Kim Cunio
Kim Cunio of Sydney, Australia, is a composer whose works are widely recognized for their distinctive ethnic scales, modes and musical inflections. Working toward his doctorate in music, he has studied with Australia’s finest musicians, including the eminent Australian composer Nigel Butterly, conductor Eric Clapham and jazz guitar legend Ike Isaacs. His work with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the ABC Classics label will see him make a number of disks and music projects for CD, film and television. These projects will also expand Australian Broadcasting’s presence into “world music,” the many genres of non-Western music that were once described as folk or ethnic music.
As one of Australia’s most accomplished researching composers, Mr. Cunio was awarded an ABC Golden Manuscript Award in 2004 in recognition of his work with traditional and Islamic music.
FROM THE COMPOSER
"Mandala for Dawn"
Mr. Cunio wrote a musical mantra of a soul’s liberation to light from darkness and to real from unreal, expressing enlightened activity and fearlessness, as well as compassion, mercy and emptiness. He wrote the piece, featuring the angelic voice of the concert soprano soloist Heather Lee, following the killing of his friend Dawn Griggs on her arrival in New Delhi for a meditation retreat.
In 2004 a dear friend Dawn Griggs was brutally murdered on her way to a meditation retreat in India. She had been to India 15 times before. The murder happened in the middle of the night at Delhi airport. Dawn was a very ascended being and many people felt her presence and elevation in the few days after the murder. Mandala for Dawn is an attempt to give her soul’s journey a musical and textual narrative through this night, after the physical trauma. This is through music and mantra to still the mind, especially that of Green Tara, the great feminine transformative force, as well as a yogic mantra to move the mind from the unreal to the real, darkness to light. In the middle section women sing a realization of the opening of De Spiritus Sanctus, by Hildegard Von Bingen (1098–1179). There is a triple symbolism in this name for Dawn. It points to the new day, the turning of the eternal world drama and the ascension of Dawn the person. -Kim Cunio
Mantra for Tara (Om Tare Tuttare Soha) Om — The cosmic sound and the great body speech and mind of Tara, known as the Buddha of enlightened activity Tare — Invocation of Tara; activation of feminine compassion; the one who ferries us across any suffering Tuttare — Activation of this within us; liberation from vice, fear and danger Soha — From the Sanskrit svaha, to manifest this
Yogic Mantra Om asatoma sat gamaya — Lead me from the unreal to the real Tamasoma jyotir gamaya — From darkness to light Mrityorma amritam gamaya — From mortality to immortality Om shanti shanti shanti — Peace peace peace, I am a peaceful soul Sri gurave namaha — I observe myself, a teacher from within (not sung)
De Spiritus Sanctus Spiritus sanctus — O holy spirit Vivifififi cans vita — Life making liveliness Movens omnia — Influencing all
