Sound of Music: The NCPA presents 'NCPA Bandish - Festival of Legendary Composers'
For the first time ever, Mumbai will witness a three-day festival of 'bandishes' of legendary composers such as Tansen, Amir Khusrau, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, et al, from July 9-11, 2010, at the NCPA
Tweet--
Ma khuda daareem mara nakhuda dar kaar neest;
Khalq migoyad, ki Khusrau butparasti mikunad
Aare-aare mikunam, ba khalq mara kaar neest.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So I do, so I do; the people I do not need, the world I do not need.
This excerpt from a couplet by Amir Khusrau (1253 AD), one of the earliest composers in Indian Music history, and many other such forgotten couplets by Khusrau, Tansen and other composers will be sung by eminent musicians at a never-seen-before festival of legendary composers - NCPA Bandish.
This three-day festival (July 9-11, 2010), to be held at NCPA - Tata Theatre, will showcase treasured works of great composers such as Amir Khusrau Dehlavi (1253 AD), Raskhan (c. 1541-1603), Rahim (1556 -1627) and other saint-poets and legendary figures such as Miyan Tansen (d. 1589), Sadarang & Adarang (c. 18th century AD), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), Papanasam Sivan (1890 - 1973). Their bandishes will be presented by eminent artistes such as Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha, Ulhas Kashalkar, Bombay Jayashri, Shekhar Sen and Shujaat Hussain Khan.
Khushroo N Suntook, Chairman, NCPA, says, "The NCPA aims to showcase a wide repertoire from various eras and works of legendary musicians, keeping our culture significantly alive. NCPA Bandish is a step towards that. This will be an on-going festival that will be held every year in July and will feature eminent artistes from the north and south India who shall present compositions of selected composers."
Dr Suvarnalata Rao, Head - Programming (Indian Music), NCPA, who has conceived this Festival, gave the raison d'être of the festival: "In line with NCPA's commitment to preserve, promote and propagate the Indian music heritage, this Festival is conceived to highlight, celebrate and cherish the vibrancy and vitality of our heritage." She adds that these compositions are not relics of the past. "In fact, contemporary performance practices in Indian music (both Hindustani and Carnatic) are replete with compositions that can be traced back to medieval poet-musicians featured in NCPA Bandish."
Indian music, be it art, semi-classical, light, folk, devotional or popular music, centers on well-structured melodic and rhythmic compositions also known as bandish. It represents a central idea or base upon which the edifice of the performance is sculpted and realised. A 'bandish' is that which is bound, encased and pre-composed in a sense. It is used in the context of vocal or instrumental music.
Regarding the quality of the compositions and their relevance today, Dr Rao says, "The lyrics (poetry) as well as the musical content are of highest quality and have stood the test of the time. Secular and spiritual content of the poems transcend beyond the limits of time and in fact, will be relevant for times to come. Musically, these compositions set to various ragas and talas by the composer are extremely relevant today as they give a guiding map of the melodic and improvisatory structure of the ragas. Even present-day performers (across all styles and genres) find pride in drawing upon traditional compositions to lend credibility to their art."
This festival will give Mumbai audiences a chance to listen to compositions of both Hindustani and Carnatic musicians.
SCHEDULE:
Event Schedule: (9th to 11th July, 2010)
Bandish: The Festival of legendary composers
Programme
Composer Artistes Genre
July 9 Tansen (d. 1589) Gundecha brothers dhrupad, dhamar, hori
Adarang & Ulhas Kashalkar bada & chhota khayal, tarana
Sadarang
July 10 Muthuswami Dikshitar Bombay Jayashri (1775-1835) & Papanasam Sivan (1890 - 1973)
July 11 Ras Khan Shekhar Sen doha, pad (1541-1603) & Raheem (1556 -1627)
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) Shujaat Khan ghazal, qaul, qalbana
July 9: Ramakant & Umakant Gundecha
Ulhas Kashalkar
Dhrupad is an oldest existing form of Hindustani classical music. As leading exponents of the dagarbani dhrupad gayaki, Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha will present a full-fledged dhrupad recital including compositions of the legendary vocalist & composer, Miyan Tansen (d. 1589).
With a style that reflects a harmonious blend of Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur traditions, Ulhas Kashalkar will present some of the evergreen compositions of Sadarang & Adarang (c. 18th century AD), who are believed to have popularized the genre of khayal by composing hundreds songs in a florid style with love lyrics, challenging the preeminent position of the ponderous dhrupad.
July 10: Bombay Jayashri
Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), the youngest of the Trinity associated with Karnatik music, and Papanasam Sivan (1890 - 1973) are celebrated composers whose works will be presented by Bombay Jayashri. Having trained in both Hindustani and Karnatic music, she will present Dikshitar's kritis, mainly composed in Sanskrit and Papanasam's padams in Tamil.
July 11: Shekhar Sen
Shujaat Husain Khan
The works of Raskhan (c. 1541 - 1603) and Raheem (1556 - 1627) epitomize religious syncretism. Though of Muslim origin, the major corpus of their work is devoted to Lord Krishna.
Shekhar Sen, a music composer, lyricist and actor, will present the compositions (pad, geet) of Raskhan and Raheem.
The Finale of the Festival will be the presentations of ghazal, qaul and qalbana composed by the legendary poet and musician Amir Khusrau Dehlavi (1253 AD), by Shujaat Husain Khan with his unusual style that draws from his remarkable ability to express through voice as well as the vocalized idiom of the sitar.
Ticket details: Rs. 500, 300, 200, 100 (each day)
25% discount to NCPA Members and to students of schools and colleges against production of valid identity cards
To use the online booking facility simply log on to the NCPA official website: http://www.ncpamumbai.com / buy-tickets or visit www.bookmyshow.com.
Notes to Editor
About the NCPA
Inaugurated in 1969, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, exists to provide leadership on a national level as India's premier performing arts, research and training centre through the presentation of Indian and international art forms, the promotion of excellence and the preservation of Indian & International cultural heritage. For more info, visit www.ncpamumbai.com
