Strings that set you raving

Acoustic delight

There is something about a stringed instrument that leaves you in rapture. The performance of French classical guitarist Eli Ossipovitch, to commemorate the 25th year of the Bangalore School of Music, was a testimony to that.

The big crowd that came on a weekday evening said a lot about the visiting musician. Eli Ossipovitch was educated in music at the Conservatory of Chambery. With five years of having played around the world, Eli indeed had a way with the crowd. He seemed to make enough conversation with the crowd, despite an accent barrier, and brought out some laughs.

The concert featured guitar pieces ranging from the early 16th century to those by artistes now. There were a few of his own compositions that were far separated from the rest. The show was as minimalist as any music lover could imagine. Eli sat perched with a guitar on his lap and absolutely no accompaniments.The house fell silent every time he laid his hands on the strings, even though he profusely apologised for having to tune the guitar after every piece. The music was purely acoustic and melody based.

Eli started out with a few quintessential classical pieces by various French guitar greats of the 16th century. Each of the pieces was carefully introduced by Eli, before he took to playing them. After a few pieces, the house full of audience broke into a 10-minute interval. After the interval, Eli introduced a few newer melodies and also played a song by a Spanish artiste that has its influences in Flamenco, the music form.

He was delighted to play the piece to an Indian audience and said, “This piece is inspired by Flamenco. Flamenco is a form of music played by the gypsies who were Indian by origin. I am glad to play this track back in India”. This piece was easily the longest and the most challenging of the show and finished with huge applause from the audience. The guitarist was swift with his fingers giving every music lover present a quiet music-filled evening.