6 months ago
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Having grown up on, and studied Carnatic euphony successful Mumbai, Shanker Krishnan discovered a caller and a antithetic world, erstwhile helium was astatine the University of California, Berkeley (for a people successful applied mathematics). The sounds of the 18th Century Baroque music, chiefly German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, created “a heavy impact”.
A simultaneous passionateness for some forms led Shanker to question “if the affectional interaction of Carnatic music’s ragas and gamakas could conscionable the intricate operation of Baroque counterpoint.” An elaborate exploration of the aforesaid led the Washington nonmigratory to constitute and grounds his debut medium Confluence: RagaandCounterpoint.
Released connected IndianRaga statement and co-produced by Shanker’s sister, Carnatic vocalist Geetha Raja, Confluence... has 2 compositions. ‘Fugue-Kriti’ is simply a three-movement piece, which moves betwixt raga Hemavathi and raga Vachaspati. It features solo parts connected the Carnatic violin, flute and veena, with drawstring orchestra, gongs and timpani providing accompaniment. The 3 movements are Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam, and it uses the fugue form, which uses aggregate autarkic voices that are intimately interwoven. Its affectional arc moves from tranquility and anticipation to chaos and foreboding.
Album cover | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 2nd creation is simply a four-movement Concerto-Kriti ‘Field Of Dharma’, which explores the lyrical scenery of the Bhagavad Gita. It features Carnatic violin and veena arsenic soloists, and uses aggregate instruments successful the orchestra. It moves betwixt ragas Shanmukhapriya and Charukesi. The 4 movements are Pallavi (Arjuna’s lament), Anupallavi (field of battle), Charanam (dilemma) and Swaram (realisation). However, it diverges from the accepted concerto by emphasising enactment betwixt soloists wrong an orchestral context, alternatively than chiefly betwixt a soloist and the orchestra.
The medium features soloists Shraddha Ravindran connected the violin, K.R. Shrievats connected the veena, R. Thiagarajan connected the flute and Mannarkoil J. Balaji connected the mridangam. Says Shanker. “They are each accomplished performance performers, and were unfastened to the instauration of a caller sound. My sister helped usher maine to the close artistes done her ain philharmonic relation with each of them.”
Shanker says, 1 absorption of his enactment is the usage of counterpoint — the operation of aggregate autarkic melodic lines — with Carnatic ragas. He adds, “Harmony has often been combined with raga-based melodies successful Indian movie euphony and successful immoderate classical experiments. But the operation of Baroque counterpoint with Indian classical music, utilizing aggregate autarkic Carnatic melodic lines and their gamakas, has not been likewise explored.”
Geetha points retired that the full process of utilizing counterpoint was caller to her. She says, “I was thrilled erstwhile Shanker turned to composing music, since helium was musically talented adjacent arsenic a child, and spent years processing his cognition and expertise successful Carnatic and occidental music.”
She says, since this was a caller conception and sound, Shanker utilized her arsenic a sounding committee for the Carnatic information of his ideas. “It was absorbing to ticker the improvement of his ideas. I besides enjoyed organising the signaling astatine Surang Studio, successful Chennai, and liaising with the well-known Carnatic instrumentalists I person worked with extensively successful concerts,” she adds.
The siblings grew up successful a musically-inclined household — their begetter wrote connected euphony and civilization for a paper and parent led devotional singing groups. Both received one-on-one grooming successful Carnatic vocals nether Bombay S. Ramachandran. Shanker besides studied Hindustani euphony from Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan.
Shanker says helium was profoundly influenced by vocalist T. Brinda and elaborates, “With her affectional extent and subtle gamakas, she shaped my philharmonic sensibilities much than thing else. My idiosyncratic transportation to Brindamma deepened that influence.”
The euphony of M.D. Ramanathan helped him admit expansiveness and meditative depth, and from K.V. Narayanaswamy, helium learnt astir elegance and classical proportion.
Among occidental composers, portion Bach’s Baroque euphony was transformative, Shanker says, helium is besides influenced by Claude Debussy’s consciousness of colour and atmosphere, from Bela Bartok’s modern connection drawn from Eastern European melodies, and from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s clarity and seemingly effortless balance. In the US, helium trained nether composer Nils Vigeland and musicologist Prof. Justin Boyer.
Having studied some traditions, Shanker says, helium dilatory began uncovering a heavy affectional transportation betwixt them. He explains, “In particular, I felt a kinship betwixt the jewel-box complexity of Brindamma’s euphony and the intricacy of Bach’s counterpoint.”
Shanker has been surviving successful Washington since 1987, erstwhile helium joined the World Bank group. “I’ve been fortunate to enactment and prosecute occidental classical euphony creation survey , earlier opening this long-planned fusion project.”
