----------------------------------------------------------------- Goanetter Francis Rodrigues (Vasco/Toronto) unveils his book, The Greatest Konkani Song Hits. Launch dates: Goa (Kala Academy) on 9 Aug. 4 pm. U.K. (Staines) on 15 Aug. Canada on 20 Aug and US on 30 Aug. Details http://www.konkanisongbook.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------- On another forum my researcher friend Jose Lourenco brought up the topic of Konkani song composers 'sampling' from Western tunes - sometimes blatantly and totally, sometimes subtly and partially. I am quoting selectively (with his permission) from Jose's statements and am hoping to take this discussion further. The ethics of sampling or plaigarism does not interest me in this case but rather a listing if possible of all identifieable lifts from Western tunes. quote ---- The late Alfred Rose was well known for borrowing melodies from western songs. But he was not alone in this. I stumbled across the inspiration for one of Chris Perry's most famous Konkani songs while browsing YouTube. The Four Freshmen was a band founded in 1948. Now listen to their song 'Poinciana' , at the beginning and from 1.52 onwards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4NafK3NFhA&feature=related Now you know where the opening of 'Sorgar Rajeant' comes from! Chris Perry was cleverer than Alfred Rose in that he never copied a whole melody. A bit here from a song from the fifties, a bit there from a classical concerto....He was undoubtedly a genius, but this also shows how much western melody influenced and impregnated the Konkani music of yesteryear. Chris Perry was a jazz lover, which explains why he would be listening to the Freshmen in the first place. Technically, Perry copied or consciously appropriated (to be more PC) the opening of his song. The rest of his song Sorgar Rajeant and the Freshmen song Poinciana have nothing in common. Perry's song became a hit. This was largely due to Perry's sensitivity and genius in forming a whole new body of Konkani music. The roots of course lie in the fact that Goan musicians were already at the forefront of swing music in Bombay, Calcutta and other places. I am not belittling Perry or Rose in any way. But as connoisseurs of music, we must delve into the origins of our music, as Pandit Bhaskar Chandawarkar (who passed away a few weeks ago) often told me during the Konkani Music Festival. We must not be ashamed to study and record the influences and inputs into our music. Listen to Lulu's song Boom Bang a Bang from 1969 and guess the Konkani song based on it (not a Chris Perry song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWkH4ee8TQ unquote -------- Can anybody give more examples? Cheers! Cecil ========
