Asia REVIEWS Deben Bhattacharya Musical Explorers: Krishna in Spring ARC Music (69 mins & DVD 25 mins)
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Gems from a field recorder celebrating the god Krishna
JAMEELA SIDDIQI
TRACK TO TRY Devotional Song in Praise of Krishna
Ram Narayan The Art of Sarangi Ocora Radio France (64 mins)
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The man who almost singlehandedly revived the sarangi A reissue of recordings made in 1971, this disc features the maestro Ram Narayan, who became the first internationally renowned exponent of the sarangi (a
W W W . S O N G L I N E S . C O. U K
JAMEELA SIDDIQI
TRACK TO TRY Raga Shankara (alap)
Svara Samsara Svara Samsara Rumah Kahanan (46 mins)
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‘Tradition, but not traditional’: the Indonesia you don’t hear The vast island nation of Indonesia, widely known among fans of Balinese gamelan, offers so much more contemporary and traditional music that is only beginning to get more exposure. One of the more interesting projects in this fertile scene is Svara Samsara (which translates as ‘Sound of the Resurrection’). The five-member percussion ensemble comes out of the Rumah Kahanan Art Space, a loose organisation started in 1994 by the legendary Indonesian drummer and percussionist Innisisri in order to fuse traditional Indonesian instruments with contemporary sounds.
Murat Gümüskaya
This two-disc set features a compilation from the archive of music explorer Deben Bhattacharya (1921-2001), who travelled and made field recordings around the world for what was then termed ‘ethnic music.’ Curated by Songlines editor-in-chief Simon Broughton for ARC Music’s second release in its Musical Explorers series, the music is thematically selected around the Hindu god, Krishna – a deity with strong associations with Holi, India’s ancient Festival of Colours and the rites of spring. It starts with the sound of the bansuri, a bamboo flute said to be the instrument of Krishna himself and which, according to legend, had the milkmaids leaving their beds to follow the sound of his music in the dead of night. There then follows a sprightly piece – a fairly typical accompaniment for the North Indian classical dance style kathak, a dance that enacts stylised imagery from the many episodes of Krishna’s life as a child as well as a flirtatious youth. Several styles of chants and classical and light-classical songs lead to the finale, a song featuring the many nicknames of Krishna, in a melody that is utterly mesmerising and spiritually uplifting. It’s an appropriate end to a celebration of India’s most colourful deity. The second disc is a DVD of Bhattacharya’s 1969 film of the same name, showing various ancient rituals and celebrations of Holi.
boxed, unfretted lute played with a bow), which was traditionally always used as accompaniment for vocal music, its sound closely resembling the human voice. But the mid-20th century saw a decline, with classical vocalists preferring the more portable harmonium, relegating the sarangi to accompaniment of courtesans, who usually performed lighter forms of music. Its revival as a fully-fledged solo classical instrument was largely due to Narayan who, despite a humiliating attempt at giving a solo performance in Mumbai in 1954 and being driven from the stage by an impatient audience, soldiered on. Taking heart from sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s success in the West, Narayan began touring and performing outside India, receiving much critical acclaim for a rarely heard instrument. This disc includes the original, rather laboriously detailed liner notes from 1971, and features four full-length raga recitals including the deeply meditative morning ‘Raga Bairagi-Bhairav’, the romantic ‘Madhuvanti’, depicting sensuous desire and ‘Kirwani’, which is borrowed from the Karnatic (South Indian classical music) tradition. The best comes last – an additional recording made in India in 1979 of the ‘Raga Shankara’ – where, in the alap (slow introduction), Narayan affirms the sarangi’s capabilities as a serious classical instrument.
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Farida Parveen Songs of Lalon Shah
TRACK 10
Ocora Radio France (63 mins)
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Evocative renditions of the words of a great Baul mystic The Bengali poet Lalon Shah, popularly known as Moner Manush (Man of the Heart), is the most celebrated of the Baul mystic singers and musicians. In the 19th century he rejected the religious dogmas of Islam and Hinduism and saw the divine within each person’s soul. He was hugely admired by Rabindranath Tagore and his fascinating, but sketchy, life story has been made into several films. His lyrics, like those of Rumi, are universal, and in the right translations could win him an international audience. They are certainly widely known by Bengali speakers. In Bangladesh everyone cites Farida Parveen as the greatest singer of Lalon Shah’s songs. This
Operating under their teacher Innisisri’s mantra of ‘tradition, but not traditional,’ on their self-titled debut album Svara Samsara concoct a thrilling stew using a range of percussion instruments from all over Sumatra, Java and Bali. The track ‘Dialog’ develops into a multipart journey that covers a range of rhythms, which never becomes tiresome –a common fault of many all-percussion albums – while ‘Tulak
live 2006 recording from Paris’ Théâtre de la Ville gives us ten songs that encapsulate Lalon’s ideology. ‘Lalon Koy Jaatir Kee Roop’ is perhaps the most famous, in which he says he doesn’t see differences of caste and religion. Others prominently feature his imagery of a bird (representing the soul) and the cage (the human body). Parveen is a classical, rather than a Baul, singer but she totally inhabits these songs, backed by a superb ensemble of percussion, dotara (lute) and bamboo flute, the quintessential Bengali instrument, played here by Gazi Abdul Hakim. This is a rare example of a quality recording with decent translations to help a wider public reach this extraordinary figure. SIMON BROUGHTON
TRACK TO TRY Lalon Koy Jaatir Kee Roop
Wali’ uses wind instruments to create a jolly, singable, almost danceable melody over its seven minutes. Many groups aim high trying to respect their traditions while bringing something new, yet fail to deliver on both counts. Svara Samsara hit that mark with ease on this album; they will inspire listeners to dive deeper into the current Indonesian scene. JAMES CATCHPOLE
TRACK TO TRY Dialog
ISSUE 132
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