03.-05.10.08 dhrupad singing and Feldenkrais (Berlin)

dear friends of Indian culture,

here, I would like to present my engagement with the most ancient genre of Hindustani music, DHRUPAD, which I did study in India for more then 10 years with well known masters.

I have been teaching and performing this music all over the world for the past 25 years, including intercultural and multimedia projects and collaborations with various composers.

I believe we have to be grateful to the hereditary musicians from the Dagar and Mallik gharanas (schools) for having kept this ancient music alive. It is a gift to humanity and I am doing my best to share it. One of my aims is to present it also outside of the 'ethinc' circles of traditional Indian music and reach out to different kinds of artistic comunities. Therefore, I look for open minded festival directors and concert promoters who are interested in this cross-cultural approach. Besides traditional dhrupad, I perform what I call 'contemporary' dhrupad. I believe tradition is not static and I hope to be contributing to new developments and interpretations.

Please, feel free to interact with me on this subject!.

A few words about dhrupad:

Dhrupad is the most ancient genre of North Indian classical singing still being performed. It flourished in the Hindu temples and Mughal and Rajput courts from the fourteenth century onwards. It has developed from ancient ritualistic forms and the principles of Nadayoga (Yoga of Sound), it is regarded to be the foundation of Hindustani music and has been handed down by generations of music families .

The songs are accompanied by the ancient double headed drum pakhawaj which greatly enriches the texture of the rendition with its deep resonating sound and the skillful punctuation of the improvised singing patterns.

Dhrupad is an inspirational, devotional genre and at the same time passionate and earthy like most of Indian sacred art. It is highly melodious and its meditative moments are balanced by structures of great rhythmic vitality.

Along these years, I have been looking for ways to transmit this knowledge through performances and by teaching.

I have also composed raga-based music in several languages, trying to convey the mystical and contemplative contents of dhrupad to a non-Indian audience. You will find detailed descriptions of my various projects and activities, video clips and MP3s on my homepage

www.ameliacuni.de

on www.myspace.com/ameliacuni
you will be able to see many photos and listen to more MP3s and videos.

WORKSHOP in BERLIN with Amelia Cuni & Ute Birk in Berlin:

dhrupad singing and Feldenkrais (on 2 levels)
October 3rd-5th, 2008

at the Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem
Vortragssaal, Takustr. 38/40, 14195 Berlin
information and registration: Ute Birk
ute.birk@gmx.de