ARTS

Seshadari proves sitar master with intense strumming

by Michael Kish

If the power of Indian music seems almost supernatural, than sitar player Kartik Seshadri must be a sorcerer. Last Saturday, in his performance at Warner Concert Hall, he proved his ability to harness this magic and control every nuance.

The concert began with a long performance of the raga Bhimpalasi. The musicians sat on a carpet spread out on a square platform, Kartik in the center, tabla player Arup Chatterjee to his right, and a student guest playing tamboura (the drone instrument) on his left.

The raga began with an alap, a slow, expressive section for solo sitar. Kartik adeptly rendered the serious mood of the piece, although occasional pauses to tune his instrument were slightly distracting.

This slow exposition was followed by more solo sections, each gaining in speed and intensity. In these sections, Kartik strummed on the sitar's non-melodic strings, creating a wash of sound that filled the hall. When the solo sections ended, the audience applauded his virtuosity.

Indian music has a power that touches the whole being, not just the mind, but the body as well. At first the response is subtle - an expressive bend of the music makes the listener tilt its head or shift in its seat. Then, as the music builds momentum, the listener leans forward, pulled in. The experience is somatic and direct - at its height the music surrounds you completely and tangibly. Kartik's mid-concert talk was a helpful introduction to Indian music's melodic and rhythmic theories.

It included an impressive demonstration of Chatterjee's ability to mimic almost incomprehensibly fast rhythms which Kartik improvised vocally. According to Kartik, these rhythmic patterns are like a language with which the musicians communicate. They know this language so well that they do not even decide which ragas they are going to play until the night of the concert.

The final section of the piece was accompanied by tabla. The musicians traded short solos, seeming to converse with each other. At times, Chatterjee's hands were moving so fast they became a blur. The pair ended dramatically by playing a melody in unison and stopping simultaneously. But don't mistake it for blissed-out jamming. The musicians are expertly trained and in control. The release that comes from surrendering to their artistry is what makes listening to Indian music so transformative.

The other two pieces in the concert followed the same form: a slow introduction, gradually accelerating, followed by a fast section in which both musicians played and improvised.

Misramand, one of the final pieces of the evening was folk influenced, according to Kartik. It was a joyful, energetic piece and the accompanied section had the best interactions of the concert.

Their standing ovation at the end brought the musicians back out on stage for another bow. Even if most of us in the audience missed the rich subtleties that educated listeners notice, Kartik's creativity and pure force of expression reached across all barriers created by culture or lack of knowledge.

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Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 3, September 17, 1999

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