Enchanted Notes: A musical journey through the night

The Tarz Group performed an exhilarating show blending raags with western styles of music

KARACHI:

The Arts Council has become famous for arranging some of the most exquisite events over the past few years, playing an integral role in promoting cultural activities in the city. ‘Enchanted Notes’, the eighth in a series of concerts held by the Tarz Group, was a splendid display of eastern classical music fused with western genres.

The performance which was scheduled to start at 8pm, faced a half an hour delay due to the traffic congestion caused by the VIP movement across the city but the musicians made up by enticing the senses of the audience with their diverse musical accents.

Musical renditions were based around the concept of how time lapses in a forest. PHOTOS: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

The opening night on Friday saw a decent turnout with people from all age groups part of the audience. The audience members applauded with zeal, clapping to the beats of drummer Athar Saeed.

Musical renditions were based around the concept of how time lapses in a forest. To be specific, with every progression in the notes within the pieces and raags, was meant to signify how an evening turns into night and eventually dawns into morning in a forest. The use of lights and other visual aid was minimalistic and generic, restricting the concept to work only on an auditory level.

Several younger audience members who had been forced to attend this event thought that the concert was going to be a dull and gloomy affair but were completely caught off guard by the mesmerising fusion created by the artists.

“I had honestly thought that it was going to be like one of those classical musical evenings where only the older people enjoy, but surprisingly I had a brilliant time here. The highlight for me was when the tablas, dhol and drums collaborated to create one of the most spectacular fusion pieces I have ever heard,” remarked Zeeshan Munshi, who studied at a local university.

Musical renditions were based around the concept of how time lapses in a forest. PHOTOS: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

The Tarz Group, led by tabla player Yousuf Kerai consists of an interesting lineup with classically trained musicians weaving the sounds of the eastern classical tradition working with western styles of music.

The group featured members of the Senia Gharana, Ustad Sajid Hussain and his son Shehroze Hussain on Sitar with the latter also serving as the primary vocalist of the band. Islamuddin Meer, the violinist of the orchestra, also composed all the musical pieces for the evening.

Other musicians included Asif Imam on keyboards, Ashiq Ali on Dholak, Kishwar Allah Ditta on bass guitar and Zohaib Hassan on tabla. Renowned tabla player Ustad Khurshid Hussain and singer-musician Hussain Dossa were featured in one performance each.

Talha Mustafa, another audience member, raved about Hussain Dossa’s performance as a featured artist and how it was in sync with the theme for the evening, “The Spanish number, which revolved around the theme of how time seems to fly when you’re in love, was brilliant. I have seemed to develop a love for classical music after tonight’s event and wouldn’t mind coming back.”



The show also experimented with some traditions of classical music, such as using raag Bhairvi to open the show, which is normally used to end a musical evening.

The three day event will end on September 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2014.

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