Samarkand | xuanzang

Location: PERSIA

Lyrics:

Hear and know the Dharma!

Oh, great king of Samarkand

Oh great King of Samarkand

The winds of change upon your land

Seek the Dharma in your heart

Escape the wheel of Samsara

Oh, great king of Samarkand

Cause and effect by your own hand

Abandon this Ahura Mazda

Escape the wheel of Samsara!

Credits:

Instrumentation and vocals: Tony Garone

Dumbek and drums: Christian W. Brown

Comments:

In this song, Xuanzang entered ancient Persia via the city of Samarkand, which was the place where the culture of the East met the culture of the West. Samarkand was essentially the hub of the Silk Road, where merchants sold their wares and cultures collided. In the presence of the king of Samarkand, Xuanzang was met at first with arrogance because the king was a Zoroastrian who felt contempt for Buddhists. However, as the king listened to the monk speak with eloquence and wisdom he was taken by his sincerity. Xuanzang converted the king from Zoroastrianism to Buddhism overnight and in the process won his favor.

This song is the first foray (musically) into Central Asia and the scales and instrumentation reflect that - I hope. I wanted the opening of the song to introduce Persian scales and instrumentation so I went with a Scheherazade sort of rhythm but the song turns into a chaotic rush half way to introduce the passion of that part of the world.