Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz - III. Mirror | Opposite / Aks aur Saaya

(Starts at 20:10)

Program Note: "Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz, at its core, is a piece about sisterhood. Each movement epitomizes one of the many facets of having and being a sister. It is also about what sisterhood looks like when expanded beyond a single family or a single culture— when two women, from two different musical cultures create space for one another’s voices to be heard.

The third movement is about mirrors and opposites. I used two different raags that are actual mirror images of one another: Bhup, a light and sweet raag, and Malkauns, a dark, heavy raag. You will hear the shifts in tonality as the phrases cross from one into the other. Also embedded in this piece is a classic Hindustani jugalbandi (a musical competition) that is done completely in mirror image, and with both Indian and Western solfege systems, and it ends with both women crossing into one another’s musical cultures: the Hindustani singer begins singing phrases in English and the soprano joins in for ataranain harmony." - Reena Esmail

Ensemble: Western Classical Soprano, Hindustani Vocalist, and Orchestra

Text:
Saaya nahi, pratibimb hai bahin
Not a shadow but a reflection of my sister

Vibhil chabi, ek dusre ka darpan
Lucid image, a mirror of one another

My sister is both my mirror and my opposite
Vo aks hai aur saaya bhi

Other Movements:
-Movement I. Dō Kaliyaan / Two Flowers
-Movement II. Meri Sakhi ki Avaaz / Sweet is the Voice