Choral Suite from Arjuna's Dilemma

Based on the towering Hindu epic, the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna's Dilemma utilizes North Indian performance styles, melodic structures, odd time signatures and rhythmic patterns alongside western instrumentation, harmonies and forms. North Indian vocals co‐mingle with a Western tenor and four‐part choral writing, with references to both modern vocal styles and Byzantine and Gregorian chant. Improvisation is common to both musical worlds, with the Indian singer, tabla player and jazz saxophonist each using their respective improvisatory traditions to reach for the ecstatic, the sublime and the terror that make up the emotional world of this work.