Newsletter April – September 2023
Content
1. News & Novelties - Sitar, Shrutibox, Harmoniums, DVDs & Shipping Cost
2. Special Offers - Sitars, Shrutiboxes, Harmoniums, Drums & CDs
3. Raga Bachelor in Rotterdam Closed - Global View on Music in Decline
4. Yoga & Harmonium (2) - Harmonium in India and in the West
5. Brief News: Vijay Kichlu, AAK Raga Radio, New Shakti Record, Setback for AI Music
6. How to Make (Indian) Music? (31) – Cell Phone Etiquette in Classical Indian Concerts
7. Workshops – October to December
8. Concerts – October to November
1.Sitar, Shrutibox, Harmoniums, DVDs & Shipping Cost
- News & Novelties -
- Sitar Paloma Compact – 789 €
Compact and robust, with a flat wooden body and small pegbox - yet good quality and amazingly full sound. THE alternative to bulky and sensitive sitars with pumpkin resonator.
Further details.
- Shrutibox Musician’s Mall Double G – 369 €
For professionals with special demands: 2 octave range from low G2 for a particularly full, lively drone sound. Single notes or chords from the basic octave can be coloured and extended with consonances or dissonances from the higher octave.
- Further details.
- Harmonium Bhava Lite Standard Edition - 799 €
Small, handy format, robust construction, low weight, high quality, good sustain, full round sound and tasteful noble design - ideal for travelling yogi*nis and kirtan fans with high demands.
Further details.
- Harmonium Bhava Classic Concert Teak – 1589 €
The best Delhi-style folding harmonium in the world - incomparable playing experience through full range, unique sound and the best quality in material and workmanship. For people demanding highest standards.
Further details.
- Harmonium Bhava Studio Concert Teak – 1589 €
The best Delhi-style stand-up harmonium in the world - incomparable playing experience through full range, unique sound and the best quality in material and workmanship. For people demanding highest standards.
Further details.
Bhava stands for harmoniums of the best quality and with ethical standards!
More background info on Bhava harmoniums in our Newsletter June – September 2022.
More Bhava harmonium models in our harmonium assortment.
- Harmonium Tirupati Premium OM natural – 629 €
Robust stand-up model with simple construction and fine workmanship and quality of materials. Full, balanced and warm sound, good sustain and appealing look with OM carving.
Further details.
- Harmonium Sarangg Standard – 519 €
Simple and robust entry-level model at low price. Full, round sound with a lot of warmth. Good quality of materials and workmanship.
Further details.
- Price Reduction for Concert DVDs – only 19 € instead of 29 €
Legendary live concerts on DVD - now unbeatably cheap! Only while stocks last! Classic Indian raga performances by Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar), Amjad Ali Khan (sarod), Pandit Jasraj, Bhimsen Joshi and C.R. Vyas (all khyal vocal). Mystical sufi songs with Abida Parveen. Global Symphony by violinist L. Subramaniam. Fusion by Hariprasad Chaurasia & George Brooks and by the Bangash sarod brothers.
DVD overview.
- Increased Shipping Cost – as of October 1st
Our logistics partner DHL has increased the parcel prices. Since October 1st we therefore charge slightly higher postage costs for shipping. We ask for your understanding - and cordially invite you to personally collect instruments in our shop in Berlin (only by appointment)!
Shipping cost overview.
2. Sitars, Shrutiboxes, Harmoniums, Drums & CDs
- Special Offers -
Bargains and rarities, samples, remaining stock, discontinued models and instruments with minor flaws or special features that require explanation - our special offers page has it all. All are individual items - please contact us quickly if you are interested! Have fun browsing!
STRING INSTRUMENTS
- Sitar Barun Roy Gandhar Pancham – 1990 €
- Sitar SMH Full Deco Deluxe - 889 €
- Sitar Bharat Music House – 490 €
- Sitar resonator toomba, various models – 49 – 89 €
- Tanpura instrumental case artificial leather – 69 €
HARMONIUMS & SHRUTIBOXES
- Harmonium Bhava Classic Concert Teak - 1389 €
- Harmonium Maestro Pakrashi foldable – 989 €
- Harmonium Paloma Premium B-stock – 939 €
- Harmonium Compactina Pakrashi #2 – 489 €
- Harmonium Compactina Pakrashi #3 –489 €
- Harmonium Compactina No-Name – 389 €
- Shrutibox Sarangg large - 289 €
- Shrutibox SMH large – 239 €
DRUMS
- Baya Calcutta Standard – 169 €
- Tabla Narayan Badya Bhandar Premium 5 3/8 inch – 219 €
- Tabla Narayan Badya Bhandar Premium 5 1⁄2 inch – 199 €
- Tabla Calcutta Standard 13cm - 69 €
- Mridangam B-Ware - 489 €
- Dholak NBB 2nd hand - 229 €
- Dholak NBB B-stock - 165 €
CDs
- Limited until 31.12.2023: 50% discount on ALL music CDs when buying at least 2 CDs - or 1 CD together with at least one other item. Only while stocks last!
3. Raga Bachelor in Rotterdam Closed - Global View on Music in Decline
- Background Report by Yogendra -
In 1987, the Hogeschool voor Muziek en Theater Rotterdam (now Codarts University for the Arts) launched the first degree programme in North Indian classical music practice in Europe - a unique, courageous experiment that is now coming to an end after some 35 years. The last Bachelor students graduated this year and the programme has been closed. A Master's programme in Indian music is still offered, but without a Bachelor's degree and without permanent teaching staff, it is unlikely to have any prospects. The Indian music programme had already been eroded by budget cuts for several years. Artistic teaching as the heart of the programme was only carried out by guest lecturers, without artistic director. The number of applicants had steadily declined. And the corona pandemic brought the programme to a complete standstill. It shares this fate with the tango and flamenco programmes, which have also been closed. Of the once broad-based World Music Department, only the departments for Turkish and Latin American music remain.
The idea for the degree course had come from a core group of 5: Sarangi player Joep Bor and Khyal singer Wim van der Meer were musicologists with many years of study in India. Huib Schippers, Jane Harvey and Toss Levy studied sitar with Amsterdam-based sitarist Jamaluddin Bhartiya and edited an Indian music newsletter. Together they founded ISTAR Netherlands in 1986 as a free school for Indian music and dance. The response was great, but it quickly became clear that long-term work would only be possible within the framework of existing music institutions. So without further ado, the group developed a concept for a course of study in Indian music practice at the Rotterdam Conservatorium. For this purpose, the traditional Indian Guru-Shishya-Parampara form of teaching was adapted to the formal requirements of a European conservatory. The central role of the guru was retained, but important contents were taught in separate courses, skill requirements and performance examinations were defined, and a duration of study was fixed. In addition, the basics of Western music had to be studied alongside Indian music in order to build competence for cross-genre collaboration. Conversely, over the years, the Indian music programme also gave rise to cross-curricular courses in modal improvisation, work with cyclical rhythms and ear training with relative solmisation, which opened up new horizons for students from other traditions. "Towards a Global View on Music" was the motto with which co-founder Joep Bor successfully presented the concept.
The Indian Music Programme had its heyday in the long years under the artistic direction of the great Bansuri master Hariprasad Chaurasia. The fame and charisma of this global music star attracted students from all over Europe. Hariprasad regularly spent so much time in Rotterdam that it was possible to study intensively with him for several years. In addition to Hariprasad, two other world-class Indian musicians, sitar virtuoso Budhaditya Mukherjee and tabla master Faiyaz Khan, were active as regular guest lecturers for many years. And when the renowned gurus were not on site, tutors based in the Netherlands continued to foster the students. The success and significance of these many years of work become clear with a look at graduates from this period who have made a name for themselves as performers of Indian music after their studies in Rotterdam - e.g. flutists Henri Tournier, Julia Ohrmann and Stephanie Bosch, sitarists Siddharth Kishna, Rohini Sahajpal and Tammo Heikens, cellist Saskia Rao-de Haas, violinist Lenneke van Staalen, sarod player Martijn Baaijens, dhrupad singer Marianne Svasek and tabla players Heiko Dijker and Florian Schiertz.
The reasons why the programme ultimately no longer attracted enough prospective students are complex. Over the past 20 years, Codarts University for the Arts Rotterdam has had to introduce strictly regulated bachelor's and master's programmes, increase efficiency and reduce costs in order to withstand international competition. From the Indian Music founding group, only Jane Harvey was still on board at the end; the other four had moved on to other commitments over time. Thus, there was a lack of strong voices to draw attention to the programme, within Codarts as well as with other institutions and the public. External presentation and advertising were neglected. It may have been fatal that Hariprasad Chaurasia was retained as artistic director well beyond his retirement age and no successor was appointed after his inevitable withdrawal. Without a charismatic guru, the programme seems to have lost its very heart.
But recent history has also worked against the programme. In its founding period, after the end of the Cold War, there was an enormous spirit of optimism. Suddenly it seemed possible for cultures to meet as equals. Multiculturalism was a positive vision in Europe, and the growing together of the world in globalisation appeared to be the solution to many problems. In music circles, world music had established itself as a new category with the claim to see music cultures from all over the world on an equal footing with popular and classical Western genres. Mutual acceptance and cross-fertilisation was the idea. Times have changed since then. New conflicts and fronts have emerged. The digital revolution has in principle made music from all over the world available anytime and anywhere. But at the same time, cultures see themselves as either threatened or superior, and separate themselves from each other instead of fertilising one another. Instead of the common ground as humanity, the differences of various groups are emphasised. Identity politics activists claim ownership, using the politically charged term "cultural appropriation". And global crises like the corona pandemic or climate change add to the pressure. These are very difficult conditions for a small niche subject like Indian music at a conservatory.
Music is always living practice. In this it resembles languages. Exclusive power of disposal over a living practice is not only impossible but also absurd. Today, popular music in the broadest sense is a thoroughly global phenomenon in which everything can be creatively combined with everything else. And even in artistically ambitious music with little economic significance, all borders have long since become permeable. But if anything goes, this also means that traditional practices like Indian classical music continue to have a right to exist - both for their own sake and as a basis and source of inspiration for new styles. In this sense, studying Indian music can still be worthwhile today. In whatever form. The disappearance of a study option at a university is therefore a lamentable loss.
More info on the Rotterdam Indian music programme: Henri Tournier – Teaching of Indian Music in an Institutional Framework in Europe.
4. Yoga & Harmonium (2) - Harmonium in India and in the West
- Feature Series by Alice Radha -
Whether in kirtan, singing circles or online videos - mantras have an almost magical attraction. At some point, people see and hear the harmonium and ask what kind of instrument I am actually playing. It is simply fascinating, both visually and sonically. From the outside, you might wonder why pumping is not automated by now. But it is precisely the combination of the way it is made and the way it is played, with a dynamic flow of air, that makes the instrument so special. In pumping, the harmonium breathes. You can't achieve that with an automatic or synthetic system.
When you look up harmonium on the internet, you will quickly find pictures of an instrument that looks like a mixture between an organ and a piano.This is the Western pedal harmonium. It was widespread in the 19th century, but during the middle of the 20th century it was quickly displaced by electric organs.Today, only a few enthusiasts still play it. The harmonium that we use today in the yoga world is the Indian further development of the pedal harmonium. It is adapted for the Indian way of playing and built to be used sitting on the floor.The substructure with foot pedals for pumping has disappeared. Instead, the air for playing is pumped with one hand.
The Western world differs from the Indian world in the way of playing. In India, the mantras are usually accompanied by the melody. This means that the musician plays the chant line on the harmonium. This can be more or less virtuosic, with drone notes or without. The advantage of the Indian mantra accompaniment is that the melody can be heard in the "response". This makes it easy for the group to sing along. It’s because the Indian music tradition does not know any western harmony with chords, but only melody and rhythm. Many Indian melodies are based on ragas. These are traditional melodic formulas associated with certain feelings and times of day. If you know the ragas well, you can vary the melodies again and again, play with the moods and thus make the singing particularly varied and rousing.
The Western yoga world, on the other hand, loves the typical European harmonium sound. It is characterised by a texture of chords. The melodies are accompanied by matching chords. This makes the sound and the experience so harmonious. Classically, three keys are pressed per chord. In the best case, the chords are connected with each other by the right fingerings and drone notes, so that no gaps appear in the flow of sound. This is the typical sound tapestry which carries everybody and invites people to relax, open up and let go. Here in Europe, I therefore always speak of Western mantras, because our way of singing and accompanying the mantras is adapted for our ears. Everyone likes harmonic sounds - and what instrument could be better suited for this than a harmonium?
With a little diligence chord accompaniment on the harmonium is easy to learn. In my teaching practice, I have noticed that piano players find it particularly easy to learn fingerings and use drone notes to make the accompaniment sound harmonious. But even without prior knowledge, this style of playing is fairly quick and easy to learn. For this purpose, I have broken down the chords and provided fingerings in my mantra collection for beginners. In addition, the notes that remain the same during a chord change are marked with an underline. With a little practice, anyone can create a harmonic tapestry of sound. I always compare this with the sun salutation practice in yoga. As a beginner, you first look at where your hands and feet should go. This can initially still happen bumpily and with intermediate steps. But then comes the moment when the asanas flow harmoniously into each other. It is exactly the same with learning the harmonium. In the beginning, the fingers are still searching for their positions, but with practice it becomes easier and easier!
*****
Alice Radha is a musician, mantra expert and yoga acharya in the Sivananda tradition. She gives mantra and harmonium workshops, trains yoga teachers, teaches harmonium for yoga practice and has developed contemporary learning material for harmonium.
Links:
Alice Radhas Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Alice Radha’s learning material at India Instruments.
5. Brief News: Vijay Kichlu, AAK Raga Radio, Setback for AI Music, New Shakti Record
- Scene Info -
Vijay Kichlu – Promoter and Facilitator of Indian Classical Music
Vijay Kichlu was an Indian classical singer who had learned Khyal from Latafat Hussein Khan and Dhrupad from Aminuddin Dagar. The big career eluded him, perhaps because he did not come from a family of musicians or because he had worked very successfully as a manager in business for a long time. However, this turned into an advantage when he became director of the newly founded ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata in 1977. This unique institution is dedicated to the ancient teaching tradition of Indian classical music from master to student (Guru Shishya Parampara) within the framework of a modern institution. In the 25 years under his leadership, Vijay Kichlu made the ITC Sangeet Research Academy the world's most important training centre for North Indian classical singers, producing stars such as Rashid Khan and Ajoy Chakraborty. Even in retirement, he remained active as a teacher, sponsor and facilitator, tirelessly promoting understanding for Indian classical music and campaigning for its dissemination. This is evidenced by his CD series Gyan - Educational Series of Indian Ragas, of which we still have a few copies left in stock. Another example of Kichlu's public work is his wonderful, highly informative and at the same time deeply personal documentary film Raga Revelry - A Journey Through North Indian Classical Music from 2012. For his life's work, Kichlu received the Sangit Natak Akademi Award in 2006 and the Padma Shri from the Indian government in 2018. On 17 February, Vijay Kichlu passed away in Kolkata at the age of 92.
Raga Revelry - A Journey Through North Indian Classical Music auf YouTube.
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AAK Raga Radio – Ragas for Every Time of Day
The wish to create a continuous 24-hour stream of music by the legendary sarod master Ali Akbar Khan (1922 - 2009) has long been a dream of his widow Mary Khan. The idea behind this is that the ragas resonate with certain times of the day and have a more or less intense effect depending on whether they are heard (or played) at the appropriate time of day or not. This concept had great significance for Ali Akbar Khan. He also saw the ragas as a healing method and believed that if they were heard or played at the right time, one could benefit from their power and possibly receive the blessings of Saraswati (the goddess of music and knowledge). During his lifetime, it was no longer possible to produce new recordings for a 24-hour stream. But on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2022, the idea was finally implemented with his published recordings and is now freely available online as AAK Raga Radio. 73 recordings, each with a raga and an exact indication of the ideal listening time, are available now - musical treasures that are worth discovering.
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New Shakti Record – Nominated for Critics Award
This Moment is the name of the first new studio record by the visionary Indo-Jazz band Shakti in over 45 years. From 1975 - 77, Shakti had tremendous success with an amalgamation of Indian and Western sounds never heard before. After the original line-up broke up, guitarist John McLaughlin and tabla player Zakir Hussain continued to perform for decades, together with changing Indian partners, under the name Remember Shakti. However, they only released various live albums. McLaughlin and Hussain are now joined by Shankar Mahadevan (vocal), Ganesh Rajagopalan (violin) and Selvaganesh Vinayakram (percussion). Shakti today is a powerfully dynamic collective characterised by deft interplay, brilliant unison passages, virtuoso improvisations and the ability to miraculously bring global traditions into conversation with each other. Critics praise the record as a work of immense depth and radiant optimism. Nominated for the Quarterly Award of the German Record Critics.
Audio samples from This Moment.
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Exclusion from Grammys – Setback for AI Music?
The possible uses of so-called artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry have grown rapidly recently. AI can optimise mixing and mastering processes for music production. It can create melodies, harmonies and rhythms according to the rules, complete incomplete pieces or even generate entire pieces. AI has also learned classical Indian music. It can invent new ragas, spit out compositions in certain ragas and talas, and develop variations on them according to style, which are usually improvised. Recently, AI has also been able to imitate singers' voices so perfectly that deep fake recordings have become possible. Long-dead greats now sing current hits, worn-out voices of aged stars sound youthfully fresh again, and voices of VIPs from all walks of life rap and sing for all they're worth. Legal questions arising from this will probably only be answered much later. Technically, there seem to be no limits in principle. The potential reach is also gigantic - after all, the overwhelming majority of all music is produced and consumed digitally today. But now, the US Recording Academy has taken a stand against complete appropriation by AI. In the rules for its 66th Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy determined in June that works that do not involve human authorship are not eligible in any category. The major music prize should continue to go only to human creators. Perhaps a wake-up call?
6. How to Make (Indian) Music? (31) – Cell Phone Etiquette in Classical Indian Concerts
- Quote by Nayan Ghosh -
The series "How to Make (Indian) Music?" presents thought-provoking, inspiring or controversial quotes from artists and intellectuals.
Listener cell-phones on silent mode. ON just for emergencies. Performer’s cell phone strictly on flight mode. (…) Listeners should know and be prepared to give exclusive attention to the performance, otherwise just don’t attend a concert. Likewise, avoid going to a concert if one has cold/cough. Some minimum discipline and courtesy should be an accepted norm. (…) Lastly, I strongly feel no one should video a performance during the concert, except if appointed by the performer and/or the organisers. Keep and take home the experience in your memory. By videoing, not only are you disturbing people around you but your OWN attention will divert from concentrated listening to adjusting the camera-focus. Whenever I have seen front-row guests talking or messaging on cell phone, I have stopped my performance and told them humbly that I’ll proceed with my performance AFTER you’ve finished your job.
Nayan Ghosh (*1956) grew up in a renowned family of musicians and learned tabla, singing and sitar from childhood. He initially made a career as a tabla accompanist for artists such as Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vilayat Khan, Rais Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Amjad Ali Khan and Pandit Jasraj. Later, he achieved the feat of establishing himself as a soloist on the sitar as well. In 2014, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his services to Indian classical instrumental music.
Quote from: Kommentar zu einem Facebook Post von Subhranil Sarkar, 1. August 2023
7. Workshops – October to December
- Scene-Info -
09.-12.10. OSTERODE: Sitar Intensive with Kushal Das
11.-12.10. FR-PARIS: Dancer's flow, Kandyan, Chaaris & Nritta hastas
14.10. CH-THALWIL: Dancer's flow, Kandyan, Chaaris & Nritta hastas
16.-18.10. HEIDELBERG: Odissi with Abhijit Deb
17.-18.10. ES-BARCELONA: Dancer's flow, Kandyan, Chaaris & Nritta hastas
20.-22.10. OY-MITTELBERG: Harmonium for Beginners with Jürgen Wade
22.10. ES-MADRID: Dancer's flow, Kandyan, Chaaris & Nritta hastas
22.10. HAMBURG: Danuka Ariyawansa-Kandyan Dance
27.-29.10. OY-MITTELBERG: Advanced Harmonium with Jürgen Wade
03.-05.11. HORUMERSIEL: Harmonium for Beginners with Jürgen Wade
24.-26.11. BAD MEINBERG: Harmonium for Beginners with Jürgen Wade
01.-03.12. KLOSTER GERODE: Nada Yoga – Healing Powers of Sound
01.-03.12. BAD MEINBERG: Advanced Harmonium with Evelyn Fiedermann
26.12.-01.01. BAD MEINBERG Mantras, Kirtans and Bhajans with Sundaram
Details of all workshops in our workshop calendar.
8. Concerts – October to November
- Scene-Info -
10.10. HAMBURG: Rajendra Prasanna (Bansuri)
11.10. BERLIN: Ranajit Sengupta (Sarod)
14.10. FR-PARIS: Isabelle Anna (Kathak)
14.10. STUTTGART: L. Subramaniam (Violine)
15.10. CH-GENF: Daud Khan (Rubab, Sarod)
15.10. FR-PARIS: Ranajit Sengupta (Sarod)
15.10. SE-STOCKHOLM: Mita Nag (Sitar)
15.10. BERLIN: Nātya Berlin (Bharatanatyam)
16.10. HAMBURG: Deva Premal & Miten - Kirtan
20.10. FR-PARIS: Sahana Balasubramanya (Bharatanatyam)
20.10. MAXDORF: Kushal Das (Sitar)
21.10. MANNHEIM: Ashok Nair (Sitar, Surbahar)
21.10. BE-BRUXELLES: Asad Qizilbash (Sarod)
21.10. CH-BADEN: Girija Ravishankar (karn. Vocal)
21.10. ES-MADRID: Shamitha Hettige (Bharatanatyam & Odissi)
22.10. GB-LONDON: Ojesh Pratap Singh (Khyal)
22.10. HAMM: Bharathi Ramasubban (karn. Vocal)
24.10. BE-BRUXELLES : Harsh Wardhan (Bansuri)
26.10. GB-LONDON: Ayan Sengupta (Sitar)
26.10. BE-BRUXELLES: Anirban Das (Khyal)
26.10. BERLIN: Giulia Marchetti (Bharatanatyam)
27.10. GB-LONDON: Sarwar Hussain Khan (Sarangi)
27.10. HEIDELBERG: Yogendra (Sitar)
27.10. GB-SLOUGH: Nina Rajarani Dance Creations (Bharatanatyam)
27.10. BERLIN: Diptesh Bhattacharya (Sarod)
28.10. GB-LONDON: Alam Khan (Sarod)
28.10. LUDWIGSHAFEN: Yogendra (Sitar)
28.10. BONN: Sumanth Manjunath (karn. Violine)
28.10. ERFURT: Diptesh Bhattacharya (Sarod)
29.10. GB-LONDON: Pravin Godkhindi (Bansuri)
29.10. GB-LONDON: Ulhas Kashalkar (Khayal)
29.10. MESCHEDE: Pulsar Trio (Fusion)
29.10. IDSTEIN/TAUNUS: Yogendra (Sitar)
29.10. GB-BEDFORD: R. P. Pramod (Vina)
01.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Shakir Khan (Sitar)
01.11. GB-LONDON: Diksha Murli (Khyal)
02.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Troilee & Moisilee Dutta (Sarod)
02.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Bharatanatyam)
03.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Harinie Jeevitha (Bharatanatyam)
08.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Moore, Modarelli & Rayatt Trio (Gitarre, Geige, Tabla)
08.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: Swati Natekar (Vocal)
10.11. FR-PARIS: Sam Goraya (Odissi)
10.11. GB-LIVERPOOL: The Forest Dream (Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi)
11.11. WURZBURG: Satyaa & Pari (Mantra)
12.11. BONN: Kalbeliya, Manganiya (Rajasthan dance and music)
15.11. FULDA: Pulsar Trio (Fusion)
16.11. PLAUEN: Pulsar Trio (Fusion)
17.11. GB-LONDON: Chandrima Misra (Khyal)
19.11. GB-BEDFORD: Kiranpal Singh Deoora (Santur)
Details of all concerts in our concert calendar.