December 20, 2005 at 7.00pm "The Beatles and Indian Music", An illustrated talk by Dr.David Reck, Chair, World Music, Amherst College Venue: Sundar Mahal, Padmavathiar Road, Jeypore Colony (off Gopalapuram)
Dr.Reck will trace the fab 4's interest in India from the movie
HELP! through their stay at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram
in Rishikesh & musically from the use of sitar in "Norwegian Wood"
through George Harrison's various "Indian Songs" from "Love M
To" through "The Inner Light" (recorded in Mumbai) & John
Lennon's wild songs such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (based on
the Tibetan Book of the Dead) & his psychedelic "Rain." The Beatles'
Indian songs were part of a '60's fad which, orientalist in nature,
mixed up Indian spirituality, music, and psychedelic drugs, especially
LSD. Though the times are somewhat comic in retrospect, the music
which came out of it is truly wonderful.
Dr.Reck has composed many compositions influenced by South Indian classical music including fusion works, for Western musicians, and in Carnatic style a raga/tala malika varnam, javalis, tillanas (including one titled "Not Quite a Tillana"), and kritis in Tamizh, Sanskrit and English. He has also written the definitive book on Indian music in his book "The music of the whole earth" which is used extensively by universities, teaching music all over the world. |
