Sounds of the Big Bang

Western music composer Naresh Sohal draws from the Rig Veda and the Big Bang Theory to explore the birth of the universe in his new piece,The Cosmic Dance

In India,where there is a song for every stage of life,the name Naresh Sohal doesnt ring many bells. The 73-year-old is one of the few accomplished Indian composers of Western classical music. He has created more than 70 pieces,from chamber music to orchestral pieces,which have been presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra,the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra among others,with conductors such as Zubin Mehta at the helm. In 1987,Sohal was awarded the Padma Shri.

His new piece,The Cosmic Dance,will be premiered for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on August 2 and,like the composer who was born in India and now lives in Brockley,southeast London,it is both Indian and Western in nature. Sohal draws upon two disparate disciplines to explore the idea of creation the ancient texts of the Upanishads and the Rig Veda,and the Big Bang Theory. Through my reading,I discovered how Indian sages had explained the phenomenon of Creation. Because of my interest in physics,the Big Bang Theory caught my attention. In some ways,these accounts are remarkably similar,but there are important respects in which they differ. The Cosmic Dance is my musical account of Creation. It is influenced sometimes by one perspective and sometimes by the other, he says.

The 48-minute piece is divided into seven sections,such as Unmanifest,Big Bang and Aftermath,Galaxies Disperse,Sun,Moon and Earth. It will be performed by a 108-member Royal Scottish National Orchestra,under conductor Peter Oundjian. Unmanifest is represented by the theme played by the alto saxophone at the beginning. This theme recurs throughout the piece,as well as ends the piece to imply a cyclical pattern of creation,destruction and re-creation, says Sohal. The Big Bang itself is marked by a loud convergence of sound,with all instruments coming together to hit one chord,before flowing away as various galaxies form and disperse through the cosmos.

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I grew up in Punjab,just where the Himalayas rise from the plains. When I was a boy of about eight,I used to lie on my rooftop gazing at the stars in the night sky and at the Milky Way,in particular,struck by the vastness of the universe and feeling a sense of belonging. This early experience triggered my interest in the creation of the universe and our place in it, says Sohal.

Born into a non-musical family,Sohal taught himself western classical music from books. His musical journey includes the staples unsuccessful attempts to break into Bollywood and the gutsy going away to the UK at 22 with £2 in his pocket,working as a copyist at a music publishers,and studying music at various adult education institutions. I believe in destiny, he says.

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