The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the performing arts in a significant way. For nearly a year, performing artistes have not been able to get on stage. This is the situation across the world affecting every country, social class, and artistic genre.
In this inter-connected world, one of the first reactions of performing artistes to the situation was to get online immediately. Carnatic musicians were no exception to this trend. Most performers began to prepare to give online concerts soon after the lockdown was announced. Initially they sang or played instruments by themselves, and then, subsequently, when there were relaxations in movement, they began singing or playing with accompanying artistes while practising social distancing. Most of these digital concerts have been available for free to everyone; only a few have been paid events. So, more than being a source of revenue for the artistes, these concerts have served to keep the artistes visible and their names fresh in everyone’s minds.
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Virtual concerts of the past
What does it mean to give a virtual concert? I have sung several virtual concerts in the past, except they were just not called that. Take an All India Radio (AIR) recording, for instance. The composition was sung inside the studio with no audience. I had the difficult task of later listening to the broadcast of my recording in the presence of my parents and my Guru, and suffering through those cringeworthy moments of slips, mistakes and apaswarams. On many occasions, the concert was broadcast live even as I was singing in the studio. So, technically in today’s terms, those were virtual audio concerts.
Similarly consider a Doordarshan (DD) recording. Again, there was no audience in the studio. In short, it was a virtual concert recorded and telecast later. The only difference was that DD gave us less time than AIR. If AIR allotted 60-75 minutes for a concert, DD would give us 25-35 minutes. Editing of the recordings was minimal. We did have the option of singing something again if we were not satisfied, but we hardly did that. Once in a while, we stopped recording for other reasons. For instance, once during a recording, I started singing a song, but was asked to stop immediately. This was because the name of a caste was mentioned in the lyrics. It was election time and the radio was not allowed to broadcast those songs. I finally ended up singing something else.
Commercial audio albums changed my perspective on virtual concerts. I would spend two days in a recording studio to provide 60 minutes of content. The structure that I followed for these recordings was not any different from what I followed for radio or television. Newer technologies meant more editing, voice mixing, pitch corrections, etc. The end result was a more polished, stylish version that worked very well for repeated listening at a higher sound quality. What I sang in those concerts was a capsule version of live performances, like a T20 version of a Test match. I sang compositions, alapana, neraval, kalpanaswaram, and even a ragam tanam pallavi, condensing and compressing these to whatever time was available. It was like zipping and archiving a file and then unzipping the same for a live concert later.
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While recording virtual concerts today, I find myself re-experiencing the old AIR/DD formats — 90 minutes, in camera, sung and recorded in one ‘take’, with hardly any editing. Of course, the audio and video quality have improved significantly compared to the old days.
The lockdown period was not easy for artistes. Every month, like every other artiste in the world, I was given hope that I would be back on stage. That did not happen. Things have improved since, but it will take time. Being a positive person, I believe things will get back to normal soon. My initial apprehension of singing virtual concerts has changed over the last few months.
Art that is accessible to all
Meanwhile, the Carnatic music world as we know it has been active online. This has created a lot of content. Musicians have been busy singing and playing and creating music that is accessible to all. There are innovative ventures that take advantage of technology and present music in an interesting manner. Everyone who is online can experience and enjoy these wonderful artists. Take my event, Tamizhum Naanum, for instance. It is a virtual event this year. The sponsor and the event manager have done a fantastic job of ensuring that it is free and available for everyone to view online.
Over the last several months, I have uploaded videos of my live concerts from the past. Thanks to the archiving that my wife Aarthi has been doing, it was possible for me to upload more than 150 videos on to my YouTube channel. Thus, the lockdown also gave us an opportunity to archive older content.
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This time has also been challenging for my accompanying artistes. They have kept themselves motivated by playing every day. They are highly conscientious. They set high standards for themselves and strive continuously to maintain those standards. Through these tough times, we have chatted frequently sharing thoughts and ideas to keep us going.
Music teachers, too, have been busy. As children have not been able to go to school, they have online music classes. Even as they are learning, they are performing, and doing very well. The sheer volume of quality video forwards that I receive everyday shows the talent that is out there. It is endearing to see children get this attention.
As a result of all these initiatives and new ways of thinking and performing in the online space, the old days of the patron/promoter deciding who should be featured has become redundant. There is a democratic level playing field on the digital platform for everyone to explore and experience.
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For the last seven-eight months, I have sat at home singing concerts every day. I am always conscious of an audience. I am very happy even if one person is listening to me sing. I generally look out for reactions from my accompanists as well as working technicians in the absence of an audience. At home, Aarthi stands outside and helps me when I pause to refer to the lyrics of a song that I have forgotten. Preparing song lists, getting ready, wearing concert costumes, tuning the tambura, etc. give me an experience that is almost like a kutchery. It is not the same as performing live, but I have been enjoying the experience and I hope you, the audience, will too from your homes.
Sanjay Subrahmanyan is a Carnatic vocalist