Bodhisattva Trading Co.

 

Master-quality® Tibetan Singing Bowl Set: details  

Tibetan Singing Bowl Set

 

A chromatically tuned Master-quality® 21-piece concert set, consisting of circa 17th through 19th century blue-label Cup, Low-wall-thick-lip and Buddha type singing bowls. 



 
 

PRESS RELEASE

"On Thursday evening November 16, 2006, Dr. David Collier, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Illinois State University, will perform the world premier of David’s Book for Solo Percussionist and Wind Ensemble by composer David Maslanka. This performance will take place at 8:00 pm in the Center for the Performing Arts on the Illinois State University campus.

Commissioned by a consortium of university wind ensembles, the work was written for Collier and the Illinois State University Wind Symphony under the direction of Dr. Stephen Steele, Director of Bands.  The concerto is in five movements that focus on the unique timbral aspects and emotional expressions of an extensive collection of percussion instruments.  Maslanka employs several of J.S.Bach’s chorale melodies as thematic material throughout the work.

In his notes in the score, Maslanka states

The word “book” gives the feeling of a larger collection of material, something extensive and varied, something that may have a story to tell.  And there are two David’s involved, myself, and David Collier, for whom the piece was written…Music is about spirit, and about finding one’s connection to “bigger” self and to universals.  If it didn’t do this we would find something that did.

Very unique to this concerto is the extensive use of Tibetan Singing Bowls.  Musicologist Rain Gray states that

“Previously used in Tibet for meditation and ceremonial purposes, Tibetan Singing Bowls are struck with a padded mallet or rubbed around the rim with a playing mallet to produce a fascinating blend of harmonic resonances and rich overtones…Singing bowls produce sounds which invoke a deep state of relaxation which naturally assists one in entering into meditation, the ultimate goal being enlightenment. They are a quintessential aid to meditation, and can be found on private Buddhist altars, and in temples, monasteries and meditation halls throughout the world.”

For David’s Book, Maslanka wrote for 22 different chromatic pitches.  In order to perform this concerto, Collier enlisted the expertise of Shakti Gray at Bodhisattva Trading Company to “create” a set of these bowls with exact pitches. As each bowl is an antique and was not formed with any regard to western tuning schemes. Shakti painstakingly analyzed the pitch frequencies of numerous bowls in order to build a one-of-kind set for Collier.  

Dr. Collier is Assistant Professor of Music at Illinois State University.  As Director of Percussion Studies, Dr. Collier oversees all aspects of percussion at Illinois State University.

Dr. Collier is timpanist with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Illinois Chamber Orchestra.  In addition, Collier is also active as a freelance percussionist and has performed with artists such as Marvin Hamlisch, Joel Gray, Mitzi Gaynor, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Petula Clark, Aretha Franklin, Tommy Tune, Roger Williams, Shirley Jones, and Bobby Vinton.

Dr. Collier received his Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University, his Master of Music degree from Indiana University—where he was awarded a Performer’s Certificate—and his doctorate in Percussion Performance and Electronic Music from the University of Illinois."


 

Please note that this set was specifically matched for  the customer above and has been sold.

 Other sets can be custom ordered. Please call Rain or Shakti at the following number to discuss
your needs and budget.

Please call Rain or Shakti toll-free at 1-800-588-5350
 (or outside the United States at 1-310-838-5350)

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