I was in California for an Indian classical vocal recital. The recital took place at my student's house; a small, private and informal setting. The audience was only about 8 people, comprising of mostly his friends and family. However, they had the listening capacity and the fine appreciation of an audience of a thousand! It felt like they were drinking my music with an intense thirst. As an artist, this feeling is very satisfying.
I sang Raag Malkans for an hour and a half. Though predominantly melancholy, Malkans is quite versatile and can express romance too, both soft and powerful. I presented a variety of moods and shades using 3 different compositions. I was indulging my audience in an emotional roller-coaster ride.
The first composition expressed the lament of a young woman who is torn between love and pain. The mood became overwhelmingly melancholy with a slight tinge of anxiety to highlight her dilemma. This was the time that true resonance took place. When they felt what I felt, the mood in the room started converging to my own emotional state. This intensified my own emotions and this had a direct effect of strengthening the emotional quality of my music. This then intensified the audience'’s mood further; setting up a positive feedback cycle till the mood reached its climax. It was like the room was ‘ringing’ with emotion. Resonance!
The next composition was a different shade of blue. It expressed the loneliness of a woman who's lover has been away for a while. She complains of his insensitivity towards her feelings, the lack of communication and neglect. The loneliness is tinged with loving anger. By this time, the audience was much more receptive to emotional suggestion, and the resonance was reached quickly.
The last composition changed the mood significantly. The lyrics expressed the excitement, nervousness and the romantic tension of a woman eagerly awaiting her soul-mate to meet her after a painfully long time. The mood is enhanced by description of the electrifying atmosphere just before a rain-storm. This mood was predominantly that of romance and the anxious joy of a long wait coming to an end. This time round, resonance was almost instantaneous. I seemed to have struck a chord!
Every artist experiences such resonance to some extent in concerts and recitals. However, this experience was truly exceptional. This just goes to show how much inspiration an audience can bring to the artist, providing encouragement, appreciation, acceptance and energy. It was as though a communication channel opened up and I could directly transfer emotions to their hearts directly and vice versa. I imagine heaven to feel something like this!
I feel truly blessed to have the gift of creativity, of being able to express my emotions through music and to have an audience that enjoys music as much as I do!
I sang Raag Malkans for an hour and a half. Though predominantly melancholy, Malkans is quite versatile and can express romance too, both soft and powerful. I presented a variety of moods and shades using 3 different compositions. I was indulging my audience in an emotional roller-coaster ride.
The first composition expressed the lament of a young woman who is torn between love and pain. The mood became overwhelmingly melancholy with a slight tinge of anxiety to highlight her dilemma. This was the time that true resonance took place. When they felt what I felt, the mood in the room started converging to my own emotional state. This intensified my own emotions and this had a direct effect of strengthening the emotional quality of my music. This then intensified the audience'’s mood further; setting up a positive feedback cycle till the mood reached its climax. It was like the room was ‘ringing’ with emotion. Resonance!
The next composition was a different shade of blue. It expressed the loneliness of a woman who's lover has been away for a while. She complains of his insensitivity towards her feelings, the lack of communication and neglect. The loneliness is tinged with loving anger. By this time, the audience was much more receptive to emotional suggestion, and the resonance was reached quickly.
The last composition changed the mood significantly. The lyrics expressed the excitement, nervousness and the romantic tension of a woman eagerly awaiting her soul-mate to meet her after a painfully long time. The mood is enhanced by description of the electrifying atmosphere just before a rain-storm. This mood was predominantly that of romance and the anxious joy of a long wait coming to an end. This time round, resonance was almost instantaneous. I seemed to have struck a chord!
Every artist experiences such resonance to some extent in concerts and recitals. However, this experience was truly exceptional. This just goes to show how much inspiration an audience can bring to the artist, providing encouragement, appreciation, acceptance and energy. It was as though a communication channel opened up and I could directly transfer emotions to their hearts directly and vice versa. I imagine heaven to feel something like this!
I feel truly blessed to have the gift of creativity, of being able to express my emotions through music and to have an audience that enjoys music as much as I do!
Nice! :)
ReplyDeleteI love Malkauns...especially remember a rare live recording I heard of Bhimsen's performance of Malkauns in the Vitthal Mandir at Pandharpur. It was amazing.
would like to hear that from you in summer
ReplyDeleteThat was VERY nice. I could almost feet the emotions myself. I have recently started to learn music. Have listened to it for years but decided to do it myself just for pleasure and that hour is the among the best that I spend in a week. Even an exercise of singing a simple aalaap of a raag - repeating the notes after your guru, pleasure of getting the notes right and seeing that the guru feels rewarded that you got them right - and the whole resonance of notes transforms any room and lifts any mood.
ReplyDeleteVery very nicely written.