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Reena Esmail

Composer

TaReKiTa

July 7, 2016 by

Program Notes

I wrote TaReKiTa as a gift for a choir called Urban Voices Project. They are a choir of people who are currently or have recently experienced homelessness on Skid Row in Los Angeles. They are so dear to me, and one day I just decided to teach them about Indian rhythm. They enjoyed the lesson so much that I wanted to write them a piece that would use what I had taught them. The result was TaReKiTa – I literally wrote it in an hour, just in a single moment of inspiration, and recorded myself singing all the parts for them to learn. It has since become a staple of their repertoire, but it’s also been sung by so many choirs around the world. There is just something about the piece, perhaps borne out of my love for this choir, that just seems to resonate with people.

Practically speaking, this piece is based on sounds the Indian drum, the tabla, makes, called “bols” — they are onomatopoeic sounds that imitate the sound of the drum. The result is something like a scat would be in jazz – ecstatic, energetic, rhythmic music that feels good on the tongue.

Recording

Los Angeles Master Chorale and bharatanatyam dancer Shalini Haupt

Special Performance Requirements

This piece does not require Indian classical singers – a Western-trained choir can sing this piece. However, it can also definitely be sung by Indian classical singers with no Western training, if learned by ear. The piece is in Raag Jog.

Text

Dha Tarekita, Dhum Tarekita, Nom Tarekita Takadimitaka

Takadimi Takajanu Takadimi Na

Audio Guides

Here is a series of audio guides to aid with pronunciation and style.
Please note: This is a playlist – there are three parts to this series.

Hand Gesture (Mudra) Explanations

Shalini Haupt, the dancer and choreographer in TaReKiTa has put together a tutorial for the hand gestures that accompany the video of TaReKiTa. While the hand gestures are not mandatory to performing the piece, they are a way to engage more deeply with the Indian classical dance tradition called Bharatanatyam.

Shalini Haupt explains each mudra
combinations of the mudras into the groups (choreography on video)

Premiere/Performances

This piece was written for Urban Voices Project . It was premiered in September 2016, at The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles.

Since then, the piece has sold thousands of copies, and has been performed by choirs all over the world.

More Information

Here is an article written for the Oxford University Press blog about TaReKiTa

Related Catalog Items

  • Quarantine Madrigals
  • Ave Maria
  • The Love of Thousands
  • I Rise: Women in Song (4-voice+single instruments)

TaReKiTa is available from Oxford University Press.

Instrumentation: SATB (also available in SSAA and TTBB)

Duration: 2 minutes

Year: 2016

Movements: 1

Languages: No language, but Indian syllabic structure.

Written for: Urban Voices Project

Program Notes

Recording

Special Performance Requirements

Text

Audio Guides

Hand Gesture (mudra) Explanations

Premiere/Performances

More Information

Copyright © 2023 Reena Esmail | All Rights Reserved.