For me watching this clip is big fun! The band Secret Chiefs 3 play a piece called ‘Vajra’.
‘Vajra’ by the Secret Chiefs 3 turns out to be a well done, enjoyable cover of veena genius S. Balachander’s sixties-recording of ‘Neethumahima’, a composition in raag ‘Hamsanandhi’, as you can check out in a YouTube-video (below) I published in 2008.
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Earlier today I published a short message on great footage – published on YouTube – of veena player S. Balachander. In addition to this I thought it’d be nice to show a folder used for one of his concerts in the sixties.
Front- and backpage of the veena recital-brochure (click on the picture to enlarge, twice for extra large)
I found this beautiful veena recital-brochure in the Peter van Hoboken papers at Radio Netherlands, a small, but very fine collection I try to write about now and then.
Inside pages of the veena recital-brochure (click on the picture to enlarge, twice for extra large)
I don’t know how Van Hoboken did get this folder, but it seems to me it was either sent to him or he visited a concert of veena maestro S. Balachander himself. Neither the date, nor the location of the concert recital are mentioned, but I guess it was used to inform an audience in India, since the folder was printed in Madras.
OMG, fantaaastic! I can watch this clip all day!!!
Amazing footage of the greatest veena genius, S. Balachander. In this set he’s playing a garland of ragas. There’s some funny moments as well, revealing a bit more of his personality. His playing is monumental and totally unique. Soo inspiring and uplifting to watch this. I think serious, improvising musicians from all over the world – regardless of their musical and cultural background – will easily get inspired by this stupendous veena playing.
An hour of beautiful raga music by Ravi Shankar (sitar), Parthasarathy Desikan (vocal), Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena) and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (slide guitar/mohan veena), in Wereldmineralen, Friday April 29th. 2011, 19.00-20.00 (dutch time), a broadcast I’ve produced for The Concertzender.
I think this is great, an interview in three parts with brilliant and versatile veena-player Jayanthi Kumaresh, a carnatic artist whose work I’ve been following for years. I hugely admire her playing and I really hope to meet and interview her one day.
Interview – Part One
Interview – Part Two
Interview – Part Three