“Consider the visible sun; although it shines with one radiance upon all things, yet in each place it becomes manifest and sheds its light according to the potentialities of that place. For instance, in a yellow globe, the rays shine yellow; in a white the rays are white; and in a red, the red rays are manifest. Then these variations are from the object, not from the shining light.” —Bahá’u’lláh, The Seven Valleys

Background

My Interdisciplinary Design course provided me with an opportunity to explore the fields of architecture and music, which initially seemed different from each other. While architecture is the manipulation of physical space, music is the arrangement of sound in time. But these two disciplines are deeply intertwined. The way sound travels through a building is often a defining feature of the space. Likewise, music is created for particular spaces. Drumming takes place outdoors, while jazz combos perform in more intimate settings. In the Western Classical tradition, composers like Bach or Mozart often composed their music with sacred spaces in mind. Over time, as the architectural spaces we construct have changed, so has music.

One recent sacred space that captivated my interest is the Bahá’í House of Worship in Santiago, Chile. The beauty of its form inspired me to compose a piece of music for the structure. In doing so, I focused on the role that light plays as the inspiration for the Temple’s unique design, setting out to explore how I could capture light through music.

The House of Worship

According to the architect, Siamak Hariri, the design brief is deceptively simple: “a sacred, circular structure, with nine sides, welcoming and embracing people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all religions, or no religion at all. The structure is a single room—a place of worship—where there is no pulpit and no clergy. In these divisive times, when the world is putting up walls, the design needs to express, in form, the very opposite. It needs to be inclusive, and welcoming to all.”

Hariri found his inspiration for the project in the Bahá’í writings. He explains, “if God decides to answer your prayer, you become infused with His light.” The Temple expresses this in a structure, made of nine wings of cast glass and translucent marble, that captures and glows with light. As the day passes, the light that is filtered to the inside of the building shifts from white to silver to ochre, then blue to purple. At night there is an inversion of the light, and the Temple, lit from within, radiates with a soft glow outwards.

This transformative quality is expressed in other ways. With the sculptural backdrop of the Andes to the east, and the panoramic vista of urban Santiago to the west, the Temple is located in a liminal space between the two. Standing in the single room, the nine stone veils seem to spin around and bend and twist, reaching upwards towards the oculus at the centre.

What do you see in the images of the Temple?

Un siervo es atraído hacia Mi en oración...

In capturing the visual and spatial qualities of the Temple through music, particularly the different effects of light, this song harnesses the interplay of two elements—melody and harmony, soloists and choir, harmonic movement and spatial movement. Each element has its own unique qualities so that when the two are sung at the same time, their interactions give rise to a new overall sound “colour.” As these individual elements shift over the course of the piece, the musical environment that is conjured up corresponds with the light of the Temple throughout the day, from sunrise to morning to midday, then afternoon, sunset and evening.

Below is a digital mock up of the first draft of the song. Use headphones for 3D sound. On the following pages are the text used in the song, the same passage that inspired the concept of the Temple, and its Spanish translation.

“‘A servant is drawn unto Me in prayer until I answer him; and when I have answered him, I become the ear wherewith he heareth....’ For thus the Master of the house hath appeared within His home, and all the pillars of the dwelling are ashine with His light. And the action and effect of the light are from the Light-Giver; so it is that all move through Him and arise by His will.” —Bahá’u’lláh, The Seven Valleys

“‘Un siervo es atraído hacia Mi en oración hasta que Yo le responda y cuando le he respondido, Me convierto en el oído con el cual oye...’ Pues, de este modo ha aparecido el Amo de la casa dentro de Su hogar y todos los pilares de la morada resplandecen con Su luz. Y la acción y el efecto de la luz vienen de Aquél Quien da luz; por ello, todos actúan por medio de Él y se levantan por Su voluntad.”

The next slides feature seven images of the Temple throughout the day that inspired the musical piece, followed by the score.

What do you hear in the music?

“All the variations which the wayfarer in the stages of their journey beholds in the realms of being, proceed from their own vision. Thus when the wayfarer gazes only upon the place of appearance—that is, when they see only the many-coloured globes—they behold yellow and red and white; hence it is that conflict hath prevailed among the people. And some do gaze upon the effulgence of the light; and some have drunk the wine of oneness and these see nothing but the sun itself.” —Bahá’u’lláh, The Seven Valleys

Credits

I’d like to acknowledge a few people whose support was invaluable. My thanks go out to Ms. Robin Michel, my Interdisciplinary Design teacher, for giving me the wonderful opportunity to explore a few of my passions in such an open-ended way. Mr. Mark Laidman’s time, expertise, and equipment was essential in helping me complete the synthesized recording of the song. Finally, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Siamak Hariri and the Chile Temple team, and the Temple Choir Director Ms. Lydia Mills for the resources they provided, along with their time and support.

Photographs are sourced from the Hariri-Pontarini Architects website and the book Embodied Light. I thank all the photographers for their work. English religious texts are from the Bahá’í Reference Library. Quotes of Mr. Hariri are from Embodied Light.

If you would like to learn more about the House of Worship, please visit their website. You can learn more about the Bahá’í Faith here. The song is my copyright, so please contact me if you would like to use the score or audio. If you are interested in hearing more of my music, visit my SoundCloud.

Thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed it.