SHIRISH KORDE (b.1945): Svara-Yantra for Violin, Tabla and Orchestra, Cranes Dancing for Violin and Orchestra.

Catalogue Number: 09J087
Label: Neuma
Reference: 450-107
Format: CD
Price: $16.98
Description: As examples of explicit East-West 'crossover' composition intended for the concert hall, the violin concerto Svara-yantra seems a particularly successful specimen of the type, in that the composer employs elements of Indian music drawn directly from the traditions of India - the tabla plays what it would play in a traditional Indian ensemble, and the three movements are based on actual ragas, while incorporating them into a structure that is genuinely identifiable as an extension of the Western concerto tradition. The raga melodies are expanded into harmony for the sake of the orchestral contribution, and this leads to an inevitable modal feel to the work as a whole; the pulsating rhythms and immensely long paragraphs of phrase structure of Indian music are faithfully preserved, as are the improvised (and thrilling) solos for the soloists. The second movement, in variation form and inspired by the classically-trained South Indian master of the violin L. Subramaniam, is especially effective as an integration of the two styles (much like Subramaniam's own work). Cranes dancing takes its inspiration from the Japanese shakuhachi flute, and is more freely improvisatory, less consonant, though no less atmospheric or evocative. Joanna Kurkowicz (violin), Samir Chatterjee (tabla), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Rubén Silva, Lukasz Borowicz.