Search - Thoresen, Berntsen, Helgerod :: From the Sweet-Scented Streams of Eternity

Superb choral music based on Baha'i sacred texts

05/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lasse Thoresen is one of the premier composers of choral music in Norway. He also is a member of the growing but still little-known universalist Baha'i religion. He is therefore possibly the most talented and original composer of Baha'i sacred music. The five works are from several different prayers revealed by the Messenger of God called Baha'u'llah ("Glory of God") - the founder of the Baha'i Faith. The works are all of a contemplative nature; they do not, however, partake of that disjointed and excessively dissonant quality found in many late 20th-century choral works. Particularly moving are "From the Sweet-Scented Streams" (a prayer filled with calm and pastoral imagery), The Tablet of the Holy Mariner (a dramatic spiritual metaphor), and Ya Kafi Ya Shafi (a prayer for healing sung in Arabic and English, that has a hypnotically transcendent quality). A handful of other composers of Baha'i choral music can compare. Of particular note is Graham Major of Australia, whose compositions, along with those of other Baha'i composers, are performed on the following discs:"Songs of the Ancient Beauty." Water Music, WMCD001"Songs of the Ancient Beauty, Vol.II." Global Music, GM2005"