Tan Dun: Buddha Passion

What is it like to be fully awake? The Buddha, filled with unconditional compassion for all living beings, found the answer while meditating beneath a sacred fig tree. His wise teachings led others to experience nirvana, the extinction of mind-forged suffering, the attainment of enlightenment itself. Tan Dun’s epic Buddha Passion, first performed in 2018, charts the spiritual journey of the young prince who renounces riches to become the Buddha, the “Enlightened One”. It includes key texts from 2,500 years of Buddhist tradition, the exquisite Heart Sutra among them, brought to life in Chinese and Sanskrit by a symphonic chorus, four operatic soloists, traditional musicians and a large orchestra. The work’s world premiere recording, conducted by the composer, leads the listener through scenes from the Buddha’s life to reveal his compassionate philosophy. “I think compassion is a wonderful bridge between animals and human beings, between nature and human beings, and between all kinds of human beings,” Tan Dun tells Apple Music Classical. Buddha Passion, he adds, in its structure and storytelling, was influenced by his study of Johann Sebastian Bach. “I find his music to be very compassionate. Each of the five acts of Buddha Passion, for example, has a chorus to summarise and provide a compassionate conclusion. This I learned from Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion. I hope the Buddha Passion can bring listeners into this spiritual circle of love, compassion and friendship.” Buddha Passion opens a musical dialogue between East and West. The album’s cosmopolitan cast, embracing the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Internationale Chorakademie, four Chinese operatic soloists and indigenous singers and instrumentalists from the Dunhuang region, was recorded live at Shanghai’s Oriental Art Center Concert Hall. The collaboration of musicians from many nations and backgrounds reflects the central theme of interdependence in the Buddha’s teachings. Dun was insp