Viol d'Amor Performance featuring John
Rothfield on viol d'amor playing Ragas of North India Announcement San
Francisco, CA - May 22, 2003: Gallery OneZero announces an intimate
afternoon of North Indian music featuring the viol d'amor, a 14-string
instrument once popular in the courts of 18th-century Europe. |
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photograph by Nancy Warner |
By
special arrangement, for one afternoon only, local musician John
Rothfield will play traditional ragas on this rarely heard
instrument, which is especially well-suited to the complex harmonics
and microtones of North Indian music.
John Rothfield will be accompanied on tabla by Brad Van Cleave. The ensemble will also include a tambura, traditionally used to complete the harmonic background. The performers will present a meditative dialog that explores melody, tone, and mood using elements of devotional music, courtly music once popular with the Muslim rulers of North India, and folk music. This performance is presented as a complement to the exhibit Iterations, currently on display at Gallery OneZero. Refreshments will be served. |
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North Indian music concert: TITLE: "Viol d'Amor Performance: Ragas of North India" MUSICIANS: Viol d'amor: John Rothfield Tabla: Brad Van Cleave Tambura: LuAnne Daly DATE: Sunday, June 15, 2003 TIME: 2 PM SUGGESTED DONATION: $15. (Children 12 and under free.) RESERVATION RECOMMENDED: 415 989-9157 LOCATION: Viol d'Amor: Similar to the viola except that it has fourteen strings, including ten "sympathetic" strings that sound when the other strings are bowed. This unusual arrangement creates a sweet timbre that appealed to court musicians in the 17th and 18th centuries, who used the instrument to create fantastical improvisations. The name "Viol d'Amor" has at least two possible meanings. The first refers to the instrument's unusual design:"two things, people or strings, trembling alike for one another." It may also be short for "viola of the Moors," since the sound hole often resembled the flame of Islam. Tabla: North Indian hand drums. Typically used to accompany traditional Indian instruments such as the sitar and sarod, tabla are versatile instruments in their own right, used for elaborate improvised solos as well as accompaniment. Tambura: A long-necked stringed instrument typically used in North Indian music to create a harmonic background drone. John
Rothfield is a performer and music teacher with deep roots in folk
and classical music as well as 26 years studying and playing North
Indian music. He is a member of the legendary New Maihar Band, an
11 piece raga orchestra; lead fiddler with the Cajun Classics band;
and has taught vocal music at the Ali Akbar College of Music. He Brad Van Cleave has been playing tabla for over 20 years and is a much sought-after accompanist and teacher. He lived in India for many years and has a music degree from Rabindranath Tagore University. Gallery OneZero is the creation of Nancy Warner, a fine-art and portrait photographer who has lived and worked in San Francisco for 26 years. Located in her large studio overlooking Chinatown and downtown San Francisco, Gallery OneZero is a unique urban space devoted to photography and other arts For a press kit or more information, please contact Sean Cotter at 415.989.9157. |
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