Holst: Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda - BBC Proms 2013
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- BBC Proms 2013 from the Cadogan Hall, London. Nicholas Kok conducts the BBC Singers and the Nash Ensemble in Holst's Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op 26 - Group 3. This concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 12 August.
More from this Prom with full details and recommended links:
www.bbc.co.uk/p...
When the Rig Veda was written, there was no flute and no veena. The Rig Veda is the oldest record of religious yearning, hymns to Nature in the form of gods. This is a legacy of the human race, and not just of the hindu religion. There is no particular way in which the essence of the veda can be grasped. Holst has paid his tribute in the musical language he knew. Let's appreciate that.
Your comment raises two interesting issues: 1. In forms of expression such as Poetry, Music, and MantRa, are not the SENSE and the SOUND absolutely integrated (to use a traditional simile, as integrated as Shiva and PARvati) ? Can they be separated? In this case, the R^g-vEdic mantRa-s have been translated, which separates the sense from the sound. 2. The MantRa-s are meant to be used in Yajn^a. That is their proper, traditional "viniyOgam." So, using them in a separate setting would go against the original "viniyOga" injunction. How can these objections be answered (in a logical, calm-spirited way)?Surajit Mishra
@@DKMKartha108 I was thinking this exact same point. If there is an answer, it might be that divorcing them from the original context unplugs the benefits and effects of the mantras for spiritual purposes, yet allows the poetry of their words to take on an aesthetic value in a new context. For example, you will not necessarily earn Agni's favor and assistance, but you may create a work of some beauty. Who knows, perhaps Agni may be pleased with beauty as an offering? There certainly are examples when devotees outside brahmanic practice and knowledge have had a direct connection to the gods through the depth and conviction of their bhakti.
There are issues that may be raised about cultural appropriation. I think those might be alleviated if one considers that Holst does not claim the Rg Veda to be his own work, but honors its traditional origin? I am not born Indian so I am not sure I have any authority to argue this.
@@SisterUnity Thanks for the thoughtful comment. One of your points is: "Who knows, perhaps Agni may be pleased with beauty as an offering? There certainly are examples when devotees outside brahmanic practice and knowledge have had a direct connection to the gods..." You are talking about the Bhakti tradition here. The Vedic path was not a Bhakti tradition per se although there were hymns there too. Yajn^a is not an act of worship in the way that a temple Arati is. It is an enjoined action for the Vedic Ritualist. That is his or her duty. (Yes the wife of the Yajamaana has to be present at the Yajn^a as enjoined by the VidhivAkya-s -- sentences of prescription.) Indeed some Bhakti theorists derive Bhakti from the Vedic corpus and the Yajn^a. The Vedic mantra-s, as far as I understand, were believed to "CREATE" (bhaavana) the Deity through the power of the Yajn^a of which MantRa is an integral part. The Bhagavad Geeta says: DevAh yajn^a bhaavitAh. In Bhakti, the Deities pre-exist the act of worship. This seems to be a huge difference, does it not? That is why in one hymn it is said, "KaRmEti meemaamsako" = For the meemaamsaka-s, the orthodox Vedists, the Yajn^a itself is the SUPREME. For Vaishnava-s, Vishnu is supreme, for the NaiyAyika-s KaRtA is the Highest reality, etc. So the Vedic yajn^a performers might believe that if the mantRa-s uttered property and the prescribed Vidhi-s -- sacred rituals -- are done correctly, then the Deity of agni or VAyu or whoever is aimed at is CREATED through the "sacred action." If we switch to the Bhakti tradition, you are absolutely right: the Deity is pleased through beauty - of singing, of flowers, etc. Some of the Deities are themselves dancers and music makers, etc. etc. Anyway, this is a fascinating area to ponder about. You say that you are not a born Indian. Does that mean that you have embraced Indian ways, but you do not speak an Indian language as a mother tongue? Just curious.
@@DKMKartha108 I greatly appreciate your explanation here; I think you have described the matter in accurate detail.
Yes, that is so. This time around I am a New Englander from Maine with India deep in my heart.
@@DKMKartha108 I think you have.
This is so indescribably exquisite. Every time I hear it, I feel like I'm entering another world.
Hey, I read Vedas.
In no way was Holst intending for this to resemble the music of India or oral traditions. He appreciated the lyrical nature of the Rig Veda and did what he always did... composed.
Very True. Maestro Holst had an inert interest and liking for the Hindu mythology as he had had contacts with some English Indologists of his generation. Also he had a keen interest in Sanskrit language also.
Very satisfying performance.
I sang this in college over 20 years ago and it still gives me goosebumps!
my women's chorus, womanSong of Charleston, WV, is singing these this weekend - i love them and they are a joy to sing! Holst's harmonies are like a big blanket i want to wrap around myself.
And now we are listening to GOLDWING
Somehow Holst remains an ignored master of choral music - everybody pays heavy tribute to The Planetsand that is that. I happens that about 2 years ago I was lucky enough to attend a Choral Festival Music in Wales - a new global world! Try the choral pieces and you´ll know what I mean. Greetings from Portugal.
i just liked it , i dont know much about vedas yet and anyone can identify the spiritual power in the hymns n chanting , i would like to appreciate that a human being tried to discover the power and present it another form.
wow i was searching for Savitr related hymns and found this piece... this is truly amazing music!!! big thanks to everyone involved!
Holst wrote music that takes you somewhere else... I adore his music.
I see no mention of the name of the fabulous harpist. She was superb. Brava! Such a beautiful piece of music.
Holst absolutely had to be inspired or even overshadowed in composing these four hymns from the Rig Veda. They hail the majesty of creation and reflect the image of the Divine.
Michael Boone Perfectly said. I can't fathom what his grand inspiration was and where it came from. So very pure.
Hi hope you have since realised that these four are not the only texts Holst set. This is Group 3 of four groups -- the other three groups are for mixed choir and orchestra. He also set some Vedic texts for solo baritone and piano as a song cycle, called his "Vedic Hymns." He actually learned Sanskrit in order to make his own translations.
Yes, the great Indian Hindu texts of Rig Veda 😍
My name is Veda (pronounced Vayda) so I love this just so much more 💕
8:35
wow,my ears are asking for more.
Peaceful sound of Rigveda. Thank you all.
Thank You.
He did a excellent job in his musical way. So clamming.
If you read the biographies of Holst he taught himself to read Sanskrit then made his own English translations of the Rig Veda hymns. It is my long winded way of informing you all that the Women are singing in English which is more noticeable when the music/syllables have more rhythm in 'Hymn to the Waters'.
I love the harmonies in this piece. It's captivated me since I was 15. Yes, a western piece of music inspired by eastern philosophy, and I don't see any problem with that. The camerawork is just average but this probably wasn't made for TV, just a video shot alongside a radio broadcast. The sound is beautiful so best not to watch the pictures.
Beautiful~
anyone else here from GOLDWING billie eilish??
If your here for Billie eilish goldwing ->8:40
so great.... so indian great
i actually liked it.. beautiful voice
There is something sacred to be found here in the transformation of Vedic cultural forms into a modern symphonic set.
I can say it reminds me nothing of other Vedic musical hymns, but that was not to be expected anyways.
One can download the correct translation of Rig Veda in English from this link: archive.org/details/RigvedaWww.aryamantavya.in. It is in 5 volumes
With all due respect to some of the comments here, I don't think Holst wrote these hymns to foster religious conversion. And I doubt very much that most modern listeners are all that focused on the text. Truth be told, the performers could be singing the recipe for eggplant parmesan and few would care - it's the music that holds the attention. And the music is gorgeous.
nicee :)
If there had been no title I have not considered as chanting of Rig Veda. Chanting of Rig Veda has a particular rule I guess and remixing it or making its cover loses its essence as it is not just the words its the high and lows of the sound while chanting because vedic philosophy believes more in sound from which literatures are created.
Mooi alle damesstemmen vooral de begeleiding van de harp. Jammer dat het door de Corona niet kan worden uitgevoerd.
All the people saying it has haarp and there weren't these instruments. I am like jan music theory padhi nahi hai to phd wala behave kyun karte ho. Maine padha hai. Sab kuch music mein octaves scales aur notes mein hota hai wahi sab music aur singing dono define karte hain it's the very basic even drums have these. So guitar ke notes tum piano pe le sakte ho piano le flute pe you can use anyone to help you to get the same (I am not explain ing same boht der lagegi pura explain karne mein) get the same melody/harmony.
How is this the Rig Ved ?
I can't make out what language this is spoken in....anyone? Obviously the Rig Vedas are composed in Sanskrit.
This is english
Wrong title.. There is nothing rigved i see
What is this ???
Do not create syncretic nonsense, The Vedic hymns are to be chanted in perfect metrical rhythm & in the background music of Veena & flute!
If there is a fire at the centre than it's much appreciated.
You just happened to be in the wrong place, dude. Here we all are syncretic nonsesnse admirers.
this is great music, if you want Indian music listen to Indian music, this is by an English composer!!!
I'm with Wiktor, wherever the nonsense comes from.
Vedas teaches the worship of one God only and strictly prohibits idolatry and nature worship. Western scholars have misinterpreted the Vedas. There are several names of a single God like Agni, Marut, Indr, Prajapati etc. The proper name of God is OM (।।ओ३म्।।).
very well said sir
Stfu! Vedas do not prohibit idolatry.
@@kartiksangwan3302 Vedas prohibits idolatory and says to worship one God.
अन्धन्तम: प्र विशन्ति येsसम्भूति मुपासते।
ततो भूयsइव ते तमो यs उसम्भूत्या-रता:।। -(यजुर्वेद अध्याय 40 मंत्र 9)
अर्थात : जो लोग ईश्वर के स्थान पर जड़ प्रकृति या उससे बनी मूर्तियों की पूजा उपासना करते हैं, वे लोग घोर अंधकार को प्राप्त होते हैं।
There are some moments, but the whole thing is based on a superficial sense of mysticism and sounds like a Westerner whose own monotheism has become a burden.
I mean Abrahamic religions are a burden on Westerners since they destroyed our culture or nearly did at one moment in history. Either way we lost the initiatory aspect of our traditions, which is why you see Westerners going to "find themselves" in India, or among Indigenous American tribes or whatever it might be. The Pan-European Rennaissance was heavily influenced by non-Christian elements. Monotheism in the Abrahamic sense isn't the Westerner's natural way of connecting to the divine, as we were "polytheists" for much our history. Most of it in fact, back into pre-history.
Our original religions were actually a lot more like the Vedic religion. We all had a concept of a fire ceremony like Yajna. There's parallels in the Gods. Even the Greek Iliad is an echo of the Mahabharata. Further back, if you look at things like clothing, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish between East and West. Some people have said to me that old Anglo-Saxon dress looked a bit like historical Iranian dress. Just little bits of food for thought.
No voice
This is no way to recite the vedas I cannot understand a single word of it. This is not the chandas (syntax) of these hymns. It is more of a cover. A very very bad cover
RigVeda being an Eastern Hindu scripture the chanting also should be done in eastern settings with eastern musical arrangement.
This is just another western nonsense.
Yes…let's be clear, it's not Eastern nonsense.
Why and under which rule/law?
Veda was written by Aryans. They had presence in both East and West. And don't try too much to be an ass hole.
Ein Mann Vedas were composed by rshis in Indus Valley and North Indian plains. All references to plants, animals, geographical features in the Vedas are all confined to this region only. West has nothing to do with Vedas. West came to know about Vedas in 19th century only.
@@araghav3921
The whole world was under one flag, one ruler in times past. Yudhisthira gained the kingdom, and ruled for a short time after the battle of Kurukshetra. Arjuna's grandson King Pariksit was the last king to rule the whole world before the iron age of Kali-yuga set in and divided the world. The original culture of all mankind is the Vedic culture.
Now Hindus claim to be a religion, but the divisions are still going on. Pakistan/India for example. So the more Kali-yuga is advancing the more the human dharma is disappearing, unless and until the Sankirtana movement of chanting God's names and glories is taken up seriously.
This is the only remedy for this age.
We are finding enlightened souls now taking birth here and there outside of the tiny space of land that has dwindled to become simply "India".
When there is glorification of the Supreme Lord, this is beyond speculation or discrimination and designation of race, gender, age or language.
Thank you for listening.