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Non-christian religious classical music?

11K views 68 replies 29 participants last post by  Delilah 
#1 ·
As european classical music stems from a christian tradition, most spiritual classical pieces are christian. I know Cage's way of writing music is influenced on Zen buddhism (though I don't like his music or at least not yet), but I know but few other example of a classical composer (I believe Ton de Leeuw but not sure?) making religious music which isn't classical.

I'd like to know if there's more religious classical music, or maybe even masslike/ritual, which is for other religions like islam or hinduism, or maybe paganism/shamanism things like that
 
#10 · (Edited)
If we expand the subject a bit towards mythology or philosophy, there are more examples.

Nørgård´s percussion piece "I Ching" is based on the ancient Chinese book of wisdom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching
It also exists in a spectacular version as a percussion concerto, Gert Mortensen´s recording being recommended.

The Gilgamesh Myth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh has been the subject of several pieces, including an opera by Nørgård and the vocal work by Martinu.

Scelsi has a lot of esoteric titles, such as the Maya-myth inspired Uaxuctum

Villa-Lobos wrote the Uirapuru ballet inspired by Amazon folk tales http://www.ravenousbirds.com/eolson/papers/villalobos.html
 
#14 ·
Thank you all! Many great and interesting suggestions already :)

If we expand the subject a bit towards mythology or philosophy, there are more examples.
Ah yes why not, anything related to religion/spirituality would be nice

If you consider them holy rather than cultural artifact (and there is that latter regard by westerners on much outside its own sphere),
not sure what "holy rather than cultural artifact" means, I don't care very much about the word art though, and I think evenly of non western culture as western culture (although "holy" sounds as if it is even more special?)
 
#11 · (Edited)
Jonathan Harvey, as noted above, references all sorts of religion in his works. There's lots of Buddhism, but there's also some Hinduism (and obviously there is some cross-pollination between Hindu and Buddhism) and a guitar piece called Sufi - alongside Christianity.

You can probably DYOR on Judaism in western classical music ;-)

I think it might be more "local colour" than religious music per se, but Silvestre Revueltas's Night of the Mayans is a thing that exists - maybe look into latin american music a bit?
 
#12 · (Edited)
Toshiro Mayuzumi ( 黛 敏郎 ) ~ Nirvana-Symphony


Darius Milhaud ~ Service Sacré op.279


Leonard Bernstein ~ Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish"

Maurice Ravel ~ Deux Mélodies hébraïques (one is a Kaddish)

If you consider them holy rather than cultural artifact (and there is that latter regard by westerners on much outside its own sphere), then works like Alberto Ginastera's Cantata para América Mágica for soprano and large percussion ensemble, using pre-colimbian texts then gets included. [[ADD the musical idiom is 'western' and contemporary, the composer's own vs. any attempt at recreating or imitating the 'ethnic' Ancient American musics.]]
 
#13 · (Edited)
Well, for some reason we have totally forgotten the world of Nordic mythology, probably because of it being (in the main) extint;

the most monumental efforts to revive its world were probably those of Jon Leifs ("Edda", http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Apr09/Leifs_Edda_bissacd1350.htm, "Baldr" etc.)

Geirr Tveitt also worked with the Baldr myth, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geirr_Tveitt.

The Kalevala myth https://www.google.dk/#q=kalevala is mostly known from the Sibelius pieces, but Uuno Klami has also made a spectacular orchestral suite from it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uuno_Klami ,

and Veljo Tormis has worked with choral works http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veljo_Tormis, such as http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/tormis-vision-of-kalevala/
 
#15 ·
Well, for some reason we have totally forgotten the theme of Nordic Mythology;

the most monumental efforts were probably those of Jon Leifs ("Edda", http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Apr09/Leifs_Edda_bissacd1350.htm, "Baldr" etc.)

Geirr Tveitt also worked with the Baldr myth, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geirr_Tveitt.

The Kalevala myth https://www.google.dk/#q=kalevala is mostly known from the Sibelius pieces, but Uuno Klami has also made a spectacular orchestral suite from it etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uuno_Klami , and Veljo Tormis has worked with choral works from it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veljo_Tormis, such as http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/tormis-vision-of-kalevala/
funny, I just thought of thay myself while reading "If we expand the subject a bit towards mythology or philosophy", thank you!
 
#18 ·
Bartók's Cantata Profana is a bit of and odd case. On the one hand, Bartók considered it his "most profound credo". On the other hand, the words do not by any means make it clear what that credo is, and it's explicitly a worldly ("profane") piece of music rather than a sacred one.

Bartók was an atheist who took an interest in Unitarianism later in life (I do not believe the two are necessarily mutually exclusive.)
 
#22 · (Edited)
The texts are profane, and 'pagan.' Bartok loved and probably revered nature (all that out of doors and quite specifically night music, evoking forests, fauna (insects, birds). The Cantata is a magnificent and (imo) gorgeous large scale choral work for large forces... large choir and orchestra near always tipping just about any listener from the western cultures to near automatically perceive it as sacred, and / or solemn or joyous rite.
 
#20 ·
I think there's a difference between music which is animated by a religious purpose and music that uses religion as an interesting creative element. The pieces for Odin etc. I think would only be religious if written by someone who was devoted to Odin or written for the purposes of Odin worship, or both.

Here is some music for synagogue by a contemporary of Monteverdi, Salamone Rossi.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I think there's a difference between music which is animated by a religious purpose and music that uses religion as an interesting creative element. The pieces for Odin etc. I think would only be religious if written by someone who was devoted to Odin or written for the purposes of Odin worship, or both.
Well, there's music on the topic of religion, and then there's music that is used in the context of religion (e.g., church music), and then there's music written to express a personal religious feeling or belief.

I'm sure one could fill in all the holes on that Venn diagram if one were so inclined.
 
#21 ·
As much a 'religion' as is Zen Buddhism, i.e. at least as much philosophy entwined with pragmatica, blended with a healthy dose of 'mysticism'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gurdjieff#Music
(there is a segment specifically on the music, dance, etc.)

Gurdjieff ~ Sacred songs in the monastary, for chant, songs and dance.
In the Monastery:

Sacred Dance

Sacred Dances

A demonstration of Gurdieff Sacred Danses
 
#23 · (Edited)
The Ramayana Monkey Chant ("Ketjak")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak

The link is a longish fragment from the full-length track.


The following is for me THE recording, (all Balinese music, Gamelan music, etc. in superb done-on-location field recordings -- which I owned for many years until I wore it out... (for all its tracks:) The original LP recording was later re-released in CD format, then dropped out of the catalogue. I have not looked lately; it may have been put back in circulation. My being deeply attracted to the music, this recording has me deeply biased enough to urge just about anyone, unreservedly, to find and procure a copy of it.

This is the real deal, an entire village, men, women, children, the occasional dog and other fauna heard within the overall ambiance. The choppy sound and rhythm is part and parcel of this narrative, a hero's battle with a demon, the belief being that demons cannot travel but in straight lines -- a pervasive tenet through a number of Asian cultures (viz, the zig-zag layout of planks or stones covering streams, garden paths, etc.)
 
#24 ·
The Ramayana Monkey Chant ("Ketjak")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak

The link is a longish fragment from the full-length track.


The following is for me THE recording, was re-issued in a CD (all Balinese music, Gamelan music, etc. in superb done-on-location field recordings -- which I owned for many years until I wore it... (for all its tracks:) The original LP recording was re-released in CD format, then dropped out of the catalogue. I have not looked lately, but it might have been put back into circulation. My being deeply attracted to the music, this recording has me deeply biased enough to urge just about anyone, unreservedly, to find and procure a copy of it.

This is the real deal, an entire village, men, women, children, the occasional dog and other fauna heard within the overall ambiance. The choppy sound and rhythm is part and parcel of this narrative, a hero's battle with a demon, the belief being that demons cannot travel but in straight lines -- a pervasive tenet through a number of Asian cultures (viz, the zig-zag layout of planks or stones covering streams, garden paths, etc.)
Not my thing.

Thanks.

hpowders
 
#34 ·
During my first visit to Baku in the late nineties, I stumbled over a box set of Azeri classical music, and for a while listened to it quite often. There were a couple of composers that stood out, and one of them was Fikret Amirov.

His work was all done during the Soviet era, so any religious significance was toned down, but he was heavily influenced by old Azeri folk music, in particular the mugam. He made a whole new genre by incorporating the mugam in orchestral music. Now the mugam wasn't sacred or in-your-face religious, but many of the songs deal with prayer, and the heritage is definitely more eastern and Arab than "European" or christian.

So that would be my tip: Fikret Amirov's symphonic mugams. Even if it fails to be religious enough for you, I'm sure you'll enjoy the 'exotic' flavour of it. Or, I did, anyway.


The music that, for me, embodies worship as much as any mass or passion from the Western world is the Sufi inspired music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but I guess that's not 'classical' in the sense you're after...?
 
#36 ·
During my first visit to Baku in the late nineties, I stumbled over a box set of Azeri classical music, and for a while listened to it quite often. There were a couple of composers that stood out, and one of them was Fikret Amirov.

His work was all done during the Soviet era, so any religious significance was toned down, but he was heavily influenced by old Azeri folk music, in particular the mugam. He made a whole new genre by incorporating the mugam in orchestral music. Now the mugam wasn't sacred or in-your-face religious, but many of the songs deal with prayer, and the heritage is definitely more eastern and Arab than "European" or christian.

So that would be my tip: Fikret Amirov's symphonic mugams. Even if it fails to be religious enough for you, I'm sure you'll enjoy the 'exotic' flavour of it. Or, I did, anyway.

The music that, for me, embodies worship as much as any mass or passion from the Western world is the Sufi inspired music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but I guess that's not 'classical' in the sense you're after...?
it may not be that "classical" in the sense I meant it (refering mostly to music of western tradition which is religious but not christian, but I might have been not too clear deliberately because Im just interested in much music and also was interested in what people might make of it and if there would be discussions on what is "really religious" music) but it is interesting still, I like eastern music a lot ^^
 
#44 ·
First, we need to clear up what is implied by the opening post; i.e., that 'religious' music is 'tied' to specific cultures and religions. While this is true on some level, it is not a requirement of 'sacred' music. So, for me, the question is rather superficial.

Messiaen's music, while referring to mystic Catholicism, is nonetheless universal in its appeal, as well as containing many non-Western musical elements (Rhythms derived from India, Balinese scales, etc.

Beethoven's Ninth, as well as Mahler's Eighth, both contain references to God and Man which seek to be universal, and to 'separate' themselves from an overt Christian statement of doctrine. I consider this to be admirable in today's world.
 
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