The More You Know

Tafelmusik had concerts this past weekend titled The Indigo Project wherein they used the history of the indigo dye to showcase both baroque music and South Asian music. The concerts were mostly sold-out with only the pricey seats still available. So when I found out that there was a free, abbreviated version on Thursday morning, I made my way through the sunshine to Trinity-St. Paul.

It turned out to be an educational outreach program. But because of the teachers' strike, class trips have been canceled. Wednesday's show was packed with kids; today's event had mostly retirees, families with pre-kindergarten children, and a smattering of preteens. Congenial hostess Cynthia Smithers introduced us to the world of Louis XIV, and the instruments of his musicians (with quick demonstrations from Tafelmusik members) including familiar ones like violin, oboes, bassoon, and cello, and more unusual ones such as the double-bass, harpsichord, and the baroque theorbo or lute. His court's penchant for blue attire led to a discussion of the making of blue dye from the indigo plant in India.

Suba Sankaran and her father Trichy Sankaran then gave the audience a taste of Indian raga (melodies) and tala (rhythms). She got the crowd singing the Indian scale including microtonals, while Trichy led us clapping with correct palm positions through the 8-beat ardha taal.

Smithers told us the story of Charles Spencer, a foundling who was reunited with his mother Sarah thanks to a torn strip of sewn cloth.They had each held on to one of the two halves. This decorative sash included an indigo square taken from a hand-me-down dress gifted to Mrs. Spencer by her former Duchess employer. This true tale raises the question of "what stories do our own clothes tell?" and gave program director Alison MacKay a way to talk about the modern issues of cheap clothes, slave labour, fair wages, and environmental sustainability.

This hour-long show had some music and even a short dance, but not much compared to the program notes for the 2.5 hours concert. Yet I suspect the latter had less interaction and crowd participation. So in the end, it was fun and informative and I even learned a few things. The droning you sometimes hear in yoga class, which is now mostly done with an electronic app or recording, is the overlapping tones of the 4-string tanpura.