Pankaj Basu and his students - Vocal symphony enthralls audience

There was no orchestra, not even a single musical instrument. Artiste Pankaj Basu was directing a group of young singers. Using only some phonetic sounds instead of any lyrics, what they presented was nothing short of a symphony, a perfect musical composition. Pankaj Basu termed the composition a “vocal symphony,” an innovative creation by his Ustad Joyonto Basu of India. According to Pankaj, he applied the form first in this country.

On February 27 at the Music and Dance Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpkala Academy, a vibrant event on classical music was organised by Binkar Musical Society of Bangladesh (BMSB). The students of the institute performed the ” vocal symphony” at the event. Principal of BMSB, Pankaj Basu’s solo performance was the attraction of the evening.

The event began with a choral rendition of a classical-based patriotic song by the students of BMSB. A brief discussion followed which was presided over by Bikash Kishore Das, secretary of BSA. Professor Sirajul Islam, president of Bangladesh Asiatic Society was the chief guest of the event, while Mahbubul Alam, director general of Bangladesh Betar and Dr. Liyakat Ali Jewel were present as special guests.

“Though classical music is the essence of all music, its practice is limited in our country. Pankaj Basu’s experimental music school is an encouraging endeavour in this context,” said the chief guest in his speech. The discussants emphasised the importance of sponsoring classical music to popularise it in Bangladesh.

“Voice of nature” and “Journey” were the titles of the two vocal symphonies performed at the event. The audience showered plaudits on the performers.

Next was a musical performance also by the students, which was a compilation of songs from different musical genres, including classical, folk, patriotic and Nazrul songs. The song numbers were intertwined with threads of recitation.

Finally, it was Pankaj Basu performing solo. Spurred by a passion for classical music, he left the country at the age of 18. Once in India for 15 years he received guidance from Joyonto Basu. On his return to Bangladesh, he established his musical school in 2006 where he uses a special voice training method to teach classical music.

Pankaj embarked on his performance with the raga Bageshree in teen taal. To entertain the audience, Pankaj included different elements in his performance such as “Aalap,” “Tarana,” “Bistar” and “Gamak”.

“Using as elements as possible and performing “Khayal” in a high tempo is my speciality. I try to prevent the audience from boredom, a frequent accusation against classical music,” said the artiste to this correspondent.

Pankaj was accompanied by Subrata Das on the tabla from India. Das is also a disciple of Ustad Joyonto Basu.

Nadia Sarwat