Dover Lane Music Conference is the longest running annual Indian Classical Music festival in Kolkata and possibly whole of India.  This year the festival is dedicated to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th Birth Anniversary.  The line-up for the 60th Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata has been announced and it is, as always, something special.  It promises another 5 nights offering some of the Best of Indian Classical Vocal, Tabla, Pakhawaj, Sitar, Shenai, Violin, Rudra Veena, Bansuri, Sarod and Harmonium performances from an all-star host of performers.

Each program begins at 8pm and continues through the night.  Its a wonderful experience, to sit with thousands of others, opening ones heart to the subtle and stirring magic of India Classical Music.  As the evening gives way to night and night gives way to early morning, the Ragas mellifluously flow from one into another, often in accordance with the sections of the day.  The festival Read more

Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan presents Swami Haridas-Tansen Sangeet

The old masters of the arts are so called for good reason. Their ability to demonstrate their skill or craft is undoubted, so in the case of musicians this leaves us with one option; to be enchanted, enthralled and enraptured as they weave their dazzling tapestries of song and musical joy.  In Delhi, the 3 day program Swami Haridas-Tansen Sangeet took place at the Sri Sathya Sai international centre (Sai Auditorium).  The program featured eminent Vocalists and Instrumentalists of India’s main proponent of the Indian Classical Music traditions. Artists such as Zakir Hussain, Channulal Mishra, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ashwini Bhide Deshpande & Shujaat Hussain Khan graced the event to weave a tapestry of magical music.

Channulal Mishra

To hear the magical tones of Channulal Mishra in the performance space, was a dream come true, as it was the first time I had the chance to enjoy this legendary singer although I had already been blessed enough to take a few music lessons with him in 2008.  To hear some of my favourite pieces performed live, in the magical spell of Sai Auditorium, with about 1500 other devoted attendees was such total magic.  He sang a variety of well known classics from his repertoire including a Mira bhai poem and a Hanuman Bhajan.  At the end everyone was crying for a the title track from the “Holi Ke Rang” album. This beautiful album was released by DEVI FOUNDATION which is a  not for profit organization was set up in New Delhi in 2003.   The Foundation’s leading objectives are the preservation and enhancement of the arts, and support to under privileged woman and children.

The unique level of sweetness that Channulal exhudes is beyond belief.  He has a unique tone in his voice that is so mellow, so purifying and so lively all at once. Soothing and energising in unison, a true celestial ceremony of Song.  Long may His musical magic continue to resound so beautifully.

Ashwini Bhide

Another legendary proponent of Indian Classical Music came to the stage the following day.  Her effortless perfection created a fluidity of space that opened up sonic vistas.  Time and space seemed to yield to her command as the complexities of sound were unveiled before our very ears!  We were all blissed beyond belief and the cares of the world seemed to melted away as the Taans opened up like a lotus blossom, revealing the very essence of Indian Classical Music.

Programme :
17th December 2010 :
Vinay Bharat-Ram – Vocal
Aashish Khan – Sarod
(S/o Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)
Zakir Hussain Khan – Tabla

18th December 2010:
Uma Sharma – Kathak
Channulal Mishra – Vocal
Mehmood Dholpuri – Harmonium
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt – Mohan Veena

19th December 2010:
Alam Khan – Sarod
(S/o Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)
Ashwini Bhide Deshpande – Vocal
Shujaat Hussain Khan – Sitar

Bharitiya Sangeet, the arts & dance school which organises this event.

http://www.uma-sharma.com/bhartiya_sangeet_sadan.asp

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The eminent Indian Music and arts organisation, Darbar, have just announced their line up for this years impressive Darbar festival.

The festival encompasses North and South Indian music traditions, along with film exhibitions, free workshops and a chance to meet and discuss with some of the artists.

A veritable feast of Classical Indian Musicians will resonate their marvellous music in the city of London for the main body of the events, from 1st – 4th April 2010.  No doubt the city is blessed to have such a dazzling array of stars in its midst and I heartily encourage anyone with an interest in the magic of music to attend any of these excellent performances.

With such esteemed heavyweight musicians such as as Shiv Kumar Sharma (Santoor), Anindo Chatterjee (Tabla) and the Gundecha Brothers (Dhrupad Vocal) the line up is drenched in promise.  Lesser know but no less talented appearances from artists such as the Canartic vocal duo Ranjani & Gayatri are sure to captivate British audiences and leave them spellbound.  The magical tones of Kaushal Das on Sitar are also sure to delight the listener and reveal nuances of music that will illuminate and enthrall.  I have blogged many times about the great Indian Classical Music festivals such as Dover Lane Conference in Kolkata or Dhrupad Mela in Varanasi, but this really is the closet thing we are going to get this side of the Indian Ocean.

The line-up is listed here with more details below:-

Festival elements…

Carnatic vocal and instrumental | North Indian Hindustani vocal | Dhrupad | Western Operatic | Free Workshops | Audience with the artists | Films | Mini-concerts | Concerts throughout the day

The line-up…

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma | Patricia Rozario | Veena Sahasrabuddhe | Rohan de Saram | Dhruba Ghosh | Bhupinder Chaggar | Hari Sivanesan | T Pirashanna | Kousic Sen | Satyajit Talwalkar | Dharambir Singh | Sunil Kant Gupta | Shahbaz Hussain | Ranjani and Gayatri | Jyotsna Srikanth | H. S. Sudhindra | Sanju Sahai | Kushal Das | Pandit Anindo Chatterjee | Ravi Shankar Upadhay | A K Palanivel | Rajhesh Vaidhya | Arun Prakash | Anirudh Athreya | Pandit Venkatesh Kumar | Soumik Datta | Neyveli Venkatesh | Gundecha Brothers

The instruments…

Santoor | Sitar | Veena | Tanpura | Tabla | Mridangam | Pakhawaj | Cello | Sarod | Basuri (Indian flute) | Harmonium | Kanjira | Tavil

Early bird tickets are available, meaning that if you book before 28th February 2010, you pay less!  So get your tickets now and Book Online!

When:- Thursday, 01 April 2010 @ 18:00 till Sunday, 04 April at 22:00

Where:-Kings Place
90 York Way
Kings Cross
London
UK

www.darbar.org.uk

Darbar on Facebook

A taste of last years festival, much of which was recorded and broadcast by SKY arts channel.