The Sophia Institute, at Union Theological Seminary, has invited Paul Brantley to present a concert of his music to close their Sixth Annual Conference on December 6 in NYC. Brantley says: “The program will include this lapsed Buddhist’s settings of ‘wisdom literature,’ all from a decidedly Jungian/archetypal perspective”. Performers TBA.
Battle Hymn (Songs of Sophia), for soprano and Pierrot ensemble, sets ecstatically beautiful utterances of “Sophia” from the Old Testament and Apocrypha, deeply inspired by C.G. Jung’s Answer to Job.
Gnostic Cantata, for mezzo-soprano, violin, and cello, collects a variety of non-canonical wisdom texts from the esoteric Judaic, Islamic, Thomasine, and Docetic traditions, and so “Jesus” as teacher, mystic, Muslim Saint, and Rabbi.
“Named in honor of Divine Wisdom, the Sophia Institute is an independent Orthodox educational charity housed at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York City that serves as a gathering force for contemporary Orthodox scholars, theologians, spiritual teachers, and ethicists.” You can learn about the Sophia Institute and their December 6 conference, “Monasticism, Asceticism and Holiness in the Eastern Orthodox World”, here.
A version of this program will be presented a few weeks before on the Music at St. Paul’s series at Columbia University, Tuesday, November 19 at noon.
(Icon by Eileen McGuckin, www.sgtt.org)
