Passages

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Passages
Studio album by Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar

Publication
(s)

1990

Label (s) Atlantic Records

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

Classical music with repetitive structures as well as Hindustan classical music

Title (number)

12

running time

55:21

production

Kurt Munkacsi, Ravi Shankar and Suresh Lalwani

Studio (s)

Kodandapani Audio Lab Madras

Passages is a music album with compositions that Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass wrote together. In the musical design of the album, the styles of both composers are merged, namely classical music with repetitive structures by Glass and the traditional Hindustan (i.e. North Indian classical ) style by Shankar.

History of the cooperation between Shankar and Glass

Ravi Shankar in 1988
Philip Glass in 1993

Philip Glass first met Ravi Shankar in 1965 when Shankar and Glass were working together on the score for the film Chappaqua . Philip Glass was particularly interested in the great importance of melody and rhythm in Hindustan music, which in the western musical tradition had receded to harmony.

“It was possible to graduate from a major Western conservatory, in my case Juilliard , without exposure to music from outside the Western tradition. World music was completely unknown in the mid-60's. "

“It was possible to complete his training at a major Western conservatory without ever having encountered music from outside the Western tradition. World music was completely unknown in the mid-sixties. "

- Philip Glass

“From the very first moment I saw such interest from him - he was a young man then - and he started asking me questions about ragas and talas and started writing down the whole score, and for the seven days he asked me so many questions. And seeing how interested he was I told him everything I could in that short time. "

“From the very first moment I saw so much interest from him - he was a young man then - and he started asking me questions about ragas and talas and writing down all the notes, and over the next seven days he asked me so many questions. And when I saw how interested he was, I told him everything I could tell him in that short time. "

- Ravi Shankar

In 1989, Shankar and Glass' s head of recording studio Ron Goldstein suggested that the two work together again. The album Passages emerged from this proposal.

occupation

Track list

  1. Offering - 9:40
  2. Sadhanipa - 8:31
  3. Channels and Winds - 7:56
  4. Ragas in Minor Scale - 7:32
  5. Meetings Along the Edge - 8:05 am
  6. Prashanti - 13:37

Musical design

During the creation of the album, the two composers exchanged arrangements, themes and melodies so that the individual pieces on the album contain elements from both composers. For example, the piece "Offering" composed by Shankar is more in the style of Philip Glass' repetitive music than in the field of Hindustan classical music.

Offering

At the beginning of the piece, a saxophone plays the melody from Shankar's Raga composition at a slow pace . Then two more saxophones join it. A middle section follows at a faster pace, in which the theme of the opening melody is further processed. In this middle section you can clearly hear an influence from Glass' repetitive style. At the end the opening melody is repeated again.

Sadhanipa

The title of this piece is based on the melody of the same: The syllables "SA DHA NI PA" are the Indian names for the first four notes of the melody of the piece, namely D, B, C and A. The melody is initially played ad libitum by a trumpet played. Then the theme is developed by the remaining instruments first in 4/8 and then in 6/8 and 7/8 time. At the end the melody is repeated again.

The theme, which was composed by Philip Glass, consists of only four notes and is minimalist, but the piece loses its minimalism due to the arrangement by Ravi Shankar: From the first minute, Shankar's lush style becomes dominant, which consists in that there is almost no harmony or counterpoint, but there are many instruments such as tabla , sitar , sarod , mridangam and many more. Often these instruments play in a call-and-response style.

Channels and Winds

Channels and Winds is a piece with instruments and vocals. It has the ABABAB form. This piece is perceived as a bridge between Sadhanipa and Ragas in Minor Scale. These two pieces are the pieces for which Philip Glass only gave the theme and which were otherwise composed by Ravi Shankar.

Ragas in minor scale

Ragas in Minor Scale, the second piece for which Philip Glass only gave the theme and which was otherwise composed by Ravi Shankar, opens with a vina in 6/8 time. The following middle section and the final section are played in 4/8 time.

Meetings Along the Edge

Meetings Along the Edge is a quick piece, which is essentially composed of the following topics:

  1. A theme by Ravi Shankar in 7/4 time, which sounds like the Middle East ,
  2. another theme by Shankar in 7/4 time,
  3. and a theme by Philip Glass in 4/4 time.

Philip Glass also provided other rhythmic ideas and the introduction. In the final, all topics are played, mixed and combined.

Prashanti

The title of this piece is "Peacefulness". It is structured in such a way that initially happy music, which is supposed to represent the peaceful coexistence of a community, becomes louder and more chaotic, which stands for the spread of greed, envy, hatred and violence in this society. Finally, a loud bang can be heard, and the previous rhythmic structure disappears in favor of a slow melody part to which a singer sings the following Vedic poem:

"Hey Nath, hama para kripa kijiye.
Door kara andhakar, gyan ka aloka dijiye,
hinsa dwesh lobha bamese chhin lijiye,
manamey prem shanti bhar dijiye. "

“Oh Lord, be kind to us. Drive the darkness away. Shower us with the light of wisdom. Take our envy, avarice and anger away and fill our hearts with love and peace. "

reception

In the all music rating, the album received four out of five stars. Allmusic employee Jim Brenholts writes:

“A collaboration between an avant-garde modern classical composer and a traditional Indian / Hindi composer / performer seems as unlikely as ice hockey on the River Styx. However, Passages is a collaboration between Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar and it works quite well. Shankar's smooth style fits nicely with Glass' dissonant orchestrations. "

“A joint project by a composer of the avant-garde of modern classical music and a traditional Indian composer and virtuoso seems just as likely as ice hockey on the River Styx. But Passages is a joint project by Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar, and it works really well. Shankar's even style goes well with Glass' dissonant orchestrations. "

- Jim Brenholts

Chart placement

The album was listed on Billboard magazine's "Top World Music Albums" charts in 1990 . It temporarily reached third place.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Belinda McKoen: The Sound of Glass. June 28, 2008, accessed November 10, 2008 .
  2. ^ Philip Glass: Biography. Retrieved May 22, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Martin Perlich: Philip Glass: Passages. Retrieved May 22, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c Shubha Mudgal: World music, but not fusion - The Hindu. Retrieved July 31, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Jim Brenholts: Passages - Philip Glass, Ravi Shankar - Overview. Retrieved July 19, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Jim Brenholts: Passages - Philip Glass, Ravi Shankar - Awards. Retrieved July 19, 2013 .