ENJOYABLE, CLASSIC, STRAIGHT AHEAD JAZZ BY THE ADRIAN D’SOUZA QUARTET

STANDARDS AND MORE WITH STRONG AND INVENTIVE MUSICIANS

Secunderabad Club  8^th May 2017

Written for The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation www.hydmusic .com

    What a good time we had! Yes, we really had good time, a great time actually. It was a delight to hear some superb, ‘straight ahead’ jazz music - music that was not influenced by any sort of fusion, rock oriented beats or heavy electronic effects, but Jazz in its most elemental form: jazz standards, swinging rhythms, bossa nova, and the blues.

     And responsible for giving us such a good time was the Adrian D’Souza Quartet comprising Adrian D’Souza on Drums, Karan Joseph on Keyboard and bass, Lydia Hendrikje Hornung, Vocals, and Pawan Benjamin on Tenor saxophone.

     But before these strong and inventive musicians came on stage and put a brand new spin on some of the old Jazz standards with mainstream jazz, Latin music and blues ballads, the evening began with a performance of a few songs by a local eleven member vocal ensemble the ‘Deccan Voices’.

      The Deccan Voices began with a rendition of an old Duke Ellington jazz standard ‘I’m Beginning to See the Light’. A pop song by Toto, ‘Africa’. A hymn, ‘All Things bright and Beautiful’, and a choral version of ‘Take 5’, the eleven singer choral ensemble ended with ‘Balleilaka’ a Tamil song by AR Rehman. The ‘Deccan Voices’ directed by Joe Koster on keyboards looked like they were enjoying themselves and dealt with the rhythms and harmonies well. All-in-all a good performance!

      Let’s get back to the main event, and the music and the musicians of the Adrian D’Souza Quartet .

     Though the leader of the band is usually the main protagonist, with Adrian D'Souza on drums, it is an ensemble cast, with every musician playing their part. Yet Adrian does steer, guide and support by listening and responding. Adrian’s lightly swinging drumming is spare and elegant, and sometimes quite rambunctious as the tune needs, but his drumming is always in good taste, with a refined emotional sensitivity to the feeling of the song.  

    Lydia Hendrikje Hornung, has a light, jazz soaked, crystalline tone of voice that is sweet and flexible, textured and emotionally strong. Most of all she is so refreshingly easy to listen to. She demonstrated super vocal control, elasticity and command in the vocal twists and nuances when she improvised. Generally an insightful, able and classy singer.

   Karan Joseph on the keyboard is the backbone of the quartet. Karan is a resourceful arranger, very expressive keyboard player, sometimes a powerhouse who cuts loose, opening up free-flying improvisation, sometimes quiet and sensitive, hunched in concentration, sometimes head-back and smiling, neck stretching with bird-like movements, always maintaining an inventive but steady bass with his left hand.

    Pawan Benjamin, what can one say about this tall, thin, long haired young Tenor Saxophone player, who plays such touching, tender, and sometimes blistering and blazing solo’s; his saxophone sounding like a thoughtful voice as though he was thinking through his solos, with every phrase always connecting to the other and being completely meaningful.

     The audience saw the inner enjoyment that the musicians felt while the Quartet  played, not the overt show of rock musicians, but simple smiles of pleasure when the musicians heard one of them or the other playing a passage that that they had just created, and which grew wings and soared away, whether it was the singer singing an emotional passage or the keyboardist playing a piquant passage, or the saxophone saying something so meaningful, or the drummer playing an appropriate variation, they shared the pleasure of the musicians bringing out the best in each other, and giving pleasure to the audience at the same time.

     Whether the Adrian D’Souza Quartet played a beautifully put together slow blues, or a Brazilian samba, or a ballad or a jazz standard like 'Tenderly', or ‘East of the Sun’, or ‘Speak Low’, or the beautifully rendered ‘Moonlight in Vermont’, or a Wayne Shorter classic, the music was about joy. It was not music played for musicians. It was music played for everyone to enjoy. It was music that was completely accessible, completely understandable, completely empathetic. it was music that left the audience feeling good and elated. This was without doubt, the best Jazz show that the twin-cities have seen in the last two years.

      And for this pleasure we must thank The Secunderabad Club, Bharati Cement, The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation and Goethe Zentrum.

All Photographs by multi-man Joe Koster 

THE ART OF JAZZ WITH THE ROTEM SIVAN TRIO

Written for www.hydmusic.com   website of the the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation
JAZZ AT SECUNDERABAD CLUB ON 8^th APRIL 2017

     Jazz is a music that is partly planned and partly spontaneous. Jazz is a very technical form of music. It is a musical art form.

     The art of the musician in jazz is their ability to play freely and inventively within the rigid structure of the music. Jazz has a disciplined musical structure that uses sophisticated harmonies and progressions in its many styles and genres within which improvisation takes place.

     Good jazz musicians know how to improvise without getting lost in the improvisation. In a band, jazz musicians must together know how to bring each piece of invented music to a fitting conclusion within the chords and rhythmic changes of the tune that they are playing and make a meaningful whole out of it. 

     Jazz usually, but not always, has a swinging rhythm that characterises jazz as Jazz. And Jazz musicians also play certain seemingly dissonant notes and harmonies in unusual ways during the course of the music that is typical of jazz.

     So jazz is a very special musical art form that is quite often challenging to the listener. Jazz is also an involving music, and so the listener is better served by being an active listener and by being aware of what they are listening to. Jazz is listening music and so it does require certain intelligence from a listener to relate to it. Jazz therefore is played by highly intelligent, highly proficient, and very technically advanced musicians, and this was indisputably the case with the Rotem Sivan Trio.

ROTEM SIVAN, GUITAR & MISHKO M'BA,  BASS   

     Rotem Sivan, the guitarist, leader, composer and arranger, is originally from Israel but settled in New York, and he has just finished his term on the faculty of Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai.  Mishko M’Ba, the bass player was born in France, but lives in mainly in Pondicherry when not shuttling between France and Reunion. And Karina Colis, Drums and Vocal, is from Mexico, but is based in New York and is now in India as faculty in the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai.

     On listening to the trio, we would never believe that the three musicians met and got together only recently - in India. Yet, the music was energetic, entertaining and inventive. The harmonic and rhythmic changes were complex and interestingly created. And all the compositions were tightly arranged and structured. But the Trio was so in-sync that they were in a ‘zone of empathy’. Each musician was ‘in the zone’, mindful and aware of what each was doing; each receiving and dispatching secret messages to and from each other to keep the musical ideas flowing. They were so tuned-in to the music that didn’t have to look at each other to have a complete understanding of what each was doing.

     Rotem Sivan was a musical mastermind; every song, whether it was one of his own compositions like ‘Antidote’, or a jazz standard such as ‘In Walked Bud’ by Thelonius Monk, or a Bob Dylan song ‘Make me feel your Love’, or an originally slow Jazz blues ballad like ‘Angel Eyes’, or, any of his other compositions, the arrangements were unique, the harmonies and rhythms, and treatment were always interesting and had his distinctive stamp on them.

       Even Rotem Sivan’s guitar was unique, a Gibson semi hollow body guitar that he had modified to produce the most unique sounds that he hears in his musical imagination ... which he makes come true. Some of the modifications were - an extra pick-up inside the body through which he could get every shade of sound that he could get out of his finger-picking or plucking, or, from his percussive style of playing on the fret board. There was a modification even near the bridge for getting some effect that he had innovated, and even the back of his guitar had a snare from a snare drum, attached to it in case he needed a particular sound while playing percussively on the back. And to top it all Rotem Sivan used every bit of the guitar to produce the most beautiful sounds that he could imagine; and not only that, he produced some most interesting melodies and improvisations one could hear on a guitar. He was a high level improviser, whether his phrases were long or short, they were more often than not, melodious and meaningful.

     And Mishko M’Ba, what and fine musician he is, always in time, always playing the right notes in the right place; always playing perfect harmonies; and always being supportive and imaginative, whether he played along with the lead and drums or soloed. His solos too were always sympathetic, melodious and empathetic.

   KARINA COLIS, DRUMS & VOCAL   
  
    Karina Colis’, drumming was the highlight of the show for this audience. Karina was always listening and tuned in to the complicated arrangements that Sivan had conjured, and, she shifted the rhythms and changed her dynamics to serve the song with real empathy and grace. She was loud and explosive, when needed; responsive to the melody with soft cadences, when needed. Her flexible wrists allowed her to play with the lightness of touch or the heaviness of a rock drummer. But where she won the hearts of the audience was during the encore, when she sang a most unusual version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, Rotem Sivan’s ingenious and interesting arrangement of this old classic, in a clear singing voice that made the audience wish they could hear more songs from her. But the time was up, and the concert had to come to an end.

     The Secunderabad Club, deserves a credit for having the foresight, the heart and the spirit of cultural responsibility to present the city with this opportunity to listen to Jazz which is a very technical art form. And sponsoring and presenting Jazz is indeed a way to develop and grow musical culture in a society that is in need of a cultural revival.

       Before we forget, the Roten Sivan Trio was preceded by another trio, Abhijith Gurjale on Violin, Nicole Connoly Bhatia on Flute and Joe Koster, the multi-purpose man, on piano, these three are teachers at the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation School of Music, and they performed proficiently on three different classical pieces: Talented Abhijith Gurjale on violin, and the skillful Nicole Connoly Bhatia on flute, displayed their skill as soloists, and then performed along with the competent, multitasking Swiss Knife, Joe Koster, as a trio, showing that the teaching of Western Classical music in the twin cities is in good hands. 

NICOLE CONNOLY BHATIA, FLUTE & ABHIJITH GURJALE VIOLIN 

JOE KOSTER KEYBOARD & ABHIJITH GURJALE VIOLIN

The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation, The Goethe Zentrum and Secunderabad Club must be jointly thanked for bringing ‘live’ music of such a high standard to the twin cities.

All photographs by Joe Koster except the last by Parvathy Krishnan 

CONSCIOUS OF RHYTHM, LINE AND FORM SHREYA SRIDHAR – BHARATA NATYAM

     Bharata Natyam is safe! No need to worry about the direction or misdirection this art form may be taking when young and passionate dancers take to the stage.

     This is what crossed my mind whilst watching Shreya Sridhar perform. Shreya is student of the great Hemamalini Arni, the inspirational guru of some of the finest dancers in the country such as Kiranmayee Madupu.

     Shreya Sridhar showed her ability and promise in a good performance at the Kalasagaram Annual Youth Festival of Dance on 18^th March 2017.
     The musicians performing on stage merit special appreciation for their excellent musicianship and outstanding performance that made watching a good Bharata Natyam performance an even greater experience.

      The musicians were: Nattuvangam - Renuka Prasad. Singer- Sweta Prasad

Mridangam- Sridhara Chary. Violin - Sai Kolanka. And assisting the guru, Hemamalini Arni, on stage with the musicians - Kiranmayee Madupu.

     Shreya performed four pieces opening with the prayer extolling Ganesha, the Lord of Beginnings and Remover of Obstacles: ‘Vaataapi Ganapatim bhaje ham’ in Ragam Hamsadhwani in Talam Adi and composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar.

     The next Varnam, the centerpiece of the prerformance expressed the feelings of an ardent devotee of Krishna.  Varnam: Pachai mamalai Ragam Ragamalika. Talam Adi. Composed by Tondaradipodi Azvar. Shreya depicted the words of this piece in dance so that we in the audience could understand what the composer described: “Lord Krishna as a green mountain, with coral red lips. He says he would rather not go to the most beautiful Indralokam even if he were sent there, but worship at the feet of the Lord. He is his only refuge. He wishes to have a glimpse of Lord Ranganatha in Srirangapatnam and attain moksha at his lotus feet”. Uma Sridhar

     The third item was a Padam: Natanam Aadinaar, where Shreya competently illustrated in dance the sheer beauty of the dance of ecstasy and abandon of Lord Nataraja, where the composer Gopala Krishna Bharathi describes the sheer beauty of the dance of Lord Nataraja, where The eight sides of the world shook as he danced, the Ganga overflowed her banks and Adishesha, the great snake on his body trembled with fear. The composition was in Ragam Vasantha, Talam Ata.

     The last item of the programme was a Thillana, a pure dance composition by Vazhuvoor Somu Pillai in Ragam Surati in Adi Talam. Shreya peformed this Tillana with nimble footwork and held poses like classic temple sculpture.

     The dancer’s faultless sense of timing and rhythm and her consciousness of form and line spoke well of her understanding of her meticulous training in dance.

     Yes, young Shreya Sridhar, currently a science student in class 11, gives hope that Bharata Natyam is indeed safe. We owe a debt of gratitude to the dancer, her guru and accompanying musicians for not just preserving Indian Classical Dance, but in lighting a path for the future.   

Photography: Abhijit Sridhar

THE MAX CLOUTH CLAN WITH VARIJASHREE VENUGOPAL

For Hyderabad Western Music Foundation/hydmusic.com/ 6/3/2017

     The hospitable and picturesque environs of the Sailing Annexe - Secunderabad Club, was opened to the music of the Max Clouth Clan on the evening of the 4^th of March 2017, and the Club was chock-a-block with fortunate listeners who had come to hear this terrifically talented German guitar trio.

    The Max Clouth Clan was, Max Clouth on Guitar, Jonathan Sell, Bass, and Martin Standke, drums.

     The Clan’s playing was stellar and the sound superb. Not just the band’s 

sound, but also of the perfectly balanced sound system. 

     Best of all was the Clan’s super-empathy that could be delivered only by players who are familiar with each other and play and jell together. Jonathan Sell on Bass and Martin Standke on drums provided a solid, inventive, melodic bass backbone and a shifting, swinging pulse that drove all the music forward like a swinging, swaying yet steady locomotive.

     The Max Clouth Clan, on first hearing, appeared to be mixing styles and crossing boundaries, the guitar had the gritty bite and bluesy yet smooth overdriven tone of a rock guitar, but through it all there was an unmistakable jazz sensibility that pervaded the music.

     Max Clouth played his own compositions, one of them, he had announced, was called ‘Noon’ that he had composed while waiting for a student in a German classroom. But all the compositions they played were tangy and tasty, and had a controlled and deliberate rough edge to them within the composer’s conception of his music which alternated between jam band music, rock, and sizzling, swinging jazz. And though they only played their own original compositions, I did hear references to a novel rendition of the classic ‘Summertime’.

     It is the second half of the concert that was remarkable surprise. The Clan was joined by a genre-busting phenomenon named Varijashree Venugopal, a young, yet well recognized Carnatic vocalist from Bengaluru with a love of Jazz.

     Varijashree Venugopal and the Clan explored Carnatic music, and though it was obvious that she was a true Carnatic classical vocalist, it became apparent that Max Clouth had also studied Indian classical music and was familiar with its syntax.

     Varijashree’s vocalisation in the arrangement of “Krishna Nee Begane Baro” composed by Saint Purandara Dasa in Kannada in Raag Yaman and on another one (a Carnatic composition), Amba Para Devate, in Raaga Rudrapriya, composed by Sri Krishnaswami Ayya, was consummate, and her voice was light and airy, her vocal inflections precise, delicate and rapid as the wing beat of a hovering hummingbird and her voice as melodious as a Malabar Whistling Thrush.

     The compositions were melodious and syncopated and Max Clouth changed the  tone of his guitar for this session to a more sweet and mellow tone to match the singers voice, The Clan, especially Max Clouth followed the singer with accuracy and understanding, and was able to take the singers fluid improvisation and the uncluttered linear conception forward smoothly.

     And though some jazz purists, or Carnatic classical music aficionados, may not have been pleased with this fusion, to this listener it was matchless. This kind of music, if listened to with attentiveness, I think, would unlock, engage, and provoke listeners’ imaginations and help open their minds. 

     The Secunderabad Club, Goethe Zentrum and the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation deserve kudos for bringing us lucky listeners this luminous experience. 

Photographs and video's - Joe Koster

You can listen to the Max Clouth Clan on youtube - Lassi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUj4xpknOE

With Varijashree Venugopal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=986pd8B2mYg

KALA SAMARPAN - AN OFFERING TO THE GURUS - KATHAK

This Review appeared in Priya Laasya in December 2016
Kathak Recital - Mitha Vinay &  Students of the 
Tatvamasi Centre for Performing Arts
     On the 10th of December 2016, in Hyderabad, Mitha Vinay, a proponent of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak transported us back in time, to an era of Mughal splendour. And though the stage was bare, we lost track of time for about an hour and travelled to the courts of the Nawabs of Oudh (Awadh).

     Kathak as a dance form is derived from the Kathakars, the travelling storytellers and dance-dramatists of ancient India who regaled audiences with religious and mythological tales to the accompaniment music, mime and dance. And though originally very similar to Bharatnatyam, Kathak at some point assumed the form of courtly entertainment through the influence of Persian and Mughal traditions. So, the Kathak of Mitha Vinay’s Lucknow Gharana is recognisable for its Nawabi Nazakat (subtlety and grace), that exemplify elegance and natural expressive techniques of Abhinaya and Natya, the drama of dance.

     Mitha Vinay was the picture of regal graciousness, her backbone erect and perfectly aligned; her bearing, carriage and her pleasing  posture (Anga) were a dance aficionado’s delight. And her flowing movements were marvellously clean and her impeccable and eloquent displays of footwork (Tatkaar) amplified by her anklets (Ghungroos) matched the complex rhythmic cycles of the percussionist; her spins (chakkars), crisp, neat, streamlined, precise and powerful, her Hastak (Hand Movements) graceful and perfectly balanced, and her Chaal (kathak gait), elegant. 

     The first item choreographed by Sri Maulik Shah and Smt. Ishira Parikh was in Raag Saraswati, a beautiful melody that comes to Hindustani music from Carnatic Music and set to Teen Taal (16 beat rhythm cycle) which gives rise to small compositions like Tripalli, Tihaai, Tukdaa, Baant so that the audience could see the technical aspects of Kathak.

      The second item was a Sanskrit Ashtapadi by Sri Jayadeva [Sanskrit scholar] in Raag Shyamala Kauns set to Bhajan Taal, choreographed by Guru Nandini K Mehta, Mitha Vinay’s guru, it is about  Sri Krishna frolicking and playing with gopis in Brindavan garden while Radha awaits him. This Ashtapadi is actually a one-to-one discussion between Raadha and her Sakhi (friend) who explains to Radha Krishna’s delight in romancing with not one or two, but with many Gopikas.
     In Kathak, a Tarana is a technical piece usually 

presented as a final item and so Sargam Tarana in Raag Bhageshree and set to Jhap Taal (10 beats) and choreographed by Smt. Rani Khanam was the last item. In Hindustani classical music a Tarana has certain words and syllables like 'tadeem' 'dheerena' 'yalali' etc. based on Persian and Arabic utterances rendered at Madhya laya (medium pace) or Drut laya (fast pace) to show the beauty of rhythm and various combinations of rhythmic 

phrases, movements and stances.

    Mitha’s theatrical execution throughout the programme was nuanced, her facial expressions easy-to-read and her gestures, stylish. And she demonstrated her skill and technical precision in the exploration of rhythm and movement.

    But the report of the programme would not be complete without mentioning the students of Tatvamasi Centre for Performing Arts, founded by Mitha Vinay to spread the pure joy of movement and preserve and promote the art of Kathak.

     The students of Tatvamasi Centre for Performing Arts actually began the programme with a well choreographed and beautifully executed ballet, an invocation to goddess Saraswati.

Continuing on to a technical piece in Teentaal. The young dancers displayed a good understanding of Kathak as they danced with correctness and grace and displayed their form by doing the tatkaar with a good sense of rhythm, and they danced in the ensemble pieces with understanding and coordination, as one unit, not an easy task, as Kathak steps are much more difficult to do than they look. The students also looked good and were enjoyable to watch, showing  good promise for the future.

     Mitha Vinay has trained as a solo dancer in Bangalore under the guidance of Nandini K Mehta and K. Murali Mohan from Narthan Academy for Dance and Music (NADAM). She continues to be part of the NADAM ensemble and has performed across India and abroad as a soloist and as a part of NADAM ensemble. She holds a “Vidhwath” degree in Kathak, from Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, and is an empanelled group artist of ICCR through NADAM and is a graded solo artist for Doordarshan. Mitha has also trained in folk dance forms of India, and due to her passion for dance has explored other genres like Odissi and Latin American dance styles-Salsa and Merengue. She has performed in these styles and in other Indian contemporary productions too and has done numerous corporate shows, workshops and lecture demonstrations on Kathak. Mitha has been teaching Kathak for over ten years. She founded and runs the “Tatvamasi - Centre for Performing Arts” (tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit means “this is you”) in Secunderabad since 2011.

TRANSLATING CARNATIC LYRIC POEMS TO DANCEPOEMS

Margam - A Path to Divinity

Bharatanatyam Recital by Kiranmayee Madupu

14th October 2016-Saptaparni

     This article was first published in Priya Laasya an Indian classical dance information website

     When we see Kiranmayee Madupu dance, we know that we are in the presence of an exceptionally talented dancer. This diminutive dancer has enormous stage presence. Her performance is compelling. All our senses are absorbed in it to the oblivion of everything else.

     And what induces and compels us to be engrossed by Kiranmayee’s dance is that she does not just interpret the poems; she intelligently translates lyric poems to dance, and by ‘translate’ we mean it as A.K. Ramanujan wrote, “A poem can only be translated by another poem. There is no such thing as a literal translation.” That’s what Kiranmayee did. She translated the poetry of Carnatic music to the poetry of dance. Bharatanatyam is her poetic expression.

    Kiranmayee was one with the music! Bharatanatyam is a collaboration between the musicians and the dancer and requires exemplary understanding, involvement and coordination for a successful performance and the musical collaborators on stage with Kiranmayee were: Vocal - Deevi Ravikanth, Nattuvangam (Cymbals) - Srinivas Karra, Mridangam - Subramaniam Karra, Violin - Sai Kumar Kolanka. 

     Picking stories from Indian mythology that the great poet/musicians of the Carnatic music tradition had memorialised in her 'margam', which in a traditional Bharatanatyam recital means the path, or the structure of items within a theme (rasa). And Kiranmayee translated this suite of dances to dancepoems. The whole margam was choreographed by the dancer, which she, by eschewing flamboyance, pared down to eloquent expressions of pure yet sparkling simplicity.

     Kiranmayee’s margam began with the dance of invocation -

     Shankari Shankuru | (Ragam Saveri | Talam Tisra Adi | Composed by Shyama Sastri. Shyama Sastri is one of the ‘Musical Trinity’ of Carnatic music composers, known for his literary compositions. In this invocation, the dancer meditates on Ambika, consort of Lord Shiva, with syllables of the traditional Alarippu (the blossoming – opening up the body), delineating the symbolic aspects of the goddess who on the one hand is the life-giving, nurturing mother of the universe and on the other hand, is the destroyer of evil.

     The next item in the Margam Sadhinchene O Manasa (Ragam Aarabhi | Talam Adi | Composed by Tyagaraja, another of ‘The Trinity’ of Carnatic music composers, and one of the five compositions by Saint Tyagaraja that are considered his eternal gems was performed as the centrepiece of the recital instead of a traditional Varnam, which is usually the main item in a Bharatanatyam perfrormance.

      In this item the dancer shows her technique, skill, and her intelligent translation of the music and lyrics to the poetics of dance.

     In this Tyagaraja composition the composer ironically addresses Krishna about his role in the great epic the Mahabharata, where he breaks rules and twists his words, justifying the apparently immoral while appearing to uphold Dharma (the righteous path). And the dancer translates this, depicting his interventions in dance, as when he without appearing to, intervenes, and prevents Draupadi from being disrobed in public by making her garment endless. And when he steals the clothes of unmarried, young Gopikas and yet the Gopikas completely let go of their bodily attachments, shame and modesty, and surrender to him on listening to the divine tunes of his flute. Or when he falsifies his own proclamation, yet upholds Dharma during Arjuna’s moral dilemma while fighting his own teachers, relatives and friends on the battlefield. Krishna tells him to do his duty and think not of the worldly attachments. Tyagaraja asks him to come to his rescue and help him attain his moksha (release from the cycle of rebirth) for he has followed all the preaching that the Lord has given. 

     Kiranmayee depicted the meaning of this song, and portrayed inner emotion by saatvika abhinaya, the articulation of mood, character and emotion through the eyes; through subtle facial expressions and by her entire being. This was a tour de force of a performance, and the dancer displayed her rhythmic talents along with rich and variegated abhinaya (expressions), her footwork (nritta), hand gestures, (hastas). The audience was enthralled and broke into spontaneous applause at many points during this demanding, dramatic and beautifully rendered dancepoem.

     Kiranmayee’s next item was a Padam, a love lyric showcasing abhinaya - expression Mogudochi Pilichenu (Ragam Sahana | Talam Misra Chapu | Composer Sri Sarangapani).

    In this Padam, Kiranmayee illustrated the emotions of a young girl; married as a child, whose husband comes back to fetch her, and she bids farewell to Lord Krishna her love.  She tells him that it is time for her to go, but urges him not to forget her. She says that the string around her neck, the 

mangalasutram was something that was tied at a tender age when she was only playing and climbing trees. But now she must leave. She reminds him that the distance between the sun and the lotus does not affect the lotus's bloom. 

Similarly, her love would continue to be strong, even if she were not in the presence of her Krishna. The emotions of the departing young lover of Krishna were executed by the dancer as if she herself had experienced, understood and surrendered to love; it was as realistic a performance as one can see in a dance recital. 

    The last item of the programme was the beautiful Shloka-like poetic appeal to Shiva - Shambho Mahadeva ( Ragam Pantuvarali | Talam Roopakam | Composer Tyagaraja

    This sweet and melodious song was illustrated in dance with poignant grace and lyricism and was finished by the dancer taking the mike and singing the end of the song. This unusual occurrence was due to the intercession of Kiranmayee’s proud Guru, Hemamalini  Arni who encouraged her to sing. And this she did in fine voice as if she was meant to be a singer.

     That ended the evening at this wonderful amphitheatre Saptaparni, which had the stage built around a full-grown frangipani tree. And though it was a private performance, by invitation only, the amphitheatre was packed to capacity and we were left with the memory of the dancers grace, her impeccable sense of rhythm, her perfect balance and her lithe and supple movements; her mobile facial expressions, her impressive technique, and her intelligent translation of the poetry of music to the poetry of dance.

Photography credit: Ragalahari  
This article was first published in Priya Laasya an Indian classical dance information websitehttp://hamara.in/portals/space/SPACE20/Lifestyle/Culture/PriyaLasya/src/publish/cache/Dance_Reports/TX/BN_Kiranmayee_Report_Oct16.html

SIMPLY SCHUBERT

THE BANGALORE MEN - VOCAL ENSEMBLE

PAYAL JOHN - SOPRANO

JONAS OLSSON - BARITONE
AND NATALLIA KAPYLOVA - PIANO 

 This was the first time I was attending a recital that was dedicated to only one composer. Whatever apprehensions I had about this were peremptorily dismissed from the first notes of the smooth, perfectly balanced harmonies of The Bangalore Men.

     The concert presented by ‘The Bangalore Men’ an eleven-singer all-male voice ensemble, directed by Jonas Olsson, was simply named ‘SIMPLY SCHUBERT’ after Franz Peter Schubert, the composer whose music we would hear for the next 90 minutes.

     The featured soloists as named in the informative and well-designed programme that was given to all of us were Payal John - Soprano, Jonas Olsson – Baritone, and Natalia Kapylova – Piano. 

  

     Composer Franz Schubert, 1797 – 1828, born and bred in Vienna, Austria, was the romantic poet of music. And the music of Schubert bridged the ‘Romantic period’ and the ‘Classical period’ of classical music. His music was classical in design but romantic and passionate in emotion.

     While Schubert did in fact compose a few poems of his own, most of the poems have been written by various poets, but the poems were merely vehicles for the music which was supreme. Schubert, in staggering productivity set to music some six hundred romantic songs known as lieder, and song cycles, narrative poems meant for voice and piano. What’s unusual is that in Schubert’s songs, the human voice and the piano got equal importance, with the piano often interpreting the poem instead of the voice.

     And the Vocal ensemble, The Bangalore Men, and the pianist and soloists

Interpreted and brought to life the music of Franz Schubert in a manner that was true to the music, though the whole programme was sung in German.

     The evening’s performance began with a song called ‘The Gondolier’, Schubert’s version of a barcarole, a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers. This lilting song was sung by the ensemble in perfect harmony, in perfect balance, with a perfect blending of voices to create the image of gentle waves; the cadences, the texture, the modulation, and the absence of any dissonance made a huge impression. The Bangalore Men have to be acknowledged for their superlative vocal expression, and control.

     The ensemble went on with the same unerring exactitude and command over the music, through the programme of 18 songs, interspersed with solos by Payal John, Jonas Olsson and pianist Natallia Kapylova.

      Payal John’s first solo was ‘Ave Maria’, which she sang in German, but her voice, a rich soprano-towards-mezzo was crystal-clear, rounded and very expressive, so one felt the depth-of-beauty this music expresses. Ave Maria, to this listener, was unusual for Schubert, though it is arguably his most recognised work, perhaps because he was best known for his love-songs and this was the only religious song in the programme, all the rest being love songs, with the exception of the 23^rd Psalm. Payal John sang three other songs accompanied by pianist Natallia Kapylova, a singer’s ideal accompanist, who followed the sentiment of the composition with empathy.  

     Jonas Olsson, long time resident of Bengaluru, is Swedish, a trained musician from the Gothenburg conservatory, he has performed in Hyderabad before, first as a solo counter-tenor, and then as part of the Madrigals etc. In this programme, he was the Baritone soloist, he performed ‘Erlkonig’ D 328. This song is really a narrative dialogue between three people and the soloist has to adjust his voice to be three people in the same song. Jonas acquitted himself well, he had the right timbre of voice for this and the ability to bring out the drama of the song; because Schubert had perhaps written it for a countertenor who can switch to Baritone because of the huge range and dynamic contrast needed to express the sentiment of the song. The pianist in this piece had her work cut out for her due to the repetitive patterns that have to be played at a good speed, yet both the playing and singing were remarkably good.

      Jonas Olsson also sang ‘Der Doppelganger’ towards the end of the programme, which was also an exercise in contrasts.  

     Natallia Kapylova, from Belarus, was the next soloist, playing ‘impromptu’s No 3 and 4’, from Schubert’s four Impromptus Op 90 D 899. ‘Impromptu No 3’, was pure, quiet and flowing, like happily walking along a tree-shaded rippling stream, and the next, ‘Impromptu No 4’, quite a contrast, though quiet, it was more percussive with the left hand, yet the sound of the higher notes combined with the bass notes was equally soothing. Natalya’s fine sense of dynamics and her dextrous fingers running up and down the scales showed her sensitivity to Schubert’s pretty impromptu’s.

     There were four other soloists from amongst The Bangalore Men ensemble, the first was Chinglang Roumon, Baritone, who sang the difficult piece ‘And Die Music’ well. A soloist from amongst the basses, Subin Thomas, sang ‘Der Tod and das Madchen’, he too acquitted himself well displaying good control even on the really low notes. The third soloists from the ensemble was tenor, Timmy Yesudasan who sang ‘Standchen’ from ‘Schwanengesang’, he impressed, as he seemed more at ease as a soloist and presented the song with flair.  

     I must confess that my apprehensions about this programme were not about listening to an evening of Schubert, but about how well a group of part-time musicians could do justice to the music. It’s true, all the musicians on stage do other work to earn their living, and only make time, when they get the time, to pursue music, practice and rehearse. This is true of the whole men’s ensemble, as well as a specially trained and beautiful voice like Payal John, who I reckon, has so few opportunities to perform Western classical music, and whose gift, besides inherent talent, is the result of rigorous training to make her whole ‘being’ an instrument of music.

     But my misgivings were quite unfounded, and the whole programme was carried out with a rare professionalism, and one has to exercise restraint from being hyperbolic in describing the excellent production and performance of Schubert’s music by the musicians on stage at the Hyderabad Public School. 

     And for this opportunity to listen to this great ensemble, The Bangalore Men, whom Jonas Olsson is part of; and Payal John, and Natallia Kapylova, we have to acknowledge Amita Desai of The Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad, The principal, staff and students of The Hyderabad Public School and the efforts of Joe Koster, the multi-tasking Swiss army knife of the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation.    

The Hyderabad Western Music Foundation   http://www.hydmusic.com/?q=node/432