I've uploaded a two-minute fragment from my new work Javaari (acousmatic, stereo). This extract is the final two minutes of the piece.
Programme note:
Javaari is the term given to the bridge of the sitar where the melodic and sympathetic strings run and create the sound. The bridge is made traditionally of Deer horn and is made in a certain shape, width, and length, while the surface is flat with slight semi-circle bend. It needs to be regularly sanded down to take away the mark of the strings after continuous use and to achieve the desired resonance and brightness. The term also refers to the unique buzzing tone produced by the sitar. This piece explores these fascinating timbres originating from this instrument and pays particular attention to the beautiful pitch bends that arch over and under like vocal melismas. The work is structured into four episodes, each exploring a different intensity of explicit cultural sound use – often the sitar material is in the fore and sometimes it recedes or pokes through intermittently.
This acousmatic work is the first in a series of pieces composed in collaboration with Milapfest (The UK’s leading Indian Arts Charitable Trust) based at Liverpool Hope University. The yearlong project aims to examine the translation and transference of cultural sound to electroacoustic music and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Many thanks go to Roopa Panesar (Sitar), Kousic Sen (Tabla), Raaheel Husain (Sitar), Kiruthika Nadarajah (Violin), Senthan Nadarajah (Mridangam) Kaviraj Singh (Santoor), Upneet Singh (Tabla) and Rohan Kapadia (Tabla).
