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In The Rose Apple Grove is a setting of a spontaneous poem recited by King Indrabhuti to the Buddha. Having asked the Buddha for his advice on how to attain Buddhahood, Gautama said '...abandon sense pleasure...' The king responded by asking is there a way to attain Buddhahood through enjoyment. 

'In the Rose Apple Grove so joyful to experience.
Even if I were to become a fox in my next life,
A liberation that abandons the sense pleasures
I could never desire, O Gautama'

Despite initially looking brash, King Indrabhuti's words are profound, highlighting how you cannot escape the world if you attain enlightenment. He also asks the question is enlightenment worth attaining if it makes us detached from our fellow man. From this King Indrabhuti attained enlightenment and was bestowed all of the tantras which he taught to his whole kingdom of Uddiyana.

'Of these recent works by Ben Lunn, the choral setting of words by King Indrabhuti of Uddiyana In the rose apple grove is the most immediately appealing, with its close-knit harmonies reminding this listener at least of similar works of ‘holy mysticism’ coming from Scandinavia and the Baltic states. The anonymous singers seem thoroughly comfortable with the idiom, despite the clear difficulties of tuning – which they surmount with apparent ease. The words themselves are not clear, but the aim of the composer is evidently to achieve an atmosphere of ectsasy and contemplation rather than to closely mirror the text. ..' - P.C.G.

In The Rose Apple Grove (2016)

Wagnerkonsert

Das Liebesmahl 2

Hodie Christus natus est - Francis Poulenc

Knut Nystedt - Laudate

Performed by Johannebergs Vokalensemble, conducted by Jan K. Delemark, in service at Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, May 2018.

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