Tagore: the Quintessential Modernist
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
.~ volume XXVIII. No. 1 - January - February 2014 and understanding of Baul music. A video presentation Tagore: The Quintessential ongoing as a backdrop to the 'singing, flashed scenes of the Modernist Santiniketan countryside, with Baul groups immersed in PERFORMANCE: IIC ANNUAL DAY 2014 - Asia's First song and dance, virtually entranced by the power of Nobel.·A Few 'Song Offerings' From Gitanja/i their beliefs. led by Professor Indrani Mukherjee; and artistes of Visva· Of course, the more popular and oft-sung numbers from Bharati, Santiniketan the Tagore oeuvre were reserved for the latter part of the January 22 evening when the group took listeners through the seasonal favourites from the Tagorean treasury such as Key Though he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, go antara tara ro shey. All through, the group had Rabindranath Tagore's music is no less deserving of such dexterously picked numbers that conjoined an in-depth honours. Celebrating his quintessential modernist philosophy with the beauty of the season, so attitudes, the members of the Santiniketan Choir that the mind was concentrated on the presented a series of Curudevs lyrics, touching upon the mysteries of the never-ending cycle of vast oeuvrc of his heritage. The choral presentations, pleasure, pain, the passage of life and comprising soloists and group presenters, were death, the passing of a day from dawn to supported by a musical accompaniment, playing dusk and so on. All these ideas left instruments such as the esraj, purported to be ""'\. listeners in an introspective mood synonymous with Rabindra Sangcet together with \ even as the melodious voices of cymbals, khol, tabla and harmonium. Adding greater ~ the choir, in clipped Bengali interest to the evening's performances was a running . i~ accents, demonstrated the ideal commentary alongside, transcribing and categorising . ~d'tl'=,~\\met~odology of slng1l1g them into cohesive demonstrations of ~; \ Rabindra Sangeet. Tagore's genius, ranging from ancient Care had also been taken to philosophy, travels as also the , coordinate visual and vocal lesser-known but deep-rooted inputs, as the choir was dressed Tagorean interest in modern /I~~ ~. , ~. - ~ in batik and handwovensaris science and philosophy. \. \ and shawls, while the team Combining Tagore's trip to Iran I' leader had donned a silk dhoti-chador with his fundamental belief in the outfit in keeping with the university's dress notion of universalism, the group quite code. The dancers demonstrated elements of early in the evening referred to Gurudev's Tagorean numbers, making this rendezvous with Rumi-inspired number Aalo aamaar aalo. Moving from Santiniketan singing a befitting salute to the genius of this the quintessential commonalities between Rumi and modernist composer. Tagore's sangeet, the audience were regaled with a series of compositions that had emanated from Tagore's close links • SUBHRA MAZUMDAR men trying Mvriad Voices to get her to PERFORMANCE: Keystone State Boychoir whistle. In Music Director: Joseph P. Fitzmartin, January 4 the last section, the The opportunity to watch and hear sixty boys, aged 13 to choir sang 18, here in Delhi, all the way from Philadelphia, USA, songs of seemed too good to be missed for the large numbers that peace and turned out to attend, and they were not disappointed! The harmony. boys were divided into four voices, singing in parts and Especially h~rmon~. The two conductors, Steve Fisher and Joseph touching Fitzmartin (who also played the piano), seemed to be was their . 'playing' the boys, just as they would play four musical rendering of Prayer of the Children, with the few lines in instruments, with each group responding perfectly to Croatian sung in Hindi. Also among the peace songs were their conducting. Zik' (an authorised version of an A.R. Rehrnan composition) and Ramkali, based on a raga. The concert began with the boys singing Christmas songs from the aisles, before they went up on stage to complete It was great to watch this group of young men enthrall the the first section-songs of Christmas. The next section audience with their precise harmonies. The life and the consisted of arrangements of American folk, gospel songs energy of the choristers and their conductors were and Broadway songs. Notable in this section were Nine infectious. So inspired were the audience that, by the end Hundred Miles and Rainbow Round My Shoulder (Chain of the evening, they stood up and burst into song-a Gang Song). The song, Whistle, Maggie, Whistle had the spirited rendition of Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram. audience in splits with the higher voices singing falsetto to act as Maggie and her friends and the lower voices as the • RITA MEITRAM precision, clarity and above all, a high degree of sensitivity Youthlul Chamber Music and expression. Their youthful exuberance and CONCERT: Ke/emen Ouartet from Hungary dedication to classical music was evident in their Collaboration: Hungarian Information and Cultural animated facial expressions, while their fingers flew Centre; and Delhi Music Society, January 21 rapidly over their violins, viola and cello through their performance. From the familiar strains of Mozart's Eine One of the world's leading chamber ensembles, the Kleine Nachtmusik and the sombre overtones ofShubert's renowned Kelemen Quartet from Hungary treated an Death and the Maiden played with careful dignity and august international audience of music lovers, musicians, pathos, to the vividly boisterous Hungarian folk dance bureaucrats and members of the ,.. • jigs, the Kelemen Quartet's diplomatic community to a thrilling performance was an brilliant concert of western absolute delight to experience. classical music featuring works A visibly-impressed audience by Mozart, Weiner and had their eyes and ears glued to Schubert. Founded in Budapest the stage in rapt attention, so in 2009, the ensemble has that one would have even heard already earned the reputation of a pin drop over the gentle being the world's most exciting sounds of one's breath. young chamber ensembles and Repeated chants for an encore they truly deserve to have this ensued and these young distinction. All four of the Kelemen Quartet's members talented musicians obliged with are prize-winning Hungarian musicians, admired widely a magnificent rendition of Bela Bartok's second violin assoloists and asprofessional chamber players. concerto. It was, truly, a delightful evening of excellent classicalmusic! Comprising Barnabas Kelemen (violin), Katalin Kokas (viola), Gabor Homoki (second violinist) and Dora Kokas (cellist), the quartet played with· immense • DEEPAK CASTELINO to berating Cupid and the moon beams for stinging her Satvabhama's Charms like poison amidst separation pangs from beloved FESTIVAL: Samanvay Arts Festival Krishna's absence; to her abject surrender declaring February 1 unswerving love in a letter, dispatched through a messenger: she visualised Satyabhama's polarities, her The two-day Kuchipudi event at the IIC, organised by abhinaya as persuasive as the rhythm communicating Bangalore-based vainika Dr. Suma Sudheendra and robust Kuchipudi virtuosity. Veena Murthy deputised as Veena Murthy Vijay, enchanted with the winsome appeal Madhavi in the dialogue exchanges. The 'lekha' part with of old-fashioned items from the Kuchipudi repertoire; Sastry's singing in Arabhi was piercingly beautiful. Veena rarely seen amidst the present craze for original work. The Murthy's Simhandini tala executed on the plastic sheet, second evening presented Bhama Kalapam delights by drawing on it the image of a lion with a mane, was Shama Krishna, an accomplished performer, strangely . very impreSSive. new to Delhi. Spurred by the classically rich, involved singing of B.V.S. Sastry (on tape), with ragas like Motherhood has not diluted Arunima Kumar's stage Kambodhi, Arabhi, Mohanam and Madhyamawati presence. Opening out her shoulders, giving movements flowing with mellifluous ease, Shama epitomised the greater expanse, articulating footwork and scaling down mercurial Satyabhama's ever-changing moods. the bold mukhabhinaya, she added to aesthetic subtlety. From the proud declaration that she is Saryabhama of unparalleled beauty, the most coveted of Krishna's wives, • LEELA VENKATARAMAN English verse is always flawless, enthusing life to the AN Evening 01Poetrv narrative. I particularly enjoyed listening to anecdotes of PERFORMANCE: I Shall Hear the Nightingale Mirza Ghalib's legendary wit. Readings by A fsana Murad Murad recited mostly from the works of Mir Taqi Mir,. February 12 Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Ibrahim Zauq, Dagh Dehlvi, Momin Khan Momin, Faiz Khushwant Singh has been one of my closest friends and Ahmed Faiz and Mohammad Iqbal. His recitation could mentor for decades. I have. known his love for Urdu have been a little louder, and the spacing between the poetry, and spent countless evenings listening to him poetry been much less.I do wish that Murad had specified recite his favourite couplets. Khushwant's love for the city the poet he was reciting and not left it to the audience to of Delhi and Urdu poetry is well-known. guess the author of the poems. Urdu ghazals usually carry The evening was indeed very special, because it celebrated the name of the poet, but the readings had few complete Khushwant, the city of Delhi and the Urdu language, poems, and more of select verses as in the book. which was nurtured in this delightful city. Khushwant's Murad recited one ofKhushwant's favourite Ghalib verse, son, Rahul Singh graced the occasion with a goodwill Go haathkojurnbishnahin, aankhonmai to dam hai, rehne message from his father. do abheesaghar 0 meenamereyaagey. Murad Ali recited Urdu couplets along with their English Though I can no longer stretch my hands, I still have lifes translation, from Penguin's Celebrating the best of Urdu sparkle in my eyes,Let thejug of wine and cup remain, Before Poetry, selected by Khushwant Singh and Kamna Prasad. me where they lie. Interspersed with Murad's dramatic recitations set to soft music, Suneet Tandon read out interesting passages from Khushwant Singh's novel Delhi.