Azure Miles Records ~ The Music of Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson
Hansadhvani
1. Hansadhvani (2009) 38.20
Meruvina: piano, Indian bells, rotating drum, rainstick, synthesizer, tanpura
| Hansadhvani |
Hansadhvani, a janya raga belonging to Dhirasankarabharanam mela, has a deep
emotional connection for me established mostly through a recording by Shivkumar
Sharma, and my viewings of two swans that live in a protected place here in
Los Angeles. It is a pentatonic raga that is beyond beautiful, with origins
rooted in the voice of the swan. My instincts tell me that the raga also depicts
the shape of a swan's body.
Hansadhvani is the first 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. Hansadhvani is based on B.
- Michael Robinson, September 2010, Los Angeles
© 2010 Michael Robinson All rights reserved