Amar Shyama Mayer

An attempt to see if voices from different faiths can co-exist within one song, in these troubled times...

I've used excerpts from two very different songs, four centuries and many worlds apart.

The song I'm actually singing on cam is a Bengali "Shyama Sangeet" - a devotional Hindu Bengali song in praise of the Goddess Kali. Interestingly, this was written by the Muslim poet, musician and philosopher Qazi Nazrul Islam ( 25 May 189929 August 1976 ) and is dedicated to Kali as well as Krishna.

The song I've sampled and used as an intermittent choral texture is a version of "O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" from (Psalm 122:6, 7) composed by Richard Nicolson (1570 - 1639). All five voices in this are mine, I recorded the song as a learning aid for my delhi choir, CCM. My thanks to whoever dug up this very rare score - Giti? Diane? Bro Len? Who was it??? - i haven't been able to find an actual recorded version of this anywhere....

My thanks to Pandit Ajay Prasanna for his brilliance on the indian classical bamboo flute....that's him in the video!

This time around i found a new corner in my studio to keep my camera, AND I actually stepped out of the studio, walked over to the beach and took some shots to make it one notch less boring than the earlier videos I've posted here. I'm assuming my crazy fumblings with the colour correction device will be overlooked, i've never used the damn thing before!!

(c) Sawan Dutta 2009 Relevant Rights Reserved

Category:

Music

Tags:

• sawan
• dutta
• amar
• shyama
• mayer
• kole
• chore
• kazi
• qazi
• nazrul
• islam
• geeti
• bengali
• song
• pray
• for
• the
• peace
• of
• jerusalem
• Psalm
• 122
• Richard
• Nicolson
• be
• within
• thy
• walls
• pandit
• ajay
• prasanna
• indian
• classical
• flute
• troubled
• times
• fusion

[Supe2U]

I have now viewed this video, perhaps, over 20 times and yet can't get enough of my fill of it! The flautist accompanying your vocal is awesome too. What intrigues me the most is your blending of the Eastern with the Western and the video ending with a sunset clip. An intentional touche? LOL.

There is a rabindrasangeet set to the same raga (I think): "sakhi aNdhare ekla ghare, mon mane na."

[sawandutta]

Thanks yet again :-)

Ma used to play a lot of nazrul for us right thru our childhool....and for some unfathomable reason, this one sort of stuck to my memory and i felt like working with it after many many years, out of the blue!

Ajay Prasanna is simply the most divine indian classical flutist I know. His dad had been Hari Prasad Chaurasia's guru.

The sunset clip was just me stepping across my studio to the beach and shooting whatever i could find at hand, nothing more :-)

[Supe2U]

If we are fortunate enough to produce what we'd like to produce, then I'd like Ajay Prasanna definitely to be part of the team! Do you think you could arrange that? :) He is SUPERB!

[sawandutta]

we're all professional musicians....so eventually anything can be arranged as long as the economic logistics work out! :-)

[sawandutta]

Thanks :)

[sawandutta]

thank you - and yes, actually i did :)

its not as smooth a blend as i'd have liked, but at least its not jarring....

[recklessfreakful]

Very Powerful 

[paplubp]

not impressive

[Supe2U]

Darn! It could have bloody well implied "Eastern glory finally setting the Western sun!" LOL. Oh well, perhaps I am more romantically inclined than I should be. :)

[Supe2U]

Simply awesome! Gave you 5-star for this.

Now, if only would ever consider singing my English translations of rabindrasangeet. My videos await your talent on YouTube. Search under "supe2u". Thanks

[dhimandas]

I have heard your voice before in Pyar aur Dosti before, and now .... aah what a treat for music lovers ... to world music. Your soulful voice ... enchanting bansuri by Ajay ji ... blend of the church music ... the age old song itself has crossed the barrier "amar shyama mayer koley chorey jopi aami shyamer naam"