The book “Notations 21″ (by Theresa Sauer, Mark Batty Publishers, New York) is finally in print and available on www.amazon.com! This anthology of innovative musical notation is a tribute to the late american composer John Cage’s 40th anniversary of his compilation “Notations”. Rajesh Mehta’s music-artwork “songlines ‘ jewels: bhakti” is featured on page 150 and is the only contribution from a composer of Indian origin in the book. On this site, read the full essay on songlines ‘ jewels under writings, view the music-artworks in the gallery, and buy a limited edition of hand-retouched and signed prints of this music-artwork in the shop section!!
This is an audio excerpt from the solo interpretation of Mehta’s music-artwork “Songlines ‘ Jewels: Bhakti ” which he performed while navigating throughout the exceptionally reverberant acoustics ( 4-5 seconds echo ) of the Norwegian industrial butter manufacturing plant. This music-artwork is featured in the new book “Notations 21″ and prints are available for sale on this site.
This solo was performed on slide trumpet with an Indian sruti box (electronic drone machine) and was the Prelude to his open lecture “sounding buildings:unfolding frames” for the Akademie’s faculty and students.
Please watch another interpretation of songlines ‘ jewels:bhakti by Trio ORKA-M (Rajesh Mehta: hybrid and slide trumpets, Rohan de Saram: cello, Jayachandra Rao: mrdangam, south indian percussion) at the Festival Rümlingen, Switzerland, 09.09.2006, below:
Photos of the Norwegian Theatre Akademie Workshop, April 21-30, 2009
End of Norwegian Theatre Akademie workshop & open lecture
The Norwegian Theatre Akademie workshop for the second year scenography students (Annick, Gassim, Stine, Hanna, Malin, and Ieva) in an abandoned hydrogenating butter plant has now successfully ended. The students were treated to the vocal direction of Barbara Friederichsen-Mehta who came as a “surprise guest” in order to assist Mehta in leading the workshop focussing on sound and space. Mehta gave an open lecture on his work and orka-m to the akademie on april 28th which was well attended. The open studio where the students presented their work on April 30th was outstanding and we are very proud of their achievements in just 2 weeks, and also commend the team from this pioneering akademie led by the Swiss architect and scenography head Serge von Arx and the brilliant “soundman” Ulf Knudsen. Also Orka-M has started a dialogue with administrator Anne Berit about longer term collaborative partnerships with this Theatre Akademie and ORKA-M (Asia)
ORKA-M has decided to establish a new operating base in Singapore after a successful trip to Singapore in early April, 2009. Presently at the Norwegian Theatre Akademie where Rajesh Mehta and Barbara Friederichsen-Mehta are hosting a sound-space workshop for scenography students until May 1st in an abandoned hydrogenating Butter plant. Mehta will also have an open lecture at the akademie on april 28th see this link.
ORKA-M will meet past, present and future artistic partners and investors throughout Europe in May, 2009.
ORKA-M introduces its near-future plans to enter the animation film production sector with a short experimental animation film entitled “Galactic Dance (2008)” based on the graphical elements from Mehta’s music-artwork “imap 2 (2002)”. ORKA-M animation films have the unique attribute that music is the innovative engine powering the films and even the animation graphics are derived from music. This particular film was created with the animator/artist Louise Egan in Cork, Ireland in 2005 during Mehta’s Irish Arts Council artist-in-residency. The music is eerily prophetic of the Asian tsunami as it is the recorded material from an improvisation entitled “the four elements” live in concert on Dec. 22, 2004 at the seaside Galle Face hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka, four days before the devastating Tsunami hit and during which Mehta was still in the vicinity.
The concert was initiated by Mehta in honor of Cellist Rohan de Saram’s receiving an honorary doctorate in his country and included De Saram on cello, Mehta on Hybrid trumpets, and Sri Lankan percussion maestro Piyasara Shilpadhipathi.
New paintings by Rajesh Mehta are currently being exhibited at our Juhu, Mumbai Gallery:
Please click the images for a larger view.
Prints of songlines ‘ jewels: bardo and nagaraja will be available soon through our online shop!
Listen to a Music Session with Carnatic Mrdangamist/Percussionist Jayachandra Rao from Bangalore and Rajesh Mehta rehearsing a part of Mehta’s new music-artwork “film ragas:unfolding frames” during his recent visit to Mumbai in August 2008 here (MP3)
Prints for Purchase
The highest quality prints of Mehta’s music-artwork based on his graphical music notation framework and his narrative paintings continue to be sold in our online shop with new additions underway! Please see the shop on this site for details.Personal appointments to visit our Juhu, Mumbai Gallery where the entire collection of original works as well as the prints are currently being exhibited can be made by contacting ORKA-M’S co-founder Barbara Friederichsen-Mehta,orka.muse@gmail.com
South African Broadcasting Corporation showed a program entitled D’Fusion on TV channel SABC 3 on April 20, 2008 featuring Rajesh Mehta music-artworks including “Songlines ‘ Jewels: Bhakti” which has been published in the newly released anthology of innovative music notation entitled “Notations 21″. The prints of this music-artwork are for sale on this website
Members of Mehta’s music-architecture project “sounding buildings” team (including vocalist and orka-m co-founder Barbara Friederichsen-Mehta, Pianist and sounding buildings artistic assistant Eunice Martins, and Cellist Rohan de Saram who was very close to Xenakis and is one of the great interpreters of Xenakis’ compositions) have been invited to the Période Musicale 2008, co-organized by the CCMIX (Centre création musicale from the late contemporary music composer Iannis Xenakis) and the Centre Culturel de Rencontre du Couvent de La Tourette (made by Architect Le Corbusier) This year’s Période Musicale will conclude with an international symposium/debate on the theme «Music – Architecture». The symposium/debate will take place between November 5 – 7, 2008 and will conclude with a musical weekend running from the evening of November 7 through the afternoon of November 9, 2008.
Rajesh Mehta’s music-artwork (Songlines’ Jewels) and his essay on Innovative Musical Notation has just been released in an Anthology of 21st Century Musical Notation entitled Notations 21 (hard cover, Mark Batty Publishers/Thames and Hudson) by Theresa Sauer and can be pre-ordered on www.amazon.com. Video loops of Mehta’s compositional work as well as the south African TV feature can be seen at a series of book release concerts from October 4-October 18, 2008 at the Chelsea Art Museum in NYC.
