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Posts Tagged ‘Flute’

Whether it has to do with the philosophy of better living through habit, thought or magical action, things that are associated with “New Age” are theoretically supposed to have some basis in spirituality. Yet much of this spiritually is lightly rooted in the shallows of corporate productivity techniques or power-of-positive-thinking type truisms with some pseudo eastern promises for dressing.

Then there is the New Age philosophy that harkens back to something ancient, even primordial. This is especially visible in the music. So much of what is called New Age music is made from artificial ingredients, from canned sounds created by synthesizers tuned and programmed for maximum vapidity; and voices, always the voices, high and breathy with a thin, grating tone that someone somewhere decided signified the celestial. But there are musicians who create spiritual and contemplative music based in the traditions and sounds of antiquity, from nations and cultures with long shadows such as Africa, China, Japan and India.

Riding on this track is the group NightDancers, a duo consisting of flautists Gera Clark and John Sarantos, who perform original songs based on the folkloric styles of several Native American tribes. The music on their CD Montana Crossings is both ethereal and earthy, reflecting the unitary, all-is-one world view common to Native American cosmology. The songs are mostly built on simple three to seven note motifs that go through different permutations. The flutes – NightDancers plays twenty-five different kinds of these wooden, handcrafted instruments – blend together and dance, their music resonating in what sounds like a valley high up in the mountains or a cathedral (kudos to engineer Jim Anderson of AVATAR Studios in NYC). The effect of the music is meditative and dreamy. The music itself is never static or boring; in fact its intricacies reveal themselves with repeated listening. The titles evoke, perhaps invoke, aspects of the natural and supernatural worlds, which many indigenous tribes say are one and the same.

The song titles and how the pieces are composed and arranged reflect this thinking. Musically these pieces evoke the objects and ideas behind the titles as well. The opening track “Spirit Winds” starts with soft, breathy tones that rise from silence in unison. Then one flute states a simple theme that is answered by a counter melody from the other flute; they go back and forth, each musical voice getting time and space alone while connecting with the other. The title track starts with bursts of fluttery, echoing sounds, followed by a long-toned plaintive melody calling to mind Montana’s terrain of mountains and wide-open plains. One characteristic element of all the songs is how the flutes will hit consonant harmonies that ring out dramatically, and dissonant unison lines that buzz gently yet also sooth in an odd sort of way.

On “Butterfly Dance” the flutes play lines that gently glide like the butterfly itself, answering and echoing each other in way that suggests the “round” form found in European folk and classical music. On “Turtle and Bird,” NightDancers take evocation literally. One flute moves in long-toned, deliberately paced turtle lines while the other play’s light riffs that flit and hop like our aviary brethren would. As the piece continues, the unitary theme comes through as the two flutes move together, conversing in similar voices that stills maintain their original animal character. “Elk Medicine” is a gentle wail of pleading and prayer and is one of the strongest tracks on the record. It is also an example of healing music. The opening cry is answered by melodies that create a sense of quietude and peace. And healing.

Ms. Clark and Mr. Sarantos take the healing aspects of their music literally. Clark, a RN, has been teaching people how to play the flute for meditation and stress relief. She also started New York City’s Miracle House Flute Circle where she works with cancer patients using music for healing. Sarantos teaches flute workshops all over the country.

Montana Crossings creates music that is relaxing and interesting, that can be played either as background or as an immediately engaging listen.

http://www.nightdancersmusic.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/nightdancersmusic

Whether it has to do with the philosophy of better living through habit, thought or magical action, things that are associated with “New Age” are theoretically supposed to have some basis in spirituality. Yet much of this spiritually is lightly rooted in the shallows of corporate productivity techniques or power-of-positive-thinking type truisms with some pseudo eastern promises for dressing.

Then there is the New Age philosophy that harkens back to something ancient, even primordial. This is especially visible in the music. So much of what is called New Age music is made from artificial ingredients, from canned sounds created by synthesizers tuned and programmed for maximum vapidity; and voices, always the voices, high and breathy with a thin, grating tone that someone somewhere decided signified the celestial. But there are musicians who create spiritual and contemplative music based in the traditions and sounds of antiquity, from nations and cultures with long shadows such as Africa, China, Japan and India.

Riding on this track is the group NightDancers, a duo consisting of flautists Gera Clark and John Sarantos, who perform original songs based on the folkloric styles of several Native American tribes. The music on their CD Montana Crossings is both ethereal and earthy, reflecting the unitary, all-is-one world view common to Native American cosmology. The songs are mostly built on simple three to seven note motifs that go through different permutations. The flutes – NightDancers plays twenty-five different kinds of these wooden, handcrafted instruments – blend together and dance, their music resonating in what sounds like a valley high up in the mountains or a cathedral (kudos to engineer Jim Anderson of AVATAR Studios in NYC). The effect of the music is meditative and dreamy. The music itself is never static or boring; in fact its intricacies reveal themselves with repeated listening. The titles evoke, perhaps invoke, aspects of the natural and supernatural worlds, which many indigenous tribes say are one and the same.

The song titles and how the pieces are composed and arranged reflect this thinking. Musically these pieces evoke the objects and ideas behind the titles as well. The opening track “Spirit Winds” starts with soft, breathy tones that rise from silence in unison. Then one flute states a simple theme that is answered by a counter melody from the other flute; they go back and forth, each musical voice getting time and space alone while connecting with the other. The title track starts with bursts of fluttery, echoing sounds, followed by a long-toned plaintive melody calling to mind Montana’s terrain of mountains and wide-open plains. One characteristic element of all the songs is how the flutes will hit consonant harmonies that ring out dramatically, and dissonant unison lines that buzz gently yet also sooth in an odd sort of way.

On “Butterfly Dance” the flutes play lines that gently glide like the butterfly itself, answering and echoing each other in way that suggests the “round” form found in European folk and classical music. On “Turtle and Bird,” NightDancers take evocation literally. One flute moves in long-toned, deliberately paced turtle lines while the other play’s light riffs that flit and hop like our aviary brethren would. As the piece continues, the unitary theme comes through as the two flutes move together, conversing in similar voices that stills maintain their original animal character. “Elk Medicine” is a gentle wail of pleading and prayer and is one of the strongest tracks on the record. It is also an example of healing music. The opening cry is answered by melodies that create a sense of quietude and peace. And healing.

Ms. Clark and Mr. Sarantos take the healing aspects of their music literally. Clark, a RN, has been teaching people how to play the flute for meditation and stress relief. She also started New York City’s Miracle House Flute Circle where she works with cancer patients using music for healing. Sarantos teaches flute workshops all over the country.

Montana Crossings creates music that is relaxing and interesting, that can be played either as background or as an immediately engaging listen.

http://www.nightdancersmusic.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/nightdancersmusic

When you ask someone why he or she likes a band, performer or style of music, the usual response is either, “they’re awesome,” “they rock” or “it’s fun stuff.” People tend to say that music is simply for entertainment. And as for musicians, the reason they play music either involves “the call” to do so or the ego-driven need to stand in front of a crowd. But why do we even have music? Is it, as Shakespeare stated, “to soothe the savage beast”? It’s not like it’s life or death. Or is it?  For Gera Clark and John Sarantos, who perform on Native American flutes as the NightDancers, music is that deep. Mr. Santos started with the simple desire to express himself musically, but discovered that the Native American flute, by its nature, takes one beyond pigeonholed functions, including new-age “meditation” music. Ms. Clark’s journey to music started with desperately needing something of a life line at a critical time. She states: “After a prolonged critical illness, I began to put my life back together… While on this spiritual path, I discovered the Native American flute.” In this era of art-as-diversion, or lifestyle accessory, it is a wonderfully pleasant surprise to be reminded that, as Clark and Santos reveal in the interview below, music is a powerful and healing force. [Mark Kirby] What kind of music was played in your home when you were growing up?[Gera Clark] My mother played classical music on the piano as an escape from her existence as an urban housewife raising four children. When I started school, my mother went back to work and I noticed her appetite for opera increased dramatically.  My father fancied himself as being Bing Crosby and I would catch him now and then trying to learn the cha cha.  Meanwhile, my sister would sneak in rock and roll. We aspired to write music together in the style of Carol King. We also listened to some of my relatives’ records, one being Seamus Ennis, my grand uncle who played the Uilleann pipes (an Irish type of bagpipes). [John Sarantos] During my early years, my mother would play classical and operatic music when I was in school, but very little music was played while I was home except at Christmas.[Mark Kirby] What kinds of music have you studied prior to the Native American flute?[Gera Clark] As a child, my mother would bribe me with soda to take piano lessons because she wanted me to be a child prodigy. When I was able to travel on my own, I took up the traverse flute, which I carried with me for three years.[John Sarantos] I tried learning the drums from the junior high school music teacher, but he told me I had no rhythm and would not work with me. After attending a Jethro Tull concert and being inspired by Ian Anderson’s flute playing, I tried the transverse flute, but was told by my flute instructor that I was tone deaf and she wouldn’t work with me. I tried singing, but I was told that I was tone deaf by three major Los Angeles voice coaches and they would not work with me.  I tried guitar and banjo, but it was hard to play just cords as I could not sing along with myself. Then I discovered the Native American flute.[Mark Kirby] How did you come to start playing Native American music in general, the flute in particular?[Gera Clark] After the death of my husband and a quick rebound marriage and divorce, followed by a prolonged critical illness, I began to put my life back together. I also began searching for beauty. While on this spiritual path, I discovered the Native American flute. One day, I found myself about a hundred miles west of New York standing outside a Tibetan Buddhist Temple, when suddenly I heard the most beautiful sound. Following the powerful, yet haunting sound, I discovered it emanating from a Native American flute, played by Ed Callshim (Ponca Sioux). After this experience, I finally found a flute of my own at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. Later, when traveling to Niagara Falls with my teacher, Amy Lee (Iroquois), a deep desire to connect with my earlier travels in the southwest was awakened. On one particular journey, I found myself exploring the canyons along the Rio Grande. Eventually I was led to the mountains and the Taos Pueblo, where I heard that haunting sound drifting through the air. I followed it to its source, a little adobe. Looking inside, I met a kind and talented gentleman who encouraged me to play the native flute. That gentleman, unbeknownst to me at the time, is one of the finest Native American flute players in the world, John Rainer, Jr. (Taos/Creek). Leaving New Mexico with renewed faith, I was led, via The American Indian Community House in New York, to Franc Menusan (Muskogee Creek). He became my extremely patient mentor for several years.On my birthday, I flew out to an R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo/Ute) concert with the San Francisco Symphony, where I learned about the Renaissance of the Native American Flute workshop in Montana. I came back to New York and booked myself a flight to Montana, which was where I met John Sarantos, and our musical partnership was born.[John Sarantos] My mother, who was 84-years-old at the time, introduced me to the music of the Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai duo. Mr. Kater, who is of German heritage, played piano, and Mr. Nakai the native flute. I discovered that I too like the sound of the native flute. I went to a Kater and Nakai concert in Chicago, where Nakai mentioned a week-long workshop at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Helena, Montana. I had a choice of paying about $1,200 for the flute workshop taught by Mr. Nakai and his partner and flute-maker, Ken Light, or going to Japan for two weeks, all expenses paid by the school where I was teaching. I chose Montana.[Mark Kirby] What lead you to play this kind of meditative music?[John Sarantos] We don’t think of it as only meditative music. We worked hard to stay away from falling into that stereotype of musical style on our CD. Although a lot of people use our record for meditation, they also use it for healing and relaxation. Several people who have cancer told me that they find inner peace while listening to ‘Montana Crossings’.[Gera Clark] In fact, after John had his cancer surgery last year, we decided that 10% of the gross sales from ‘Montana Crossings’ would be used to buy flutes for cancer patients. So far, we have donated flutes to cancer flute circles and individuals in New York City, Chicago, Lansing, Michigan and Jefferson City, Oregon. [Mark Kirby] Are Native American flutes more like shakuhachi flutes or transverse flutes in terms of technique?[John Sarantos] Neither. The shakuhachi can take three months just to get one note. The transverse requires many hours of playing to learn just the basic scale. The native flute is one of the easiest instruments to play. I have taught elementary children to play the native flute, and they have started playing songs in about five minutes or less.[Mark Kirby] Describe the flutes that you use in terms of size, number of holes, type of wood, etc.[Gera Clark] We use flutes ranging from four to six holes and from four inches to five feet.[John Sarantos] Traditionally, most flutes were made from soft woods; for example, cedar and pine. However, when the Europeans came, they brought with them tools that made it easier to create flutes out of harder woods; some flutes were even made from old gun barrels.[Gera Clark] Today, flute-makers are creating flutes from all types of woods, from cedars to walnut to iron wood, to even flutes made out of one of the hardest woods: ebony. [John Sarantos] We also have a wide assortment of clay flutes based on the Aztec and Mayan cultures made by master flute-maker Xavier Quijas Xyotol.[Mark Kirby] How did you arrive at the name of NightDancers for your musical duo?[Gera Clark] One day John and I were talking and discovered that we both used to walk around our individual houses in the middle of the night without any lights on. We came up with the name Night Walkers.[John Sarantos] However, most people we talked to thought that the name sounded too much like vampires or ladies of the evening.[Gera Clark] After discussing a variety of names, we came up with NightDancers.[Mark Kirby] When did you decide to record ‘Montana Crossings’?[Gera Clark] John and I had been playing together for about two years.  John would travel from Milwaukee during his vacations, and we would play for our friend Bob Hegler, who encouraged us to keep playing together. We enjoyed playing so much that we used to spend hours playing over speaker phones when John was still living in Milwaukee. When we started performing in local New York venues, people would ask if we had a CD they could purchase. After about a year of doing live performances, we felt that we had created a wide variety of songs that we wanted to share with others.[Mark Kirby] Why did you choose to record at Avatar Studios in New York City?[John Sarantos] I had been writing record reviews for the International Native American Flute Journal for about ten years and could tell when an artist used a home computer all the way up to a professional sound studio. If we were going to put our time, effort and money into a recording, we wanted it to sound the best it could. I asked several people if they could recommend a sound studio in New York City.  Avatar Studios was one of the top three studios on several people’s lists.[Gera Clark] We were also very fortunate that Tino Passante of Avatar recommended Jim Anderson for our sound engineer. Jim understood the sound that we were striving to obtain, and he succeeded in capturing that sound.[Mark Kirby] How are the titles connected to the songs you are playing? Are these titles indicative of what the music is supposed to evoke?[Gera Clark] The titles are indicative of the inspiration behind the music.[John Sarantos] Hopefully, each person will have their own emotional response to the music depending on their own journey.[Mark Kirby] What types of events or venues do you play?[Gera Clark] One of our goals is to help spread the beauty of the flute to others, whether it be playing our music for others to listen [to] or sharing our knowledge on how to play the flute. [John Sarantos] herefore, we play in a variety of venues for all types of events. You can view our schedule at: http://www.nightdancersmusic.com  and http://www.myspace.com/nightdancersmusic

‘Banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together…’-Mark Twain.

Sitting atop the trident of Lord Shiva , the Kashi, the luminous one, is the place where the eternal light of Shiva intersects the earth. The city of Shiva, the Mahashmashaana, the sacred circle of all Gods, city of Moksha- a place teeming with people, yet there is place for everyone. A civilization that historians have termed as one older than history, yet startles you when you come across its modern face

By virtue of being the oldest living city, Benaras has its own rich history, tradition and treasure of music. According to mythology, when Renu, son of Vishwamitra and Mahagovind founded Kashi (Varanasi), they also brought with them the Aryan traditions and the Vedic culture. Going back to history, we find numerous instances of dance, music and drama evolving in Varanasi. Excavations at Varanasi have shown a terracotta figurine in which two musicians are playing percussion instruments. The literature of ancient and medieval times also point out to a great tradition of music in Varanasi as in 14th century’s drama ‘Vikrant Kauravam’. The ‘Bhakti’ movement in the medieval period also contributed to the development of music in Varanasi. ‘Jataka’ tales narrate the storyeof Veena competition in the ‘Sudarshan’ city. Ashwaghosh in his famous work ‘Sunderananda’ describes Ganikaas of Kashi. In the 16th century Govind Chandra ruled Varanasi and during his rein Dhrupad was the royal music. It is said that Mian Tansen took birth in Varanasi. Texts say that Jaffar Khan, descendant of Bilas Khan (youngest son of Tansen), invented the instrument ‘Sursingaar’- lower part of which was made of hollow wood and steel plates were set in the upper part and the strings used were made of steel and brass, and gave his first demonstration of this instrument in the court of Raja Udit Narayan Singh of Kashi.

Varanasi, the seat of learning, virtually reverberates with the chants of Vedic hymns that are said to be the oldest genre of musical form. Dixitar (1776-1835), whose signature is Guru Guha-the most recent of the trinity of Karnatak music, is said to have studied Dhrupad in Varanasi. Of more recent times, Sitar maestro Bharatratna Pt. Ravi Shankar was born in Varanasi on 7th April 1920. Music is an integral part of this city of Natraj. The city has credit of producing several music virtuosos liked legendary Late Pt. Anokhelal Mishra, Late Bari Moti, Late Pt. Mahadev Prasad Mishra, Bharatratna Late Ustad Bismilla Khan, Padmavibhushan Late Pt Kishan Maharaj, Vidushi Girija Devi, Pt.Chhannulal Mishra, Vidushi Purnima Chowdhury, Pt.Rajan Sajan Mishra, Pt. Balwant Rai Bhatt”Bhavrang”, to name a few. Varanasi, the cultural capital of India, has always possessed a central position not only in the sphere of Indian Classical Vocal scenario but also has contributed much to the field of   Instrumental Music. Among the pioneers of Instrumentalists of Varanasi, the most revered and noted name is that of Pt. Laxmi Prasad Mishra. His descendants and disciples gave a wide platform to Stringed Instruments.

‘Sangeet Nayak’ Pt. Dargahi Mishra, a stalwart amongst musicians, played a vital part in promoting Stringed Instruments by producing disciples in the fields of Veena, Sarangi, and Sitar. His two sons, Sarayu Prasad Mishra and Govardhan Prasad Mishra were well known artists in the field of vocal and Sarangi. Mithailal Mishra was an acclaimed artist in the field of Veena and vocal. Musicians like Chote Ramdas Mishra (Veena), Pannalal Sharma (Veena, Surbahaar, Sitar), Shivprasad (Vocal, Sitar, Mridang), Kanta Nath Vyaas (Veena) and Srichand Mishra (Vocal, Sitar) played an important role towards the upliftment of Stringed Instruments in Varanasi. Amongst the string instrumentalists of Varanasi, Ustad Vaaris Ali was a huge personality and following his tradition were Ustad Ashiq Ali, Ustad Mushtaq Ali. Pt. Debu Choudhury of Delhi, disciple of Mushtaq Ali Khan, is a world renowned artist carrying forward the ‘parampara’ of his Guru. Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma too is related to the Banaras Parampara.

Legendary musician Baba Alauddin Khan Sahab’s disciples Pt. Ravi Shankar and Pt. Jyotin Bhattacharya (Sarod) are related to Varanasi. Pt. Ravi Shankar, as already mentioned, was born in Varanasi and Pt. Jyotin Bhattacharya resides with his family in Varanasi. Renowned musician Late Pt. Lalmani Mishra is a well known name in the field of Vichitra Veena who is known for his scintillating renditions on such a tough instrument. Carrying on his Parampara, his son, Late Dr. Gopal Shankar Mishra and Pof. Pushpa Basu are musicians of great repute.

Varanasi has a rich tradition of String Instuments of which Sarangi is one. Among the Sarangi players of Varanasi, Tamakhu Mishra has been a signature. He was not much into limelight and performative glamour. Other Sarangi players who made Varanasi proud of themselves are Sumernath Mishra, Sursahay Mishra, Kashinath Kinnar, Siya Ji, Birayi Ji, Sheetal Mishra, to name a few. Late Pt. Hanuman Prasad Mishra, father of the world renowned vocalists Pt. Rajan – Pt. Sajan Mishra was an artist of great repute.

Among the Guitarists of Varanasi, Sri Shibnath Bhattacharya (disciple of Late Pt. Nalin Mazumdar of Allahabad who was the first to play Indian Classical Muisc on Hawaiian Guitar), Sri Gopal Das, Dr.Sanjay Verma , Dr.S.Kamala are known figures in this field.

Bharatratna Late Ustad Bismilla Khan Sahab, a synonym of Shehnai is the most revered and noted name in the field of Wind Instruments. Vilayatu Miyan had been a great artist of this field and caryying on this tradition were Ali Baksh and Samsuddin Khan and finally Shehnai was taken to its heights by Bismilla Khan Sahab. In the present days we have Sri Ramashahkar , Sri Sohanlal who have taken the instrument ,which is almost a synonym of Hindu marriage, to its heights.

Also, the flautists who have made Varanasi proud of themselves are Sri. R.K.Srinivasan, Dr.Prahlad Nath,  to name a few.

Varanasi has been a confluence of musical genres. Not only North Indian Classical music but Karnatak music has been flourishing here too. Way back in 1964 Late Pt. V.K. Venkatramanujam, a violinist of great repute came to Varanasi and thus started the flow of Karnatak Music. Another stalwart violinist from South, Dr. ( Smt.) N. Rajam ( disciple of ‘Sangeet Martand’ Pt. Omkar Nath Thakr) stayed for a long time in Varanasi and headed the Faculty of  Performing Arts,B.H.U., as the Dean. Her renditions are of the Norh Indian style.

The tradition of Instrumental music in Varanasi has gone through various phases. Many a noted musicians have remarkably made Varanasi proud, bringing home laurels. Some noted instrumentalists of recent times are Late Dr Ramdas Chakraborty, Pt. Surendra Mohan Mishra, Dr. Rajbhaan Singh, Pt.Amarnath Mishra, Prof. Krishna Chakraborty (all Sitar) ; Prof. R.P. Shastri, Dr. V. Balaji, Dr. (Smt.) Jayashree Roy,Sri Sukhdev Mishra, U.H.R. Pradeep, Dr. Swarna Khuntia Sri Vijay Choubey (all Violin) ; Sri Santosh Mishra, Sri Kanhaiyalal Mishra, Sri Sangeet Mishra, Sri Sandeep Mishra( Sarangi) ; Dr. S. Kamala, Dr. Sanjay Verma (Guitar) ; Sri Rajesh Moitra, Sri Vibhas Maharaj (Sarod).

The style of performance as compared to the ‘Chaindaari’ of yester-years has changed a lot. The present day performances are comparatively in a faster pace with not much peace of mind and soul, which fulfils the demands of a commercialized society. This is what is the symptom of  the ‘Pop’- or rather the ‘Popular’ culture. By the impact of a Globalized market, improvisations in the built of the Musical Instruments has been carried out for the betterment of performances by the musicians of Varanasi. Artists like Dr. Vishnuchittan Balaji has designed a Violin which has eleven strings and this Volin has been named “Bala Bela” by Padmavibhushan Late Pt. Kishan Maharaj. Dr. V. Balaji has designed another Violin which has twenty-five string and has named it “Triveni Bela”. He is now working on a new set-up of a violin that has two necks in a body. Another technical improvisation that has been done by Dr. Sanjay Verma is that he has attached the ‘Daand’ of Tanpura to his guitar. Dr. S. Kamala has also made improvements in her Guitar by adding strings and has named it Shankar Guitar. As per the rendition on Guitar, the Guitarists have evolved the style of playing Chotakhyaal instead of the age-old Razakhani Gat and is accepted well. Violinists like Prof. R.P. Shastri and his disciple Dr. (Smt.) Jayashree Roy present their recital with a blend of Tantrakaari and Gaayaki Anga.

The changes that have been adapted in the built of various instruments have changed the tonal quality, which is more pleasing than of the yester-years and these  changes brought in by the instrumentalists of Varanasi have been acclaimed all over the world and has taken instrumental music to its heights.

the new contemporary classic music made in the world by
brazilian musician.

BRAZILIAN CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC MUSIC please, listen my music
named: “picture of death?!” to singer(mezzo_soprano) flute,
oboe, viola, cello, piano and other. if you like it l can send
all score to be played with your musician in your country.
thanks, robson dos santos, brazilian composer.
http://www.robsound.mus.br

08. Pictures of Death?! ……a. Dead?! ……b. Gravitating
…….c. Valley of the Souls ……d. Encounter with the Creator
…….e. Return http://www.robsound.mus.br/en/discography04.htm

About the Author: robson dos santos, brazilian contemporary
classic music composer.

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