I had been watching this mesmerizing raga video, but even after a few viewings, I was still utterly unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Despite a robust and advanced study of music, I was adrift. I got that it was beautiful, and it certainly sounded complex, but I couldn't quite piece together what was happening in the music.
Judy said, "I think Indian music is a unique challenge for Western ears," in an effort, I suspect, to make me feel better.
I started the video (below) which features Aashish Khan on sarod (Khan is on our 2010 program) and a young Zakhir Hussain on tabla (drums). Judy was amazed.
"Zakhir Hussein is the most famous tabla player ever. Surely you know who he is."
I didn't.
As the music played, Judy confirmed what I had suspected - the raga is largely improvised, but with very strict music theory rules. A raga is a bit like a mode in western music. Of course the people who really get Indian classical music would say that I'm wrong about this, that it's actually much more complex, and while I'm sure that's generally true, one has to start somewhere.
I asked what I could listen for, and Judy mentioned the tihai, which is a melodic pattern repeated three times to signal the entry into a new section of the raga. I was delighted to discover that they are relatively simple to hear in the selection below.
Judy also talked about the tala. The tala is the rhythm of the piece, typically complex meters. Apparently when she was traveling in India, Judy attended performances where the audience would keep time with the tabla player by counting on their fingers, and the whole room would "arrive at the one together." I'm not totally sure what that would entail, but it sounds really beautiful and interconnected, doesn't it?
In case you're curious, the woman in the back is playing the drone, which is not just one note, but several played in a repeated pattern. I couldn't ever quite clue into what she was playing, but perhaps you can.
So this is a quick and exceedingly basic intro to Indian music. As we learn more about the world of ragas, we will continue to share it here.
- Christiana Thomas
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( 2.9 / 704 )
The Festival family lost a dear friend last weekend. Marty Fujita, who spearheaded the first ever Ojai Festival Green Initiative died of complications from cancer. Her loss grieves so many in the Ojai community, who will always remember her great energy, and the passionate commitment that she had for environmental and health causes. The Festival family will continue to honor Marty's memory by working to keep the Festival green, and by pushing ourselves (as we know she would have pushed us) to continue to do more to make our program environmentally sustainable.- Christiana Thomas
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( 2.9 / 764 )
George Benjamin visited Ojai for the first time in January. In two events – one in Ojai on January 18 at the Wachtells and another in Los Angeles on January 19 at the Rosens – George confessed to having had a personal spy over the years who kept him up to date on everything about Ojai. Her name was Betty Freeman, one of George’s closest and dearest friends. Betty was aware of George’s coming to Ojai this June as music director, and promised she would be there looking after him in some way. We kept George busy with these two events, several press interviews in Ojai and LA, and planning meetings. His infectious enthusiasm and energy proved contagious to everyone. The visit was marred by only one thing – incessant rain. It poured so hard while in Ojai, the only time he actually saw Libbey Bowl was 9pm one evening when there was a slight break in the deluge. I have promised him, and in fact offered to put it in his contract, that when he returns in June, the weather will be “better”! He laughed and admitted he found even a drenched Ojai alluring.
Click here to watch video highlights from the two events with George. In the first two, we talk about his compelling chamber opera, Into the Little Hill, which by the way was recently hailed "opera of the decade" by the London Telegraph.
-- Tom Morris
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( 2.8 / 697 )Trimpin's Sound Arch is selected as public art installation for the re-opening of the new Libbey Bowl
In mid-December, the Festival office had a nice surprise visit from Trimpin. He shared with us that he was in Ojai to present his proposal to Ojai's Art Commission for the public art installation which will coincide with the opening of the new Libbey Bowl in 2011...and now, I am happy to report that the good news is out! Trimpin's amazing interactive "Sound Arch" was selected out of 30 applications.We'll have some pictures of the model to share soon,but right now, read the Ojai Valley News blog for the full story!
-- Posted by Gina Gutierrez
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( 2.9 / 744 )So every summer, the staff at the Festival goes from 6 to hundreds. A big chunk of that expansion is the many wonderful interns who devote the first few weeks of their summer to making the Festival happen. Last year, we were lucky to snag Margaret Crites, a budding composer, former Ojai resident, and all-around lovely person. I asked her to write a few paragraphs on what the Festival meant to her, and here is her response.
"Being a composer and new music enthusiast is a rare and lonely thing in Waco, Texas, where gospel hymns and country music reign as music's main cultural expression. But there is a small collective of us avant-garde-concert-music-loving-folks out in west Texas, and we constantly exchange about what pieces we're hearing, what we're writing, what is happening in the "new music" world. I feel especially privileged with my experience as an intern at the Ojai Music Festival this past summer, because I've got a unique outside experience to share. The OMF 2009 was a front row seat to watching how this world of contemporary musicians, contemporary composers and contemporary loving audiences come together to experience fantastic art, the kind future "history of twenty-first-century music" textbooks will be talking about.
In our efforts to begin a new music ensemble at Baylor University, my percussionist friend and I have looked towards OMF's guests eighth blackbird as a model. What's more, having worked with them this summer I have even been in contact with them a few times to ask about arrangements of Bresnick pieces, etc. They are so kind to respond quickly, despite their crazy schedules, and I'm grateful that I met them and that they value giving a few words to a young musician now and then.
My own performing and composing these past 7 months has also been encouraged towards a new professionalism since I experienced that of the musicians in the festival. The collaborative mindset, the musicality and preparedness with which they approached the works, the time and dedication offered: these things continue to inspire me now. I remember David Gordon's "Quasi Sinfonia" or Steven Mackey's guitar playing in "Slide", eighth blackbird's consistently fresh expression of contemporary (and not so contemporary, i.e. Pierrot Lunaire) literature, and I am inspired daily to continue pursuing today's world of aural art.
Though I may be the minority in Waco, Texas, the OMF gave me a place to be among people that love contemporary music as much if not more than I did. What's more, I was around those who have been at the craft a lot longer than I have! That I saw and even partnered with today's contemporary musicians and those who appreciate them; this experience continues to encourage me today along my own musical path and I won't forget the music I experienced at the OMF! I certainly will be back."
Margaret? We're totally saving you a place here!
- Christiana Thomas
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