The Eternal and the Ephemeral

The Eternal and the Ephemeral

7 Tracks45 MIN2022

℗ Le Chant du Monde — Harmonia Mundi

The 15th recording in the Le Chant du Monde collection evokes a central theme in the soul’s spiritual journey—the precariousness of this world and the perenniality of the next. From one musical piece to the next, Ostad Elahi reminds us that everything in this world is perishable and that eternal bliss is found only in proximity to the Creator.

“What Ostad Elahi’s life shows us is that when we look back at the historical accounts, or the mythical accounts, of the great sages of the past and sometimes wonder to ourselves, ‘Could such an extraordinary person have really lived and walked this earth?’ the answer has to be yes, because here is one of them who was recently among us.”
—Theodore Levin, PhD
Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music
Dartmouth College

For more on the art and philosophy of Ostad Elahi’s music, see Jean During, The Spirit of Sounds: The Unique Art of Ostad Elahi (Cranbury, NJ: Cornwall Books, 2003).

Hal Parka

Recorded in 1964, this piece belongs to a category of Kurdish dances traditionally performed during marriage ceremonies or joyous celebrations. Ostad Elahi, however, performed this piece with a spiritual intention. With a short and repetitive pattern, it begins with an invitation to join the dance and embrace its rhythm. As the rhythmic variations multiply, they sustain the energy and vitality of the piece, inducing a state of profound spiritual joy, one that perhaps foreshadows the bliss that awaits the soul upon reuniting with its Beloved.

Tracklist

Hal Parka

The Eternal and the Ephemeral

Hal Parka

The Eternal and the Ephemeral

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