Blasi, Suzanne Farley, Patrick Inverso, Ken Zimlinghaus.
Design by Frank Olinsky.

For Nonesuch Records, Production Supervisor: Karina Beznicki. Editorial Coordinator: Gregg Schaufeld. Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz.

This piece was commissioned by Salzburger Festspiele with the support of ASCII- Corporation; world premiere performance August 31, 1999, in Salzburg, Austria, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

Music published by Dunvagen Music Publishers, Inc., New York City (ASCAP). Denyce Graves appears courtesy of BMG Classics.

Thanks to: Jim Keller, Ramona Kirschenman, Danielle Stilli, Hector Castillo, Tim O’Donnell, José Jiménez Mesa, Kerry Egan and Jonah Friedman. A very special thanks to Dr. Andrea Seebohm of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Maria Gergely of the Hungarian Radio Children’s Choir.

Philip Glass is managed by Dunvagen Music.

Nonesuch Records, a Warner Music Group Company, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10019.

© 2000 Nonesuch Records for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world out side of the United States. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this recording is prohibited by Federal law and subject to criminal prosecution.

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