THE
NAME THAT NEVER DIES wang jie
Cover art:
Detail of patterns on the marble architecture of an ancient monument in Agra, India
Based on a verse from the TAITTĪRI-YA UPANISHAD
translated into English by Wang Jie & June Sylvester Saraceno
First Publication: Feb 2022
• Second Edition •
Duration: ca. 6 minutes
Wang Jie Music, ASCAP
552 Riverside Drive #1D
New York NY 10027
www.wangjiemusic.com
NOTES
Program Note
During the worst time of the pandemic, I wondered whether ten thousand simultaneous deaths would generate enough sound waves to penetrate the depth of our universe. I listened to the silence...I watched the sound waves transforming into a blackhole. What went in did not come out.
It was also during the pandemic, but much later, I listened again. This time, I heard the simultaneous cries of births. How come I never heard the glorious and golden rays of lives before the blackhole? The order of these sound events, as it happened in my mind, suggests that births may in fact be rebirth. The beginning of life is a primal scream that called out for music and thus it was born.
The ancient truths holders have also known this. In this work, I invited the concluding verse in the Taittiriya Upanishad, part of the oldest Sanskrit literature in India, approximately 6th century BC. "The Name that Never Dies" celebrates Kent Tritle, his musicianship, and the man who stared directly into the eye of the blackhole. He shows us the music that has penetrated the depth of our universe. The work is a gift to Kent, to music, and to his life that has become a gift.
World Premiere
Musica Sacra, conducted by Kent Tritle
March 22, 2022
Cathetral of St. John the Divine, NYC
6th century B.C.
From TAITTĪRI-YA UPANISHAD
Book 3 Part 10 Verse 6
translated into English by Wang Jie & June Sylvester Saraceno
The Name that Never Dies
O wonderful! O wonderful! O wonderful!
Be the bread! Be the bread! Be the bread! Take the bread! Take the bread! Take the bread!
My name never dies, never dies, never dies!
I was born first in the first of the worlds, earlier than the gods, in the belly of what has no death! Whoever gives me away has helped me most!
I, who am bread, eat the eater of bread!
I have conquered this world!
He who knows this shines like the sun. Such are the laws of the mystery!
(TAITTĪRI-YA UPANISHAD 3-10-6)
Allegroconmoto,q=138
DADIDADADIDADA
I mf was born fp first f inthe first ofthe worlds earlier thanthe gods, I mf was born fp first f inthe first ofthe worlds earlier thanthe gods,
Iwasbornfirstinthe firstoftheworlds,
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