NNF 2018:2520

Talvin Singh

Norwich Cathedral

13/05/18

“Two things we cannot do without – food, and music” So declared Talvin Singh when commencing his TEDx talk at the Science Museum in 2016.

With his opening words still echoing in my head, and with my stomach sated from a traditional pre-NNF performance helping of cod goujon and chips served up by the Grosvenor Fish Bar, I eagerly take my seat within the nave of Norwich Cathedral and await the main course. Incense sticks are already burning on a makeshift stage area in front of the pulpitum, where traditional instruments jostle for space alongside electronic equipment and the obligatory Apple Macbook computer. The performance is described by the organisers of this year's Norfolk and Norwich Festival as a 'world premiere', and it is no surprise to find that all tickets have sold out, and 'returns only' notices are displayed at the door.

The lights dim and Talvin Singh leads his musicians – Shiram Sampath (flutes), Francesca Ter-Berg (cello), and Preetha Narayan (violin) onto the stage area at the front of the nave. The opening piece is introduced as 'Prayer', and is dedicated to celebrated Indian musician Ravi Shankar. Starting with the gentle chiming of prayer bells, a spoken word incantation seems to echo and encircle us. The tabla and flute lead, and the strings follow, in a rhythm of increasing complexity that seems to embrace mysticism and romanticism in one cohesive and enchanting spell.

The remainder of the performance consists of five separate pieces, none of which are given titles or explanation, but begin with the introduction to the stage of sound artist Jason Singh, who uses his voice to produce an extraordinary series of sounds. These are accompanied by a muted drum machine, flute and vocalised tabla rhythms. It is as if the whole of nature, from the highest mountain through to the deepest ocean is being essentialised and encapsulated into musical form as elemental sounds of wind and rain flow through environmental landscapes inhabited by rattling and chattering lifeforms.

A natural theme continues into the third piece, in which a harmonium and wooden shakers create a gentle and contemplative mood. Shiram Sampath selects two flutes from the case, in which they are housed like ceremonial artefacts, and plays them simultaneously, creating an atmosphere of beauty and grace. Meanwhile, computer samples and loops successfully and seamlessly bridge the gap of centuries between tradition and technology.

We are then given a brief explanatory history of the harmonium in classical Indian music – it is an organ-like instrument of European origin, but with foot pedals replaced by bellows for the benefit of  Indian musicians who traditionally sit cross-legged in order to play. With the huge organ pipes of Norwich Cathedral providing their impressive backdrop to tonight's performance it is almost like a homecoming for the humble harmonium.

A further three new pieces follow, each grafting natural and traditional rhythm patterns to sampled passages and beats. Ter-Berg and Narayan add strings sensitively and beautifully when required but remaining motionless during periods in between. And yet, somehow, they appear to be contributing some kind of invisible energy when not actually playing. Jason Singh provides yet more stunning vocal enhancements, even emulating a flute at one point, whilst Talvin Singh breaks out an Indian bodhran, and climaxes by striking at the gong hanging behind him. As he himself comments at the end of these new pieces, “It's wonderful when spirits can have a rave”.

All of the pieces we had heard so far had been put together specifically to take into account the acoustics and the spaces within the cathedral. Apart from performing at Snape Maltings this ensemble had not previously appeared in public before. Much of the music, though, had been inspired by the sunrises and dawn choruses of the Suffolk countryside where Talvin Singh now lives and records. But as if to remind us of his creative heritage, and perhaps to satisfy the 'play something we know' element of the audience, the performance closes with a version of Traveller from the 1999 Mercury Music Prize winning album Ok.

A standing ovation follows, after which some of the audience begin to turn to leave. However Talvin Singh and his players return and play one final piece, a delightfully spirited and upbeat number that has many of the previously seated audience from the side aisles on their feet and crowded into the spaces between the huge pillars. This is, indeed, possibly the nearest thing you will ever see to a rave in a cathedral.