"Raga Saga"

About "Raga Saga" -

Electric Violin I, II and Violia - V.S. Narasimhan

Electric Cello - V.R. Sekar

Raga Saga is a widely hailed, ground-breaking work which captures V.S. Narasimhan's original integration of the Indian and Western classical music systems. A pioneer in this entirely new musical form of using the western quartet format for Indian music, Mr. Narasimhan uses a delicate, intricate, thoughtful approach in his artistic touch replete with an enduring blend of Western harmonies, counterpoint, and pulsating rhythmic structures.

Mr. Narasimhan is well known throughout India as a violinist who has worked with legendary Indian film music directors such as A.R. Rahman and Ilaiyaraja. In recent times however, his passion for classical music has led him down a different path culminating in the development of this new musical art form. He is uniquely equipped to produce a work of this kind because of his knowledge of and ability to play, perform, and compose in both Western classical and in Indian classical music styles.

He has melded together Indian tradition and Western form to create something beautiful. The added flair in the recording comes from his use of electric instruments. By using this approach, he was able to record all the parts (Violin I, Violin II & Viola) himself except for cello (played by the highly talented V.R. Sekar).

Hailed by numerous diverse, world-renowned musicians for his dynamic musicality, seamless improvisation and thoughtful artistry, V.S. Narasimhan has permanently altered the way in which we think about the Carnatic and Western music systems.

Most recently, David Balakrishnan of the Grammy award-winning Turtle Island String Quartet, had this to say regarding VSN's newest work, Raga Saga:

In speaking to the quality of this evocative and brilliant new recording . . . I will say that when I listen to this music, my heart erupts with joyous elation, then my professional curiosity kicks in, and I am filled with wonder and deep respect for the level of craft that went into producing this excellent CD. What I hear in these tracks is a voice on the other side of the world, seemingly entirely divergent yet at the same time oddly familiar, using the same classic instrumentation to provide yet another compelling new musical paradigm in the continuing evolution of the string quartet form.


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