Please see below Caroline's article on tabla, the Benares gharana (of which she is a disciple) and her return to a tabla involvement with the Pitt Rivers Museum, as it appears in the Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum magazine, and our programme note.
Indian Tabla at the PRM - Programme Note
Our first performance in 2018 began with a short solo tabla performance where I showcased a composition called Gat followed by Rela (composition in fast phrases) and Tukhara (composition finishing with a mathematic concept called Tihai). This was accompanied by Neil on keyboard with a 16 beat melodic time cycle. We followed this with tabla accompaniment for Neil while he sang a Bhajan in keherwa (8 beat rhythm) “hum bache hain tum hare…” and then a happy dadra (6 beat rhythm) piece we call “Kushi Ki sunshine.” Afterwards we spent time with those wanting to ask questions about the tabla as well as the singing, which was fun. Adding to this performance - the next time, Neil sang a Sikh shabad and part of a very inspiring Qawwali song which also gave some idea of different accompanying styles on tabla.
Comments