TAN DUN SIGNS WITH DECCA CLASSICS

7/2/2023

We are thrilled to announce that multi award-winning composer and conductor Tan Dun has signed with Decca Classics. 

Fresh from conducting the UK premiere of his epic work, the Buddha Passion, at London’s Royal Festival Hall last month, a performance which was met with glowing reviews from the critics, Tan Dun is thrilled to begin this significant new recording partnership with Decca.

“Decca has always been a dream for me. As a young artist, I could never have imagined that one day we would embrace each other. I’ve worked with many recording labels over the years, but now, connecting with Decca, I understand. It is so pure and classical and, yet cool and fresh and open to all sorts of music and cultures, it is a very special place. I feel deeply honoured to be part of it.”

Tan Dun

On 3 March Decca releases Five Souls, which Tan Dun describes as ​“a journey from the universe to the metaverse where we discover our spirit, who we are and what we are meant to be”. The five movements for small ensemble include water percussion, harp, brass, strings and digeridoo. The first single from Five Souls called WE (West East) releases on 9 February.

The first major new album from Decca, to be released on 7 April, will be the world premiere recording of Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion: a tale of wonder, of truth and of gentle but irresistible transformation. The monumental work, involving massed choirs, large orchestra, six percussionists and an array of soloists including indigenous singers, traditional Chinese instruments and a dancing pipa player, is the first such ​‘Passion’ on a Buddhist rather than Christian narrative.

Another major world premiere recording, The Tears of Nature, follows in September. The 25-minute percussion concerto was written in the wake of three major natural disasters – the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the Japanese Tsunami in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, all of which affected Tan Dun personally.

Tan Dun's insights into Five Souls

“I have two goals in my heart: I don’t just want to establish a musical idea…. I want to develop a cross-cultural idea that brings nature and classical music, ancient and modern, together.”

Tan Dun