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Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Waxing lyrical Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma sang three of Jacques Brel’s songs

‘Jacques Brel through the eyes of Foreigners,’ organised by the Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, the city Brel immortalised in the song ‘The Port of Amsterdam,’ celebrated the man and his music on February 20.

The Kerala connection to the festivities was provided by Carnatic musician Aswathy Thirunal Rama Varma, an ardent admirer of Brel.

Explaining the reason for his admiration for Brel Rama Varma says: “In Carnatic music, there are set compositions and importance is given to improvisation. Sadly, the lyrics are invariably neglected. Although I used to listen to a lot of world music, I never used to pay attention to the lyrics. The accent was always on music.

“It was Brel’s use of words and his lyrical lines that made me aware of the importance of lyrics. Verses of Vageyyakaras like Annamacharya and Purandaradasa are unbelievably beautiful and rich in philosophic content. Although they lived hundreds of years ago, the beauty of the lines lie in the fact that they are still relevant.”

He adds that it was then that he discovered that his favourite singers like Kishore Kumar and M.D. Ramanathan were very sensitive to lyrics and it was, perhaps, this that gave their songs that poignancy and intensity of emotions. “Today, I pay a lot of attention to sahitya and also give lecture-demonstrations on why it is important to understand the meaning of what one is singing. So it was a great opportunity for me to pay tribute to the genius of Brel when I was invited for the programme,” says Rama Varma who also gave a series of veena concerts in Netherlands and Belgium.

Prior to his recital, in a short interview Varma explained his fascination for Brel and the songster’s influence on his music. Rama Varma chose to sing a capella the famous song ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ (Don’t leave me).

“I am not surprised by Varma’s choice. It is one of the sweetest and most popular of Brel’s songs,” says Jose-Marie Cortes, Director of Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum.

“When my wife, Sayoko Ide, and I, arrived in the city in 2004, we had attended a concert by Varma. It was our first Carnatic music concert and we never expected it to be this long. Of course, now we are fans of Carnatic music and have attended many concerts too. But then it was a different experience. Sensing our restlessness, Rama Varma sang ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ for us. It was such a wonderful experience and his interpretation was very impressive,” recalls Cortes.

He adds that though Brel passed away in 1978, he continues to be a big influence in France. Brel was Belgian but he lived in Paris for many years and that was where he became a world renowned figure. His stylish voice, passionate performances, powerful lyrics and ability to portray all kinds of situations and people in elegant verse made him an icon. He was also an actor and director.

“His voice was one of the most well-known in Bohemian France. The charm of his music was its accessibility to all. His verses could create powerful images of people, places and themes. In fact, his poetic lyrics initiated me into literature,” says Cortes.

In Amsterdam, Rama Varma also sang the sombre ‘Les Vieux’ in which Brel paints a dark picture of aging. Then he read an article from The Guardian on the woman who inspired the jaunty ‘Madeline,’ written and sung by Brel. He concluded with Brel’s ode to Belgium ‘Le Plat Pays.’

Varma says he also got the opportunity to sing ‘Le Plat Pays’ in Belgium when he went there for a veena concert.

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