Yash Raj Studios

The first few days of the tour were spent in Mumbai, rehearsing and recording with the Babelsberg film orchestra and Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson at Yash Raj Film Studios.  The campus is beautiful - manicured lawns, lush greenery and flowers line the edges of the plot and those who need a moment to think can hang out in the Artist's Lounge or sit in the Atrium.  I was particularly impressed with the amount of land that had been acquired to house 3 sound stages, an audio wing, a massive film mix theater, and a recording theater that can fit an 80 piece orchestra with an attached monitor room that is twice the size of my apartment.  We took a short tour around the campus and there were quite a few moments of "Wait.  Where am I?!"  The experience was amazing and finally getting to meet Alan was wonderful.

YRF Studios, Main Building

Film Mix Theater

Foley Studio

The Recording Theater - this is where we met the orchestra for the first time and had our first rehearsal with Matt Dunkley and ARR.  This is also where we recorded 'What a Wonderful World' for the Oscars!

First rehearsal with Matt, choir, ARR and orchestra

Alan was so excited to show me the final mix of Lord of the Rings and said such nice things to me about my voice.  I was absolutely speechless and listened to him with delight and total bewilderment.  The whole time I kept thinking, "Alan Meyerson… Inception… Alan Meyerson… Pirates… Alan Meyerson… Sherlock Holmes… "  The best compliment he gave me though was, "It's a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre." I don't know if non-musicians would fully comprehend the weight of that statement.  Most musicians feel pressure to fit within a category - to define their work and their talent based on other artists and absolute definitions.  I've always felt a pressure to conform to these definitions; to try and work towards a particular sound or strive to change my voice to fit within a category.  Music teachers, especially in America are at fault here too.  "Bigger bigger bigger!  Push push push!  Darker darker darker!"  The problem with this is… my voice will always be my voice.  I can improve the support, I can get fit and increase my energy, I can work on breathing and technique… but the actual sound of my voice, the timbre will change only a little bit.  Alan helped me understand and appreciate the voice I have because it pulls from various influences yet doesn't conform to any one style or genre.  For that, I am grateful.

I enjoy singing everything from Pop, Gospel, Bollywood and Fado, to Musical Theatre and Opera.  And if I can do it, why shouldn't I? :)

Classic Incantations Backstage

Photo with Mr. Boss after the Mumbai concert!

 With Matt Dunkley!

What an incredible experience...

Classic Incantations Photos

Some photos from the event!

Press photo
Thank you Varun Nair, and PADeepak for the photos :)

KMMC Chamber Choir.  My babies!

Passage 

Passage

Spot ARR!  Photo taken after Bombay concert

Lord of the Rings with Arun Kamath

Elizabeth: Golden Age

Kiss from Matt Dunkley

Mausam & Escape

Passage 

DNA E-Paper

Review of 'Classic Incantations' on DNA E-Paper:

Classic Incantations Review

I found an amazing review of the concert tour 'Classic Incantations' by one of ARR's biggest fans.  He came to the Chennai concert and not only loved it, but wrote an amazing review that included audio clips!

Click on the link for the full review: http://www.backgroundscore.com/2012/01/classic-incantations-concert-review.html

Some excerpts from the blog:


PASSAGE SUITE
By the end of the first three pieces - Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Lagaan and Mangal Pandey, anyone who haven’t seen the films and doesn’t know the purpose of the music, is definitely bound to come to a conclusion that all orchestral pieces of A.R.Rahman sound similar and might feel that the concert is already turning monotonous. That is why it is a brilliant idea to have Passage Suite as the next piece, which is far removed from the bangs, drum rolls and bombastic brass sounds of the first three period film pieces. Passage exhibited the tender tones of the orchestra and what it takes for a Soprano to raise and soar over a 100-piece orchestra. Kavita Baliga, the soprano gave an exquisite rendition of Aria from Passage, with her voice rendering a wide array of emotions through crests and troughs, straight notes and vibratos in A.R.Rahman’s invigorating melody. Waltz, the end credits music from the film Passage followed, but surprisingly, with Kavita Baliga singing some Italian verses along with the orchestra which weren’t present in the original. Waltz is an all out western classical composition from A.R.Rahman with not a note of Indianness in it.


LORD OF THE RINGS SUITE
With the serene Canyon (instrumental version of “If I Rise” song) theme and excerpts from Acid Darbari 127 Hours suite became the Concert’s quietest piece. It was an exceptionally moving performance by the Orchestra. The Orchestra was just crouching low during 127 Hours suite before plunging back in action in full force for the Lord of the Rings Suite. Lord of the Rings Suite is the only piece in the concert that I wasn’t much familiar with. The performances by Arun H.K, Kavita Baliga, K.M Choir and Babelsberg Orchestra were absolutely magical and transported me to a different world. It was the most colorful and vibrant of all the pieces performed in the concert and I instantly fell in love with the piece. 


Read the whole review!

Matt Dunkley's blog

This was the blog entry written by Matt Dunkley after 'Classic Incantations'.

It's been an amazing couple of weeks in India with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Travelling around this country, you get a real sense of the indomitable spirit of the people, and of the huge diversity of this sub-continent. The concerts have seen great performances from the orchestra, choir and soloists, and have largely been met with enthusiasm and respect for the ambitions of this wonderful project. It took us all a while to realise that muted applause didn't mean that the audience was unhappy with our concerts, and that this is quite normal in Indian classical performance, though the response in A. R. Rahman's home city of Chennai was simply overwhelming. What a night! These concerts have been an important first step in re-introducing a western classical tradition into the Indian music landscape, and one that I know AR is passionate about.

What has been so special about the tour is watching the growing respect and friendship between the German musicians of the orchestra and our lovely choir from maestro Rahman's KM Music Conservatory. A real cross-cultural exchange that is at the heart of the 'Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities' project. For an amateur student choir, they have risen to the considerable challenge of performing with a professional orchestra and have grown in confidence concert by concert.

Last Friday was another special day, when some small groups from the orchestra visited the KM Music Conservatory to perform for the students. First, we were treated to a short concert by a string group that had only been studying for one year. The concentration on their young faces and the standard they have already attained impressed us all. The highlight of the visit was a truly spellbinding performance by the student Qawwali ensemble. Just magical.

Our last concert was performed on Sunday night to an enthusiastic audience of over 6000 people, at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. It's such a beautiful city and was a fitting end to this remarkable trip. 

We have all grown to love "Incredible India", and I for one can't wait to come back again.

_____________________________

Matt Dunkley

Conductor/arranger

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242161/

http://www.mattdunkley.com