The Music Speaks for Itself

(An account of the performances during the East-West Music Encounter)

Bhaskar Chandavarkar

When the East-West Encounter was plann_ed, it was known that the musicians participating in it would be familiar with each other's culture. Dr. Narayana Menon, in his inaugural comments, remarked that cultural exchanges were almost an age-old phenomenon and cited the instance of Indian musicians who were working in Japan several centuries ago.

In more recent times, oriental music has had a strong impact on European musicians; for instance. during the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1889 to mark the centenary of the French Revolution. In the ensuing decade, Claude Debussy introduced some oriental concepts in his music. He was followed by musicians like Messiaen, Cage, Stockhausen, Schnebel. Others, like Boulez, had "allowed their minds" to be influenced by Indian music.

All the Indian musicians participating in the Encounter had visited the west and frequently performed there. In the same way, musicians from the west were fairly well-acquainted with Indian concepts, both philosophical and musical, and, during the discussions, they freely employed the terminology of our.Sangeeta Shastra. Even so, in the final analysis, exchanges in music are not so much a question of receptivity to each other's ideas as to the music itself. What is more important is the ability to embody influences in the very act of composition and performance.

Thus, what matters finally is how you make your music. The music speaks for itself. It often speaks a language that transcends the verbal. Consequently, in the recent East-West Music Encounter, the concerts, both live and recorded, assumed, for me, greater importance than the discussions that laboriously tried to illustrate views and the extra-musical philosophy of sound of the participating musicians. The philosophy of music is, of course, very important and the clarity and precision of concepts reflected in the discussions might enhance one's response to a particular piece of performance. But then not everyone is gifted with verbal lucidity; besides, there is always the problem of a common medium of discussion, a lingua franca of music. One would not, for instance. expect Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar to verbalize his views in English or Pandit Bhimsen Joshi to discuss aesthetic considerations in a language other than his own, namely, music itself. Thus, the Encounter provided a real good look at the common areas and the twilight zones of music only through the performances.

The first performance, a taped one, was presented on the very first day of the Encounter. The composers were present at the playing of the recording and introduced their music. Walter Zimmermann, from the Federal Republic of Germany, presented his Musique Locale, compositions he had put together after long years of study of the folk music of Frankonia, in southern Germany. It was strongly rhythmic music, with a pulse that many Indians could identify with. Folk music, in any part of the world, has a quality that appeals almost immediately to the

31 rhythmic sense. The pulse is usually very clear and emphatic, and more evident in music used for dancing in any community. Folk music, in most European countries, avoids cross-rhythm and, unlike African music, has a simpler rhythmic structure. Zimmermann's piece, too, reflected this feature. He had, however, made his own contribution to the composition by taking apart several strands of this music and then putting the complete fabric together by enhancing the colour aspect in the instrumentation. The most notable feature of the sound of his music was instrumentation of the existing melodies in a new and creative way. Landler is a folk dance that gave rise to the waltz when the dance itself was urbanised. Landler was the basis for his music and Zimmermann used the old Landler melodies, which are played in a constant flow. The other important aspect was the reflection of the geographical features-the landscape. In his attempt to come to terms with the surroundings, man has always shaped his expression in relation to nature. His understanding of his position in the universe is encoded in his artistic expression. This is evident in many cultures, especially those that have stood the test of time. Intonation, shape of instruments, the ritualistic nature of the performance and many other seemingly different aspects of folk music have, in several countries, a common basis. It is a reiteration of our position in the universe. Curiously, this basic strand in the music helps us to grasp quickly the core. The small island cultures can then become universal. Zimmermann's own contribution to the folk music of Frankonia was a gossammer veil and original music did shine through it. We were also told that Zimmermann was severely criticised by young musicians at an earlier conference for giving this local music a nationalistic colour. It was quite surprising to learn that pride in one's own national heritage is not a virtue in Europe while, in India, we constantly uphold our "rich" cultural heritage as an exclusive inheritance.

Joachim Krebs was the other composer of the evening and his music was very clearly of an intellectual kind. He played an untitled composition for a small orchestra that he .had composed in 1981. And also a string quartet. Krebs himself was not dramatic in any way though his music was. One came across dimly-lit bass themes that were suddenly juxtaposed against brilliantly shining short passages on strings. Echoes and mirror reflections of phrases appeared along with spiralling and twisting notes. There was no effort to synthesize oriental and western cultures. His music also seemed to have broken away from the European atonal or serial styles; he did not use any electronic devices as such in his composition. Krebs, in a way, represented the young spirit of middle Europe-emphatic, dramatic and, relying largely on his intellect with a guiltless rejection of the musical styles of the immediate past specially those of the post-war period.

On January 16, there were two performances by Indian musicians now living in the west. Naresh Sohal, as composer, presented his works recorded in London, while two of his compositions were performed by the young Calcutta­ born 'cellist Anup Kumar Biswas, who now lives in Britain. Anup Kumar's approach, technique and sensibilities were totally western; there was no trace of lndianness in the sound of the two compositions-Shades Ill and Monody. On the other hand, Naresh Sohal's compositions, initially at least seemed to have explored the realm of quarter-tones and shruti-s (a typical Indian concept). But then Naresh Sohal, had he asked himself what was Indian about his music, would have certainly found more than these quarter-tones to express his lndianness. 32 The best of the evening and perhaps one of the most moving performances, despite its not being a live one, was Naresh Sohal's The Wanderer. Commissioned by the BBC for their Proms, its world premiere took place very recently. Sohal uses a bass-baritone soloist along with a chorus of two hundred voices and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, to bring to us this archaic Anglo-Saxon poem of the 7th-8th century. With an extraordinary control of orchestration, Sohal invests the work with rare evocative power. The desolate, windswept frozen landscape was virtu.

Sohal seems to have travelled from intellectual infatuation with the shruti concept and Indian poetry in Sanskrit Hindi and English, through serialism, to an individual style where the search for identity assumes tremendous importance. His journey through these areas made him write a short personal epilogue, musically, to The Wanderer. The final movement of the composition makes a deeply moving impression on the listeners. Sohal's composition received a standing ovation that night!

On the third evening, in Michael Vetter-we had an extraordinary combination of vocalist performer, communicator, composer and mystic. Vetter, who is from West Germany, has lived in Japan for the past twelve years. He has obviously travelled widely in Asia and spent years studying varied cultures, customs, philosophies. He seemed endowed with a special passion for communication. Research and the spirit of contemplation have given his style an oriental touch but his performance could not have been classified as anything other than universal.

Vetter began with his Tambura preludes. Although the tambura is an Indian instrument the free-composition which Vetter preferred was based on acoustic material that is universal. His variations came from touching the tambura strings at different points. The flat bridge of this great and yet deceptively simple instrument a gift of Indian ingenuity to the world of music, is capable of such myriad tonal colours that listeners can have a glimpse of the acoustic cosmos through just four strings. Unlike some other modern musicians, Vetter used a simple, traditional, four-stringed instrument and created many combinations by bringing together, what he called, the 'Male-Female' strings in a sort of dialogue.

His second presentation was called Om-the overtone meditation. fv'l cngoiians and Tibetans-and perhaps many other ancient cultures-practised a special kind of voice culture, vocal meditation. Vestiges of this practice survive in some cultures even today. Vetter sought to turn this individual pursuit into a public presentation. Through an hour-long meditative vocalization of Om, he brought out an interesting array of overtones. About six to ten minutes of intense kaleidoscopic images held the audience breathless. However, it must be conceded that a large part of the presentation alienated even the musicians amongst the listeners. Vetter was searching and looking for something and none in the audience could ima9ine what it was. In .fact later, during a discussion, Vetter admitted t h

33 this kind could not begin by knowing what to look for, neither could it start with the knowledge of 'where' to look for it. It had to be an effort that chances upon something -and only then could it be a real discovery, a real search leading to new things every time! Unfortunately for him, many in the audience did not join him on this perilous voyage.

Nevertheless, one must be fair to Vetter. His intentions are credible; his efforts sincere, and he has the patience to support his intentions with the right effort. He was able to create 'magic moments' through cascading overtones that poured forth from a high-pitched fundamental. One had the extraordinary experience of listening to a very accomplished, small woodwind orchestra that in physical reality, was only one man with his vocal chords deep in meditative trance. Vetter's was a live performance and one wondered whether it would be possible for him to record his performance. Whatever he presented was truly transient, defying all forms of presentation. It was of the essence of the present moment, and ceased to exist as soon as it was created. It was also impossible to predict or foresee what his performance would be like. This quality brought it close to a metaphysical experience.

The concerts on January 18, 19, 20 and 21, were held in the Tata Theatre and were open to the public. The first of these featured the Americans, Terry Riley and Thomas Ross. Both Ross and Riley have been trained in Indian music for several years. Terry Riley's performance opened with a strong visual impact. An extremely unassuming musician, dressed in white kurta and pyjama, with a long beard and a balding pate, Terry Riley looked like a north Indian Vedic priest. In fact, a day or two before this concert, Andre Eshpai, the Soviet composer, had compared his appearance to that of a Russian priest. This time Riley was surrounded by the electronic gear of the twentieth century-coloured lights that blinked, and shiny gleaming metal cases which made sounds like bells and pizzicatos. A performance of music in any culture has to have a quality that can be traced back to the old shamanic ritual of its ancestors. The musicians of those days wielded musical instruments which bordered on magical, medicinal and entertaining tools. For those who watched such performances, the spiritual quality of music could never be dissociated from the performance. The effective power of music, which has remained out of the reach of verbal language, manifests itself best in such surroundings. As the sounds coming from the machines engulfed the audience, expectations rose high. In keeping with Terry Riley's personality, the music that followed was benign, restful. Riley had, in the previous sessions, been credited with pioneering vision in the creation of a style that came to be known as the minimal. His music now seemed appropriately calm and unassuming, even unexciting. His use of voice appeared to be very different from that of Indian musicians. It was interesting but at times, appeared too casual; it was sincere but also inconsequential. Because of the use of notes in the scale of a raga and cyclic rhythmic accompani[Tlent his music sounded very non-Europe_an and almost Indian. However the synthesised sounds and the absence of live accompanists gave it a modern touch, the English texts making it un-lndian. He also used some gamaka-s and alankara-s in his performance which was, therefore, a synthesis; though not nearly as successful as his trend-setting composition, In C, written in 1964 before he had embarked on the study of Indian music.

34 Thomas Ross is from Wesleyan University in U.S.A. and learnt his Indian music in the States. He is fortunate to have received training from masters in both the North and South Indian systems. He also has a jazz background. It is said that musicians from jazz turn to and later adapt from various systems. In the past, there have been more fusions in the jazz sphere than anywhere else. Niranjan Zhaveri. the director-producer of Jazz Yatra, who participated in the closed-session discussions, vehemently supported efforts in the direction of fusing jazz with Indian music. A contrary view asserts that Indo-Jazz fusions are more often disaster-bound because every jazz performer is an extrovert and does his best to outshine his fellow performers. It has been pointed out that the most successful jazz quintet is the one which has five musicians on an ego trip! Now, this is clearly the exact opposite of the concept of fusion where people have to sacrifice a little to make room for some other influence to come in. Consequently, as critics of jazz-fusion argue, these fusions suffer in the process. Thomas Ross, however, seemed an exceptional musician. He had learnt from Ustad Amir Khan and sang a short khayal in Malkauns, playing the tambura himself. without tabla accompaniment. He showed a good grasp of the raga form and a respect for the style. His intonation was quite good, pronunciation adequate and it was evident from the equally short piece that followed in the Carnatic style that his guru at Wesleyan had successfully taught him the basic principles. Then Ross presented pieces he had written a few years ago. These clearly had an Indian influence. He is also a very good guitar player and, during his performance, an enthusiastic Indian listener, unable to contain himself. called out loudly, "Never heard better guitar accompaniment" to encourage and admire what Ross was doing. Ross also appeared along with Ustad Zakir Hussain in his short performance (in the closed sessions) and admirably kept time, clapping out the tala, a measure of the correct training he has received in rhythm. Ross figured actively in the Encounter. Young, well-read, enthusiastic and versatile, his contributions were listened to with attention by the participants. On January 19, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi appeared in a short session in the morning, and in the evening in a mehfil where he presented evening raga-s. Bhimsen Joshi is one of our more popular exponents of classical music. Born in Karnataka, he has lived in Pune for most of his adult life. His concerts invariably draw huge crowds. On this occasion, thanks to the acoustics of the Tata Theatre, Bhimsen Joshi was heard by almost a thousand listeners without a microphone distorting his music. Bhimsen Joshi began with an expansive khayal in raga Yaman-Kalyan. After elaborate alap, he went on to the bada khayal and drut. which he sang with great elan. This was followed by Marwa. The time theory for raga-s in North Indian classical music does not allow this order in a performance. In an earlier interview, Bhimsen Joshi had supported the theory in general but had pointed out that fanatic adherence to the theory was not advisable. On that occasion, he had sung raga Todi at noon! His changed order of raga-s admirably illustrated what he had said about 'the mood of the hour' theory. He had argued that the 'mood' of the artiste and the audience, or, better still, the 'mood' of the hour should determine the choice of the raga. He insisted that as a performer, he believed more in fidelity to his 'art' than to its dry grammar. He was also emphatic about his own leaning towards the sincerity of a performance, rather than towards 'theoretical' considerations. Thus, in his personality and performance, we notice the happy coexistence of theory and practice. -

35 The evening's recital concluded with the bhajan of Brahmananda that Bhimsen Joshi has made so popular. It is in raga Bhairavi and he occasionally brings in phrases of Jogia, Lalit and other morning raga-s to suit the mood. The ovation he received at the close of the concert was one more illustration of the strong rapport he establishes with his listeners.

On the ~orning of January 20, in the instrumental session, Anup Kumar Biswas played a short version of a composition which he was to play later in full at the farewell concert in the Little Theatre. This was followed by a session of East-West Fusion- Peter Michael Hamel and Chattaraj who played raga Todi together. Chattaraj. who plays the flute, is a disciple of Timir Baran. Their effort appeared doomed from the start and they soon discovered that it was disastrous to continue. Fortunately, this was not a public concert.

Peter Hamel and Roberto Laneri appeared in a public concert the same evening. Hamel's work Rasa has been performed in India at various centres to general critical acclaim. The hope, that the evening would provide some good music, was largely fulfilled. Hamel and Laneri also played a duet which showed their individual leanings towards experimental and jazz music respectively. Using tape, Laneri also gave a vocal presentation of two pieces, Memories of the Rain Forest and Two Views of the Amazon. In an earlier session he, like other participants, had explained the source of his inspiration. His own singing mainly comprised the overtone series. It was very, very different, compared to the overtone singing of Vetter. Laneri's music, in general, seemed performance-oriented, the result of meditation; Vetter's was more like meditation itself, giving the artiste a . sense of individual progress. Laneri's presentation was closer to the Indian concert concept-with music progressing from slow to fast. bass to treble and static to dynamic. Memories of the Rain Forest opened with the hunting chant of the Pygmies. Laneri, who has visited Africa, maintains that the Pygmies have one of the most evolved ·musical cultures in the world. These piercing holler-like shouts were followed by deep and dark sounds. Laneri used a synthesizer and also electronic means like the slowing down of tracks before mixing. Laneri dubbed his own voice. Singing with a previously recorded tape, he brought together several layers of his own voice and with very interesting results. This technique is no longer very new in the west; even so, Laneri's skill in refining it with the use of overtones in his voice deserves praise. He concluded it with the sound of rain recorded and when asked "Why?", he replied- "You may say it is kitsch but I like it. I like it very much -I would rather scrap something else but have this sound of rain at the end."

Hamel's music has progressed through several stages of fusion. This time it sounded as if it was in a state of transition. The phase of duets with shehnai or violin, where imitation was very evident. seems to have ended. And yet. while he was playing his pieces at the plano, he seemed distanced from both Indian and his own European background. His understanding of Indian music is, of course, increasing with every visit he makes to India. Perhaps, this growing under­ standing prompts him to re-examine his previous compositions and this should be regarded as a sign of progress in a composer. Hamel's tour and performance were being filmed this time by German Television. This could be an added reason for the composer's self-consciousness at the piano and during the discussion sessions.

36 The last performance in the Tata Theatre was by Pandit Ram Narayan, the renowned sarangi maestro. He presented raga-s Shri and Piloo. His daughter, Aruna. also featured in a solo and a duet. Pandit Ram Narayan could not have chosen more appropriate raga-s for the evening. The soft January evening in Bombay, at the Nariman Point. with the sun setting on the penultimate session and the delegates reminiscing about their rich experiences during the week, provided a perfect curtain-raiser for the mood of raga Shri. It is a raga which uses shruti-s more distinctly than many others and Pandit Ram Narayan excels in presenting the descending nature of the raga. He specializes in the meend-s that slide down from Pancham to Kamal Rishab and from Mandra Nishad to Mandra Pancham. His tana patterns spanned three octaves with ease and lightning speed. His daughter played with appropriate humility and created the right atmosphere for the raga. She is perhaps the only woman to play this difficult instrument . with such competence. The concert ended with a duet- Pandit Ram Narayan playing in an exuberant mood, and turning the evening into a visual treat. The penultimate day was packed with many interesting events. The morning session included a paper by Prof. A. Ranganathan on The Relevance of Professor C. V. Raman to the Physical Theory of Musical Instruments. It proved that aesthetics can stand the scrutiny of science and the quest for beauty could be the ultimate aim of science as well as the fine arts. A fascinating experience during the discussion on his paper was listening to two rare discs of Veena Dhanam, grandmother of the great Balasaraswati. This three-minute disc had the quality to transport- 'transport' in the Greek sense of the word. Dr. S. Ramanathan. the noted vidwan and musician from the South. pointed out that Veena Dhanam was capable of presenting the essence of a raga in a short time­ span . "If she sang a raga for ten minutes, listeners thought that nothing could be added to the raga . . . It was complete ... Compare this with Tiger Varadachari. He would sing a raga for two-and-a-half hours and listeners thought he had barely begun the raga." Dr. Rangariathan's paper was followed by recorded music by Andre Eshpai, the Soviet-composer. One wished that Eshpai had presented his music in the Little Theatre (and not in its Foyer) for then more people could have listened to it. The music was so full of energy and vitality that it moved even the lay listeners. The more knowledgeable were stunned by the virtuosity of the Soviet performers. Their technique seemed beyond the reach of most musicians. The compositions themselves owed something to archaic cultures as well as the folk traditions of the area in the USSR where Eshpai was born. Despite the language barrier ( Eshpai spoke some German and no English and the translation was often not adequate enough). Eshpai's music established close contact with Indian parti­ cipants mainly on account of some of its themes. The sequence of tonalities was very Indian and resembled two raga-s. Malashri and a Bihag variation. The symphonic work also had a prelude that sounded like jazz. with the trumpet leading the orchestra. According to Eshpai, the musician was from the orchestra and could not have been connected with jazz in any way. The afternoon session that day was devoted to Ustad Zakir Hussain's demonstration and although his fusion records failed to impress most participants. he was in full form during his performance. This young tabla wizard created intricate patterns in Roopak tala and delighted the audience with his clear padhant, his super-speed rela-s, gat-s. paran-s and tukra-s.

37 The concert on the concluding day featured Anup Kumar Biswas playing Bach and a composition by lmrat Khan, the noted sitar and surbahar player. The piece in raga Jogkauns had a section with tabla accompaniment. As a composition, it did not sound as if it was specially written for the 'cello. Anup went through the alap, jod and gat parts like a western musician, but played both pieces entirely from memory. Dhondutai Kulkarni rounded off the session with full-throated Jaipur-Atrauli styled khayal-s in Malavi and Chhaya-Nat.

The farewell party, hosted by Mr. J. J. Bhabha, Vice-Chairman, National Centre for the Performing Arts, was a warm and informal finale to the Encounter.

During the Encounter sessions, the participants had, on the whole, sought to examine the concept of exchange of musical ideas and the influence it exerted over western and Indian musical thought. They tried to understand whether such influence was beneficial or baneful. Many of the musicians present at the Encounter hinted, at least indirectly, at certain undesirable trends in recent musical fusions, which they felt could be avoided.

But. in some respects, music is like spoken language. The spread and growth of a particular kind of music cannot really be controlled or channelized by gatherings like the Encounter. Music can hardly be expected to follow a charted route. Some of the basic concepts of western music ·are increasingly being accepted as universal in the same way as the English language is understood and often spoken in most parts of the world. The keyboard has come to stay in many musical cultures. Harmonies are not merely tolerated but even accepted as part of musical expression. It is futile to turn a deaf ear to these developments.

In many musical cultures, western music has become a kind of 'second language'. The situation in many developing countries is such that the population is becoming urbanised with accelerating speed. Millions move to the cities, to be transformed into cultural refugees in their own homeland. Musically, the new language that they create seems destined to be their true means of self-expression. Can we hope to avert this trend? And how?

38