Richard X Bennett, piano & composer
Sadie Dawkins Rosales, soprano
Rebecca Moranis, flute
Zachary Hann, clarinet
Julian Bennett Holmes, organ & harpsichord
Program note by Julian Bennett Holmes
Composer/pianist Richard X Bennett has released six raga-based records in India — records on which he plays his own music with some of the great Indian musicians. Eschewing Indian rhythms, he draws inspiration from the singers of the Agra Gharana.
Now, in his new Pakad Suite, Bennett applies his take on raga to a new form, the chamber concerto. Combining his experience playing ragas in India with his virtuoso skill as a pianist, the suite looks at three major influences — Indian music, western classical music, and jazz — from a new perspective.
The piece is arranged in a three-part form. In the first part, the accompanying musicians (in concerto terms, the ripieno) improvise on the main themes (pakads) of Raga Puriya Dhanashree, primarily remaining in a meditative mode. The harpsichord and organ play the part of a baroque basso continuo section throughout, building the foundation on which everything else rests, as in a baroque keyboard concerto. But unlike in western classical music, the bass note never changes — a reference to the drone that accompanies all raga performances.
In the second part, the swirling accompaniments give way to sparser descending lines, leaving more room for a pointillistic reimagining of Raga Gunkali. The third part is an intensified recapitulation of Puriya Dhanashree, reimagined for a higher register, and the music builds to a thrilling climax, before finally resolving back to the main note, D.
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