Kartikey Sehgal

Information:

Franz Liszt was a composer-pianist (largely). He transcribed Beethoven’s symphonies for piano. Beethoven was a composer. 

Wagner and Tchaikovsky were composers. Haydn was a composer and a teacher to Beethoven. Knowlede about Liszt’s transcriptions here.

I see.

The idea of Franz Liszt to play Ludwig Van Beethoven on piano was to show that Beethoven had a soft touch in all the symphonies. Franz’s piano played the part of bringing to notice the absolutely sublime part of the music; sublimity also defined as softness; that which does not hurt the ears; that which replaces the alleged harshness of trombones and trumpets.

Any music listener would need to imagine music and ‘circumstance’ to essentially be in touch with classical music. I define circumstance as supreme imagination. All are not lucky to possess this imagination.that

It is thus that Wagner, Tchaikovsky saw in Beethoven what others didn’t. Also, this circumstance of superior imagination may come now and then, making the task of the critic obsolete since there is no absolute to music except that which is easily seen as horrendously bad.

The listener, say, like Haydn, may one day, at an opportune moment accept that what he had previously considered as mediocre is essentially life-changing; like Haydn alluded to Beethoven’s music after listening to his Symphony no.3.

Is it not a pleasure to listen to an orchestra play Beethoven’s works, and then listen to Liszt play them on the piano? You realise that music has shades, a statement passed of as obvious by music lovers, but which assumes greater significance for the listener when faced with the actuality of listening to the soothing piano tones after the absolute power of the trumpets and the string section.

The listener, now, has to imagine the power displayed by the trumpet in the notes of the piano. A task that is of great love to the listener. A task that may define the mysterious emotion of ‘love’. For love is this deeper imagination of music, and hence of life. 

Kartikey Sehgal

I hope you enjoy listening to this nazm as I have enjoyed composing and singing it. The Lahori audience was refined and appreciative. From an official source:

Kartikey Sehgal sings his composition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem, “Jab Teri Samandar Aankhon Main” (In Your Ocean Eyes) at a concert in Lahore organised by Moneeza Hashmi of ‘Faiz Ghar‘ and recorded by Hum TV.

This is an audience recording and the actual recording would be available soon, including all ghazals/nazms sung by Seema Sehgal.

The cd would contain all credits.

The Poem’s Translation (original poem below)
source here

This edge of sunlight, as evening descends,
the meeting point of dark and light,
‘fore tommorrow begins and this day ends:
a pause between the day and the night.
Eternal for a moment,
Transient in a moment,
on this edge of sunlight, for a fraction of time.
the impatience of lips; arms in contact;
our union needs not to attest, misbelieve
or blame, what need is there to deceive?
The evening sun sets in the depths of your eyes
as in peaceful sleep the homedweller lies
and the traveller takes to the road with a sigh.

Original Poem

Ye dhoop kinara, shaam dhale

milte hain dono waqt jahaan

jo raat na din, jo aaj na kal

pal bhar ko amar, pal bhar mein dhuaan

is dhoop kinare, pal do pal

honton ki lapak

baahon ki chhanak

ye mel hamara jhoot na sach

kyon raaz karo, kyon dosh dharo

kis kaaran jhooti baat karo

jab teri samandar aankhon mein

is shaam ka sooraj doobega

sukh so’enge ghar dar wale

aur raahi apni raah lega

Kartikey Sehgal

There are other heartaches in the world than those of love – so said poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, from his poem “Mujhse Peheli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob na Maang” (Don’t ask me for the love I once gave you, my love).

I have set this and other poems to music and they shall be sung by Seema Sehgal (blog link). I may sing two self-composed nazms.

The program is this Saturday (April 7) in Lahore, Pakistan. You are welcome.

This evening of poetry and music is hosted by ‘Faiz Foundation Trust’ and the family of the renowned Urdu poet.

A photo from a much earlier program.
(Source: The Hindu)

Kartikey Sehgal

 Here is a gift. Selected works of ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Haydn. These are my selections  from his 106 symphonies. This man made many, many symphonies.

 Music fans have complained that Haydn is boring and ‘repetitive’. He wrote for the court and for  entertainment. He wrote so that the princes and the common man could identify and move along and  not be challenged or shocked. ‘But’ he also composed masterpieces that remind you of the style of  Mozart and Beethoven, who had dedicated their compositions to Haydn. 

 Because he composed a lot and often in speed, you are bound to find repetition if you listen to  everything. My selection of 22 movements have melody, style and grace. I challenge you to find this  selection boring or artistically inedible. 

 Here is the first track from the selection – online. An underrated and ‘unheard’ composition from his  early life. Symphony No 4, Mvt. 2 (Audio only Link).

 Ideally, you will listen to this selection and get back to me. So we can discuss Haydn’s music and talk about the violin strings. This will do good for your music study.

 I have divided the 22 movements into folders of six onto a safe web-sharing depot – mediafire.
Each folder is approximately 20 MB in size to aid listeners with slow internet connections. All files are MP3s. 

It gives me immense pleasure to listen to this selection of fine Haydn music. 
I hope it generates and sustains your interest in western classical music and that you seek more of such music.

Link to Music:

Click to Go to Link

This will take you to a page on mediafire that has links to six folders. Click on each folder to download.

Kartikey Sehgal

My vocals for the song ‘Goriye Ho Meri Raniye Ho’ (alongwith Seema Sehgal) from the album “Tale of a Virgin River”. 
 
Singers: Seema Sehgal & Kartikey Sehgal 
Composed by Seema Sehgal 
Lyrics: Yash Sharma
Arranged by: Sandesh Shandilya
From the Dogri Album ‘Tale of a Virgin River’ 

Goriye ho meri raniye ho by kartikeys

Kartikey Sehgal

Sung during the September program in Mumbai… my compositions of Faiz’s ‘Chopin ka Nagma’ and Ahmad Faraz’s ‘Tere Kareeb Aake’… sung by the mellifluous Seema Sehgal.

Savage storm and without storm. Unshaven or impeccably dressed. Amidst the clinker of construction sites and folk songs of sparrows.

Enjoy listening to them as I have enjoyed making them.
[Click on the ‘Orange Play’ button]

Chopin ka Nagma
Writer: Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Composer: Kartikey Sehgal
Singer: Seema Sehgal

Chopin ka Nagma by kartikeys

Tere Kareeb Aake
Writer: Ahmad Faraz
Composer: Kartikey Sehgal
Singer: Seema Sehgal

Tere Kareeb Aake by kartikeys

Shaival Thakkar

On the 21st of September, I read on a fan-site that the musical group REM has decided to call it a day. After 31 years of making some great songs and performing all around the world, they have decided with mutual consent to break up. On the day I read this news, there were some 20,000 comments on that story from fans across the world.

The next day, the number of comments went up to 40,000 and more.

However, most people here in India know REM mostly through 2 songs ‘Everybody Hurts’ and ‘Losing my religion’. These are no doubt great songs but there is much more to REM than these 2 songs.

• For example, when you fall in love with a beautiful woman (and there are many of those in India!), you could listen to ‘At my most beautiful‘ (Up)

• When you want to listen to a song about loving your family (and here in India we are a very family-oriented people), you could listen to ‘Sweetness Follows‘ (Automatic for the People)

• If you work in a call centre with nightshifts (and there are oh so many of those here!) then you could listen to ‘Daysleeper‘ (Up)

• If you want to kickstart your day and stop being sleepy (this applies to people outside India also!) then you could crank up ‘What’s the frequency, Kenneth?’ (Monster) or ‘Uberlin‘( Collapse into now)

• If you have unfortunately fallen unrequitedly in love with someone (and that just happens too much in India!) then you could listen to the soulful mournful ‘So.Central Rain‘ (Reckoning)

• When you are sick of the infrastructural problems and corruption (in India and have decided to cast your lot in India inspite of these problems) then hearing ‘Stand‘ (Green) can make you feel like you’re doing the right thing.

• When you are saturated of Bollywood songs selling love to you (And romantic love is so very complicated in India!) all the time then Michael Stipe’s obscure lyrics sung with pretty musical arrangements of Mike Mills and Peter Buck can rescue you. Try ‘Imitation of Life‘ (Reveal)

• If you want to make a dreamy serenade to the one you love (and in India we don’t serenade that much I guess!) then try ‘The Great beyond‘ (‘Man on the Moon’ soundtrack) or ‘You’re in the air‘ (Up)

• If you are studying for board exams, or your parents have forced you to study a subject you do not like (here in India kids commit suicide due to all this mess) then try ‘Walk Unafraid‘(Up) and if that doesn’t work then try ‘Everybody Hurts‘ (Automatic for the people). (It is the tried and tested life saving song for the human condition of hopelessness and might also work for the Indian human high school condition of board exams!)

• If you have successfully serenaded the girl or the guy you like, then the next logical REM step would be to sing ‘Be Mine‘ (New Adventures in Hi-Fi) (however, in India you might have to sing ‘Be Mine’ to the family of your girl/guy first) for you to get the permission to take her/him ‘Nightswimming‘ (Automatic for the people)

• If your relationship gets complicated then you will know that with love come ‘strange currencies‘ (Monster) (like caste, religion, gotra etc), then she might tell you that ‘She just wants to be‘ (Reveal) and then all you can do is sing ‘There she goes again‘ (Dead Letter Office) or sing ‘I’ll take the rain‘ (Reveal)

• And if there is no love to be had then you might as well become a cartographer and get caught in ‘Maps and Legends‘ (Fables of reconstruction) instead of getting caught (on stupid exploitative Indian shows) like ‘Emotional Atyachaar’.

• If you teach at a college or university in India where students are not paying attention then you could listen to (that happens everywhere in India!) ‘Sad Professor‘ (Up)

• And lastly if you support the Jan Lokpal Bill (to end corruption in India) then you could maybe sing the ironic and political song ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)’ (Document) and maybe even translate it into Hindi?!

And if you are finally a fan of REM’s music then imagine how awesome it would have been for them to play live in India! That would have been something!

However, I am not going to complain about them never playing in India. I am just glad that they made all this wonderful music and I got the chance to discover it and enjoy it.

And I am happy that all the 4 members of the band are alive and doing well and did not fall into the stardom trap of drugs, depression and suicide.

Thank you REM.

Love,

Shaival

The Young India

From the YouTube Channel of The Young India. Listen to this song here: (Hum Jung Na Hone Denge)

Seema Anil Sehgal sings her composition of ‘Hum Jung Na Hone Denge’ written by Atal Behari Vajpayee in her live concert titled ‘Lahoo Ka Rang Hai’.

The concert was performed across the country to promote peace and harmony between India and Pakistan.
The chorus includes Kartikey Sehgal, Parvati Sehgal, Anand Lalwani and another singer whose name I do not recollect currently.

The Young India

‘The Young India’ has a YouTube Account to upload songs and other original works of art. Every upload should find a mention on this website with a translation and other information (if available).

We start with one of our outright favourites. “If the stars wander from their path—is heaven Yours or mine?” (Link to the song)

Ghazal: Agar Kaj Rau Hain Anjum (If the stars wander from their path)

Poet: Allama Iqbal

Composer-Singer: Seema Sehgal

Album: Sitaron Se Aage Jahan Aur Bhi Hain (Beyond the stars there are
other worlds of light)

Producer: MonkMusic (Sqn Ldr Anil Sehgal)

Link to the song

Poem Translation

• If the stars wander from their path—is heaven Yours or mine?
  Should I care how the world goes? Is the world then Yours or mine?
• If all eternity be void of passion’s storms, whose fault?
  God! that eternity should be so barren — Yours or mine?
• How could an Angel dare, in time’s first dawning, to rebel?
  Should I know that? Whose confidant was Satan– Yours or mine?
• And Man, that thing of dust, that star whose shining lights your world—
  To whose loss will it be if his race sickens: Yours or mine?

(Translated by V G Kiernen)

Shaival Thakkar and
Kartikey Sehgal

In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, ‘Everybody Hurts’, a popular song by the alternative rock music group R.E.M. was used in a fund raising concert for the victims’ families.

In this video, music aficionado Shaival Thakkar talks about the charm of R.E.M. and his love for alternative music. This video also suffices as an introduction to alternative rock music. If you like meaningful lyrics and ‘soft’ music—relatively softer than the strains of hard rock music—then you may like alternative rock music. 

Watch the Video Here