Search - Talvin Singh, Rakesh Chaurasia :: Vira

Very Relaxing

Ameetav Nangrani | Jacksonville, FL | 06/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is an excellent entry point to the vast universe of Indian Classical Music. This is an instrumental album showcasing 2 maestros - Talvin Singh (Tabla) and Rakesh Chaurasia (Indian Flute). If you like any any form of classical or instrumental music, you will love this album - it grows on you. Flute is an amazing musical instrument and you will realize in this album. Jethro Tull lovers ...you hearing me...!"

An excellent cross-over collaboration

Andrew W | Japan | 08/02/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before I begin I have to say to the previous reviewer who stated that this bansuri player Rakesh Chaurasia is as 'good' (define that term) as his uncle, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia is talking absolute nonsense. You simply cannot compare the two, and it is both naïve and insulting to do so. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is perhaps the greatest bansuri player in history, and universally acknowledged as being either the first or second. With a career spanning over fifty years, he is rightfully regarded as the yard-stick against which all others are measured. In fact HE made the yard-stick! Enough said.



What we essentially have is a hybrid musical experience. A disc which has taken as its foundation five ragas (three Hindustani, two Carnatic) and builds upon them in a direction that is intended to capture a new audience. Quite how this is the case, I am not sure. Whilst there is the obvious absence of the tanpura and the re-naming of the raags with sickly and irrelevant new-age names like 'Friendship', 'Heaven' and 'One World', apart from that, this music remains quite true to its source.



With the above concurred, there are however, a couple of points which should be discussed.



Firstly, labelled as 'Indian Classical for the 21st Century', it attempts to cut a new tributary into the evolution of Indian Classical Music. However, whether or not this is in indeed necessary; whether, in fact, Indian Classical Music isn't just as appropriate now as it was during the Vedic era is a point of serious contention. I would argue that any Classical Indian music is just as accessible and appropriate to audiences today. It doesn't need diluting or re-mixing. The onus is on the listener to raise their musical consciousness, not for the performer to make things 'more accessible'. I'm not sure why everything has to be 'accessible'? neatly packaged and ready for the West to consume?



Who demands this re-packaging is also a contentious point. If it is pursued from artistes eager to break the confines of the Classical system, then so be it. However, I often feel there is enormous prejudice against Western listeners, how the traditionalist Indian musical establishment feels we somehow won't 'get it' - we won't be able to access and appreciate the high culture of Classical Hindustani or Canatic Music. This is simply not the case. And the gradual exodus of Artistes from the Indian subcontinent to the West since the '60s and the thousands of Indian music festivals and concerts held in the West each year is testament to disprove that myth.



Overall, however, this is an excellent CD that should provide the listeners with a stimulating and rewarding aural experience. Whether you are a fan of Classical Indian Music (like myself), or whether you like wind-chimes, feng-shui and the colour purple, shouldn't ultimately matter. This recording should offer something for all to enjoy. I would though, suggest that if this is to your taste, you research a little more and try to access some Classical recordings, which, I feel offer the potential for satisfaction on a MUCH deeper and profound level."