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Rajinder S Taggar
CHANDIGARH, Nov 2: Weaving notes from different classical genres practised across the borders, Simon Lanzon of the United Kingdom and Kanwar Iqbal of our own Punjab are all set to establish a milestone.
We may not understand different languages spoken all over the world, but music, be it from the West or the East, is something everyone understands, feels Lanzon, who is supported by Kanwar Iqbal.
On visiting the Golden Temple, Lanzon (52), realised that kirtan is similar to the singing of carols in Catholic churches. The sublime revelations - as in Sikhism, Christianity or Hinduism - have always been accompanied with celestial music, he feels. Hence, the duo depicted an attempt to bring about a ``fusion'' of English and Indian music at a mesmerising show held here yesterday.
Lanzon, whose father as well as grandfather served the British Army during the days of the Raj in India, was born in Bangalore. This, perhaps, is the reason why he fuses Indian music with English in a manner that is simply breathtaking. Kanwar Iqbal, who heads a team of artistes that conduct concerts in unison with the troupe from Shopshire County, is teaching in a local college.
He explains: ``Eastern and Western notes, with commonalties of frequency, pitch, timber and intensity, are carefully worked into a fusion. And this fusion is also called the Sixth River.'' Lanzon and Iqbal make sure that the basic identity of both the genres of music is not disturbed, but compliment each other.
Referring to the modern trend of mixing music with the help of computerised keyboards, Iqbal maintains that acoustic music is far superior than its electronic versions. "The West has succeeded in `imprisoning' certain genres of music but it will not be easy to cage Indian music on a computer chip," he emphasised.
Hans Raj Hans is Lanzon's favourite singer with whom he had the honour to perform at a concert in Faridkot district. Explains Iqbal: "Late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan created a vast audience for himself by infusing western rhythm in ghazals, but without allowing the lyrics to be disturbed by the fusion in any manner."
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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