Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, sons Aman Ali and Ayaan Alia and two French ensembles in a concert featured the newly-composed “Ananta Opus-195” on March 3 as a part of the ongoing Bonjour India – Festival of France
Highly abstract, magical and intensely complex and yet poignantly touching music was presented by Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, sons Aman Ali and Ayaan Alia and two French ensembles at a concert on March 3 as a part of the ongoing Bonjour India – Festival of France in Amdavad. The programme featured the newly-composed ‘Ananta Opus-195’ which expanded the musical repertoire of the contemporary classical music.
The new music concerto offered serene and soothing synchronization of Sarod – Hindustani classical genre and French symphony. It included extended techniques, micro-tonality, oddly innovative tunings, highly disjunctive melodic contour, unconventional instrumentations, abrupt curves of loudness, intensity, and soothing notes. Trio of Khans and two French ensembles artists collaborated to create a new genre of contemporary classical music that is indefinable by current-day vocabulary of musical historicism or of musicology.
Legendary Sarod player Amjad Ali Khan said, “This concerto featuring sarod, symphonic and electronic orchestra, is an original work born from the meetings of different musical cultures, and Ahmedabad is the place it is first time being played.” Khan opened the concert with sounds of Vaishnav Jan and dedicated the concerto to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Khan said that playing with the French counterparts was a memorable experience and the entire team could perform to their lyrical best at the programme, thanks to vibrant and appreciative audience.
Alliance D’ Française executive committee president Pavan Bakeri said, “Attending this concert was once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience and we aim to bring more such enriching and culturally collaborative programme to the city in future.”
The programme was a cultural and musical dialogue taking place between Indian classical music and the common element of music in French music tradition, said director of Alliance D’ Française, Phillipe Martin at the event.
The composition written by Pierre Thilloy and performed by Khan and his sons with the Avignon Provence Symphonic Orchestra and Kords Collective, the concerto was conducted by Samuel Jean.
Musician Pierre Thilloy began with cultural experimentations and collaborations in Africa and then arrived in India in 2010. Exploring possibility of a musical collaboration, Thilloy met Khan and their fruitful collaboration created Ananta Opus-195. It is one of the few written works based on Hindustani classical raga, which does not have a history of notation melody.
Earlier in 2012, Amjad Ali Khan collaborated with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and created Samaagam – an experimental fusion in which 12 ragas were fused and improvised to create a composition.
