"Monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, Dharamsala"
"Monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, Dharamsala"
In 1989, recording artist, David Parsons, traveled to Dharamsala, India to experience the mystical sounds of Tibetan ritual music. He was received by the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery School and given permission to incorporate his DAT recordings of their rituals into his 1990 album of original music, Yatra (18072). In return for the monks’ kindness, Parsons decided to release selected ceremonial performances in their original state. The results were presented in 1990 on Fortuna’s release, Sacred Ceremonies: Ritual Music from Tibetan Buddhism (17074).
When Parsons returned to Dharamsala in 1990 as a part of a documentary film crew, he found that the Dip Tse Chok Ling monks had been practicing for another album. He was amazed at the difference between the two recording sessions. «The first time, they didn’t understand why anyone would want to listen to what they did,» Parsons recalls. «I also had to explain a lot about recording techniques, and we had to keep rearranging the instruments to get a nice stereo image. It took three months to get the right recording. This time, the monks didn’t need to be told anything. They set up completely by themselves. I just went down there, turned on the DAT and recorded Sacred Ceremonies in a couple of hours.»
