Pôle Nord

Italian composer Riccardo Nova developed a passion for India at an early age. As a regular visitor, he studied traditional music and explored the depths of Carnatic music. Mahābhārata (Mantras, Fights and Threnody) is the fruit of his immersion in Indian culture.

Originally, “The Great Story of the Bharata” is a mythic-historical Sanskrit epic, recounting warlike deeds that took place as early as the end of the 2nd millennium BC. This text is considered to be the longest poem ever composed. The depth of the words, the ancient-sounding Sanskrit chant, Indian percussion and an orchestration combining traditional and modern instruments create a totally hypnotic universe. The world of orality and auditory memory meets the world of complexly colored writing, and old and new sounds come together organically. Played for the first time in Switzerland, this fascinating work is performed by the NEC and students from the Lucerne School of Music.