 |
| DUET VIRTUOSO: Subramaniam (left), Neptune |
One is a Padmabhushan violinist. The other has a Kaizan (equivalent to
the black belt in karate) in shakuhachi, the Japanese violin. The two
have been planning to get together for more than 20 years. And when it
happened in Chennai on April 4, fusion got redefined. L. Subramaniam and
John Neptune; the mellifluous violin; the rustic shakuhachi; and a cause
that no one could ignore. Basant Utsav, the spring festival of Banyan,
the home for destitute women in Chennai, was a celebration of meditative
music and a night of serene hopes.
Neptune, the famed musician from the US who found the depths of music
in Japan, started his performance on the shakuhachi by reminding the audience
that the first piece would have no rhythm, but only pitch and the space
between notes. The audience found themselves in a trance, in the pauses,
before Subramaniam joined the other maestro for what they called "an
eclipse". Dark and intriguing were the initial exchanges between
the two players. They stood apart and then, suddenly, became one in a
rapid wave of musical mesmerism. "Everything clears at the end of
the eclipse," Subramaniam explained, sounding almost redundant after
his violin had spoken. The duo then went "West of Somewhere",
with a demonstration of rhythm, pitch and variation. Subramaniam set down
the violin for the day, but Neptune didn't want to end without an innovative
duet on his drum called the udubu with a Carnatic percussionist. Anita
Ratnam and her "Arangam" set the stage with Utpala, the Lotus
Stalk, that connects the beautiful blossom with the roots in the mud.
The Banyan had a great Basant Utsav. And music, another horizon.
-Arun Ram
|
The Fall of a Dictator
CURRENT
ISSUE APRIL 21, 2003
){kind=link}