Azure Miles Records ~ The Music of Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson
Dhirasankarabharanam
1. Dhirasankarabharanam (2009) 38.29
Meruvina ~ piano, Indian bells, rotating drum, rainstick, synthesizer, tanpura
| Dhirasankarabharnam |
Dhirasankarabharanam is the twenty-ninth mela of Karnatic music. It is considered
the “King” of all South Indian ragas, and translates to mean “Ornament
of Shiva.” I did not know the english translation, or the specific regard
that the mela enjoyed until I did research for these notes, and now that I do,
I feel like composing another piece!
This mela shares the tones so recognizable here in the West, as in the ionian
mode, and prompted me to search for new terrain within its sweet familiararity.
Dhirasankarbharanam is the fourth of nine alap compositions completed in 2009
and 2010 that share the same musical setting for the through-composed melodic
voice sounded by a spare piano timbre. The setting consists of a dramatic composite
drone first used on Gangadhara (Bhupali) from 2002, combined with a single tanpura,
Indian bells, rotating drum and rainstick.
The
process of selecting which precise tone to use for shadja (tonic) for each particular
raga is fascinating for me. Indian musicians use one tonal center for their
entire life, but given the nature of the meruvina, I have used all twelve possibilities
in my work. It is an intuitive process that filters the melodic personality
of the raga together with my individual temperament, and I frequently am surprised
where shadja turns up. Dhirasankarbharanam is based on A flat, a key that Bob
Dylan believes to reflect renunciation.
- Michael Robinson, September 2010, Los Angeles
© 2010 Michael Robinson All rights reserved