Melody Ecstatic: Via Jack White, Lost Traces of Carnatic Music
Sounds for higher-level meditation....
Various Artists
How The River Ganges Flows: Sublime Masterpieces of Indian Violin 1933-1952
Third Man Records
Oh, the strange crosscurrents of the hyperconnected life.
Last week, at the exact moment Jack White was thrilling the Saturday Night Live audience with his homage to Eddie Van Halen, somebody somewhere was settling into a meditative position, with the candles going and the sound full on. Preparing to explore the intense, compositionally rigorous performances of Indian violin music just released by White’s eclectic Third Man Records.
You’d really have to search to find two more dissimilar examples of virtuosity connected to one individual. White’s understanding of the sound mechanics of the electric guitar is well established; ever since the early White Stripes records, he’s threaded aspects of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and others into a physically engrossing, instantly identifiable signature.
As head of Third Man Records, White has done the work of the record-collecting angels in a quieter way, reissuing vital punk and alternative rock titles that have been left homeless in the aftermath of label and business failures over the years. On a parallel track, he’s begun to champion unusual artifacts from deep marginalia like this wondrous compilation.
How The River Ganges Flows showcases intimate performances of South Indian classical music, known as Carnatic music, that were captured long ago – and cleaned up for release by archivist Christopher King from original 78-RPM vinyl. Some of the musicians, including Bengail violinist Paritosh Seal, are revered today, some are less well known. All combine technical mastery with a deeply inquisitive spirit.
And all of them approach the violin as though it were a singing voice – though these pieces follow the intricate formal frameworks of Indian classical music, the melodies are incessantly lyrical. They mix broad, declarative statements with slight swoops and wriggling ornamentations. Often these are situated within a static, droning harmony – one pleasure of pieces like the opening “Raga Ahir Bhairi” is hearing violinist Seal execute finely calibrated pitch-bending curls that push against the dominant tone like great blues singers do.
There are a few pensive moments that are tailor-made for your next meditation playlist – most notably the two-part “Ragamalika Ragam Thanam” by Dwaram Venkatswamy Naidu, the partially blind legend whose likeness, as painted by R. Crumb, is the compilation’s cover image. But more often, this lively music is both pulse-quickening and calming at the same time – it’s an invitation to gaze deeply inward, and also a reminder to not get too comfortable, because everything can change in an instant.
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