BANGALORE: Henry Ward Beecher once said,“Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself.” And, conquering both the spiritual and sensual realms with universality amidst all the yearning, grief and joy; music indeed dwells in the expression of purity. Transcending all boundaries and bonds, and weaving sounds with silence; we perceive these chords in unison to be the mediator between life and soul. Highly patterned sounds may often elicit emotions that could melt away brisk airs or instigate an orchestrated pulse that could affect individuals in a subliminal way. An artful concatenation of rhythm, melody and harmony that perambulate in the sounds of the tribal lore of Nagaland — this is how one could best sum up The Handshake Concert (a brainchild of Rattle and Hum Society) at Chowdiah Memorial Hall recently. Weaving the quilt of classical symphony and rustic rock with organic folk sounds, the concert transported one to a timeless sphere of charismatic sounds.The celebration of Fete De la Musique with a multitude of extraordinary musicians was indeed an epiphany of diverse musical sounds. Liberating spiritual essence with every note, K Sathyanarayanan displayed unprecedented musical virtuosity with his performance. The fluidity in texture of his sounds enhanced the delicacy of classical music time and again. And, his orchestration of concordant chords with the electronic keyboard provided both harmonic elusiveness and clarity. Creating a sense of realism, this talented artiste succeeded in merging music with pure art.Mastering the sophisticated and delicate sounds of tabla, percussionist Anuraddha Pal achieved exquisite expressiveness and emotional tension with her rendition of jugalbandi (a rhythmic dialogue between two facets of her own personality). Forming a mesh of versatility, tonal balance and lucidity; the rhythm queen’s boles (sounds) verged on dissolving into variegated sounds. While Faiyaz Khan’s amazing repertoire on Sarangi was both flawless and extraordinary; Lakshmi (mridangam) and Shashikala’s (ghatan) depiction of underlying musical structures and layers introduced a variety of rhythm motifs without disrupting the momentum of the musical piece. Streeshakti, Asia’s much acclaimed all female ensemble fusing percussion, instruments and vocal Indian music, indeed reflected the emergence of woman power in the traditionally male dominated world of Indian rhythm. Arousing an awe-inspiring mysticism of the hills of Nagaland, the Lohei sisters made a divine connection with the cosmos through their music. Celebrating the organic and earthy elements of folk songs, their performance was a depiction of the inherent cultural trait of the enchanting mountains of Nagaland. Switching the arc from folk to contemporary music, Kenny Chalie too gave a powerful performance infusing soothing melodies with inspiring lyrics.And, buoyed by his pristine, delicate and yet fiery music, the musical stalwart Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt explored different realms of intricate sounds with the evolutionary Mohan Veena (which is a flawless assimilation of the guitar, veena and sarod) with blinding speed and faultless legato. The maestro commenced his sonorous journey with the Grammy Award winning album A Meeting By the River. Unhindered by the conventional form, the musical interplay of strings gave a whole new meaning to classical music. Subservient to the splendour of melodies generated from strings, the artiste wished to spread love, affection and harmony through all musical notes. The performance was a result of unadulterated beauty juxtaposed with syncopated endings. Compressing tones into a denser and more intense structure, the multi-dimensional sounds urged one to seek solace in purity. And, alternating melodic statements with the Mohan Veena and electronic keyboard, both Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Sathya together created sounds that were nothing short of astounding. It was a confluence of three generations of musicians nurturing caliber, talent and creativity that pleasantly destroyed individual proximity.Redefining the demographics of rock with synthetic beats and simple melodies, Melodrama shed all inhibitions and unleashed the dark side of their music with raw energy. While Rudy Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar’s (Soulmate) improvisations and brilliant guitar techniques provided a melodic passage between different states of consciousness; Divine Connection and Swaratma brought the roof down with their symphonic chords and pumping energy.When thoughts, philosophy and wisdom are entwined in the fate of sounds, creation of something so pure and celestial becomes an effortless saga. And, it is in this revelation that lays the ultimate truth of all divinity and spirituality ever known to mankind.
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