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THE ARTISTS
Chandrakantha Courtney was born in Macchalipatnam on Feb 2, 1954. She began to sing professionally as a child. She was a regular contributor to Balala Karyakramam in All India Radio,Vijaywada, and was attached to Suvartha Vani, Bhavana Kala Samiti, Rasana Samaikhya. In 1971 she enrolled in the Govt. College of Music and Dance (Vijaywada), and trained under J.V. Subba Rao until 1975 when she moved to Hyderabad. She then became an artist with AIR (Hyderabad) and Swara Tharangini. When the TV station was established she then became a regular artist in Doordarshan (Hyderabad). In 1977 she was an artist in the Om International troupe which toured South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius. In 1978 she married David Courtney, who brought her to the United States in 1980. She has been teaching Indian classical vocal in the Houston area since this time. In the mid 80s she compose the theme music for "Asiana" (Houston Indian community's TV program). In 1990, she became a board member of the Texas Institute for Indian Studies. Since the early 90s she has been an active artist in Young Audiences. In 1992 she coauthored a book on Indian music entitled, "Elementary North Indian Vocal". In 1994 she was awarded the "Artist of the Year" by Asian Women Magazine. It was in 1995 that she gave a number of programs in Germany under the sponsorship of the Deutsch Indische Geselschaft. Subsequently she has given numerous performances in Germany and the UK under the sponsorship of a variety of organizations. In 1996 she was given (along with her husband) the "Award of Excellence" for her artistic contributions in the field of music by the American Telugu Association.
Her activities are not limited to traditional Indian music. She is also the female vocalist with the band, "Vani". This is a band which specializes in a genre of fusion called "Raga Rock". Their most recent project is called The Realm of Raga Rock.
It is impossible to enumerate 35 years of her professional career. She is a teacher, performer, and active promoter of Indian culture. She has traveled all over India working hard to maintain the cultural traditions. She regularly performs in elementary, middle, and senior high schools, and many universities to propagate Indian culture. She has performed on countless cassettes, disks, TV, radio programs and CDs.
David Courtney, Ph.D. has been performing on the tabla since 1972. He first studied pakhawaj (an ancient barrel shaped drum) under the famous Zakir Hussain at the Ali Akbar College of Music. He then moved to India and spent a number of years learning tabla under the late Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan of Hyderabad. He has performed extensively on stage, TV, disk, and radio, in India, Europe and the United States. Along with his wife, he composed the theme music for Houston's Indian TV program called "ASIANA" and recorded the theme music for the radio program "INDIA FILE" which aired in the Austin area. He has accompanied many great musicians including Ashish Khan, Lakshmi Shankar, and Pandit Jasraj
He is well versed in the academic side of music. During the 80s he received great acclaim in academic circles for his pioneering work in the application of computers to Indian music. This work is found in his doctoral dissertation "A Low Cost System for the Computerization of North Indian Classical Music". He is the author of numerous books and articles on the subject of Indian music including, Introduction to Tabla, Elementary North Indian Vocal, Learning the Tabla, Fundamentals of Tabla, Advanced Theory of Tabla, Manufacture and Repair of Tabla and Focus on the Kaidas of Tabla . His articles have appeared in "Modern Drummer" and "Percussive Notes". Recently along with his wife Chandra, he was given an award of recognition for outstanding contributions to the arts by the American Telugu Association.
He is very active today in musical activities. He is an artist with Young Audiences. He is also the percussionist in the fusion group Vani, and has several CDs to his credit.
Bob Goldman has been studying the bansuri for many years. He has given numerous programs with Chandrakantha Courtney. He is accomplished in both Western and Indian music.
Shankar Bhattacharyya, Ph.D. is an accomplished artist on the sarod. This instrument has become popular in Northern India in the last few centuries. He was born in Burma on June 23, 1946 of Indian parents, but emigrated to India as a young boy where he continued his education. In 1975 he began to learn sarod, but it was in 1982 that he became a student of the world renown sarodist, Ali Akbar Khan. He has performed extensively around the United States and South America. He is currently a professor at Texas A&M University where he teaches electrical engineering.
A. V. Vimla Murali is an accomplished performer on the saraswati vina. She learned for many years under Pappu Someshwara Rao in Hyderabad. She has performed extensively in the US and in India. This includes stage, radio, TV and numerous recordings. She is a regular accompanist to Chandrakantha.
Srinivas Koumounduri is an accomplished virtuoso of the sitar. He began his musical training under his father. He later trained under C. S. Ramalingam, and finally Atmaram of Hyderabad. He received his diploma in music in 1985. He has performed extensively in the US, Germany, Switzerland, UK, and India. He is presently active in "Young Audiences" and other arts and education projects. His credits include numerous stage, TV, and radio performances.
Gus Buzbee is an award winning musician with an extensive background in the recording and performing arts. As an acoustic-electric guitarist, Gus has been recognized as a musician with the unique ability to fuse many musical forms such as blues, rock, jazz, mystical chants, and Indian ragas.
THE MUSIC
The music of India is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world. It has its roots going back to the Vedic period (circa 1000 BC). This system is based upon two major concepts; "Rag" and "Tal". "Rag" is the melodic or modal form while "Tal" is the rhythmic cycle. When one listens to Indian music one must not think in terms of harmony or melodic counterpoint. One should think in Indian terms of "rag" and "tal."
Rag - There are many "rags" in North Indian music. Where Western music is based upon only two to three scales, North Indian music is based upon about twenty. These scales form the basis for the extreme melodic variety which characterizes the music.
Tal - The "Tal" is also highly developed. Where Western music is based upon measures of 2, 3, or 4 beats, Indian music is based upon cycles of 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 beats. This is further subdivided in a complex form. It is the "Tal" which gives the extreme rhythmic variety to the music.
Tanpura - This is a drone instrument made from wood and calabash (gourd). It has a unique bridge fashioned from camel bone.
Tabla - This is the pair of Indian drums. It is composed of a smaller wooden one called "dayan", and a larger metal one called "bayan". These drums are known for their extreme variety of timbre and their expressive sound.
This program may also consist of of the following instruments:
Vina - This is an instrument common to southern India. It has four main playing strings and three drone strings. The frets consist of metal bars set into wax.
Sitar - This is a common stringed instrument of North India. It consist of a gourd (calabash) attached to a long wooden neck. It has three to four main playing strings with three to four drone strings. Additionally, there are a dozen sympathetic strings which are not strummed but vibrate when the corresponding note is sounded. It is these strings, along with a flat bridge made of camel bone, which gives the distinctive timbre of sitar.
Harmonium - This is a small hand pumped organ that is a distant relative of the accordion. Originally it was a European instrument which was imported into India by missionaries in the last century. Although this instrument is extinct in Europe it is still very common in India.
Bansuri - This is a simple flute made of bamboo. It has no keys and is of very simple construction. However it is known to be a very expressive instrument. It is greatly revered in India as the instrument sacred to Krishna.
Here is a brief discription of important vocal styles.
Kheyal - This has a special place in Indian music. It the de facto standard for classical music. It is one of the most improvised of the Indian styles.
There are two major movements of kheyal. There is an extremely slow section which is called vilambit, or bada kheyal: and a fast section called drut or chotta kheyal. The vilambit section is extremely slow and usually played in ektal of 12 beats. The fast section is usually played in drut tintal or drut ektal.
Bhajan - This has been popular for many centuries. Unfortunately, it is difficult to describe musically because the bhajan is defined by a sense of devotion (bhakti) rather than any musical characteristics. Bhajans cover a broad spectrum of musical styles from the simple musical chant (dhun) to highly developed versions comparable to thumri.
The poetic content of the bhajan also covers a broad spectrum. The more traditional ones by great saint-musicians such as Mira, Surdas, or Kabir are considered of the highest literary quality. Many modern ones, although more easily understood by the masses, usually have a literary value no greater than a typical film song (a popular form of music generated for the masses). The lowest poetic form is the dhun, which is actually nothing more than a musical version of a chant.
The structure of bhajan is very conventional. It contains a single sthai and numerous antara. The last antara has special significance because it contains the nom de plume of the author.
Thumri - This is a common style of light classical music. The text is romantic and devotional in nature, and usually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna. The language is a dialect of Hindi called Brij bhasha. This style is characterized by a greater flexibility with the rag. The compositions are usually set to Kaherava of 8 beats, Addha tal of 16 beats, or Dipchandi of 14 beats. It arose in popularity during the 19th century. Lighter rags such as Mand, Pillu, Pahadi or Khammaj are usually used.