Music Research Series presents Francis Silkstone

The Asian Music Unit presents Francis Silkstone "At The Feet Of My Beloved - a Hindu/Christian Oratorio: Issues and Processes"

Francis Silkstone is composer who is developing a unique and meaningful approach to interactions between the contemporary classical music of India and Europe. He will discuss recent developments in his on-going compositional collaboration with khyal singers Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra, which began during his AHRC Fellowship at Goldsmiths (2017-2012).

At The Feet Of My Beloved, is an oratorio-in-progress that explores parallels and contrasts between the spiritual practice of devotional love in Hindu and Christian traditions, by developing synergies between the equally contrasting elements of Hindustani khyal singing, Hindu religious discourses, and Western oratorio

Focussing on one song composed with Rajanji during a recent visit to India, he will discuss some issues arising and methodologies used during the current stage of their collaboration. These issues concern both the nuts and bolts of writing music that can later be performed by Rajan-Sajanji and European ensemble with minimal rehearsal; and problems of translation and cross-cultural presentation of texts from the Radha-Krishna bhakti tradition, where a brief poetic image evokes whole stories and present-day festivals to Hindus, but conveys nothing to other European audiences.

He will also discuss issues concerning the representation of Mary Magdalen and her demons, in relation to two instrumental works written during his AHRC Fellowship, and in relation to a personal response to the recent stage premiere of John Adams’ and Peter Sellars’ latest (and greatest?) opera, The Gospel According To The Other Mary.

Francis Silkstone studied music at York University (1975-8); sitar as a Commonwealth Scholar in India (1978-81); and Thai classical fiddles in Bangkok (PhD in Ethnomusicology, SOAS, 1993). He was consultant to composer George Fenton on Sir Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi (music co-coordinator 1982). In 1995 he founded Sounds Bazaar, an Anglo-Indian new-music ensemble, composing for it, and performing on Baroque violin, sitar and surbahar, until 2002. Terry Riley toured with Sounds Bazaar in 1999 performing his What The River Said, commissioned by the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

Silkstone’s works have been performed at numerous festivals in UK, Italy, and Germany. His Alaap-Jor-Jhala Concerto For Ensemble (2006), performed by The Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt, at ISCM, Stuttgart; La Biennale di Venezia; Frankfurt Book Fair (at the Alte Oper); and Kölner Philharmonie. During his time as an AHRC Fellow in the Creative and Performing Arts at Goldsmiths (2007-2012) his works included a Postcolonial War Requiem - as part of Nirmal Puwar’s Noise of the Past project - performed in Coventry Cathedral on 8th Nov. 2008, and again on Nov 11th 2010 on the 70th anniversary Coventry blitz.

All welcome, not just for graduates!

Image ©RobynBeeche

Dates & times

Date	Time	Add to calendar
9 Dec 2014	5:00pm - 6:30pm	apple google outlook

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