Magna Invocatio – Albumn notes
A Gnostic Mass for Choir and Orchestra Inspired by the Sublime Music of Killing Joke
by Jaz Coleman
Before I tackle any major work, the first thing I do is to literally dream the Opus Magnum into existence. This is usually done in a succession of cafes where I imagine the work in every last detail! So prior to composition, it was necessary to outline certain criteria that I intended to influence the work. These were:
- As we are currently living in the sixth extinction period, global society is radically re-arranging itself via mass centralization for its own survival’s sake. Thermonuclear armed nation states condemned to an inevitable resource war, further antagonized by neoliberal capitalism could quite easily set back current evolutionary development by millions of years. Mankind is currently experiencing its “Babel Moment”, as the fragmentation of individualism yields to a more homogenized global collectivism, and as the current post-democratic period gives way to an emerging technotronic synarchy.
As it appears, our greater imperative is to rapidly accelerate human advancement, art (from a microcosmic perspective) must enhance a sense of oneness in all themes (i.e. projecting the unification of all nations, races, creeds, a polycentric choir, all singing the one song from the same hymn sheet, as it were), so that we may take the first necessary step to potentially evolve into a type 1 civilization on the Kardashev scale (i.e. the ability to harness all the possible energy from an available star, gathering and storing it to meet the demands of a stabilized population). In other words, the music had to celebrate the emergence of planetary consciousness.
- Conveying such a momentous mode of social metamorphosis is perhaps more adequately expressed through alchemical symbolism as the Tower of Babel morphs into a termite mound (or the industrious beehive). Such emblems have considerable significance as we approach the proposed de-industrialization of the planet (and the regeneration of Gaia), in which the bulk of humanity has moved away from the wilderness areas to 21st century smart cities, characterized by shiny futuristic skyscrapers that appear to ascend to the heavens (analogous to the legendary Tower of Babel) while simultaneously descending to subterranean depths in the manner of an inverted termite mound, encapsulating a synarchic hive mind. As the Initiate Nema put it:
“The Hive now lives, immortal.
With queen and workers, drones and builder-bees, soldiers, foster-mothers - all are one.
In constant life-renewal, the Hive breathes as One Being - for so indeed it is.
In the Will of the Hive is the Will of the Bee fulfilled.
Each in its appointed place, the Bees work out their Will in ordered harmony.”
(These writings affected me profoundly when I first discovered them in my teenage years. Later in 1991, I had the privilege to meet the author in Cincinnati). The planetary hive mind was also predicted by the mystic Alice Bailey who noted
“World Citizenship should be the goal of the enlightened, with a world federation and world brain.”
Furthermore, science appeared to confirm this trend. Peter Russell and Ray Kurzweil (who is currently head of R&D for Google) observed that when the numbers of learned units approach the ‘critical mass’ (i.e. population gets close to 10 billion), they start to behave like parts of a larger organism. Above all, I wanted the music to not just reflect an awareness of these momentous changes but to embrace and beautify this profound metamorphosis.
So the work ahead had to somehow capture the zeitgeist of this mega-social transformation and amplify the “Babel Moment”. The all-important Aquarian themes of the brotherhood and sisterhood of man have not been adequately addressed or developed in any meaningful way since Beethoven utilized the genius of Schiller’s masterpiece Ode to Joy in the glorious 9th symphony. Consequently, I chose a large instrumentation.
Additionally, the music had to reach out to people who do not normally listen to orchestral music; to these ends, neo-romanticism seemed appropriate (i.e. to emphasize the post-modernist use of resolving dissonance and perpetual melody).
Another consideration was that of a vastly reduced attention span in the 21st century. The laws that applied to the popularization of Wagner’s Ring cycle would not work in the modern age because of this affliction, therefore the work had to consist of 13 digestible epics (5 of which would be with full chorus!).
As pointed out earlier, my sincere and perhaps naïve aspiration with the entire work was to lift the listener up and away from the traumas of our world to another dimension, a more desirable reality where positivity and possibility, agape and interconnectedness take precedence. The end goal was always to bring magic into the listener’s life in some meaningful way. From my own perspective, there is nothing more magical than still sharing music with the same individuals from my teenage years.
From a devotional standpoint, part of me wanted to give thanks to the Gods and Hidden Masters for our continued success and longevity. Therefore, I decided upon rearrangements and variations of the group Killing Joke’s more melodic and uplifting songs. Killing Joke was simply the supreme vehicle for a Gnostic mass, as it has affected every area of my life since I was 18 years of age. Much of the panoramic beauty within the unusual harmonic landscapes of Killing Joke is sadly overlooked because the searing intensity of the music undoubtedly isolates some listeners. So for decades, I’ve felt the music simply begs for orchestration. Of greater personal importance was the fact that the work had to unite the two seemingly conflicting modes of my life, namely classical music and experimental rock music.
- A Feast of the Gods! On a more secular level, the construct of the work had to be designed so that the music would commence with an appetizer and still be playing long after dessert, coffee and cigars, to celebrate Killing Joke’s 40th anniversary!
- I wanted to revisit, not just a succession of epiphanies that transformed my own life, but also portray some of the more hidden or occulted milestones of the human race that have captured my imagination for some 4 decades now. So I specifically chose an unusual combination of sacred texts I discovered at different stages throughout my life. The only possible connection between them was that they had an immediate effect of inflaming and lifting my spirit to another level. They were, to coin a phrase, Words of Power. Also, the prose incorporated would have to suggest the dissolution of our existing patristic religions (Age of Pisces) to make way for the restoration of the Ancient Mysteries (Aquarius). Additionally, the dominant texts employed had to dramatically project a new spiritual model for human development appropriate to the age. Finally, the prose had to endow a sense of spiritual equilibrium on all those who interact with it, providing the essential notion of balance in the midst of tumultuous change.
The prose that fulfilled such criteria was The Great Invocation by Alice Bailey, which eventually constituted the beginning and end of the entire work.
The way things panned out was little short of magical. For example, I mentioned earlier the text had to imply the restoration of the ancient mysteries. Later, I would record The Great Invocation with Russia’s oldest orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, which is curious when one considers that Alice Bailey prophesized Russia’s special role in bringing in the true New Age and the restoration of the ancient mysteries.
Indeed, the words have had such a powerful effect on me I decided to name the entire 90 minute-work the Latin equivalent, Magna Invocatio. For the record, I ascribed the repetition of these lines to an inner transformation in my own life. I first became acquainted with the works of Alice Bailey and the Lucis Trust when my study of H.P. Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine inadvertently led to the work of Alice Bailey prior to my initiation into the Rosicrucian tradition with the co-founder of Killing Joke, drummer Paul Ferguson on February 26th, 1979.
Moreover, I wanted Magna Invocatio to project (my) potential future work with the Lucis Trust in a way that life follows art!
Subsequently, I chose to translate the entirety of The Great Invocation into Latin, specifically because it was a largely defunct language (except in the case of ceremony where Latin somehow enhances the ritualistic magical-mystical aspect).
The work opens with a choral fanfare comprised of the first verse of The Great Invocation, which was specifically composed to A) provide a processional and essentially ceremonial function and B) to create a devotional work that could directly connect me via music to the divine spirit inherent within the text of The Great Invocation. The fanfare aims to project the theme of The Great Invocation to the four corners of the earth1. The short duration of this opening theme (all things considered) made it a perfect flagship for the entire project.
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Ex puncto luminis intra mentem dei
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Effundat lumen in mentes hominum
Let Light descend on Earth.
Descendat lumen ad terram
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Ex puncto amoris intra cordem dei
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
Effundat amor in cordes hominum
May Christ return to Earth.
Revisat Christus ad terram
Correspondingly, the finale of the mass employs the second half of the text of The Great Invocation.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Ex umbilico ut fatum dei cognoscitur
Let purpose guide the little wills of men –
Regat sententia misellos animos hominum
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
Sententia quam domini cognoscunt et commodant
From the centre which we call the race of men
Ex umbilico quem dicamus genus hominum
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
Coalescat consilium amoris et luminis
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Obdet ostium ut malum habitat
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
Restituant lumen, amor et potentia consilium ad terram
In addition to The Great Invocation, there are three other texts-prayers that I included in my Words of Power. The second text is taken from a Rosicrucian prayer to honour the aforementioned initiation. I included them in the third movement, formerly known as Intravenous. This seemed appropriate as when I (from an etymological standpoint) bisected the word intravenous: the intra or intro seemed to represent my initiation into the ancient mysteries and specifically the arts which from a Qabbalistic perspective are ascribed to the seventh Sephirah whose planetary ruler is Venus and the symbol of the rose of the Rosicrucian tradition is the flower of Venus.
Above all, I felt it was important to mark the time by including 3 lines from our initiation vows.
May our minds be open to the highest
Adaperiant nostrae mentes ad superum
May our hearts be the centre of light
Sint nostra corda umbilici luminis
May our bodies be the temple of the Rosy Cross
Sint nostra corpora aedes Rosaceae Crucis
In the fifth movement, I hymned a Sumerian prayer to the music of a song formerly known as Invocation. This prayer is called A Prayer for Samsu-iluna, included primarily as not just a declaration of awareness of mankind’s hidden origins, but a reference to the civilizing Sumerian-Babylonian influence of a system that still secretly functions today (these are the 36 transnational ruling Super Lodges referred to as Ur-lodges denoting their Babylonian providence, of which such notables as Mahatma Gandhi have been members).
Furthermore, I wanted to draw attention to the Sumerian Annunaki Gods Enlil (the Destroyer of Mankind) and Enki (the Defender of Mankind). These are the much misunderstood solar deities, forerunners or analogues of Jehovah and the Serpent-Satan, respectively, who are both included in this specific prayer.
When like a raging storm you batter the foreign lands that are hostile to you,
May your head be raised high, O king
May your head be raised high, O Samsu-iluna!
In Babylon, the city of the divine powers of Suen,
May you let your cleverness shine like the sun!
May Marduk, the god who created you, lift your head high
In the midst of lords and princes!
On the field of battle, of mêlée and conflict,
May he never stray from your side!
May he be your helper with weapons,
May he cause you to excel until distant days!
May An, king of the gods, make your life last until distant days!
May Enlil, king of the foreign lands, who confirms your words,
Make your words weighty!
May Inana, the great queen of heaven,
Grasp you firmly with her holy word!
May Enki deliver numerous people into your hands!
kur gu-erim-ĝal-la-zu ud ḫuš-gin du-zu-ne
lugal gu an-še ḫe-ni-zig
sa-am-su-i-lu-na gu an-še ḫe-ni-zig
kan-diĝir-raki iri me dsuen-na-ka nam-gal-zu ud-gin pa ḫe-ni-ib-e
dmarduk diĝir saĝ du-zu gu-en nun-e-ne-ka saĝ-zu ḫe-eb-il-le
ki me šen-šen ĝiš-ĝiš-la-a-ka da-za ĝa-la na-an-ni-ib-dag-ge
a-taḫ ĝištukul-zu ḫe-me ud su-ra-še ḫe-ba-e-dirig-ga
an lugal diĝir-re-e-ne-ke zi-zu ud su-ra-še ḫe-me-da-ĝal
den-lil lugal kur-kur-ra-ke inim-zu ge-en-na inim-zu ḫa-ba-ab-dugud
dinana nin gal an-na-ke inim kug-ga-ni-a ḫe-bi-ib-ḫa-za
den-ki-ke uĝ šar-ra šu-zu-še ḫu-mu-un-ĝal
dasari ensi gal abzu kur-kur kilib-ba na de ba-X-a nir-ĝal eridugki-ga
diĝir X-ra-na kilib-ĝal X X-e-ne-ke mu dug-ga ḫe-bi-ib-sa a nun gal-zu ḫe-a
In the ninth movement, I translated into Latin the original text of the chorus from the song Into The Unknown, in which I wanted to hymn the end of Homo Sapiens Sapiens and the beginning of a new augmented species, which will coincide with the confirmation that mankind has interacted with various extra-terrestrial intelligences for aeons. It is this widespread disclosure that will awaken the cosmic man, leading to a sixth root race and mankind’s eventual apotheosis.
After disclosure comes
Postquam ostentatio advenit
Man takes his rightful place
Homo devincit dignum gradum
Amongst the stars
Inter astra
The celestial barge awaits
Divina baris exspectat
One by one, we embark
Singillatim imponimus
To the sun behind the sun
Ad solem pone solem
As I write this summary, physicists and mathematicians alike are debating the very nature of reality, pondering on the mind-blowing possibilities of a holographic multiverse and entropic reduction. Conclusively, I feel it is necessary to express this from a devotional perspective, as when I contemplate the Supreme Consciousness that created what some would describe as this great simulation, I am still overcome with awe and gratitude.
Throughout this short synopsis, I have frequently used the term “Babel Moment”. It is worth noting that the word Babel is more accurately construed as Gate of God and there were also “Babel Moments” for me during and after the recording, when the Gates of God appeared to swing open and I became, as it were, drunk on the ambrosia of the Gods because, as far as financing the recording, it seemed an impossibility from the outset. Suffice to say, the project’s completion to the highest standard was nothing short of miraculous and I was truly in a state of extreme elation and astonishment for many weeks after a triumphant recording with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic and Chorus during a time of international tension.
It seemed obvious to me then as it does now that the arts can reach into those areas where diplomacy (and the political spectrum) is often denied.
And this is my work ahead.
Magna Invocatio is dedicated to our global KJ family and secondly, to the work and good people of the Lucis Trust, who encouraged me from the outset and finally, to world peace.
Jaz Coleman
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
Credits:
This project would not have happened were it not for the tireless work of Carla Potter, the encouragement by Christine of The Lucis Trust and all the wonderful people who contributed love and money to this project. I am also indebted to Marie Lecocq for the Latin translations and all her help, my translator Karina Pardesi, Roman from Leningrad and especially the Russian Ministry of Culture and Yuri Serov who went to great lengths to make this project happen, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. I would also like to thank Jitka for her support and my daughters Jade, Tabitha and Odessa, and my mother and my brother Piers for their ongoing love and support.
Recorded by
St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
St Petersburg University of Culture Concert Choir
Yuri Serov, conductor
Danil Zosin, sound engineer
Recorded at St Petersburg Radio House Studio, St Petersburg, Russia
Post production
Mixed by Amak Golden at Space Mountain Recording Studios, Spain
Mastered by Tim Debney at Fluid Studios, London, UK
*track *** featuring soprano solo by Christina Johnston
* track *** featuring Tabla and Arabic percussion by Rony Barrak
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1. Developed from the chorus of KJ’s Absolute Descent