Acoustic Roots: RaagMala Suite

On Friday 10 June, you can attend a recording of Acoustic Roots in the Kargadoor at the Oudegracht in Utrecht. This time, we have RaagMala Suite as guest. The broadcast of this recording will be a week later on Friday 17 June.

RaagMala Suite is a composition
based on the classical Indian raga music tradition. A raga determines
the scales or modes which the musicians can use, but also the
way they should play the music.

The recurring theme in the Indian classical music is finding a balance between the composed and the free musical elements. It is up to the
artist to maintain the proportions between the composed aspects and the improvisations. A large number of ragas in the Indian musical culture is devoted to different emotions and their varieties. Ragas offer many possibilities for musical interpretations.

The Suite is composed by three musicians from Amsterdam with various cultural backgrounds: Marynka Nicolai-Krylova, Avi Kishna and Maxim Chapochnikov. The Suite consists of five ragas. Together they form a cycle (Love-Happiness-Anger-Sorrow-Peacefulness). The name RaagMala Suite comes from the concept Raagmala (rāgmālā), that is a term in Indian music which literally stands for Chain of ragas. RaagMala Suite is an improvisational conversation between the grand piano, the traditional Indian instrument sarod and electronics with ethnic percussion.

The music of RaagMala Suite appeals to the emotions. The Indian ragas have innately a strong meditative nature. Listeners immerse themselves in the music and are confronted with their own inner world. A subtle connection is created, an exchange between the musicians and the audience. This connection can even affect the contents of the performance.

The music style of RaagMala Suite
is hard to define. The devisers of RaagMala Suite are inspired by Eastern (Indian) music principles, Western neoclassical music, impressionistic music from the beginning of the 20th century
and modern electronic music. The sound is new and innovative and
the interpretation of the ragas is anything but conventional.

Performers:

• Marynka Nicolai-Krylova - piano
• Avi Kishna - sarod
• Maxim Chapochnikov - percussion, elektronics

For more information and music videos:

http://imperceptibleart.eu/raagmalasuite

RaagMala Suite will be a guest in Acoustic Roots, Friday 10 June 2016 at 20:15. The programme will be recorded in the Kargadoor, Oudegracht 36, Utrecht. There is room for a limited number of visitors and you can order tickets (€5) at the Kargadoor or tickets can be bought on site.