Chants, Hymns and Dances - Review

Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos - Chants, Hymns and Dances yes thats the album that has me captivated this weekend.
There is another album as well but i will come to that laterz.
Anja Lechner, cellist from Germany is a master of her art and so is the amazing Greek pianist (many say the greatest ever) Vassilis Tsabropoulos a master of classical music as well as a master interpretor of 19th and 20th century music.
This album is a unique coming together of these amazing musicians to bring to life chants , hymns and dances.
The pieces are boundary crossing experiments and has wonderful fusion of the contemporary simplistic approach as well as the classicism that we have come to expcet from both these masters.
Most of the album us based on melodies by Gurdjieff. Some pieces are composed by Vassilis himself as well.
Now for the music.
Yes at the surface this looks like another world music album with a piano and violincello that is difficult to listen to in its entirety because of the monotonic nature that we have come to expect from most of what is going around.
But this album is curiously different.
Yes the album has calm and peace written all over it . But Vassilis and Lechner achieve two things that are hard to find nowadays.
First they play to the feel ie. there is never a moment in the album where you feel a ancient greek music segment hit you on the face or a bavarian piece shout at you.
The cultural inputs are there but are so subtely put in as though they came in naturally while playing.
The other thing that makes this album unique is the variety and improvisations thrown in.
There is never a moment is the album where you feel there is repetition and there is never a moment where you feel its not music !
Welcome to the world of modes and its master Vassilis who plays his fingers through modes and keeps the listener interested all through. Lechner on other hand complements the feel with the same variety in her violincello playing.
The tempo , the peace the mournful everything is so delicately played.
This is a disc that you must give a spin to.
Albums like these dont come every year.
And artistes like these need more patronage.

Its difficult to singlel out favourite tracks from this album. i wont do it this time because i treat this album as a single piece of masterful work.

Recco : If you like this album be sure to checkout Vassilis's two albums "Akroasis" and "Melos" . They are awesome as well.

My 5 rupee song

Poor little 5 rupee song ,
Oh poor little 5 rupee song ...

of a whisper and a smile,
of a cry and tears,
... of a winter and so many falls ...

For those who swore at it,
And those who swear by it ,
You'll never know the bargain i made ...

A bargain so tender ,
A bargain so gentle,
There'd be no hunger had such bargains existed ...

Whoever u are and wherever u be,
When the music plays between your ears,
u will know a part of you is me ...

What i did'nt write ...

A million funny things are what life is about,
A million funnier things in store,
Amidst all the glory and happiness,
There lies more in store.

Countless are what emotions are ,
Countless are the beginnings and ends,
Amidst all the alleys running blind,
There are more to help commence.

Millions of moments are what we are all about,
None regrettable to sink and trash,
A moment of joy can be what life is all about,
Coz after sharing that you will never be the same ...

Story concept!!!

Finally a idea worth penning !!!

Yes !!! finally got a idea that can be made into a story.
The basis,
i)The people that we are today is the result of the many state changes that we have had over time.
ii)We still settle scores of the past , today without even being aware . Someone was blessed with the power of knowing that.
iii)The war between the asura and dev is still raging. Its just that no one  tries to read it.

and a whole lot more...

Feeling excited about this. Wanna make this stuff , dreams are made of.
i just need some space and some silent days to bind the initial work.

Cheers!!!

A whisper , a song

On a walk down the path,
On a day of the rain,
i heard a rhyme,
Echo of a whisper somewhere

Seen life through the glass,
Seen wonders through time,
None this blissful,
Time must have felt so demure...

Then came the words,
And the pictures,
As the phantom showed me way,
i felt lost and unaware ...

Unchanged still...

When i was a little one,
'n i wouldn't get what i desired,
i would have a moist cheek,
'n my eyes would taste like the sea

Then seeing the sad sea ,
you'd console me with the object of adore,
i would be all but happy,
i would yell that i didn't need it anymore...

As time swept the child within,
Corroded the flake of innocence thin,
A soul full of  emotions,
Molded and changed that object of desire

Caught with melancholy and  ire,
i could not smile at the impotence of love,
Resolve had deserted me on my own,
To rue the days when i could yell 'n shed a tear...

Drafting the first act

Hey,

Just finished drafting the text for the first act. Lots of work to do :(  .
First is to create a template on which the characters can speak/recite on and yes write the song dialogue. It is really tough. But hell!, i am enjoying it.
The theme is friendship , as i think i have been blessed with real good friends and this is one way i feel i can show my thankfulness to the gems and angels.
This has borne out of a lot of reflection that no matter what happens there is a very basic chord that binds real friends and no damn thing can snap it.
Friends will always be together...  
This will be my tribute to the three pillars of my life.
Friendship has come in so many forms and with so many layers that i could not help but write my first(and hope not the last) song drama to remember them and for anyone who reads the writing to know MY friends , the ones i will be proud of having shared so many moments with till i rest finally.

The principal characters would be "the he,the girl , she and his friend". And how his world changes/revolves/happens around these characters.
My plan is to keep it in a dialogue style  interspersed with songs describing occasional emotional extremities.

So no names! As i thought that would cut a dimension off friendship. The story will have its own share of fiction just for the drama but the moments and emotions would be , i swear real!

Gosh writing the first text draft has made me so nostalgic and well ! Sleepy...
I'd rather zzzzzzzzzzz............


Som

My faaavvvv. Pair...

Ah the three act thing is going to take longer than i had actually thought.
Lots of organized thought required , maybe that is the reason some people talk about something called a  "creative break"...

Any ways just before i take the plunge into the depths of  drama , i thought it would be a good idea to pay tribute to one of the most treasured things of my life...


My absolute favourite pair,
the reason for all the flair,
went on  a holiday,
on that fateful Friday...


It made me so different,
Everything was similar by way of the color,
It made me so similar,
Everyone was so lured by desire...


The silly wave had a plan so sinister,
if only i had known its desire that day,
i wouldn't have taken my favourite pair,
surely not to see it float away...



...In memory of my very first pair of sunglasses
...that now rest at the bed of the ocean...

WishList 2010

Ooh a pretty long list,

i)I absolutely need to complete my goal for a long time of writing a three-act-song drama....Its going to be tough but i will have to...

ii)Put the thing to tune...(Hell this is going to take time)...I might just take the libery of tinkering with this proposition or contemplate a easier alternative and that won't be cheating!


iii)Continue learning guitar from where i had slipped into a leisurely break...

iv)Breathe and well ! ,
    keep the job...


Its a pretty long list with chances of this spilling over to the next year very high.  :)
But i have to have to write up that three act song thing...

Wish me luck friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lovelorn lunatic ...

Remember that day ,
i cried for the bad ,
and laughed at the good,
do you still remember...

As the snaps pass you by,
Spare me a thought,
spare yourself a calm moment,
don't let them pass so easy by...

all matter gray went pale that day,
time did not permit me the chance,
waited for long ,
only to see it die...

feelings veiled beyond my favorite eyes,
failed to thwart the demon,
footsteps of  a merry Christmas,
already running late...

Random... really...

From across the distance,
The stars gazed at me,
i shed my ignorance,
to comprehend what i did see...


i showed myself,
your sight didn't ignite me,
acceptance had deprived thou,
as retribution ignited thee...

Empty

Empty mind 'n empty heart,
i have always loved it that way,
Compromise was never my strength,
Eternal maya my nemesis...


Oh empty so vast,
Oh empty pofound,
Dont let anyone know,
Where i was damned...


A silent prayer,
To the empty outside,
Dont you ever desert ,
Till the tears run dry...

Food and thought

I am food for your thought,
I am food for your brain,
Hungry, i could'nt care less,
Don't have any of your obsessive restraints...

U feed on my hunger,
while i thrive for bad bread,
Thoughtless u live no more,
Worried i am dead...

Fading...

You're moon for the dying sun,
You're light for my lost moon,
The bed is a pool of moon light,
Where my soul finds peace...


You heal me like nothing can,
Reason i dont fade away...

Dont want you to be my final rest,
Coz' your light makes my dark weak,
May i no longer feel the pain,
May i no longer will to be alive...

The kid in the woods

The woods are dark,
'tis a prison for the damned,
We met in the woods,
With the pain in the dark...

The ball from the kid's hands,
Came rollin' towards me,
The moment still and the sound of the dry leaves,
'Knew was stuck on the other side...

Kiddo was happy , i afraid,
Kiddo playin' , i still,
The crow was looking for me,
i knew , oh , i knew ...

Engulfed in the black,
i followed kiddo,
Trying to run from the woods,
Put an end to this nightmare...

Kiddo' playfully ran,
No sign of the Sun,
Moonlight hidden from us,
i treaded the terrain as he did......


Only to find me,
   Back Home

Happiness:An Abstraction?

How many times have we seen people real happy?
Well for me the answer would be umm! lemme see! well ... dont know maybe 1 or two maybe none...
This thought has been distracting me too often and I just decided to key them down on my CRT and let go...
Vedas and every spiritual sect says happiness is an abstraction.
REalities,
i)A puff of smoke from my cigar gives me happiness.
ii)Fat salary at the end of a working month gets me happiness.
iii)A few shots of tequila does!!!
and so on and so forth.

All I know is happiness is a result of bio-chemical reaction taking place in our body because of teh secretion of certain hormones and enzymes. And I get that feeling not at the cost of others will be good enough.
Is'nt the thought that I have never done any harm to any one the biggest thing to be happy about?
Happiness is the waterfall of joy formed by cascades of the better deeds of ones life.
Well this is another way of looking at it...
What do you think my friend?
Or maybe Happiness is just a state of mind. But wait a sec isn't it all linked???

A state of mind that is the destiny of a person who sums up the good deeds of his life into that waterfall of positive emotions and derive happiness from that ...

Dont know whether much of that made sense but I am real hapy now after writing a post on my blog in a long time...
Hope to get better next time around.

Hopeless hopes

I'm waiting for the genie,
Who knows right and wrong,
'm lookin at the stars,
To which one does he belong...

Look at the river life weeping,
Hear the trees moan,
Waiting for a Darwin,
To make them fitter than most...

I wish for a certain dreamland(wonderland),
I wish we could all listen and understand,
I know this is not much,
I pleaded genie the command...

Alas genie is my hopeless soul,
Which does have the choice,
And I will make the most of it,
While the chimneys rejoice...

Celebration of life in a moment

Yeah man!!! Yesterday was a dull day.Was feeling bored and drained out.I turned on the radio and heard a song "SeeSaw" of PinkFloyd playing.The song took me to my childhood, and I realized that life is not that BAD as we make it out to be. It has given so many moments to cherish and learn from that I decided to try and write up something as a tribute to one of the most important boons of life MOMENTS.And each moment has threed imensions past,present and future.

Celebration of life in a moment
--------------------------------
One more dry smoky afternoon,
Of a day that would never come again,
I see the faces from the window panes,
Staring out to see it all...

Old story books on the shelf,
Reminds us of our schooldays,
The up n down of the seesaw,
And the whirl of my fair lady...

The bird spreads it's wings,
For it's first flight across the cliff,
And you pray to the Allmighty,
To let it float and fly...

Every moment is lost in the next,
Nature of time is linear,
And it will never be back,
Yes ! the clock wont tick back...

The serious ILLNESS of LOGIC

This is one strange experience I had the other day.It was one typically hot Kolkata afternoon and I was travelling in a cab.I had a Lazy look out of the cab's window and saw a well ! insane woman standing on the footpath and singing a melodic strain. No ! I am not trying to be a 'Wordsworth' here.But there was something about the way she looked that made me feel that here is a lady who thinks singing a song on a footpath at the highest pitch is as normal as asking some traveller what the time is.
Just then the cab driver told his aide "Do you know there are insane people of all ages in KOLKATA ".
And I thought these downtrodden people should be finding us 'the sane' equally illogical and irrartional.Yes ! defintely there is a parallel existance in our day to day lives. These people are equally disapprove of our so called rational activities.
I smiled unknowingly thinking all of us are two sides of the very same coin and the SErious illness of LOgic is the fact that it tries to counter itself too often.