Carnatic Indian Music Festival brings tradition alive
On the evening of Oct. 4, a long line consisting of students, faculty, and members of the community wound from the doors of the Arts & Sciences Auditorium for the Carnatic Indian Music Festival.
The festival began when leader Sri Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, came over the speakers, blowing a conch shell.
The first song had an adventurous feel to it and exposed the audience to Eastern music. “There is so much of the Indian culture and heritage that is embedded in the music, technically and aesthetically, that non-Indian listeners will not know about, and so the music often sounds simply exotic, or any of a hundred terms that are mostly meaningless,” said Dr. Richard Greene, chair of the Music and Theatre Department. “The music is very highly organized as a system, with philosophical and spiritual concepts embedded.”
The festival continued with the Jalatharangam (water bowls) player briefly entertaining the masses by tuning the simple but elegant vessels, taking or adding water to each one, tuning them.
A regal woman in a red sari then took her place at the microphone to once again start a chant in native tongue.
To most people in the audience, the only recognizable instrument on the raised platform was the violin. The techniques used by the violinist, consisting of many slurs to each bow stroke, and fingers which danced from one foreign sounding key to the next were superb. The violin on stage, along with the traditional instruments of India, served as a reminder of foreign influence from the years India was a colony of England.
Other instruments seen on the stage in addition to the violin, the Mrudangam, and the Jalatharangam, were the percussion instruments known as a Tamil, Nadu, and Kerala.
More intense rhythms from the drums and the sharp clash of cymbals ricocheting off the walls of the auditorium as they raced towards listening ears of onlookers were abundant during the second half of the performance.
Dr. Greene said this performance came to GC&SU as a result of “the music faculty, [which] meets each year to put together a season of music recitals and concerts to serve the music students and the larger campus community. Each year [the faculty] tries to bring in one music event that involves non-Western cultures.”
A small reception followed the concert and featured a selection of Indian cuisine.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 8 2004. Filed under Other.
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