Title of Piece: Unknown
Performer: Tihai (group name); Girish Makwana on tablas, Saby Bhattacharya on sarod, Nicholas Buff on saxophone
Culture/Origin: North India
Orchestration: tablas, sarod, saxophone
This is an example of Hindustani classical music. I saw the connection between our listening examples of Raga Jog and this group. The saxophone is obviously not a traditional instrument to have in this ensemble and I'm going to guess that it is replacing the shehnai that is found in a group like this. To my surprise, the saxophone added a very nice touch to this ensemble and I thought it was very interesting because in America we don't think of saxophones outside of band, jazz and classical. This performance looses it's authenticity with the addition of a saxophone and an obviously non-Indian member of the ensemble. However, if one was to close their eyes and listen to this piece, they may not be able to hear much of a difference in comparison to an authentic version. The technique of the tablas was also an interesting observation that one can make. The tablas are not played as an african drum, with more finger movements and it looks like more intricate hand movements to create the sound that it makes. The sarod is also just a very interesting instrument with the many strings, tuning pegs, and round body. I find this video very interesting!
I agree with you about the saxophone. It doesn't sound too out of place among this kind of music and it adds a nice smooth tone to the group. Watching the tabla player play was amazing! His fingers looked like spiders crawling all over the drum head. Definitely not like other drum technique I've seen. It's a nice example of blended styles, which I am a huge fan of. Nice choice.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you and Liz about the saxophone sound. It really adds nicely to the group. And I agree the tabla player is very impressive. While authenticity is lost because of the saxophone being added, I think the piece is still a fine example of these instrumentalists trying to immerse themselves in the culture. I'm starting to feel that authenticity is extremely difficult to achieve outside of your native nation, so I think this ensemble does extremely well given what they have. I like it!
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