Judging by their most recent offering, Between the Raags, Fantasia Orchestra is still committed to their genre-blending quest of bringing people and cultures together. This latest performance is a collaboration with award-winning sitar player Jasdeep Singh Degun, creating an exploration of Indian and Western classical music that is imaginative, often unexpected, and always invigorating.
Between the Raags opens with one of Degun’s own pieces, ‘In Search of Redemption’, a rousing, cinematic introduction to the concept of just how well classical Indian instruments, namely the sitar and tabla, can be complemented by a Western orchestra when given the platform to do so. The piece does feel redemptive. It is triumphant by the end and feeds perfectly into the core work at the centre of the concert, Terry Riley’s ‘In C’.
Had Fantasia Orchestra’s conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh not mentioned that Between the Raags had come together in three days, the audience would be forgiven for thinking months of fine-tuning went into this concert. ‘In C’ was true brilliance coming after ‘In Search of Redemption’. It became a full-circle moment, where the Indian classical music piece playing on stage had been influenced by a Western classical piece which had itself been influenced by Indian classical music. Deconstructing ‘In C’ transformed it into something that felt entirely of Degun and the Fantasia Orchestra’s world, while still remaining fundamentally in keeping with the stripped-back ambience of ‘In C’. Gurdain Ryatt’s tabla work was crucial in tying this all together. He brought forward the minimalism, the prominence of Indian classical music, the tempo of the piece and its famous repetition.
Between the Raags excelled at showing creativity with the possibilities of how Indian classical music can transform seminal works of Western classical music, and it would have been fascinating to see that taken further. Rameau’s ‘Thunderstorm’ and ‘Echorus’ by Philip Glass were Fantasia Orchestra only. While this was a treat in itself, it would have been interesting to find out how they explored those pieces with tabla and sitar, especially after seeing how masterfully Degun can shred a sitar like a rockstar, as he does in the closing piece ‘Arya’. With that being said, Rameau’s ‘Thunderstorm’ was followed by an equally Baroque-inspired piece of Degun’s own, the vernal and Telemann-esque ‘Rageshri’. This kept the evening balanced, allowing the recital to tell its own story.
One of the stories it successfully tells is right there within the name, Between the Raags. The performance captures how naturally Western classical music and orchestras can work within Indian classical music, tradition and instrumentation to create powerful, moving and varied works. The second is one of mutual respect and collaboration. It was clear throughout the evening that every musician on stage had a deep reverence for each other and the work they were playing. Without this sense of fundamental appreciation as they worked together across genres, centuries and cultures, it is hard to believe Between the Raags would have the same electricity on stage that it did.
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