Author(s): Vikram Seth

Music

"The Rivered Earth" consists of four libretti written to accompany music by Alec Roth - together with an account of the pleasures and pains of working with a composer and a musician. Entitled "Songs in Time of War", "Shared Ground", "The Traveller" and "Seven Elements", the libretti take us all over the world - from Chinese and Indian poetry to the beauty and quietness of the Salisbury house where English poet George Herbert lived and died. Spanning centuries of creativity and humanity, these poems pulse with life, energy and the inspired brilliance of the poet. They are accompanied by four pieces of calligraphy by him.