Zakir Hussain and “Masters of Percussion”
The distinguished classical tabla genius nowadays, Zakir Hussain conveys vivid performances that have recognized him as a national symbol in his native India and one of the world's most valued and dominant musicians, popular for his collaborations with players from all over the world. “Master of Percussion” is the touring group of Hussain and his father and other members. They have successful tours in the West since 1996. Joining the group in 2014 are musicians from India and one member of the western society who is also one of the best players on western drums. I am very happy to have the opportunity to see these masters of drums in one place and to enjoy their virtuosity. That was a great concert that took place on April 4th, 2014 at Chicago Symphony Center. I am going to tell you everything about it as you were there.
Zakir Hussain is valued in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as a global sensation. A classical tabla master of the highest order, his amazing and exciting performances have not only established him as one of the best performers in India but also made him famous worldwide. He is the master of improvisation accompanied with massive knowledge and talent. The concert which I attended proved the biography that I have read and even more. He is so talented that he was able to imitate the sounds of Chicago’s traffic with his tabla (an Indian percussion instrument), as well as different animals, and events with many actions, for example, how we as audience were coming to watch the concert, have drinks and go back home, performed only with his instrument. It was amazing and very amusing. The knowledge about tabla comes to Zakir from his father, the legendar...
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...oso on his instrument, as well as a well-recognized player in the Indian film industry. He and Zakir Hussain performed their duet and presented the traditional Indian music and its variety. Chavan also played a couple songs solo in order to show us his excellence with the dholki. I was surprised by the sound the drum produced. I heard both very low and high pitches coming from the dholki. This is another traditional Indian percussion instrument which I am familiar with now.
I loved the performance of “The Masters of Percussion” which was very different from what I have seen and listened to before. I really enjoyed the concert and learned a lot about the Indian traditional music and instruments. I would recommend everyone to go see and listen to the “Masters of Percussion” next time when they are in Chicago because I would definitely be there again.
Beck, John. Encyclopedia of Percussion. 2nd ed. New York: Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, 2007. Accessed May 15, 2014. http://books.google.com/books?id=8U83AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Percussion has evolved from a small category to a wide variety of simple and technical instruments. Percussion is a category of musical instruments that is played using the hands or with a handheld stick/beater. Percussion started thousands of years ago when people played rhythms on random objects to please their friends and scare their enemy’s. People over the years discovered different ways to hit the objects.
In conclusion, it was a very unique experience for me to attend this concert. It was my first time listening to music in a church. The music was wonderful and played brilliantly. I now realize how talented some of the women composers were throughout the history of music. The experience of listening to such wonderful music firsthand was an honor. I hope to attend one in the near future.
...xcited to have this experience. Part of the drama of the concert at first is felt when the musicians come in and sit down and begin tuning up their instruments. I would not be able to comment on the performance of the orchestra. During the performance, I seen the audience were moving with the music, but I felt like that everyone seems knows more music than what I learned throughout this semester. After I went home and did some of the research on these music I finally understand why these people like to attend the orchestra concerto, it was because that every piece of music has a history behind it. The Los Angeles audience seemed to me to be people who know music and who will listen to something new in a respectful way. All the same, when the more familiar sounds of the last piece were heard, I could feel a little sense of relaxation and fun coming into the room.
Miller, Terry E., Sharhriari, Andrew. World Music: A Global Journey. 3rd ed. New York & London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Overall, I was very impressed by the concert and I feel that the rest of the audience was also. The expectations for the members of the Chamber Orchestra are high and those were met but I feel that the expectations for the choral group were not as high. My expectations for the choir were not very high and they were immensely exceeded. The level of talent in that group was something that I was really not expecting at all. Emotionally, I was brought in by The Lord Nelson Mass and it was an interesting experience. Technically, I feel that everyone was flawless though I do not have a lot of experience in music. The type of music performed will never be my favorite; however, it is something that I can really appreciate.
Miller, Terry, and Andrew Shahriari. World Music: A Global Journey. New York, London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2006.
The stress of always doing the same day-to-day routine eventually causes someone to break. In Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance, the second piece, features a large group of dancers in suits who stand in a semi-circle with a chair sitting directly behind each person. The dancers use tension and looseness in their movements as well as use different aspects of timing to perform a repetitive sequence that shows how the same patterns lead to breaking free from confinement within themselves.
The two concerts that I chose to go see were Stanislaus State Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensembles & Combos Concert. These two concerts are both very similar yet different in their own ways. Each piece also has many attributes to contribute and it was fun being able to watch two very different genres.
The rest of the trumpet section was also very lively; I felt they carried the main theme in almost every song which certainly kept me interested in the performance. The conductor kept the band on time, and to me they never missed a beat. One could tell they were certainly well rehearsed and truly knew how to use their instruments. A lot of music these days has become focused on generating the catchiest lyrics or chorus, so seeing this jazz ensemble was very refreshing. I was delightfully surprised to see such remarkable music talent at a performance of that size and caliper.
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
Congolese guitarist, singer, bandleader and composer Francois Luambo Makiadi (Franco) “the sorcerer of the guitar” was 20th century Africa’s most important musician; he was the greatest. My opinion is amply supported by the recent release of two double CD retrospectives Francophonic Volume 1(1953-1979) & 2 (1980-1989). The sets demonstrate Franco’s amazing longevity, prolificacy, and innovation. From 1950 until his death in 1989, he record over a thousand songs, created a dominate style of African guitar playing, trained generations of musicians, and attained a status equivalent in Africa to Elvis or the Beatles in the West. These collections allow the listener to discover not only the evolution of a musical genius, but also the history of one of the world’s great dance traditions, Congolese rumba.
I started learning this vibrant dance, Kathak when I was 9 or 10 years old and believe me it has really revolutionized my lifestyle. The tabla’s thekas along with the humble company of the harmonium (Indian piano), the melodies flute and sitar and the rhythmic ghungroos create an ambience so divine and pure that it feels
Another example equally as potent and yet sadly overlooked by many particularly those outside India is that of Kathak. A classical Indian dance, today held in great esteem among the 6 great classical dances of India, 21st century Kathak combines incredibly complex technique and elegant, slow abhinaya (or story telling) and owes almost the entirety of its current day form to the Mughals. The transformation that Kathak underwent from its original form to how we see it today that occurred during Mughal Era is perhaps the most underestimated and truest remaining symbol of the vibrant Indo-Islamic cultural melding that occurred under the patronage of the Mughals, and to...