Making Music, Going Green: A Look at Composer Jeffrey Fisher's Unique Lifestyle & Inspirations

Speaking by phone one hot June afternoon with composer Jeffrey Fisher, I learn that he is taking a rare afternoon break from his work to speak with me. "Composing The Bhagavad Gita Suite?" I ask, having heard about the project from our mutual friend Suzanne Doucet. "No, I was digging a trench to re-route some water to the barn," comes his unexpected reply. He was, indeed, digging a trench down home on his "green" ranch in Southern California.

One glance over Fisher's biography reveals a habit of balancing the physical with the cerebral and spiritual, blasting away any stereotypical vision one may have of Fisher as a pampered composer tucked away in a cushy studio near Palm Springs. Now that I know him better, I like to think of Jeffrey Fisher as the working man's composer who's not afraid to get his hands dirty between projects. And eclectic projects they are, reaching from his iParenting award-winning ballet FAIRYTALES to his current 2-CD set titled OCEAN OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

Cellphone reception is sketchy out at Fisher's off-the-grid ranch, "Satyagraha" (Gandhi's term for his non-violent resistance movement) in the San Jacinto mountains near Palm Springs, CA, so I jump to the heart of the interview. Why, I ask, did Fisher decide to embrace the ancient Sanskrit text of The Bhagavad Gita now? Is he making a statement on the current state of wars in the world?

Certainly, he says, everything is political on some level. However, to him, The Bhagavad Gita is not so much about war being right or wrong, it is about living a spiritual life in the world in which we find ourselves. For some, especially people who experience conflict, that may pose a challenge. Ultimately, "The Gita" and this music is about victory over the Self.

Various reviews and videos about Ocean of Consciousness exist to give further insights into the music on this 2-CD set. Disc One - The Bhagavad Gita Suite - is an interpretation of the book, more or less in line with the order the chapters are written; with a bluesy feeling, it vividly blends classical, jazz and world music to illustrate the tale. Disc Two - The River - is more mysterious, a personal approach to the Gita in Fisher's life; it consists of longer instrumental music inspired by nature around the ranch, well-suited to meditation and massage.

I thought what might be most revealing of all would be to ask Fisher if I could take a peek at his composers notes, and perhaps share them with the "Gita-challenged" novices like myself in hopes of gaining better understanding of this ancient text. He concurred, so, from a pile of typed notes, emails and scribbling, here are excerpts of what I found in Fisher's notes:

Composer's Notes on The Bhagavad-Gita Suite (Disc One)

1. "The Field of Battle" -- Within the soul of a flower's awakening, in the first stirring of the morning's breeze, as the trumpets blare and the conches of war sound their fearsome song, the Lord Krishna's chariot pulls between the two opposing armies; the entire drama of the Gita unfolds, dreamlike, within the space of a single heartbeat.

2. "Arjuna's Lament" -- Seeing and feeling the suffering of others is one of the first steps in the journey to enlightenment. Yet, a divided self, a divided heart, can bring peace to no one.

3. "Krishna's Song" -- In His eyes, there is no death, no suffering. All is beauty and purpose, leading to more beauty and purpose; a Divine play.

4. "Life Eternal" -- One of the messages of the Bhagavad Gita is that death, seen as an end to existence, cannot exist. Though we cannot live without knowledge of causes and consequences, life has another dimension.

5. "Acceptance" -- Just as the open arms of the Great Mother are always there for us, so should our terms of acceptance of life be grateful and enthusiastic and not mere acquiescence to what has "been dealt to us."

6. "Supreme Good" -- A dance that divides Knowing from mere believing, and the fire of joy from the mere absence of pain.

7. "The Tree of Life" -- The realm of sorrow is the world tree that the sages describe: It's roots above, its branches below, its green leaves the sacred hymns."-B.G., Chapter 15

8. "The Wheel of Birth and Death" - Occasionally, we have a chance to reflect on the unreality of most of what goes on in the face of larger issues. It is in these moments that we have the power to take the advice of the Bhagavad Gita and "renounce the fruits of our actions." Only then are we on the road to freedom. Maybe this road is difficult to stay on, even once we have found it; yet once we have a glimpse of what it means, we never totally forget.

9. "Transcendence" -- This piece is like an initiation: the many faces of God, multiplied so many times until everything that is seen is God.

10. "Victory" -- The Gita doesn't exactly describe a happy ending to the story, but this is more like a Bollywood version, and we end on a lively note.

Composers Notes on THE RIVER (Disc 2)

1. "Love 360 Degrees" -- Inspired by a trip up a very tall mountain on a very clear day. A tribute to my wife, and out shared joy of mountain climbing and being together in nature.

2. "Forest of Light" -- Using the ancient musical form of the canon, in which a theme is repeated in octaves (like a "round"), except this is a double canon with the addition of piano embellishment. This piece is expressly for a healing treatment background.

3. "The River" - Time is a river; there are tiny tributaries that are extremely personal, yet universal. Just as in our dreams when we are all the players, the musical instruments in this piece are all pretending to be one another.

Finally, tucked amid the notes I find some favorite quotes, which seemed to have served as inspirations for Fisher's work. This one stands out as particularly well-worn and pertinent to the dedication Fisher has to his music, and to a balanced life:

"Devotion is not mere lip worship, it is wrestling with death."-Gandhi