Blessed
karma!
Music, Lyrics, Vocals: Rich Coffey
Recorded at Mistura Productions
About the Music
I composed this arrangement last fall and stashed it away until one day I had the inspiration to rework the Beatitudes as lyrics! It a bit of a crazy cross-cultural mish-mash featuring doumbek, veena, sitar (bass) and zurna. 
See "About the Instrumentation" below for details...
"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying..." - The Beatitudes (Jesus' Sermon On The Mount)
Blessed are those who cry out in the night
They will one day see the light
Blessed are those whose burdens weigh them down each day
Soon they'll be strong and love will guide the way.
Cursed are those seeking gilded gain
They will one day feel the pain
Cursed are all who mock the sick and poor with glee
When judgement day comes, they'll live in misery.
Blessings will fall on those who have earned them
Karma will strike down evil in the end
Every color, creed or culture created equal from the day we're born
Why is the world so filled with hate and scorn?
Blessed who are seeking hope and honesty
The truth will always set them free
Peace and comfort for the righteous every day
Blessings for all who let love guide the way
Blessings to all... a light will show the way
Blessings for all who let love guide the way.
© Richard Coffey - All Rights Reserved
- About the Instrumentation -
Doumbek (Darbuka)
A doumbek (or darbuka) is a single-headed, goblet-shaped drum central to Middle Eastern, North African, and Balkan music, played by hand to produce deep bass ("doom") and sharp, high-pitched "tek" or "ka" sounds, using fingers and palms on its synthetic or skin head, making it a versatile percussion instrument for rhythmic and melodic textures. While it’scommonly referred to as “Doumbek” in the West, it’s known as “Darbuka” in Turkey.
Veena
Similar to the sound of the more well-known sitar, the veena is a hollow-bodied string instrument from India. It has 24 frets, four melody strings, and three drone strings,
Did You Know?
Saraswati always holds a veena!
In classical and medieval Hinduism, Saraswati is primarily recognized as the goddess of learning, arts and poetic inspiration, and as the inventor of the Sanskrit language.
She is portrayed as a serene woman with a radiant white complexion, dressed in white attire, representing the quality of sattva (goodness). She has four arms, each holding a symbolic object: a book, a rosary, a water pot, and a musical instrument known as the veena. In Buddhism, she is venerated as well. Further Details
Zurna
The zurna sounds a bit like the oboe. It requires high pressure to give it sound and when it does, it is almost constantly loud, high pitched, sharp, and piercing. It has even holes on the front, and one thumb hole and a range of over one octave, Zurnas are used in the folk music of many countries, especially in the Middle East, Greece and North Africa.
