Classical and Jazz: Preview - Satygraha - Music making at London Coliseum - Sunday 7 March
Published: 4 March 2010
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
MEMBERS of the public are being invited to contribute to an evening of music-making at the London Coliseum this Sunday evening.
The springboard for the event is Philip Glass’s hit opera Satyagraha (Sanskrit for “truth force”), loosely based on the early life of Gandhi and his use of non-violence as a means of political activity in the age of imperialism.
It is currently being revived in a stunning English National Opera production at the Coliseum.
Audience involvement will mostly be sought by Anna Meredith, the young Scottish composer.
“Anyone who comes along can get involved with making the soundtrack to the evening,” she says.
“There’s a mix of great stuff going on – dancing, DJ, performance poetry, bars.
“But anyone can bring an instrument or a set of vocal chords and record some loops that’ll be added to the mix.”
The assembled audience will also be invited to participate in a “Thinking Walls” debate about the philosophical political questions raised by Satyagraha.
American DJ and music producer Charlie Dark will use the material generated from the debate to create and perform new poetry throughout the evening.
New work will be performed by Sam Goodwin, the New York composer, sound designer and keyboard player, together with Falu, the Jaipur music singer, now one of the leading US singers of Bombay rock-classic Indian music.
Their new works mix classical Indian vocals and folk music with Satyagraha-related music and Asian electronica.
There’ll also be a quartet of classical Indian musicians, two VJs from audio-visual firm Maskomi and the Indian-dancer Seetal Patal.
• Satygraha, London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, WC2, March 7, 0871 911 0200, £8/Westminster residents £5