The composer honored by the “Tribute Series” of the Société de musique contemporain du Québec promises us a 2023-2024 season open to the world. On the eve of the opening, Saturday, of the multidisciplinary exhibition entitled Comprovisations for Sandeep Bhagwati, the composer reveals himself in Duty.
The Contemporary Music Society of Quebec (SMCQ) presents Sandeep Bhagwati as a “composer, poet, professor, researcher, media artist, conductor, director, theater director…” who “goes beyond all boundaries: musical, artistic, cultural, natural, technological and geographical”.
The researcher and professor at Concordia University, established in Montreal since 2006, sees himself associated with the neologism “comprovision” (contraction of composition And improvisation), himself emphasizing: “The role of the composer has evolved over time. Today, his goal is to find new listening possibilities, to be an inventor of new traditions. »
It was not in his birthplace, Mumbai (Bombay at the time), that Sandeep Bhagwati developed all his theories, but in Germany, where his parents (Indian father, German mother) settled when he was five years. Bhagwati is therefore a European avant-garde, coming from the Hochshule für Musik in Munich which has kept deep roots in Germany and in the Germanic sphere, where he spent the first twenty years of his career.
His biography tells us that he went to IRCAM (Institute for Acoustic/Music Research and Coordination) in Paris in 1995. How come he didn’t find what he was looking for there? “I worked there for two years. It was very hierarchical and very ideological. Now it’s more open, but at the time, it was an organization oriented towards new music, but interdisciplinarity and working with different cultures interested no one. »
Musical life
Sandeep Bhagwati’s path was paved for him by Canada. “I was aiming for something other than a career as a composer for already existing situations and ensembles. I wanted more research into music. And with the Canada Research Chair, which I received in 2005, I came in 2006 and was able to do deeper and more daring musical research. I work here on intercultural and interdisciplinary music projects, artificial intelligence and the influence of the Anthropocene on music; in short, all kinds of schemes for music itself, not for musical life as it already exists. I’m looking for another musical life, in fact. »
What then is the place of traditional music in this new musical order (or disorder)? “I introduced the word “transtraditional” into academic discourse. It is transtraditional music, because each music has a tradition. European music has a tradition – a neurotic tradition, because it thinks that it does not have one, but that it is a new thing -, contemporary music is a tradition; It all depends on tradition. If, on the other hand, we take the transtraditional perspective, we go beyond the limits of one tradition to take an interest in the other and thrive on differences and similarities. For example, I am not interested in stealing something from Indian music, but I am interested in the fundamental mechanism of this music; I want to understand how it works. A work can appear to be a piano piece while still being inspired by Indian music. »
Scientific research is carried out by individuals in the laboratory, while musical research is exhibited. How can a musical researcher meet his audience? ” I do not know why. I’m always amazed that there are people who want to listen to this. But there are some and there are even fans who travel to hear a creation. I am very happy to meet people who come to me saying that they have been touched, but during the composition, I don’t think about it, because if I thought that I had to please someone or a collective, it would inhibit me; I have to let the imagination run free. »
“For example, writing for an orchestra has always been my misfortune, because an orchestra has certain expectations; it has no opening for new forms. This is why I have abstained for several years. The desire to be an artist is the desire to be free in thought, free in sensitivity. When I am not free, I cannot achieve the things I seek. »