Presented by The World Music Institute
Masters of Indian Music Series
Kaufmann Music Center
129 West 67th Street, NYC
The World Music Institute gave us in October, as part of its Masters of Indian Music series, a marvelous concert featuring three brilliant musicians in the classical Hindustani tradition. Central was Purbayan Chatterjee playing the sitar. He was joined by Rakesh Chaurasia on the bansuri (a side-blown flute) and Ojas Adhiya on the tabla.
The trio presented an extraordinary range of moods during the course of the concert, gliding or jumping from one to the next. Sometimes it was mystical, with no beat, like ambient music, and without the tabla. Sometimes it was frenetic, with Mr. Adhiya’s hands moving so quickly on the tabla that his fingers looked blurred, like a hummingbird’s wings.
Mr. Adhiya played three tablas. They had fine pitch and sometimes echoed the lead of the tar or bansuri. He would drum with one hand and rotate the tabla with the other hand. Mr. Chaurasia would play prolonged notes on the bansuri while Mr. Adhiya’s fingers were racing. Mr. Chatterjee’s sitar would ripple or race as the occasion demanded.
The music was punctuated with athletic riffs that particularly pleased the audience. The three instruments might have an obvious relationship with one another or a relationship that was more mysterious. The musicians always seem to be so united that even when one dropped out it seemed to be by common agreement.
I didn’t find all of this mesmerizing music beautiful — but Stravinsky or Meredith Monk are not always beautiful. Moreover, the audience, who seemed to be largely from the subcontinent, seemed to have a greater aesthetic insight.
The sound system seemed to over-process the instruments, but otherwise nothing marred this great work. We’re grateful to the World Music Institute for this grand series.
Steve Capra – Reviewed October 23rd, 2022
(headline image: Purbayan Chatterjee & Rakesh Chaurasia)
Author: Steve Capra
