Livia Sevier: Indian raga, restoring an ancient house

Tonight we will explore the form and structure of Indian raga singing. The Indian tradition says that Brahma gave us ragas and that instruments came later, following the patterns of the singing voice. Born in 1500, the famous musician and poet Tansen at Akbar’s court created the ragas Todi and Dabari Kanada, and indeed it was said that he could bring rain or fire with his singing. Writings from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries classify the system and the structure of the ragas, some of which are identical to the Greek modes, but many are unique in rules of ascent and descent and their specific selection of notes.

They are traditionally sung at specific times of day, at spring time or monsoon. The second part of this session will be experiential, inviting you to sing and encounter another way into music. We will follow this ancient aural tradition, naming the notes with Sanskrit names and improvising with the support of a drone, together with the support of group call and response. We will go beyond major, minor, blues and flamenco to explore other sound worlds. The notes we will sing have beauty because of the space between them; we will sing with the intimacy of chamber music and the fragility and spontaneity of improvisation, and we will emerge with a new clarity of listening and sense of expansion. No previous musical experience is required, although this session will also be of interest to emerging singers, musicians and music teachers working with Indian raga on the National Curriculum.

Livia Sevier has a B. Mus from Canterbury Christ Church University and has studied raga singing since 1994 with Gilles Petit, developing the voice as an improvising instrument for teaching and composing. She has taught Indian raga since 2006 and is able to lead people into singing with ease. She creates a safe place to sing and encourages participants to be willing to take the risk in listening and following her lead into the musical landscape of Indian raga. In the way of all improvisation traditions, it is changing and new in every moment.