On a warm Thursday evening, Alliance Francaise rings a melodious note as cheerful young girls saunter around singing and posing for photographs. The all-women group La Compagnie Passagi is in Hyderabad to present the fundamentals of medieval music in a musical and interactive way. The group includes Solan Michon (viola da gamba), Florence Nowak (voice and traverso - flute), Pauline Schill (voice and percussion) and Nolwenn Tardy (voice and dorocco violin).
As they make themselves comfortable, the first question is about their reason for choosing early European music? “Music lovers know Mozart and the 19th century big names but early European music is quite different and when we discovered it, we immediately got hooked. Early European music has a different style, instruments and a small ensemble,” points out Florence Nowak.
Their love for travelling and music brought them together and they have bonded well. “Early European music is like literature and the love grows as you know more. The music is very lively and youngsters want that kind of buoyant music. It was basically sung among social gatherings and for friends and is a very relaxed kind of music,” chimes Nolwenn.
Although Florence and Pauline have been to India before, as a group this is their first visit. Before coming to Hyderabad, they spent a week at Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya in Dharwad in Karnataka organising workshops. “The students were thrilled when we started shaking our hands and making small sounds as a warm-up exercise,” laughs Pauline. The Vidyalaya sojourn was like unearthing a new way of life. “Western musicians always stand and sing and there we had to sit on the floor along with the children to sing and even to eat,” states Nolwenn. On a lighter note, the musicians share the experience of eating rice with hands instead of a spoon or fork for five days. “Today at the hotel’s buffet counter, I had a plateful of meat,” smiles Solan. The members say their concerts are for both amateurs and serious music lovers. “Our concerts are not difficult to understand as we play and explain the bit. One can just enjoy the music and there is an explanation too from which intellectuals can benefit,” points out Florence, who is doing PhD in Anthropology from music and also learning music in Uttarakhand.
Drawing similarities between Hindustani music and early European music, she says, “Look at the instrument flute, it is made in wood like traverso. Later the musical instruments were made in metal, steel and fibre. Our flute is like bansuri where the holes are smaller and there is also the timber/sound which is different.”
Florence says Early European music helped her make new discoveries. “In a music school, one is asked to produce a sound but with early European music, one is asked to pay attention to the sound and be a judge of the quality of the sound produced,” recalls Florence and adds, “It is the same in classical music too where the musician focuses on the right kind of sound and improvisations.”
The group will spend a day sightseeing in Hyderabad before travelling to Delhi, their next sojourn.
