This album of songs from the new musical "The Fourth Messenger" stars Vienna Teng as Mama Sid, a world-renowned spiritual teacher with a hidden past. Loosely inspired by the Buddha legend, this contemporary re-imagining poses the question of whether and how it's possible to be both enlightened and flawed.
This pre-order package includes a physical CD and a digital download, to be released November 7, 2015.
Music by Vienna Teng, lyrics by Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng, directed by Matt August, orchestrated/music directed by Ryan O'Connell.
"An absolute delight." - SF Chronicle • "Profound and profane, combative and compassionate… Teng’s complex harmonies and inspired melodies stick with you long after the curtain goes down." - Art Animal • "Hugely ambitious and refreshingly original…Teng is a fresh and exciting new theatrical talent with a distinctive voice of her own…" - Huffington Post • "Masterful and compelling…both timeless and contemporary." - Stage and Cinema
Includes unlimited streaming of The Fourth Messenger, featuring Vienna Teng
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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What if the Buddha were a woman, living in our times? In this captivating new musical, Mama Sid is a modern-day “awakened one” with a worldwide following. But a determined young woman seeks to unearth Mama Sid’s mysterious past, exposing long-held secrets that could change everything. Epic and intimate, comic and profound, The Fourth Messenger investigates what it means to be both enlightened and human. Book and lyrics by Tanya Shaffer, music and additional lyrics by Vienna Teng. Script includes all lyrics and text, not musical score.
This is a digital pre-order. The PDF will be released on November 7, in conjunction with The Fourth Messenger album featuring Viena Teng.
“An exciting and ambitious project, driven by Teng's eclectic score, Shaffer's inspired rewrites of the Buddha story, and their punchy, provocative lyrics… An absolute delight.” - San Francisco Chronicle • “Intelligent and skillfully crafted…hugely ambitious and refreshingly original... Shaffer's musical has the audience emotionally involved and on the edge of their seats.” - The Huffington Post • “A satisfying and remarkably entertaining new musical that takes on spiritual life with wit and emotional resonance…” - KQED/NPR • “Beautiful...A triumph… Shaffer’s book brims with intelligence and wit… ” - Theater Dogs • “Masterful and compelling...both timeless and contemporary…” - Stage and Cinema
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about
The second act begins still in flashback, with 18-year-old Sid angry and disillusioned, grieving her father’s death, while her boyfriend Yasha tries to comfort her. As they become intimate, Mama Sid's followers, in a parallel scene sing about actions and consequences.
lyrics
YOGIS
Every choice that we make
Is a pebble in a lake
Spreading ripples beyond our sight
Every step that we take
Impresses its shape
On a galaxy of lives
Every choice that we make
Is a pebble in a lake
Spreading ripples beyond our sight
Every step that we take
Impresses its shape
On a galaxy of lives
Every choice that we make
Is a pebble in a lake
Spreading ripples beyond our sight
Every step that we take
Impresses its shape
On a galaxy of lives
SID
Everything that we feel
Everything we think is real
Is elusive as rising steam
Everything that we build
Is a promise unfulfilled
No more solid than a dream
What is the point of moving forward
Our fate is set no matter which road we choose
What is the point?
YASHA
I was beside you, I saw it all too
I realize there's no easy answer
Look in my eyes, I'll tell you what I know is true
This much I'm certain of
Maybe it's not enough
But Sidney-I love you
I always have
And I always will
SID
Everything that we've known
YASHA
You don't have to feel alone
When you think of what you saw that night
SID
Everything that we feel
YASHA
You can trust that this is real
Come let me hold you tight
SID
When I feel your arms around me
I can believe
BOTH
We'll be alright somehow
YASHA
Let my love shelter you
SID
Yasha, I love you too
BOTH
Maybe this is all we need for now.
credits
from The Fourth Messenger, featuring Vienna Teng,
released November 10, 2015
Music by Vienna Teng
Lyrics by Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng
Directed by Matt August
Music Directed and Orchestrated by Ryan O'Connell
SID: Vienna Teng
YASHA: Barnaby James
ENSEMBLE: Chris Aceves, Barnaby James, Maria Mikheyenko, Annemaria Rajala, Leandra Ramm, Ashley Simms
Piano and keyboards: Ryan O'Connell
Violin: Anthony Blea
Cello: Freya Seeburger
Drums: Ken Bergmann
supported by 37 fans who also own “Look to the Thought”
Ich werde nie den Moment vergessen, wie ich in Schwerin in einem Media-Markt das Album Warm Strangers bei den Reinhör-Stationen gesehen habe. Scheinbar hatte jamnd anders sich die CD zuvor reingezogen und dort liegen lassen. Das Cover hat mich angesprochen und ich hab die CD sofort in einen der CD-Spieler getan. Ich war hin und weg und knapp bei Kasse, und hab trotzdem die CD sofort gekauft. Vielen Dank, Vienna, für diese wunderschöne Erinnerung. mpfau
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