Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Of symphony and swaras
|
After Thiruvasagam, Tamil Maiyam offers "Mozart meets India", a symphonic soundtrack based on six Carnatic ragas. CHITRA SWAMINATHAN reports
|
PHOTO: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN
UNITED BY MUSIC The team led by Bombay Jayashree (extreme right), O.S. Arun and Embar Kannan (from left)
I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame; I simply follow my own feelings — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Those who are experimenting with music today seem to be doing just that - letting their hearts rule. Brimming with ideas, ambition and the desire to break free, they tread uncharted territories. The result: a new world (read musical) order in which people exercise their creative licence without fear or inhibition. And where, social and cultural norms do not impede artistic expression.
Rev. Jegath Gaspar Raj of Tamil Maiyam, a Chennai-based non-profit trust to promote art and culture, belongs to this new order. After the mammoth "Thiruvasagam in Symphonic Oratorio" project with maestro Ilaiyaraja, he has now come up with "Mozart meets India" that blends Carnatic ragas with Western orchestral sounds.
"The compositions do not directly correspond or relate to the creations of Mozart. The title is more allegoric as we consider Mozart the greatest composer of symphonies. It is also an orchestral tribute to the master-composer whose 250th birth anniversary is being celebrated the world over," says Rev. Raj.
It seems petty though to talk about the much-bandied terms such as "fusion" and "something different" at this point. But you still want to ask, hasn't the merging of genres been happening since the Beatle George Harrison exchanged musical notes with legendary sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar or since John McLaughlin joined hands with Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar and `Vikku' Vinayakram to form "Shakti" (it even won a Grammy).
Global sounds
"An Indo-Western collaboration would have been more exciting in 1990, when we first thought of it, though we took it up only in 2006. We had to offer a fresh perspective because so much work has already been done on the concept. So, we decided to create a global symphonic soundtrack based on six Carnatic ragas, Kapi, Sindhubhairavi, Panthuvarali, Sankarabharanam, Bilahari and Hamsanandhi," he explains.
Though the 60-minute album integrates the versatility of Western harmony with the raga-based melodic depth of Carnatic music, composer Nellai Jesuraj has tried not to interfere with the distinct grammar of the two systems.
"Believe me, it was quite a challenge, and I must hand it to Jesuraj, who has ingeniously matched the monotone (simultaneous sounding of several notes and tampering with the scale are not allowed) of Carnatic music with the multi-layered Western music."
Rev. Gaspar Raj, who is driven by his passion for music to take up such collaborative musical projects, aims to explore and create music that transcends genres and cultures.
"But above all, we want to set up an Indian symphony orchestra. Carnatic music has the inherent strength to contribute and assimilate, and that's what made `Mozart meets India' possible. Sadly, `Thiruvasagam' failed to reach the targeted cross-over audience even though we got three-time Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz to do the lyrics in English and involved musicians from the 140-year-old Budapest Symphony Orchestra. Despite efforts to give it a global appeal, it still had a strong Tamil flavour. But harmony being universal, we think `Mozart meets India' will find a place in world music."
The band
Besides eminent vocalists Bombay Jayashree and O. S. Arun, the orchestral ensemble comprises 75 instrumentalists — 27 violinists (including Embar Kannan) Kadri Gopalnath on the saxophone, guitarist Arun Pandian (plays for music icon Carlos Santana), 11 violas, cellos, flautists, mridangists, sitarists, veena artistes and 40 chorus singers.
"Almost all of them are from the city. We wanted to make the project Chennai-centric and involve talented youngsters. Jesuraj had put everything on paper (in notation) and that made it really easy for the instrumentalists," says Rev. Raj.
The final mixing of the sound will be done in the U.S. by Ian Cross, who works for big names such as Janet Jackson and Manoj Night Shyamalan.
It will take some time for the album to hit the market but if you are curious to know what the music sounds like, the ensemble will perform live at the end of the month at The Music Academy.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
