Bangalore :

Into the sunset of Sunday, arose the strains of a ‘bridge’ across cultures.

Lit candles in the sanctum of St. Andrew’s Church merged with the strings of the sitar, as American musician Paul Livingstone  plunged into the depths of a meditative tune, between the fluidity of bass and treble altitudes.

Internalizing the mellifluousness of raag Jai Jayanti, Livingstone’s soul connected with the heavens in solitary harmony and cascaded into the aura of myriad beating hearts, exploring the communion between heaven and earth.

Keeping the 16-beat pace of the raag, which broke ground and reached sky high, transcending time and space, percussionist Vishwanath Nakod flavoured the range with gentle and powerful finesse.

And into the night’s darkness, candles at the sanctum glowed with acquired intensity, in emotional transcendence with

Livingstone’s alaap swum over the pillars and trusses that have been holding the ancient place of worship steady since the 1860s.

This confluence of music and the magnetic appeal it brought with it reflected the intensity of India’s own music gems — Amiya Dasgupta, Rajeev Taranath and Pandit Ravi Shankar  — under whom Livingstone has trained for over 25 years.

With this Indian connection, Livingstone strummed out of the pages of his own connection to the ‘trinity’ a hymn in raag. “For me, this symbol is about unity and diversity and the love that every person carries for god, no matter what caste or religion,” said Livingstone.

The ‘bridge’ across cultures created a page in the history of spiritual interconnections, as he strummed the strings of the sitar  in an Indian church for the first time ever.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / January 21st, 2012