I haven’t heard a lot of Western classical music save a couple of tracks by Beethoven and Mozart. That was a few years back. Back then, I remember being struck by the magnificence of the music. It felt grand, larger than life, truly magnificent. The music had an air of celebration about it, it resounded in my ears and it felt like a true achievement of man that he could create something so spectacular. At that point, I was also learning Carnatic classical music and attending a whole lot of classical concerts. We used to make it to nearly every concert as was humanly possible. Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Shiv Kumar Sharma … every year. Kishori Amonkar, U Srinivas, L Subramanian, L Shankar, so many more. I briefly wondered what was it that differentiated these two genres of music. I think it is the element of bhakti. Please correct me, Western classical music afficianados if I am wrong… Indian classical music has such a strong element of devotion in it. Every composition that I learnt was in adoration of the Divine, call Him Rama, Krishna, Jagadaananda, what have you. Most of the famous composers in South India have been intensely spiritual people be it Thyagaraaja or Purandaradaasa or Muthuswamy Dikshitar. I recently attended a performance by Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Before the concert began, he announced the raaga that he was going to play and mentioned, ‘…once I start playing, I have no idea what evolves out of my instrument. It is totally out of my hands’ or something along those lines. I feel the same: some days, I can hardly believe the sounds emanating out of my violin. It is certainly not my doing. Someone somewhere coaxes those notes out of my strings and I am so happy just to witness this miracle…
sthira says:
As long as it’s a celebration it makes no difference what it is of, whether that of the Supreme or of the spirit of man, both reside within and that is why the magnificence and that is why the grandeur of music, that is why the artist loses control over his strings and gets drowned by the music.
June 2, 2005 — 6:29 pm
Lakshmi says:
True… I personally feel the spirit of devotion and surrender suffuses the music with a very different charm. In fact, charm is not the right word to use. There is a new grace to it, a completely transforming emotion.
June 3, 2005 — 6:14 am
fugney says:
Does hindustani music have a string element of devotion too? I thought it was only carnatic music….
And Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma plays the violin? I thought he played the santoor….
June 2, 2005 — 11:55 pm
Lakshmi says:
He plays the santoor, I play the violin… I was just drawing a comparison.
June 3, 2005 — 6:15 am
fugney says:
Oh! Didn’t read it properly….
June 3, 2005 — 8:30 am
fugney says:
And I really like western classical myself. It took me so long to get tired of a compilation of economic times. It’s like the more you listen to it, the more you like it!!
June 3, 2005 — 12:28 am
fugney says:
Compilation “by” economic times…
June 3, 2005 — 12:28 am
vasanth says:
musically yours !!
I was talking to someone from FCR recently to see if he remembered you. Apparently there are people who remember a Lakshmi Unni who was a bomb. The bomb of course came first. ๐
doesnt the world get smaller? First was Nags, now this??
June 3, 2005 — 1:12 am
Lakshmi says:
Re: musically yours !!
doesnt the world get smaller?
Always does…
June 4, 2005 — 7:24 am
rileen says:
Good for you ๐ !
June 3, 2005 — 8:16 am
Lakshmi says:
Thanks, Riju.. Interesting pic!
June 4, 2005 — 7:24 am
rileen says:
You’re welcome, and thanks ๐
June 4, 2005 — 7:37 am