2010-11 Year of Culture and Creativity

The Year of Culture & Creativity (2010-11): The Splendid Tabla
“Tabla Ecstasy” Unleashes the Power of Indian Classical Beats
October 7, 2010 (8pm) – Brunton Auditorium

Mount Allison’s International Affairs and the India Summer Studies Program are pleased to present an evening of classical Indian tabla percussion.  Tabla Ecstasy is a dynamic and high-energy ensemble whose performances capture the richness and nuances of classical Indian tabla in what is sure to be an unforgettable musical and cultural experience.  Tabla Ecstasy will be visiting Sackville as part of the Maritime leg of its 2010 North American tour.  Admission is free. 

For more information, visit Tabla Ecstasy’s website or read the following account of the group’s history and approach to tabla drumming.

Tabla Ecstasy revels in the tabla’s hidden potency as a rhythmic and melodic instrument capable of expressing just about anything. The ensemble distills the age-old spirit and practice of tabla into a high-energy, highly accessible evening that reveals the instrument’s true joys.

“Our only goal is to present Indian classical music in a contemporary language that can be enjoyed by more people,” explains Rushi Vakil, performer and group leader. “The language of tabla is really graceful, full of different tempos, energies, and emotions. All the shades of music can be found in it.”

Tabla Ecstasy is the brainchild of Pandit Divyang Vakil, a tabla maestro and master teacher who gave up a successful performance career to dedicate himself to guiding students and composing music. The son of a philosopher and a Montessori-influenced teacher, Vakil, affectionately and respectfully known as “Guruji,” began playing tabla at age three and takes an unorthodox approach to his tradition and his teaching.

Guruji focuses on the demanding technical aspects of Indian classical performance—the precision required to evoke nuanced moods and ideas. To get to the requisite level, the group rehearses constantly, learning to feel each other’s phrasing within the precise rhythmic cycle of the classical tradition.

Though tabla ensembles are a relatively new development, Tabla Ecstasy applies the same rigor to their performance as they would to a classical piece, insisting on split-second perfection and pitch-perfect tuning of their drums. Though they can play with the spark and passion of a rock drum solo, the accompanying harmonium and their honed rhythmic sense keeps their playing grounded in the cycle of beats their forbearers played in for millennia.

The intensity and generosity of the quartet keep to the spirit of Indian classical music, which is about devotion and not entertainment, while expanding its palette and its audience. Each concert moves between rousing peaks and slower, smooth meditative passages not usually associated with percussion. It’s not uncommon to catch audience members bopping along to the pulse, in tears or in awe after the hour-and-a-half-long journey through different tempos and timbres.

“People don’t expect the feelings involved, perhaps because they don’t think rhythm can do the same things emotionally as melody,” explains accompanying artist Heena Patel. “As Guruji tells us, you smooth out the edges and perfect the contours, otherwise it’s just drumming. You have to make music out of the instruments.”