“East Meets West” Concert at Music for the Eyes

Indian music tabla santoor

Concert in "Music for the Eyes"

On February 12, 2011, “Music for the Eyes” rug and jewelry shop in Langley on Whidbey Island hosted another of its periodic shop concerts.

The evening of classical Indian (South Asian) music was arranged by Whidbey Island’s own world music impresario Bob Effretz and featured Ms. Anjali Joshi on santoor and Mr. Ravi Albright on tabla.

The santoor is a hammer dulcimer-type instrument, and the tabla is a double-drum set, both long used in classical Indian music.  The musicians, visiting from Seattle, sat on a pile of carpets to play their instruments, and an appreciative crowd of 40 or so attended the concert.   Click this for a classical selection from the concert:

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One of the highlights of the concert was a fusion of Eastern and Western music when Bob Effretz, playing his own hammer dulcimer, joined the other two musicians in playing a very inventive version of the old favorite, “The Irish Washerwoman.”  Contributing yet a third element to the mix, Bob added the drone of his aboriginal didgeridoo to this musical number.  To hear the piece, click on:

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The two videos provided on this blog provide a view of both one of the classical pieces played by Ms. Joshi and Mr. Albright, as well as the cheerful “Irish Washerwoman” fusion piece.

Music India santoor tabla Music for the Eyes

Musicians playing Tabla and Santoor © captivate_flickr

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