This Summer, 'Music of Three Worlds' presented by the Asian Music Circuit (AMC), aims to explore how people in India expressed their yearning for the divine through various styles of music, temple architecture, poetry, meditation and chanting, through a series of events.

The AMC has become synonymous with not only Indian classical music, but for helping audiences understand the provenance of the music and its longer term impact on society through a mixture of exhibitions, debates and concerts.  

This year’s programme, which runs from 28th June through to 6th July, will help audiences develop an understanding of the spiritual, human and natural worlds and they way in which they integrate with everyday life.

CONCERT: TAJJALAN 
29th June 2018 @ Cadogan Hall: 7.30pm

TAJJALAN is premiere of a new choral work commissioned by the AMC, inspired by Miserere of Allegri but using beautiful melodies of Indian ragas. TAJJALAN  is a mystical cosmological approach developed by the ancient seers of the Vedic and Upanishadic periods attempting to describe REALITY or BRAHMAN. 

Though Vedic thinkers believed that creation is without a beginning or an end, Brahman was the essence of all that exists and does not exist. It also suggested Brahman as existence, consciousness and infinity – the ideas that underpin the AMC’s project – Music of the Three Worlds.

TAJJALAN is performed by RUBYTHROAT a choral ensemble of students of Trinity Laban under the artistic direction of Linda Hirst.  

Also performing on the night will be:

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MANORAMA PRASAD who sings the poetry and compositions of some of the great mystics of Carnatic music – Adi Shankara,Dikshitar, Tyagaraja and Purandaradas. 
She is one of the most highly regarded performers of Carnatic music, having received many awards and recognition in India as well as abroad.

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SUNANDA SHARMA sings bhajans of Mirabai, Kabir and Varanasi thumri, based on Lord Krishna, with Babar Latif accompanying  on table. Sunanda is one of the senior most students of the late Girija Devi – the great exponent of the Varanasi  Purab Gayaki – vocal tradition. Sunanda is no stranger to the UK having performed here for the AMC for many years and commanding a huge following in India as well as abroad.

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CONCERT: PANDITS RAJAN AND SAJAN MISRA   
1st July 2018 @ Cockpit Theatre: 1pm - 4pm
1st July 2018 @ Elgar Room Royal Albert Hall 7.30pm - 10.30pm

India’s foremost singers of classical music Pandits Rajan and Sajan Misra, who hardly need any introduction, accompanied on tabla by Sanju Sahai, will give two concerts of afternoon and evening ragas related to deities and nature. Their UK visit is part of a global tour called BHAIRAV SE BHAIRAVI TAK and the AMC are delighted to work with them again. 

EXHIBITION: THE MUSIC OF THE THREE WORLDS 
3rd July to 8th July 2018 @ at Asia House 
63 New Cavendish Street, Marylebone, London, W1G 7LP 

This is an expertly curated and written exhibition with contributions from Prof Richard Widdess (SOAS), Prof Katherine Schofield (Kings College), Dr. Richard Williams (SOAS) and Dr. Jasmine Hornabrook (Goldsmiths). 

Using illustrations along with the texts as well short films, this six-day exhibition explores early Hindu and Buddhist traditions, including the architecture and associated arts, such as the songs of the mystics; dances of the devdasis the instruments used as channels of communication with the divine; the development of the arts in the Mughal period and Sufi devotional genres in the shrines of their saints.

As part of the exhibition there will also be a an academic symposium on 3rd July 10am till 3.30pm.

CONCERT: SUFIANA
4th July 2018 @ The Bhavan: 7.30pm

Featuring a double bill of wonderful ghazals by Imran Khan with Babar Latif on tabla. These two fine musicians are from a long family line of musicians of the Delhi gharana.  

Saleem Hasan Chishti and his group perform qawwali, on  their first visit to the UK. They are from a long line of singers of qawali associated with the shrine of Sheikh Salem Chishti in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, the tomb built by Akbar when he moved his capital from Delhi to Fatehpur Sikri. 

CONCERT: THE MYSTIC BAULS FROM BENGAL @ THE MONKS OF TASHI LHUMPO
5th July 2018 @ Watermans Arts Centre: 7.30pm

This is an extraordinary double bill featuring the Mystic Bauls from Bengal  and  the Buddhist monks of the Tashi Lhunpo  Monastery.    

The BAULS are amongst some of the most esoteric musicians from India, having given up worldly existence, to live a gypsy like life surviving on alms. To the BAUL “moner manush’ – the man within – is the “absolute” – free from attributes or limitations. The “absolute” is neither male nor female but both. Their songs can be abstract and very beautiful.

If you are one who seeks an inner journey, nothing could be more fulfilling than the wonderful prayers and chants of the Buddhist monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. 

The chants, mantras, music and swirling costumed, masked dance of the monks and the sound of the dungchen (long horn) open a magical window on to a world of reincarnation and Buddhist mysticism.

Viram Jasani, Chairman and Founder of the Asian Music Circuit says of this year’s programme said, “Each year we aim to bring new sounds and experiences to UK audiences. For us the programme needs to go deeper than just the music, we want to create immersive experience with layers of depth that lead to a fuller understanding of where the music came from and its cultural and emotional significance. 

"This year’s programme looks far more deeply into the spirituality and context of these musical forms.”

For more details about the concerts and venues click here