Singing sonnets in style

Sonnets of William Shakespeare are among the most popular works in English literature. The popularity of these works have prompted several writers to translate them to several languages.

While Bahuroopi theatre festival has been celebrating the various aspects of Shakespeare’s literature, a makeshift band of music enthusiasts formed ahead of the festival, has been entertaining the audience with their rendition of some of the most popular sonnets of the legendary writer, in both English and Kannada.


The unnamed band, which according to its members, started working on the compositions for these sonnets just ten days ahead of the festival, has been successful in performing it well.


The band comprises Chintan Vikas on lead vocals and guitar, Srikantswamy on rhythm/drums, Purushotham on keyboards, Udit Haridas and Munna on guitar and Srinivas Bhat on harmonium. Apart from Srinivas Bhat, who is a seasoned performer on harmonium at Rangayana and adds a unique Carnatic sound to the band, other members are budding musicians, who have taken up the challenge.


Speaking to Deccan Herald, Chintan said that the concept of singing sonnets came up owing to the theme of the Bahuroopi festival. Some of the finest sonnets of Shakespeare were then selected and works on the composition of the songs started, he said.
He said that they had already performed Sonnet 18, one of the most famous of the sonnets of the writer, titled ‘Shall I compare thee to summers day’ during the inaugural of the festival. Subsequently, the group also performed Sonnet 130, 29 and 19 during various events at Bahuroopi. Kannada versions of these sonnets were picked from a book, which is a compilation of translations by eminent writers such as Kuvempu, Channaveera Kanavi and others. He added that they were encouraged by the response at the festival for the experimentation of sonnets with fusion music, and were planning to bring out an album of the same.


Another band member, Srikantswamy, who plays drums for city bands such as ‘Stone Age’ and ‘Naavu’, said that even though he had performed with different bands at Rangayana in the past, this was a new experience. “People have heard sonnets being read out in classrooms in a narrative manner. Nobody we knew have heard about them as songs,” he said. He said that the group was planning to work together and perform sonnets in the future. “We will be working on adding other instruments to the preliminary composition, so that we could make it more appealing,” he said.
The group will perform today at Vanaranga, at 5 pm.