Tibetan funeral ritual in konsertsalen Kilden
Tibetan Funeral Ritual at Kilden
In the West, we have a relationship with death that may seem unfamiliar and distant to other cultures. Shortly after a death, the deceased is picked up by a professional funeral home and prepared for the funeral. With the exception of choosing the headstone, attire, and any artistic elements for the funeral, the immediate family is not involved in the actual process of handling the deceased’s body.
A unique experience
In his film *Sky Burial*, artist Mat Collinshaw draws inspiration from the moment when it is time to say goodbye to the sick and the elderly, creating an art film that takes us through moments that are painful, beautiful, and poignant. The visual experience is further enhanced by the beautiful sounds of our own symphony orchestra and vocal ensemble performing Fauré’s Requiem.
Sky Burial
In Tibet, the ground is too hard to dig a grave in the usual sense, and there are few resources available to build a funeral pyre; naturally, it is also impossible to call a funeral home in the Western sense.
In many warmer climates, scavengers play an important role in the natural cycle, and they do so in Tibet as well. Here, the deceased are transported to mountain slopes where scavenger birds have their natural habitat; small incisions are made in the bodies, which are then consumed by the birds. In the West, the practice may seem barbaric, but it is both necessary and natural for the environment where this takes place. Mat Collishaw perhaps puts it best himself when he discusses the film:
“The dead ascend to heaven in the bellies of vultures, rather than in the arms of angels.”
– Mat Collinshaw
The work “Sky Burial” was created with this very Tibetan custom as both its title and source of inspiration.
Fauré's Requiem
Gabriel Fauré was one of the leading composers of his generation. His works have influenced many renowned composers of the 20th century, and he is today regarded as one of the most influential French composers in history. The music from the piece accompanies the visual experience projected onto a large screen behind Kilden’s musicians.
Kilden Vocal Ensemble
Kilden consists of 16 permanent singers whose goal is to create vocal music of international caliber, while the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra consists of 71 full-time musicians from 17 different countries.
Frøydis Emilie Lind, director of Kilden , believes we are in for a very special evening.
“Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem is one of the most beautiful choral and orchestral works I know,” says Frøydis, continuing:
– Experiencing it alongside Mat Collishaw’s powerful art film can only be a truly extraordinary experience.
The stage is set, then, for a special evening in konsertsalen. As for the piece to be performed alongside the Tibetan funeral ritual, Fauré perhaps put it best himself:
“It has been said that my Requiem does not express a fear of death, and some have called it a ‘lullaby of death.’ But this is how I view death: as a joyful liberation, as a quest for heavenly bliss, rather than as a painful experience.”
