More below or at: https://www.IvanMarkovicMusic.Com Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most significant and ancient Hindu holidays. In a spiritual sense it points to the dual nature of the creation of the universe, that is, it celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, wisdom over ignorance, the victory of hope over despair, and good over evil respectively. Furthermore, Diwali celebrates the awareness of Atman, the inner and eternal light which is present in all living beings, and which stands opposed to the material and changeable nature of creation which vanes in time. The term Diwali is rooted in Sanskrit and comes from the word dipavali which translates as the rows of light. The marking of the holiday demands considerable preparation, both personal and within the community: homes, buildings, streets and public spaces are being cleaned carefully and in detail, and are afterwards being decorated with numerous candles, lanterns and various lights of bright intensity whose colorfulness and brilliance symbolically represents the beauty of the whole creation and spiritual joy. As the most joyous out of all the Hindu holidays, Diwali is celebrated with incredible intensity, most notably at public squares where enormous and almost unimaginably monumental crowds gather to experience its’ joy and togetherness. During the 20th century, it has become the tradition for the violently loud intensity of the experience to always be further enhanced by the extensive usage of pyrotechnics. Sprinklers, firecrackers and fireworks, both those majestic and extravagant, present at public squares, as well as the smaller and more private ones, which can be found in almost every home, but whose cumulative effect, however, is impressive, have become an inseparable element of the celebration. The works’ title “Diwali“ was therefore chosen to symbolically encapsulate the spiritual concepts which have been contemplated during its’ creation, as seen from the perspective of Hinduism: the creation and its’ material nature: sensuality, pursuit of physical pleasure, vice and viciousness, and celebration; as well as creation’s spiritual nature: joy, purity, serenity and light. All of the mentioned notes have been endued with a festive and jubilant character of the holiday. Besides, the title alludes to the Hindu folk musical motives which have been very freely combined with the processes and methods established within the traditional practice of western music. This has resulted with numerous musical, aesthetic and semantic interpretations of many situations within the work, whose plurality was one of the most interesting aspects while creating the piece. For example, based on the context and the situation of the texture, orchestration and meter, many of the same Hindu folk motives could be experienced both as Hindu and Serbian, which was, from my own and unique perspective of a Serbian composer who deals with Hindu themes, both incredibly amusing and inspiring.

• published: 09 Jun 2017
• views: 259