Divine Light: The Living Indian Choral Tradition
Somerville College Choir, Oxford
Nirmala Rajasekar (saraswati veena)
V. Srinivasan (mridangam)
Will Dawes (conductor)
Luminous, sublime, joyful. The soundscapes and emotions captured in the latest disc from Somerville College Choir abound with light. In this curated selection of music from the Indian subcontinent, you will find a vibrant expression of what might be called the living Indian Choral tradition.
As plural and changing as light within a prism, the album moves from the fluid harmonies of a Konkani wedding song to deep somatic meditations inspired by the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore, from Hindi secular poetry associated with the changing seasons to a whole-choir explosion of joyful rhythmic syllables in Reena Esmail’s virtuosic raga exposition.
In this humble tribute to the monumental tapestry of Indian classical music, the Somerville College Choir gives the boldest expression yet of its aspiration to embrace musical styles far beyond the liturgical canon.
About the Artists: Somerville College Choir, Oxford; Will Dawes
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