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This piece tells the story of a middle-eastern folk-tale dating from the first century, known variously as The Hymn of the Pearl or The Hymn of the Soul or The Hymn of the Robe of Glory which has been preserved in the apocryphal Gnostic scripture called The Acts ofThomas. It tells the story of a young prince sent out to Egypt by his parents to recover a great treasure, a pearl, from the coils of a dragon. C.G. Jung, the great 20th century psychologist, says of the story on which this piece is based: "In the Gnostic hymn to the soul, the son is sent forth by his parents to seek the pearl that fell from the King' s crown. It lies at the bottom of a deepwell, guarded by a dragon, in the land ofthe Egyptians -- that land offleshpots and drunkensss with all its material and spiritual riches. The son and heir sets out to fetch the jewel, but forgets himself and his task in the orgies ofEgyptian worldliness, until a letter from his father reminds him what his duty is. He then sets out for the water and plunges into the dark depths of the well, where he finds the pearl on the bottom, and in the end offers it to the highest divinity. This hymn, ascribed to Bardesanes, dates from an age that resembled ours in more than one respect. Mankind looked and waited....( for a)...symbol of the saviour, the bringer of healing." The Pearl was written for the Odin String Quartet, Toronto, in 2018.
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