Arun Ghosh shines with ‘The Canticle of the Sun’

Like so many artists, clarinettist Arun Ghosh emerged from lockdown with something unexpected. Recent album Seclused in Light featured a set of Indo-Western fusion instrumentals with Arun’s clarinet a presence throughout. His next tour, however, showcases ‘Canticle Of The Sun’, an as-yet unrecorded cycle of 11 songs in 13th Century Umbrian dialect, scored for an eight-strong ensemble including saxophonist Camilla George, bass player Ruth Goller and vocalists Seaming To and Irini Arabatzi. Especially surprising is that, while playing keyboards and acting as Musical Director, Ghosh has restricted his clarinet to just one cameo appearance. “I do really look forward to that moment,” he admits. “And maybe I’m taking a risk for people who come to hear me as a clarinettist, but I don’t want to get in the way of the vocals.”

The source for the project is a poem by St Francis of Assissi that Ghosh discovered while browsing second-hand books: “I was flicking through this little book and the phrase ‘Canticle Of The Sun’ jumped off the page. I immediately thought of Sun Ra. When I got home I looked up the poem and knew I had to set it music.” The Canticle is a song of praise, thanking God for the sun, the moon, fire and water as well as more spiritual things and Ghosh has given each element its own theme and musical style.

“It all stems from spiritual jazz but I was trying to make the connection between Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane on one hand and Gregorian chant, Gospel and even Qawwali. With the musicians we have of course there has to be room for improvisation - Camilla (George) is such a fantastic sax player, whatever she does has such sensitivity to it – but ultimately it’s about those devotional songs.”

Having started with an English translation, Ghosh was charmed by the rhythms and musicality of St Francis’ original so used that for the vocal parts (albeit with a translated introduction). What hasn’t changed, however, is his conviction that the work needs to be heard in the right environment: “It’s powerful, widesounding music designed to be played in beautiful large spaces like churches or cathedrals. That’s why we’re only using religious buildings to perform it in.”

Above all Ghosh, who describes himself as multi-faith, believes there is something in devotional music for people of any religious persuasion – including none at all. “The power of the music can affirm our place in the world: there’s definitely a universal thing that comes from the spirit, whatever that spirit is.”

Arun Ghosh’s ‘Canticle of the Sun’ is at: St John’s, Bethnal Green (1 July), Hull Minster (1 Sept), St Barnabas, Oxford (8 Sept) and St Bartholomew’s, Marsden (9 Oct).

For more info visit www.sounduk.net/events/arun-ghosh-the-canticle-of-the-sun/