On a warm humid evening after bracing Mumbai’s rush-hour traffic snarls, you finally enter the Grand Hyatt in Bandra Kurla Complex, where thousands of illuminated candles brighten your mood. The setting at the venue for the inaugural India show of the globally popular Candlelight Concert series is magical.
Culture curators have been trying hard to come up with out-of-the-box presentation ideas to let audiences experience the energy of live music in intimate and unique spaces. The larger purpose is to make music, particularly classical, less intimidating. So it was at the Candlelight Concert.
In a darkened room, in the soft glow of the candles, three accomplished musicians — saxophonist Shirīsh Malhotra, guitarist Nicholas Vaz and drummer Bihu Mukherjee — seem to subtly send out the message that gigs without vocals can be enjoyable too. After all, instruments rarely get the props they deserve. Whatever the genre, they are never accorded the same status that voice is given.
When Shirish picks up the flute to play a few songs at the show titled ‘Best Movie Soundtracks’, Bihu points out his felicity with different instruments. Both are associated with music director Pritam. They wonderfully cater to the diverse audience, sitting all around them, with a blend of classics and current favourites, comforting tunes and pulsating tracks. So there are works of composers A.R. Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Amit Trivedi and Anirudh Ravichander.
The debut Candlelight Concert was recently held in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Fever
But what struck the most in the show is the dominance of the good-old sax. Remember Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stand Getz and our very own Kadri Gopalnath. An integral part of the soundscape of the 1970s and 1980s, the instrument with its vast tonal range has fallen out of favour in both the West and the East.
Launched in 2019 by Fever, an entertainment platform, Candlelight Concerts have been held in more than 150 cities worldwide and in stunning locations, including the Atomium (Brussels), Eiffel Tower (Paris), S. E. A. Aquarium (Singapore), Palau de la Mùsica Catalana (Barcelona) and Burj Al Arab Jumeirah (Dubai).
“Though conceived as a classical music series featuring works of Vivaldi, Mozart, and Chopin, we have been constantly adding to our themes and genres to reach out to more people. We have concerts dedicated to the Beatles, ABBA, Coldplay, Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin. We also have performances celebrating new-age sensations such as Adele, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Beyonce,” says Sebastien Garcia, regional manager, Live Experience at Fever.
Deepa Bajaj, country manager, Live Your City, which brings these concerts to India, says they have exciting plans for audiences here. “Imagine listening to ghazals and classical bandish surrounded by LED candles. We hope to shine light on our traditional arts too,” she says.
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