Igor Silin and former student Olga Tkachenko will
perform their version of Tibetan music at Smolny Cathedral.
Much like the hugely popular singing monks who have capitalized on Gregorian chants, Olga Tkachenko and Igor Silin have captured headlines around the world with music inspiried by Buddist monks.
Silin is a famous former theater director and Tkachenko is one of his former students.
The two have launched a duet group, Zikr, in the hopes of revolutionizing Buddhist temple music by bringing it from its mysterious mountain lairs in Tibetan shrines to the less-enlightened public.
While both types of music -- traditional temple music and Zikr's interpretation thereof -- are similar, the two vary in the way they are performed and the ultimate goal on which they focus.
Traditional temple music is, after all, liturgical, while Zikr's music is meant to entertain.
Critics have speculated on the name "zikr." Some claim it comes from the deep-singing nature typical of Tibetan monasteries, but at the same time reflects a high external influence giving rise to a new and vivid form of music.
Oriental linguists agree that the word "zikr" means "remembrance" in Arabic, one of the key elements in meditation.
Zikr's mysterious sounds will echo through the temple of Smolny Cathedral on April 5. (SPP)