Rajasthan – the land of royalty – is a glittering jewel set in the golden sands of the barren Thar Desert, with a wealth of rich culture, tradition and heritage.
The Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band is a living embodiment of this landscape, a spectacular celebration of its vibrant and colourful lifestyle, their music and dance a heady, exciting and hypnotic reflection of this enchanting region.
Extensive touring in 2015 and 2016 has established them as the premier touring Rajasthani brass band. With a diverse repertoire spanning Rajasthani folk songs, Bollywood hits, spiritual qawwali and Bhangra beats these ten vividly costumed artists cover the full spectrum of the evocative and joyous music that governs life in Rajasthan.
Eight musicians from the villages surrounding Jaipur, Rajasthan’s renowned “Pink City”, make up the brass core of this rousing new ensemble on trumpet, saxophone, tuba, sousaphone and trombone, supplemented with clarinet and keyboard against an insistent background of percussion on side, bass and dhol drums.
Dancing to this uplifting music is unavoidable and is represented in two unique styles – Kalbelia, or Sapera, and Bollywood. The Kalbelia are nomadic snake charmers with the traditionally dressed and bejewelled dancers mirroring the sinuous movements of the cobra. In complete contrast, a quick change of costume and musical line-up later we are suddenly transported to Bollywood.
Completing the scene are the gravity-defying, eye-watering, mesmerising feats of the amazing fakir. This stunning group really must be experienced live!
New North and South
This show is part of New North and South – a three year programme of co-commissions, exhibitions and intellectual exchange to celebrate shared heritage across continents and develop artistic talent, produced by a new network of eleven arts organisations from across the North of England and South Asia.
The New North and South network, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence programme, will bring prominence to the work of leading Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and UK artists and include new artistic commissions, exhibitions and performances in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool and in Colombo, Dhaka, Lahore, Karachi and Kochi.
