Musical Performance

The history of music predates the written word and is tied to the development of each unique human culture. Music has been used as meditational music since the very dawn of civilization, because it balances the human organism through its rhythmic pattern of tones, which are generated in a harmonic relationship with each other. Mantras originated in the Vedic religion of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Indian music and mantras bring us back in to the physical world every day.   Most of the indian songs were written by   saints for devotion and meditation. This music was created in order to give people better feelings. Not long ago I visited the concert of a not very famous group â€Å"Atmosphere†. It consisted of two women who chanted mantras and three men who played some instruments. Those instruments included pakhawaj , violin, flute. The most exotic of those instruments were pakhawaj and flute. Pakhawaj   is a long bodied wooden drum with both ends covered in skin. Played horizontally with the fingers and palms of both hands, the right hand surface is tuned to the pitch required and the left hand surface provides the base. Flute, carved from bamboo, is made in every possible size. It is usually played in a vertical position. The combination of the sounds made by those instruments was excellent. The music they played was composed by the members of those group. They took the text of a famous Indian mantras and   composed   a modern joyful music for chanting it. Actually, when they were singing and playing they were meditating themselves. Moreover, a lot of people sitting in the hall were meditating too. While singing the women were dancing. There were no special costumes, except an embroidered Indian shirts. Of course they were influenced by some chanters of mantras, but intheir group they expressed their individualities. To tell the truth, I liked the style of their performance greatly. I think it was a good idea to combine mantras with a modern music. References â€Å"Atmosphere: Music Group†. (2006). Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://www.answers.com/topic/atmosphere-music-group