Mort D'un Jardinier

Decca releases the world-premiere recording of this epic choral work, composed and conducted by the OSCAR, Grammy and BAFTA award-winning and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun. The monumental work, involving massed choirs, large orchestra, six percussionists and an array of soloists including indigenous singers, traditional Chinese instruments and a dancing pipa player, is the first such ‘Passion’ on a Buddhist rather than Christian narrative. Set at the foot of the Himalayas and inspired by Chinese and Sanskrit texts, the captivating and life-affirming score fuses the ancient wisdom of Buddhism with the musical tradition of JS Bach’s Passions, featuring hypnotic orchestral textures and Eastern vocal techniques. Recorded at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center Concert Hall in 2029 with Orchestre National de Lyon and International Choir Academy Lübeck, conducted by Tan Dun with eminent Chinese soloists.

The classical works of Tan Dun typically fuse compositional elements from the East and the West, but for his soundtrack to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, musical cultures aren't so much blurred as coexistent side-by-side. While the magical martial arts film doesn't boast music as stunning as its visuals, this soundtrack is still beautiful and elegant, a perfect complement to the movie's mysticism. Just don't expect epic, John Williams-inspired bombast here. On "A Wedding Interrupted," the riveting brass and string section introduction segues into soft-hued meditations; "Night Fight" boasts spiky percussion but sounds more reminiscent of Stomp than a kung-fu scene. That said, Dun's understated score–filled with Asian instrumentation, Romantic cello solos from Yo-Yo Ma, and a token theme song with vocals by Asian pop star CoCo Lee–is still a fascinating listen. Fans of Ma and Dun shouldn't pass this up.

Tan Dun's Concerto for String Orchestra and Pipa (1999) is a reworking of one of his most popular works, Ghost Opera, written for and recorded by the Kronos Quartet. In this version, the composer's characteristic polystylism – which here includes Chinese folk song, Copland-esque Big Sky music, quotations from Bach, and vocalizations by the orchestra – comes across as a jumble, without much of a strong vision holding the disparate elements together. Pipa virtuoso Wu Man, who appeared on the Kronos recording, plays the concerto with energy and delicacy. She's ably accompanied by the Moscow Soloists, led by Yuri Bashmet. The concerto is followed by Takemitsu's Nostalghia (1987) for violin and string orchestra. Its compositional assurance, clarity, subtly nuanced orchestration, and emotional directness make it all the more striking in contrast to the Tan Dun. Here Bashmet is the impassioned soloist, with Roman Balashov conducting with great sensitivity. The three brief excerpts from Takemitsu's film scores are a pleasant stylistic diversion – light, strongly differentiated character pieces.

Fire Ritual, the concerto that lends its name to the present disc, was composed with Hemsing in mind. With it Tan Dun has created a musical ceremony for the victims of war, building on four themes: Cruel Wars, Innocent People, Mantras of the Heavenly Birds and Eternity. The concerto was premièred in September 2018 by Hemsing and the Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by the composer. For Eldbjørg Hemsing, Tan Dun has also created the concerto that opens the disc, Rhapsody and Fantasia, based on earlier works. Both works reflect the composer’s memories of growing up barefoot in the countryside, and his later experiences of bringing together the shamanistic and spiritual world of his childhood with the discipline and philosophy of Peking Opera. Or in the composers own words: ‘a reflection of those early memories of my youth, but through the lens of my current musical soundscape’.

La mort est ce qui identifie l'homme à l'animal et ce qui l'en différencie. Comme tout être vivant, l'homme subit la mort. A la différence de tout être vivant, il nie la mort dans ses croyances en un au-delà. Edgar Morin dégage les attitudes fondamentales des hommes et des cultures à l'égard de la mort. Il examine l'horreur de la mort, le risque de mort, le meurtre, et les deux grands mythes originaires de la mort …

In 1976, early electronic composer Mort Garson released an album called Mother Earth’s Plantasia, subtitled "warm earth music for plants… and the people that love them." In the decades following its release, the album went out of print while amassing a cult following among record collectors and plant enthusiasts alike. Sacred Bones has now announced the CD's first official reissue. Mort Garson was a pioneer of electronic music in the 1960s and an early user of Robert Moog's synthesizer. 'Plantasia' released in 1976 added warmth to the previously darker and colder melodies of earlier electronic releases. By turn playful, surreal or sinister, this is a diverse collection of sounds from a true innovator.

Suite et fin des aventures du guerrier Seïs Amorgen, un membre de la plus grande confrérie du royaume d'Asclépion confronté au Porteur de mort. …

C'est en prison, provoqué par des camarades de cellule qui s'essayaient à imaginer de médiocres pièces sentimentales, que Genet rédigea les strophes du Condamné à mort et la dédicace en prose à Maurice Pilorge. En prison aussi qu'il écrivit Marche funèbre, La galère, La parade. Autant de poèmes qui sont comme des ex-votos ou comme des bouteilles à la mer. …

La peur de la mort n’est pas une fatalité, il est possible de partir apaisé. À condition de ne plus escamoter « la fin de vie », mais au contraire de la préparer et même de la vivre intensément, aux côtés de ses proches et avec l’aide du personnel soignant. C’est l’enseignement que le docteur Sylvie Cafardy a tiré des expériences de mort imminente (EMI) vécues par des patients. Nourri de témoignages, de connaissances scientifiques et de références philosophiques, ce livre s’inscrit dans la lignée des Ars Moriendi, ces Traités de la bonne mort que l’on lisait il y a quelques siècles. …