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Musical soiree

`Fete de la Musique' was music to the ears, says Sajini V. Sahadevan

JAM SESSION Some of the participants of `Fete de la Musique' Photo: S. MAHINSHA

It was a rare gathering of sorts as musicians from all genres enthralled the audience at `Fete de la Musique' on the occasion of World Music Day. Organised by Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum and Embassy of France in India, the evening was pure bliss for music buffs in the city.

The festival was started in France on June 21 1981 as a tribute to music by Jack Lang, the then French minister for Culture.

Music for all

"In France, both amatuer and professional musicians come together to perform at public places. So in keeping with that spirit, as it is being celebrated in many others countries, we have arranged this function. It is a very informal gathering, no challenges, no pressure. The audience is free to listen to performers of their choice. It was surprising that so many people came forward to participate," said Jose-Marie Cortes, director of the institute.

The evening started on a devotional note with students from the Sangeetha Bharathi School of Music rendering classical compositions like `Prabho Ganapathae' and `Swetha Pankaja.'

Les Amis de l'Alliance comprised singers who were staff members of Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum. Cortes joined Anupama R for a duet made famous by the popular singer Dalida and French actor Alain Delon in the 70's. Anupama also sang numbers in English and French.

A promising trio who call themselves `Peanut Butter Jam' sang a few western numbers, delighting sections of the crowd.

As the occasion called for all kinds of music, it was P. Jayahari who performed next with songs composed by Tyagaraja. Narayana Namboodiri sang a lilting old Malayalam song. The employees of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre known as `Team LV'(you guessed it, LV stands for Launch Vehicle!) sang melodies, old and new. One of the highlights was a group performance led by veena artiste Maya Varma. Her foot-tapping music, which she had composed, delighted the listeners.

Varma played the veena in magical harmony to the accompaniment of the tabla. `Revelations,' an up-and-coming, all boys' band played and sang some English songs.

`Blues for Ananda,' a band that has been performing for Alliance every year since 1996, had the audience swaying to their music.

The band members willingly gave in to the demands of the audience for an encore. As the name of the band suggests, the songs sung were mainly blues and some blended with jazz and rock.

The show concluded with yet another treat as two young girls played compositions by Mozart and Eichner on the violin.

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