Free Program
Music: Between Heaven and Earth
Composed and Produced by A. R. Rahman
The inspiration for A. R. Rahman’s Between Heaven and Earth can be found along the historic passage known as the Silk Road.
This vast network of trade routes originated in the ancient Chinese capital of Chang’an (Xi’an) in the Far East and headed West. It skirted the Taklamakan Desert, through India and Persia, to the Mediterranean and the Empire of Rome.
The caravan of traders and goods would barter their way across the continent with goods passing from one trader to another like a chain, with each segment representing a crucial link in the trade.
The destinations were filled with bazaars – large and bustling centers of trade. The traders would stay in the caravanserai and eat, drink and socialize together. They would exchange stories about religion, culture and travel conditions along the Silk Road.
With its soaring melodies and a broad palette of orchestral colors, the music captures the drama, the grandeur and the mystery that existed along this vital cultural link.
The Musician
A. R. Rahman is the charming young Indian composer whom Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has called “a melodic genius”. He teamed up with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and composed the music for his production of “Bombay Dreams”. At the age of 38, Rahman is already the most successful composer in India’s gigantic film industry. Internationally he is one of the best-selling recording artists of his time.
The Music
Between Heaven and Earth is Rahman’s first full-fledged orchestral score. He mined the sounds and the textures of the ethnic music of China, India and Turkey and the many cultures that exist between them, adding ethnic instrumentalists from India and Hong Kong to the sound of the traditional Western Symphony orchestra that forms the basis for the score.
The result epitomizes Rahman’s uncanny gift for melody and his newly emerging ability to fill the largest of canvases, creating powerful impressionistic and deeply spiritual music for orchestra on a grand scale.
The Program
Beginning in the Far East, the serene opening “Mandala” circle signifies the balance of heaven, earth and humankind. While the symbol most commonly appears as a circle of two interlocking comma shapes (best known as yin and yang in their Chinese form), sometimes a third element is included, enabling the symbol of three interlocking commas to represent the balance of heaven, earth, and humankind.
The passage soon loses its innocence and simplicity as the battles begin. After an uneasy truce, suspicion grows, the mystery of the unknown works its tricks on the mind, conflicts resume, and the expedition continues.
The shifting sands of the desert, the grandeur of the mountains, the buzz of the caravanserais and the complexities of the human character provide the backdrop for the journey.
Each segment represents another stage of the passage, which ends triumphant, strong, and wise to the harmonies between heaven, earth and humankind.