I write to express my sincere gratitude for your assistance during my recent research trip to Bombay. I am a non-Parsi composer from Seattle, Washington (USA) and was in Bombay for most of January 2007 to research ancient Zoroastrian scriptures and songs. I am a friend of Nariman, Coomi and Sorab Wadia. As a result of Nariman Wadia’s letter which you published I was able to meet with several Parsi musicians, ervads and dasturs. I also spent time in the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute studying the Avestan texts of the Gathas and the Pahlavi texts of the Greater Bundahishn.
After weeks of research, I have arrived at a libretto for a concert-length Zoroastrian work which my choral ensemble will premiere in Seattle in 2008. It will be based on the seven creations, and will include melodies from the Gathas as sung by Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji, as well as verses of Zoroastrian cosmology as found in the Bundahishn.
As a student of ancient culture, I have read many creation stories (and, in fact, first learned about Zoroastrianism through Gore Vidal’s historical fiction entitled Creation). I have never read a creation story as dramatic and as beautiful as the Bundahishn. I am very excited about composing this work and look forward to sharing its profundity in my little corner of the Western world. I also hope to return to India with my ensemble (perhaps in 2009) to perform it in Bombay.
None of this would have been possible without the generosity of the Wadias and all the Parsis who came forward to share their music with me in Bombay. Your thoughts, words and deeds inspire more than you know.
ERIC BANKS
Artistic and executive director, The Esoterics Adjunct Music Faculty, Cornish College of the Arts
Seattle, Washington, USA