The title of the piece is "Joge."
The piece is an Indian classical Raga. This style of music has no direct translation to classical European music concepts. This particular raga is set in cycles as Anoushka explains, and each cycle is built on a motif that can be improvised and reordered. The raga must be ascending or descending. Which way do you think the melody moves? There are two main types of classical Indian traditions of music. They are the North Indian Hindustani and the South Indian Carnatic, and they both share the concept of raga.
Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, does a great job of introducing her fellow musicians and their instruments they play at the beginning of the video. I liked how the ensemble starts together, but then each instrument solos so I can really hear each instrument's unique timbre. I found this style of music to be very unique. After learning more about these instruments and the music, it gave me a deeper understanding that all Indian music is different and depends upon the region and culture. I've heard a violin played many times in the classical European style, but I've never heard it sound like it does in this video. I liked hearing how the instrument can sound so differently. I liked each instruments individual voice and how they handed off solo time to each one. It reminded me of American Jazz, how each instrument gets there turn to improvise a melody.
It features various instruments:
Sitar, Shehnai, Tanpura, Violin, and various south Indian Percussion
The sitar can have 18-21 strings. It has a set above the frets that are plucked, and a sympathetic set under the frets that resonate.
The violin is played in a carnatic style.
The double reed instrument is a shenai or shehnai. Its origin is from India, Pakistan, Iran, and Bangladesh. It is generally made out of wood with a flared out bell like a clarinet.
The instrument that provides the drone is the Tanpura. It has a long neck and strings that are plucked. It can be found in many types of Indian music styles.
Mridangam orginates from India. It is the main rhythmic instrument to accompany in a Carnatic music.
Thank you for sharing this piece. I also enjoyed her introduction. The sitar is one the first multi-cultural instruments I was introduced to. I had a professor in college, Kari Juusela who had a good friend was a sitar player. It was such a real moment for me to see this instrument played up close and personal. I noticed in this piece that the performers themselves represent a wide variety of cultures. I wonder if that affects the authenticity of the piece, or perhaps they were raised in India or have they been trained by others who were brought up with these instruments and sounds of India. As a performer I always felt like I was out of place when singing songs from other cultures, not because of the song, but because of my lack of personal familiarity with the sounds and language. Even when I studied for months, something was still lacking. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you for sharing! I adore this style of music and this example was so wonderful!!!