Trying to find music to accompany a film that so thoroughly chronicles the richness of Tibetan Buddhism, the political tragedy of occupation, and the countless stories of personal sacrifice and suffering, was a vast puzzle to solve. Indeed, in realizing the pieces that would become the soundtrack, Jeff Beal's and Nawang Khechog's goal was to make the authentic Tibetan musical elements resonate with what would be a largely western audience. It is evident upon first listen that the music that would become the soundtrack to "Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion" is a result of the artists’ special bond and mutual respect as well as their disparate cultural and musical backgrounds. Nawang’s personal relationships with many of the people chronicled in the film added a heightened emotional sensibility to this passionate and radiant work.
Utilizing many extraordinary field recordings that the filmmakers captured on their many visits to Tibet, Jeff Beal's first step was to incorporate these elements into 'instruments' with which to write. These field recordings in fact included many inspiring Tibetan chants that became the basis used to create themes and cues including “One Human Life”, “The Celebration”, and fervent title track “Cry of the Snow Lion”. Flute and piano improvisations evolved into the tracks “The Mandala” and “Peace Prayer”. On other tracks the majesty of the film’s images became the artists’ muse. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.