Azure Miles Records ~ The Music of Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson
Kanakangi
1. Kanakangi (2009) 37.11
Meruvina ~ piano, Indian bells, rotating drum, rainstick, synthesizer, tanpura
| Kanakangi |
Kanakangi is the first mela of Karnatic music. It is believed to have
been the primary mela at least five-hundred years ago, and that is astonishing
because it is practically unknown to Western ears, and most Indian ears of our
time. That may not last, however, because I found it to be utterly seductive
in both a melodic sense, and the manner which it accentuates the tunings I employ.
I cannot imagine creative musicians not wanting to use Kanakangi if they knew
about it.
Kanakangi is the sixth of nine alap compositions completed in 2009 and 2010
that share the same musical setting for the through-composed melodic voice sounded
by a piano timbre. The setting consists of a dramatic compostie 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. Kanakangi is based on B flat.
- Michael Robinson, September 2010, Los Angeles
© 2010 Michael Robinson All rights reserved