Pranav Ranjit | Pranav Ranjit - Katcheri for chamber orchestra and fixed media @towardthesea_ | Uploaded November 2020 | Updated October 2024, 5 hours ago.
Recorded remotely by members of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and harpist Ben Albertson
In the Carnatic music of southern India, the word "katcheri" refers to a gathering of musicians and to the audience that watches them play. From my roots in both Carnatic music and Western art music, the essential nature of audiences in musical performance has always appealed to me - whether in the form of applause and cheers after a piece or song or as an active contributor to music, such as in John Cage’s 4’33”. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as such audiences have become increasingly rare, I have sought out new avenues through which the role of the audience can be preserved. Bringing together traditional harmonies from Carnatic music and the spectralism of the late 20th century, "Katcheri" conceptualizes the idea of performers as audience – each decomposing the complex sounds of Carnatic instruments through the particular timbres of strings, winds, and brass.
The harmonic partials of the tanpura, a low-pitched lute-like instrument with a distinctive overtone-rich sound, and of a Hindu temple bell form the building blocks of the piece. Indeed, the transposed sounds of both instruments make an appearance in the brief electronics part, as the harmonic partials of the tanpura transform into those of the temple bell.
Image: A katcheri by Rama Varma, taken by Wikipedia user Satlaj
Recorded remotely by members of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and harpist Ben Albertson
In the Carnatic music of southern India, the word "katcheri" refers to a gathering of musicians and to the audience that watches them play. From my roots in both Carnatic music and Western art music, the essential nature of audiences in musical performance has always appealed to me - whether in the form of applause and cheers after a piece or song or as an active contributor to music, such as in John Cage’s 4’33”. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as such audiences have become increasingly rare, I have sought out new avenues through which the role of the audience can be preserved. Bringing together traditional harmonies from Carnatic music and the spectralism of the late 20th century, "Katcheri" conceptualizes the idea of performers as audience – each decomposing the complex sounds of Carnatic instruments through the particular timbres of strings, winds, and brass.
The harmonic partials of the tanpura, a low-pitched lute-like instrument with a distinctive overtone-rich sound, and of a Hindu temple bell form the building blocks of the piece. Indeed, the transposed sounds of both instruments make an appearance in the brief electronics part, as the harmonic partials of the tanpura transform into those of the temple bell.
Image: A katcheri by Rama Varma, taken by Wikipedia user Satlaj
