Verse to Music
KVP’s Verse to Music sessions are part of a creative initiative to explore the role of art and music in bringing the Dharma to life in contemporary ways.
A focus of KVP is to produce translations in metered verse for many of the poems and songs composed by Khyentse Wangpo. We then invite musicians, poets, and artists to create their own interpretations of these poems and host sessions where we invite special guests to discuss related topics.
Khyentse Wangpo’s treasury of writings include profound meditation instructions, philosophical works, histories, treasure teachings, and pith instructions from all Tibetan traditions. But Khyentse Wangpo was not only an erudite scholar and realized master, he was also one of the most creative visionaries of his time. He composed witty poems, rhapsodic songs of realization, thangka painting manuals and Sanskrit chanting instructions.
Inspired by Khyentse Wangpo’s breadth of ingenuity, we launched the Verse to Music initiative to explore the role of art and music in communicating the Dharma. Through this fertile cross-collaboration between translators, artists, and musicians, we aim to contribute to the flourishing of Vajrayana culture in the West in two ways. Firstly, by creating relatable, chantable, (and danceable!) versions of prayers in English, we hope to provide practitioners with inspiration and joy in these challenging times. Secondly, we strive to channel the creative energy embodied by Khyentse Wangpo (and inherent in us all) to encourage our audience to adventure beyond the conceptual mind.
Dolma Gunther, KVP’s executive director, gives an introduction to our inaugural Verse to Music session and provides some background to the inclusion of this creative initiative in the project’s scope.
Verse to Music session # 4
Our fourth Verse to Music session was held on the 5th July, 2024, and was dedicated to Sarasvatī, goddess of melody and wisdom.
The session centred around a discussion on life, dharma, art & poetry, with our special guest Gesar Mukpo. Gesar is a documentary and music video director and producer. The son of the great Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Gesar wrote and directed the 2009 documentary film “Tulku,” and is currently working on a documentary called “Verses in Exile” that explores the world of Tibetan refugee hip-hop artists. Gesar talked about his project with young Tibetan refugee musicians and their passion for creating music to express their cultural identity. We heard excerpts of songs by K. Kush, Sayn Solo, Namgyal Nagmi and G. Tashi.
Also participating in the event were other contributing musicians and artists from all over the world. Their compositions were based on a poem by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo called “In Praise of Vajra Sarasvatī,” a song to the goddess muse of music, art and insight. Excerpts were played from their music video creations during the session. The contributing musicians included Harry Einhorn, Cy Gorman, Alison Wells, Fabio Negroni, Lara Nova and Christian Bernert. We were also joined by Kirsten and Kunga from Bardo Cafe.
Watch the recording of the live session hosted by Zack Beer and Christian Bernert here:
Harry Einhorn, composer of the choral rendition of the Seven Line Supplication to Guru Rinpoche, created this flowing interpretation of the praise. The video includes original digital AI artwork by Calvin Huang.
Christian Bernert created this melodic version of the praise with the addition of beautiful vocals by Lara Nova. Handpan by Amaan Hassan and artwork by Christian.
Cy Gorman created this groovy dance-inducing interpretation, with added vocals by Deepa. Digital art by Cy Gorman.
Alison Wells, an Australian professional singer and musician, created this sweet musical interpretation. Video footage courtesy of Raghav Balla.
And finally, Fabio Negroni, a Brazilian student of Lama Tsering of Chagdud Gonpa created this lovely musical interpretation. The piece was created in collaboration with Isadora Reimão, a multimedia artist who contributed vocals and graphics to the song.
Verse to Music Session # 3
On August 5, 2023, in collaboration with Siddhartha’s Intent Living is Dying, Khyentse Vision Project presented a discussion on life, Dharma, art, and poetry, with special guest Dungse Jampal Norbu and Bardo Café youth ambassadors.
Dungse Jampal Norbu is one of the lead Dharma teachers of Mangala Shri Bhuti. With the foundation of his life-long guidance and education from his father, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dungse’s anecdotal style and first-hand curiosity about how Buddhism relates to actual experience imbue his teaching approach with a fresh perspective, and reveal his natural wisdom and humor.
This session was based on a poignant poem by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo called the Cuckoo’s Song, which invites the reader to see the profound truths in everyday life. The text was originally translated by Zack Beer.
This melodic interpretation and performance of the Cuckoo’s Song is by Nick Demeris, founder of Human Instruments. It features a guitarist called Mafulaka, and the music video highlights artwork by Alicja Żmigrodzka.
Cy Gorman, created this hypnotic interpretation and performance of the Cuckoo’s Song which includes his own original digital artwork.
Alison Wells created this moving interpretation and performance of the Cuckoo’s Song, with original artwork by Maryann Cremen.
Christian Bernert created and performed a laid-back reggae version of the Cuckoo’s Song, with additional vocals by Lara Longstocking, and artwork by Vacio Cielo.
Verse to Music Session # 2
The second Khyentse Vision Project Verse to Music session was held on October 15, 2022. In this session, our special guest Erik Pema Kunsang, one of KVP’s advisors, introduced his translation of The Chariot of the Vidyādharas—a profound prayer by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo that pays homage to Padmasambhava’s pure realm of Lotus Light—and talked about the importance of putting Dharma prayers to metered verse so that they can be sung and chanted to by communities of practitioners. Thanks to Erik Pema Kunsang’s inspiring reflections on the art of translating spiritual inspiration, this session was a particularly insightful meditation on the power of meter and song.
Zack Beer and Christian Bernert hosted the session. Also attending were musicians Alison Wells, Benny Oyama, Cy Gorman, Fabio Negroni, and Simon Thomas, who were all invited to create musical interpretations of Erik’s metered verse translation. Excerpts from their compositions were played throughout the event.
Fabio Negroni, a Brazilian musician and student of Lama Tsering of Chagdud Gonpa, created this lyrical interpretation of the prayer with original artwork showcasing Chagdud Gonpa and Khadro Ling in the video.
Cy Gorman produced this moving version of the prayer with animated artwork by Alicja Żmigrodzka.
This vocal arrangement of the prayer was composed and performed by Alison Wells. It was designed for group chanting and the music video includes her original artwork.
Simon Thomas, founder of Dharma Kids Collective, wrote and performed this heartfelt version of the prayer with original artwork:
Verse to Music Session # 1
Our inaugural Verse to Music session was held in May, 2022. In this session, KVP in-house translators Zack Beer and Christian Bernert met musicians Nick Demeris, Harry Einhorn, Alison Wells, Benny Oyama and Cy Gorman to discuss the challenges and joys involved in the process of putting Dharma verses to music. We invited each of these musicians to put KVP’s metered version of the famous Praise to Mañjuśrī to music, in whatever style they wanted. The interpretations by these talented musicians from around the globe reflected a wide range of musical styles.
Watch the recording of the live session which includes an introductory overview of our Verse to Music initiative by Dolma Gunther:
Nick Demeris, founder of Human Instruments, created this acapella-style interpretation and performance of the Praise to Mañjuśrī, incorporating soul, hip hop, reggae, blues, and pentatonic flavours. The animation artwork for the music video was produced by the talented visual artist Alicja Żmigrodzka.
Benny Oyama, an American singer-songwriter, created and performed this charming folk-style acoustic version of the Praise to Mañjuśrī:
Christian Bernert collaborated with Nguyễn Thanh Hùng to create this inspiring orchestral piece for the Praise to Mañjuśrī. The animation for the music video was created by Al Donnelley for the short film Finding Manjushri.
Harry Einhorn, composer of the choral rendition of the Seven Line Supplication to Guru Rinpoche, created and performed this meditative interpretation of the Praise to Mañjuśrī. The accompanying artwork was produced by the painter Emily Avery Yoshiko Crow
This harmonic version of the Praise to Mañjuśrī was created and performed by Alison Wells, a professional Australian singer, who has been producing chantable and melodic versions of prayers for the Siddhartha’s Intent sangha over the past 30 years.
Cy Gorman, an Australian digital media designer, sound artist, and founder of Nurobodi, created this mesmerizing arrangement of the Praise to Mañjuśrī, by combining the Mañjuśrī seed mantra with the metered rhyming couplets: