Singular Music

 

This is a collection of short-stories Murakami published in 2020. The title comes from the last story in the collection but the one I liked best is the one depicted on the cover - "Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey"  / Ichininshō Tansū (一人称単数).

It is a story that brings together a number of elements I love about Japan - the inclination to experience nature, the everyday courtesy, openness to absorbing and improving upon foreign music, literature, food and technology. With some effort it seems even monkeys can improve themselves in Japan :)

As with most of his books, quite a few of stories in this collection revolve around music, mostly jazz or western classical. Many of these pieces are completely unfamiliar to me, so my way of indulging in immersive reading is to settle down with the book on my favourite chair with a drink, a bowl of snacks (if KakiPi is nor available, murukku or banana chips will do), and to play as background music one one of the pieces that appears in the storyline.

In this collection, no less than three stories have their titles that indicate which type of music is going to dominate the narrative - "Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova", "With the Beatles" and "Carnaval". The last one comes with a specific recommendations - Schumann's Carnaval by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Angel Records) or the one by Arthur Rubenstein (RCA  Records)!

An enjoyable, uplifting read.

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Music from 'First Person Singular' / Ichininshō Tansū (一人称単数):

• Jazz - Charlie Parker - Ornithology - the best of Bird
• Charlie Byrd - Corcovado (also a hill in Rio, Brazil - home to the statue of ‘Jesus the Redeemer’)
• Pharoah Sanders
• Miles David
• Art Pepper 
• Thelonious Monk
• Beethoven Piano Concerto 1 - 3rd movement 
• Middle-class music: Mantovani Orchestra -- Percy Faith -- Roger Williams -- Andy Williams -- Not Cole King
• Max Steiner - Theme from A Summer Place (Percy Faith Orchestra)
• Rolling Stones - “(I can't get no) Satisfaction"
• Byrd - “Mr.Trambourine Man”
• Temptations - “My Girl”
• Righteous Brothers - “You've lost that lovin’ feelin’
• Beach Boys - “Helping Rhonda”
• Diana Ross
• Supremes
• Classical - Bruckner - 7th symphony, 3rd movement / 9th symphony 
• Richard Strauss
• Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet 
• Schumann - Carnaval -- by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Angel records) or Arthur Rubenstein (RCA)
• Bach - Goldberg variations + well tempered clavier
• Beethoven - late piano sonatas + third Concerto 
• Folks Crusaders - “I only live twice”

Phobjika's Reeds and Cranes

 

Phobjika Valley is quite unlike the Himalayan Valleys I had seen so far. Located almost on the same latitude as Kathmandu and a lot lower than Kashmir, what struck me at first is the absence of intensive agriculture. This seemed like an indulgence in a mountainous country that imports a lot of its food.

The valley has bee left in its original form for a good reason. Except for patches of isolated potato fields a large part of it has been declared a Ramsar Site - one of the 2000 sites across the world that has been marked as wetland of international importance.  Here the marshland attracts numerous migratory birds, especially the black-necked crane.

Hundreds of black-necked cranes glide into the valley every autumn. Always in pairs, these large birds are often heard before they are actually seen - especially early in the morning when the whole valley is covered by a blanket of mist. In the pre-dawn silence the birds sound like a bunch of children practicing their pipes and trumpets.  

When these cranes fly over the snow-peaks, from the plateau of Tibet, it is said that they first circle the Gangtey Monastry thrice before settling down to roost in the sprawling Phobjika valley. The monastery itself looks like a bird in flight with its broad, layered roofs, intricately painted balcony's, windows, and perfectly symmetrical form.

Yet what lingers in my mind is not the form of the building or the broad sunlit courtyard in front of it, but the sounds that emerge from the rooms and corridors that ring the monastery. Sounds of the reed pipes being played by young boys dressed in maroon robes.

The reeds are tiny but the tunes from them seem to fill out the broad courtyards and echo far into the misty valleys below.

How does such a tiny reed make so loud a sound? I wanted to try out one of these reeds but this did not seem the right thing to do in post-Covid times, and they were also not for sale anywhere. Just as I was about to return a bit disappointed, one of the older monks at the reception handed me a piece lying on his table. "It is damaged", he said simply, " - no proper sound".

I am familiar with bamboo flutes  especially the bansuri but this one was totally different. It had six largish holes cut along its length, one end was closed by the reed knot, and the other was, of course open. Unlike the lateral flutes, this one was played straight but the trick was to figure out the right way to blow.

At first, the only sound i could get were by pulling in air from the open end but these were feeble, so unlike the solid notes that the boys were playing. After a while i realised that the almost invisible slit near the blocked was they key. With a very fine blade, a cut and a wedge had been created on the underside of the reed!

What I had initially thought to be the 'damage' that the monk referred to was the very thing that gave life to this wind instrument! As we drove out of the valley via Lawa La, Trongsa to Tang and Bunthang, I wondered if it is the sounds of these reeds that attracted the black-necked cranes into Phobjika Valley.

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Ramsar Sites - https://rsis.ramsar.org/ 

* Gangtey Monastery - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangteng_Monastery 

Seeking Solace in Music

The past two weeks have quite harrowing for many of us. The news of neighbours, friends and acquaintances losing their fight against the novel corona virus, aggravated by a certain feeling of helplessness that comes from not being in a position to offer real help.  

It has also been a time to reconsider so many things that we take for granted. The freedom to travel and move around; the joys of camaraderie, of meeting family and friends; the mundane act of sharing a meal, of taking a deep breath. 

At a time when thousands of people are stricken with the mutated Covid-19 virus in India, desperately looking for oxygen cylinders and ventilators, the very act of painless, unhindered breathing seems like something we should savour and relish with gratitude.

Ever since the lockdowns began, I had resolved to make a habit of playing the bansuri, at least once a day. This was easier said than done because, for one thing, it has been ages since I stopped learning at the Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya, and except for occasionally picking up the bansuri to practice a familiar tune, my hands had all but lost the tactile memory of the bansuri - its weight and balance, the position of the supporting fingers, the feel of warm breath being released through the instrument as music fills the air. 

It took me a while to get back into the groove. Initially sitting still with a straight back seemed as difficult as breath control. Then there was the difficulty of scales - while my fingers could easily get around the smaller C-bansuri they just could not get a grip on the longer, heavier\ base F-bansuri. The only way forward was to get familiar with simple compositions on the C-scale before trying out more complicated ragas and compositions. 

YouTube has been a big help with its numerous channels that display the talents of accomplished musicians. Many of these cater to folks trying to play the Harmonium or the Carnatic flute, but here are some that I found particularly helpful, and can be easily adapted for the Hindustani bansuri :

* Bhooma Parthasarathi : "Thumbi Va" - https://youtu.be/29J2GZ51DvM and "Kani kaanum neram" - https://youtu.be/q0-AlGyP41s

* Musician66 :  "Zindagi kaisi he paheli.." -  https://youtu.be/gu5JYiCm3tA

* Sargam Zone:   "He Ram, he Ram.." (Jagjit Singh) - https://youtu.be/wEovN0wE8jY; "Ye raatein, ye mausam" - https://youtu.be/FdTVIZsAFHk

Now, as we enter the second round of lockdowns to cope with the "Second Wave" of Covid-19, I have been trying to build my riaz into a regular routine by focusing on two ragas - one for the pre-dawn early morning (Raga Bhairav) using the base bansuri (F scale), and one for the evening (Raga Yaman Kalyan) on a regular C. 

The morning sessions have been especially magical. Sitting on a yoga mat on the terrace facing the east, even the simple aaroh and avroh of raga Bhairav seem to be in sync with the meditative calm of early morning with its the cool breeze, flocks of birds flying high overhead, squirrels scampering about, and the gradual filling out of light in the skies. 

It takes about eight deep breaths for the sun to transform from a sliver of light to a bright orange orb breaking free into the skies. Once the sun rises over a certain level some musical notes - especially the komal Dhaivat and komal Rishabh seem out of place, as though the right moment has passed, the mood has changed. 

It is then time to set aside the bansuri and  Raga Bhairav, to cope with the world of Covid-19 once again, and all the surprises that the rest of the day will surely bring in...

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-bhairav-thaat-unexplored-ragas-associated-with-raga-bhairav

* https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-atypical-bhairav-exploring-the-evolved-ragas-from-the-family

* Music and Emotion - a Case for North Indian Classical Music (2017) - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02115/full  

Hava Hava, Sucu Sucu

Catchy tunes have a way of traveling around the world.

Recently I was quite amazed to know that the famous Hindi song, "Hava Hava" was actually a copy of a copy! The original was a 1970s song from Iran which was copied by a Pakistani Singer, and then by Bollywood.

Havar Havar (Persian original) - Kouroush Yaghmei, 1978


Hava Hava (Pakistani copy) - Hassan Jehangir - https://youtu.be/lrusoeIvetQ
Hava Hava (Coke Studio Pakistan re-make) - 2018 - https://youtu.be/w3s8cjG2WYY

Hava Hava (Hindi copy) - Movie "Mubarakan" (2017)




Then there is a Spanish song "Suku Suku" by the Bolivian singer, Tarateño Rojas in the 1960s. This particular tune went on to be adapted or copied into no less than 19 languages, including a Japanese version, Furimukanaide - Sucu Sucu (The Peanuts, 1960s) 

Suku Suku (Spanish) - Original by Tarateño Rojas


Bollywood was quick to copy this number and make it part of the Hindi movie "Junglee" in 1961. The film went on to be a big hit.

Suku Suku (Hindi) - Movie "Junglee" (1961)

Farsi Friday

It's Friday today - the weekly holiday - and Farsi is on my mind.

Here is Afghanistan two languages dominate the sound-scape: Dari and Pashto. Last year, when I first landed at Kabul airport, I was amazed to hear the driver who came to pick me up, ask somebody, "Kujo ast?" - and I understood the meaning perfectly!

Then at my workplace, I heard a colleague asking for a "Kainchi" and I knew without looking up that he wanted a pair of scissors. As days went by the list of familiar words got longer and longer - Charkhi (rotate), Hal (solve), Kharid (buy), Khwaab (dream), Daan (gift), Giriftaar (arrest), Pasand (like), Mushkil (difficult), Khushi (joy)... Just about all the words I assumed to be Urdu actually belonged to Farsi!

It turns out that Dari is the same as Farsi, the language of Iran and much of the former Persian Empire which included not only Afghanistan but also Iraq, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and parts of southern Russia. It is spoken by no less than 110 million people! Countries that belonged to the former USSR stopped using the Farsi script and adopted the Russian script.

Now if the words sounded so familiar, how long would it take to make sense of the written Farsi script? The curls, dots and squiggles on banners, shops and books looked completely different from the 32 letters a friend wrote down for me. A search of lessons on YouTube followed, and I gradually learnt that the letters when written together take on completely different shapes.

I continue to be confused by letters that sound similar:
"A" can be آ or ع
"Ta" - ط  or  ت
"Se" - س or  ث
"He" - ح or ه
"Za" - 4 options (!) - ظ ض ز ذ
"Ga" - غ or  ق

It may take a while to get a hang of the written and spoken language but until then, we have music! Here is a sample of some amazing Farsi instrumentals by Mehdi Aminian -

Notes, Emotions and Classical Music

Benjamin Zander on "Transformative Power of Classical Music". This would count among the most cheerful and engaging TED video's I have seen.

While explaining how music connects to our deepest emotions, Zander says at one point, "This is a B. The next note is a C. And the job of the C is to make the B sad. And it does, doesn't it?"

In fact it does. This made me wonder if there was any connection between Western classical notes that evoke a particular emotion, and their equivalent in the Indian classical "Swara-maala". In the Hindustani classical tradition, Raagas that evoke a feeling of sadness ("Karuna" / Compassion) are - Desh, Vihag and Peelu.

If B and C are considered equivalent to Sa and Re across scales, does this combination figure in Desh, Vihag and Peelu as well?

Amongst the three, the combination of B and C (or, roughly, Sa and Re) seems to be there only for Raag Desh, and that too only in the ascending notes (Aaroha).

Is this because the Karuna has a much deeper meaning than just "Sad"? Or am I missing something here?


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LINKS:

* Western / Indian Note Equivalents - http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/western_Indian_scale.html
* Mood and Nature of Indian Classical Ragas - http://musicalescapades.com/useful-articles/moods-nature-raga-raaga.htm
* Raga's - http://www.soundofindia.com/raagas.asp
* Solfege - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge

Swiss Dance

Wish I could understand modern dance.

The title of the performance we attended today was - "Re-mapping the Body - hear the movement / see the music", presented by Compagnie Linga, Switzerland, at the FICCI Auditorium. The work was supposed to make use of the 'dominant role of science and technology as adjuncts to the human body'.

The stage setting was quite dramatic. Placed on at centre of were half-a-dozen devices that looked liked pagers with their LEDs blinking. The show started in a rather un-Swiss way -- 15 minutes late -- with sound effects that seemed almost completely out of sync with the movements on stage.

At first we got the impression that the LED devices were movement sensors linked to sound system. This impressed gathered weight when the dancers were seen adjusting the settings carefully from time to time. The ticket had also claimed that the music was to be created entirely by the movements of the dancers. However the sounds seem to emanate from another altogether disjointed universe...

The dancers themselves were superb - each of them was amazingly lithe and agile. Despite the scratchy sound system and the squeaking chairs of FICCI auditorium, they managed to leave a lasting impression.

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LINKS -

http://www.linga.ch/en/home.php

A Doraemon Ektara

An Ektara is a single-sting intrument that has numerous variations in India. One that is commonly seen in rural North India is fashioned out of bamboo-sticks , a clay pot and some paper and is played like a violin.

One of the proponents of this Ektara, has been a permanent fixture at Dilli Haat for the past eight years, filling shopping arcades with melodies from the latest Indi-pop, and selling his wares out of a wicker basket. Yesterday, for the first time, I got a chance to listen to the man and the efforts of his family to make a living out of street-music.

Ram Bhaj Singh comes from a family of musicians from rural Panipat in Haryana. It was his uncle, an elderly gentleman frequently seen in a white turban and kurta-pyjama, who first ventured towards Dilli Haat and positioned himself outside the gates, amongst the vendors who cannot afford to pay a 'tax' to the local authorities. According to Singh, it was one of officials within Dilli Haat, a manager named Sridhar, who first gave him the opportunity to step within the gated complex.

The deal was simple and straightforward. For a payment of Rs.150 per day, he could sell his wares to the tourists and foodies who stepped into the Haat all day. Since he free to set differential pricing for foreign tourists and Indian customers, the word soon got around that he was making a killing. The sale of just one ektara to a foreigner was enough to pay the day's rent. The entire community of musicians then turned up at the Singh household in Panipat to negotiate a division of spoils.

A deal was negotiated. Eight musicians from the community would take turns to sell their wares throughout the day for the same daily rent. It continued to be an excellent arrangement for many years until 2010 when there was a change of guard at Dilli Haat and Sridhar's replacement decided to maximize revenue by increasing the rent from roving musicians from Rs.150 to Rs.350 per day.

Unwilling to shell out nearly Rs.50 per head, the community first stayed off the Haat for two months. When the new manager refused to relent, the entire community turned up at the residence of Shiela Dixit, the Chief Minister of Delhi. About twenty of them would wait for days with their ektara baskets until the CM's office relented and a telephone call went out to the Haat office. The old daily rent was to continue but, in exchange, the Singhs agreed to forego the differencial pricing strategy. Prices were fixed- Rs.50 for the small ektara and Rs. 100 for a bigger one.

So as to make up for the loss of foreign-tourist revenue, the Singhs now try to increase the sale-volumes by bringing in better designs; pitching in bits of of English and by brining in more contemporary designs aimed at the kids.

Topping this list of new designs was the current favorite on children's TV, Doraemon, and tune that topped the charts - Kolaveri Di.

Koyunbaba

.
Today evening I entered the 3K-Kenkyu to find Shambi discussing guitar chords with Hideki. The piece: Carlo Domeniconi's "Koyunbaba".

The unusual title, it turns out, is the name of a place & clan in Turkey and the composer is an Italian with a lifelong fascination for that part of the world.

So here we have a sample of how borderless music can be - a Kenyan lady learning about Turkish music that inspired an Italian composer, from a Japanese friend...and then you have a curious Indian  uploading the version he liked best - an interpretation of Koyunbaba by a Chinese lady, Li Jie:

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LINKS

• Carlo Doneniconi on Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Domeniconi
• Koyunbaba, Turkey on Google Earth

Takemitsu's Music

.
I just came across the works of Toru Takemitsu...and the 'power of silence'.

Sounds so profoundly soothing, and at times, so deeply disturbing that it is hard to believe it was created by somebody who was never formally trained in any form of music!

Links:

Six-Part Documentary on Takemitsu's Soundtrack (YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EgfDya9CGc&feature=related

BBC Documentary: Greatest Composers of the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdGyACQTe6k&feature=related

Wikipedia - Toru Takemitsu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tōru_Takemitsu


The Got-to-hear list:

Forest String Orchestra

Kwaidan (1964) - Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Samurai Rebellion ( ) - Masaki Kobayashi

Youth of Japan (1968) - Masaki Kobayashi

Tokyo Trails (1982) - 1 hr documentary by Masaki Kobayashi...just 9 minutes of musical score!

Black Rain (1989) - Shohei Imamura

Under the Cherry Blossoms (1975) - Masahiro Shinoda

Himatsuri (1984) - Mitsuo Yanagimachi

Exploring Western Classical Music - I

The free, online version I liked the best has been hyper-linked (Max rating - *****)


Adam, A. 
Cantique de Noël "O holy night"  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLg6kXeHqQ8

Bach, C.P.E.

Sonata for Flute solo in A minor  
**  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKtWEAyFd0


Bach, J.S.

Cello Suite No. 1 in G major 
** http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/youtube/S6yuR8efotI

Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor 
**

Fugue in G minor "Little"  BWV 578  
**** Simone Stella - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b_zVD98_5U

Goldberg Variations
*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7LWANJFHEs

Italian concerto 
***  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc3KqrKNNck

Mass in B minor 
**** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2uppzm7dPE&feature=related ///
`Agnus Dei`(Lamb of God) Andreas Scholl -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLCcQixNvg

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D 
**** Air - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkWjO8ZJcpc

St. Matthew Passion
** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LLFfFXaUA&feature=PlayList&p=1913951DC4270E64&index=0

Toccata and Fugue in D minor
***** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

Two-part Inventions 
*** (by a kid) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRS7zK18iws

Violin Partita no. 2 in D Minor 
** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSFNlapROwc  ///
*** Itzak Perlman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkipsBpOkYI&feature=related

Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor
**Yehudi Menuhin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKWZqy1g0E&feature=related ///  ***Henryk Szeryng - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Lq1nHRp24&feature=related

Well-Tempered Clavier I 
** Glen Gould -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RjebdVKIAM

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Handel`s Hallelujah Chorus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHksDFHTQI
 

Music from the movie Requiem for a Dream By Clint Mansell -  

****http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU&feature=related

Music for the movie - Hannibal - (Bach - Aria Goldberg Variations) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5zl9TJLsUw

Music at Nova

There was a concert today at Nova Hall, Tsukuba.

About fifty amateur musicians played the following pieces with their gleaming instruments - 

• St. Paul's Suite - Gustav Holst
• Hayao Miyazaki - Animation Medley arranged by Masahiro Joya
• "Nabucodonosor" Sinfonia - Giuseppe Verdi
• "Pomp and Circumstance" March (No.1 Op.39) - Edward Elgar

What struck me was that not one of the musicians betrayed any signs of enjoying what they were doing. Not one smile or a sparkle-in-the-eye...even when they were playing the Tonari-no-Totoro animation medley!

Is there some rule that you have to wear a grim face while playing classical music?

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Links - for a rough idea of what the music sounds like...

St. Paul's Suite - Gustav Holst -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIunGiJbuUE

"Nabucodonosor" Sinfonia - Giuseppe Verdi
http://www.giuseppeverdi.it/Inglese/page.asp?IDCategoria=162&IDSezione=580&ID=19747
http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/57944.html

"Pomp and Circumstance" March (No.1 Op.39) - Edward Elgar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moL4MkJ-aLk

Covell's Music

What will happens if you enroll for a course titled "Normative Theory in Comparative Policy" delivered by a professor who loves Audrey Hepburn, cricket, Tintin comics and western classical music?

Your learn less about policy and more about music and movies! :]

Here are some of the few pearls I could gather

Half a Sixpence - musical comedy by Tommy Steele ; URL - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_a_Sixpence

If the Rain's Got to Fall - URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVIuTBsnsc

Mozart - Cosi fan tutte: Act II Happy is the man...sweet repo; URL - http://ml.naxos.jp/album/CHAN3152-54

HG Wells - "Kips" - young man, finace is fortune
Hymn - Guide me O Great Redeemer (From Ronder, Wales)

WagnerGilbert & Sullivan"All the Saints""He who would true valor seek""So long as i am singing"

"Good Fellows" - movie by Martin Scorsce
"Gone are the days" - Charles Foster

NB: What do Cliff Richards and Vivien Leigh have in common? - they were both born in India.

Music & Murakami

Sometime back, when I was reading Haruki Murakami's "Norwegian Wood", I could not bear the thought that I had never heard a lot of the music mentioned in the book. I did make a note of them but never got around to listening to the pieces. 

 Now, having just finished reading his book, "South of the Border, West of the Sun", I thought there would be somebody out there who has already listed out the URL's. Since nothing has turned up on Google, here is my bit for those who seek Murakami's music - 

* Sinatra South of the Border As Time Goes By 

* Nat King Cole Pretend (Song) Pretend - Lyrics Embracable You (Song) Embracable You - Lyrics

* Schubert - Winterreise Winterreise - 1. Gute Nacht - Quasthoff, Barenboim (Translation of the German lyrics) 

* Corvocado Piano Trio Song (Sarah Vaughan) Lyrics 

* Rossini William Tell Overture (Note: the book does not mention any overture) 

* Peer Gynt Suite Grieg 'Peer Gynt' Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - 'Morning' More info on Wiki 

* Star Crossed Lovers (Ellington) The Star-Crossed Lovers" - adapted from Billy Strayhorn's ballad "Pretty Girl." There seem to be multiple versions going around - here are a couple of them. Instrumental - New York Trio Song Lyrics - (Romeo & Juliet) Lyrics 

* Talking Heads - Bringing Down the House (or is it Burning Down the House?) Song Lyrics 

* Handel - Organ Concerto Beethoven: Symphony No. 9; Handel: Organ Concerto ( 1 hour 26 mts!) 

MUSIC FROM THE BOOK - "THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE" Rossini - Theiving Magpie variations by Claudio Abbodio ('youthful, fluid, contemporary') and Toscanini ('blood curdling intensity') Tara's Theme (From 'Gone With the Wind') Herb Alpert A Summer Palace Andy Williams Hawaiian Wedding Song Canadian Sunset J.S. Bach Musical Offering (2-7) Sergio Mendez Bert Kaemfert 101 Strings Orchestra Hard Driving Jazz Albert Ayler Don Cherry Cecil Taylor Johnny Angel Water Springs at Kawai, Hawai Robert Maxwell Ebb Tide - On the piano (instead of Harp) Beatles Eight Days A Week Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings Schumann Forest Scenes Birds as Prophet Keith Jarret- piano solo's Mozart Magic Flute Handel Concerto Grosso Bari Manilow Air Supply Waterloo Bridge in the mist, Auld Lang Syne, Robert Taylor, Vivien Leigh

Din and Tonics in Delhi

The Harvard Din & Tonics had their first performance in Delhi yesterday.

Just a few days ago, while reading Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat", a few unfamiliar words had made me reach out for a dictionary. In a paragraph about how Georgia Tech improved its performance by encouraging its undergrads to take on musical pursuits, there was something about "Glee clubs and Capella Bands". Capella had turned out to be something like karaoke ("empty orchestra"), except that the performance rested entirely on vocals. I had imagined it to be something like the erstwhile "Cochin Mimics" in Kerala, but that was way off the mark.

Stein Auditorium at IHC was already jam packed by the time I got there. The hall was dark, the music was already on, but something was wrong... Instead of a bunch of Americans, a group of glum Indian students stood under the spotlights crooning a Hindi song.

Was I in the wrong hall? I checked Arshia's invitation again - "7:00 PM, Din & Tonics" is what it said. It looked like a filler anyway, so I squeezed into an empty seat and took a closer look at the bunch.

The poor fellows looked like they had been dragged away from a cricket field, handed some instruments along with a threat - "Sing! or else...". They sang well but the voices barely managed to get past the loud drums and synthesizers .

This turned out to be a fine way to introduce the Capella. It was a relief to see the offending instruments dragged off stage and replaced by a bunch of eleven sprightly, quaintly dressed undergrads from Harvard - and none of whom carried any instruments.

They were sharp, articulate and completely self-processed. As the program got going with their carefully coordinated singing, dancing and antics, I couldn't help wondering - were these delicate, effeminate and amazingly talented kids from the same country that is sending out troops and bombers to bully Iraq? Are these the guys who are still debating the merits of detention and torture at Abu Ghraib, Gitmo and Eastern Europe?

But the performance was awesome!

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Din & Tonics Homepage

Music

Laya Gana Madhura Lehari

I can’t remember the last time I sat through a concert, listening to music that gave me goose bumps.

On Thursday, I got an invitation to “Malhaar” , an event organized by ICCR at Kamani Auditorium. It was the promise of a flute recital that drew me there but the programme started with a percussion ensemble by T R Dhandapany.

I had never heard of TRD, so I was grateful for the brief introduction on his concept of “Laya Gana Madhura Lehari". A golden-yellow curtain then floated up to reveal three podiums on the stage. Set against the dark curtains, each of 12 musicians looked like gems in a Jewellery showcase. At the centre were the Mridamgams played by the maestro with his son D. Karthiknarayan. On the flanks were the artists handling Tablas, Ghatam, Phakawaj, Dholak, Kanjira, Morsing, and the Violin. All were dressed in whites except for the vocalist who was in bright purple.

Drums always surprise me. Once the rhythm gets going I find it very difficult to believe that such music is coming from mere mortals. I close my eyes and see an angry ocean and waves crashing wildly on rocky cliffs, tossing ships around like matchsticks; armies rushing headlong into battle; a nuclear explosion in time-lapse…and I open my eyes to see people I would not recognize on the streets. Unremarkable, slouchy, portly folks with glum faces that reveal no trace of the talent they hide within.

This performance was slightly different. Whenever the artists played in single or in pairs, the others would mark the rhythm with hands and fingers that played out a dance of their own, marking the talas. Eyes would sparkle and big grins would welcome every innovation or difficult patch. Every now and then a pair of dancers would float in for some Bharatanatyam and Kathak. I found the plump Kathak dancer particularly unbearable for his silly grin and the way he tossed about his hands like a rag-doll.

Anyway, the music was great.