Vijay Gupta, violin
Program Notes
Darshan means ‘seeing’ in Hindi. In the Hindu religion, to give ‘darshan’ is to see and worship God. As Vijay and I worked on this music together over three years, we began to see the divine in one another.
This movement, in Raag Charukeshi, is the first movement of five, which will be written over a span of five years. It explores grief, in its many facets and forms.
Recording
(see video at top of page)
Special Performance Requirements
No specific Hindustani technique is required for the performance of this piece — Western-trained violinists can certainly find everything they need on the page.
However, performers can gain further context by:
– Listening to performances of Raag Charukeshi (I find it equally useful to listen to longer performances on YouTube/Spotify as well as very short clips by typing #charukeshi into instagram)
– Becoming familiar with the sound of the sarangi (bowed string instrument commonly used in Hindustani tradition — wonderful players include Pankaj Mishra and Ram Narayan)
– Listening to the music of Kala Ramnath, an incredible Hindustani classical violinist.
Audio Guide
Premiere/Performances
This piece was commissioned by Vijay Gupta. It was first premiered (in its first iteration) with Taos New Music Group in Taos, New Mexico on September 22, 2018.