Eléonore Fourniau and Nandini Shankar are bringing together the cultures of Kurdistan and India in an Indo-French musical performance called Queens of Melody, organised by Alliance Française of Madras, in association with Alliance Française de Delhi and Kalasetu. Conducted as a part of AF’s InChorus series of musical projects, the concert will also see a performance by tabla player Abhishek Mishra, who will accompany the two ladies on stage.
As for their instruments, Nandini plays the violin, while Éléonore plays the hurdy-gurdy, a medieval stringed musical instrument that produces a sound similar to a blend of a violin and a bagpipe. What makes the hurdy-gurdy unique is that it has a wheel that needs to be crank-turned to rub against the strings — very similar to the function of a violin bow.
Even though Éléonore was born in France, she moved to Turkey to learn Turkish and Kurdish music. “I may be a foreigner in these regions, but I try to follow their traditions. Despite that, I believe that I have my own style. Hardly anyone plays Turkish music on a hurdy-gurdy. People here are more familiar with modern Western instruments like the keyboard and bass guitar,” says the 32-year-old, who is coming to India for the third time, the last occasion being this February in Jodhpur, where she performed at the World Sacred Spirit Festival.
Consisting of five concerts, the Queens of Melody tour tries to blend the stories of the Kurdish people with the ragas of Hindustani music. On her experience of working with Éléonore, Nandini says, “I am really excited to play with Éléonore because this is the first time I am collaborating with Turkish music. Our conversations have been really enriching. She has learnt Indian songs and I have learnt some Turkish ones.”
Based in Mumbai, Nandini started playing the violin at the age of three. No surprises there, as she is the granddaughter of N Rajam, the Hindustani classical violinist, who is known to have pioneered the gayaki ang technique of music, where vocal elements are reproduced on musical instruments, a skill mastered by Nandini as well.
Talking about her future projects, she elaborates, “I am about to launch my first-ever classical album next month. I am also working on an original fusion track. All of these will be available on all audio streaming apps and YouTube. Apart from releases, I am working on a new interesting concept with my elder sister, Ragini, which we hope to bring in 2020.”
April 23. 7 pm. At Edouard Michelin Auditorium.