A Well Written Concert Report On David Newmans Kirtan Essay Examples

The Kirtan Concert by David Newman on Tuesday, October 1st 2013 at Atma Bodha Studio was one that will be remembered. The Yoga Studio was quite packed as is the norm for most of Newman’s Kirtan performances. Kirtan is a form of call and response series of chants performed in the Hindu language. Kirtans make effective use of orality in a manner that expresses a deep sense of romanticism and elaborate articulation. This happens while a melody is played using instruments chosen by the Kirtankar. Undoubtedly, David Newman is a prodigy of healing through Kirtan with worldwide acclaim. He employs devotional music full of heartfelt mysticism to bring out the theme of meditative devotion and healing to audiences worldwide. His instruments include membranophones (drums), reed instruments, idiophones, plucked instruments, harmonium, violin and hand cymbals,
At the beginning of the concert, everyone was seated as the band came to the stage. A bass and percussionist band member played an introductory low tempo beat while Newman chanted a few lines of vocal vibrato before pausing to greet the crowd. In those few seconds, I became suddenly aware of how potent his music could be. After the pause, the rhythm of the chanting quickly changed as Newman began playing one of his most popular songs, Bajarang Bali. It was a hybrid of consonance and dissonance which had a surprisingly lulling effect on the senses. Overall, it was evident that the song had influences from polyphonic music traditions such as Chinese, Latvian and Albanian. Some instances in the song had quiet chants “Bajarang BaliBajarang” produced repetitively with chord and guitar solo variations. The Chants and choruses were echoed by the other yogis and musicians in a kind of tutti orchestration.
His second song, Stars was more monophonic. Its beat subdivision and harmony were akin to that found in the country music genre. A marginal increase in tempo by both Newman and his percussionist indicated a heightened sense of feeling as they played several more songs, each with more feel to it than the last. Most notably, the song Jai Siya Rama had every yogi on their feet. The feeling and hue of the studio had completely been transformed as the yogis danced together while chanting and singing.
Overall, David Newman’s music was mellow and pleasant especially when the chants such as “Hare Krishna” were voiced by all who were present in the concert against a backdrop of violin and rhythmic drumbeats. The vibrations of the stringed instruments varied in pitch depending on the song and intended feeling. The reactive prominence of the instrument’s upper partials and the vibrations produced pleasant timbre which seemed to become more and more refined as the concert proceeded.
While some songs evoked joy, others produced grief, tenderness or affection, underlining the romanticism that has become the mainstay of David Newman’s Kirtans. The yogis responded with emotion which at some point almost resulted in silence.
I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and was pleased to see different influences in David Newman’s music. One of the highlights of the concert was when an improvisation of Hare Krishna chants was played with the accompaniment of the Sarinda, a music instrument with cat-gut strings and a resonator covered with parchment. This instrument was played with a bow and it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Overall, it was an experience worth remembering.