Raising the Darbar

This article was originally published in our Summer 2024 issue. Click here to subscribe to our quarterly print magazine and be the first to read our January issue features.

What do you think of when you hear the words ‘classical music’? CM readers might think of an orchestra or chamber ensemble, perhaps a song recital or opera, but the western classical music world sits alongside a host of traditions worldwide, each with their own ecosystem evolving from hundreds – if not thousands – of years of knowledge and skill. Developing an understanding of classical music from every global perspective would take a lifetime, but we can take steps in broadening our horizons by looking East, to India.

The Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust brings Indian classical music to London’s Barbican Centre every autumn: now in its 19th year, Darbar Festival is set to return (24-27 October) and will, for the first time on its main stage, feature recent RPS award-winner, sitar player Jasdeep Singh Degun. 

Degun has a long history with the festival, having been in attendance since its second edition thanks to the involvement of his teacher Ustad Dharambir Singh. Although he has appeared in some of the festival’s smaller concerts and dance performances, his 25 October concert (accompanied by tabla player Anubrata Chatterjee) will mark his main stage debut. ‘Since I first went, probably 18 years ago now, I’ve always dreamed of playing a solo concert at Darbar,’ he says, ‘I’m really looking forward to it, but I’m also apprehensive because it’s a big deal for Indian classical musicians.’

The festival has grown from humble beginnings in a small Leicester theatre into the biggest of its kind in the UK, but this development is not without its difficulties. For one, bringing many of its performers over from India necessitates a huge amount of planning. ‘Bringing artists from India to the UK for Darbar Festival poses numerous challenges, compounded by rising costs and logistical complexities,’ says Simi Lall, Darbar’s festivals and events manager. ‘Logistically managing more than twenty artists demands meticulous planning and coordination, from ensuring proper documentation to catering for individual needs and preferences.’

Navigating numerous arrival and departure times, airport transfers and accommodation requires a supremely detail-oriented approach, necessitating a collaborative framework of regular meetings to make sure everyone is on the same page, and the current economic climate doesn’t make things any easier. However, ‘despite the rising costs, we feel it is essential that we do not reduce the ambition of showcasing the finest classical form in London,’ Lall insists. ‘Risk taking and detailed planning has meant that year on year we are actually successfully increasing audience numbers.’

Deep roots: Jasdeep Singh Degun has been involved in the festival since its second iteration (Image courtesy of Darbar)

Lall describes festival preparation as ‘a delicate balance of financial management, logistical prowess, and cultural sensitivity.’ The latter element is particularly important as, she explains, ‘cultural and language barriers can complicate communication and coordination, particularly for artists experiencing the UK for the first time.’

Recognising how tough it can be on artists to be away from the familiarity of home, Darbar has set up strict wellbeing guidelines, affecting everything from safeguarding to flight times, to make sure visiting talent feels cared for. ‘Performer wellbeing is a cornerstone of the festival ethos,’ says Lall. ‘Our simple policy is to treat visiting artists how we would like to be treated – this has never failed us.’ Darbar’s values of respect, integrity, accountability, seva (selflessness) and equality extend to travel arrangements (designed to ‘minimise exhaustion and jet lag, allowing artists to arrive refreshed and ready to perform’), accommodation (‘attention to comfort and safety contributes to a conducive environment for rest and relaxation between performances’) and even catering: dietary preferences and cultural considerations for every performer are kept in mind.

So the artists have made it to London, they’re fed, well-rested and ready to give their best – but what about the audiences? Millions of people from across the world have made the UK – and London in particular – their home. According to the 2011 census, over 1.4m people in England and Wales identified as coming from the Indian ethnic group, comprising 2.5 per cent of the total population, and Lall assures me demand for high-quality classical music is high: ‘The festival presents just the tip of the iceberg for our audiences. One has to remember that Indian classical music in the homeland of 1.4 billion people is enormous, and the scale of traditions and geographies is immense – we do our best to bring the best’.

The uninitiated are not left behind. As well as free events, lectures and demonstrations, Darbar Festival runs a comprehensive Indian Music Appreciation Course during which tabla teacher Sukhdeep Dhanjal and sitar player Harmeet Virdee guide participants through the particulars of Indian rhythmic cycles (talas) and explain raga, the melodic framework for improvisation in the genre.

With recent projects including Orpheus with Opera North, and that RPS award under his belt, Degun’s work bridges the Indian and Western classical music worlds. His upcoming tour embodies this, bringing Degun’s boundary-breaking works to concert halls usually associated with western repertoire. For the sitar player whose music occupies what he calls ‘the intersection between Indian classical and Western classical music’, this is a welcome development: ‘I’m really happy to see that slow change happening.’

High stakes: The front row of Darbar festival concerts is occupied by world-class visiting talent (Image courtesy of Darbar)

That’s not to say that the task of bringing together these two worlds is without its challenges. This was perhaps most pronounced during Degun’s Orpheus project, during which he collaborated with early music specialist Laurence Cummings to bring together Indian classical and European baroque musicians for a performance of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. ‘That really was like bringing two worlds together,’ he reflects, ‘The rehearsal process was very different: half the musicians didn’t read Western notation and instead learned aurally.’ 

In comparison, Degun’s Darbar festival performance should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. ‘Something like Darbar is a different level of difficulty because the scrutiny goes into your actual playing. I’m definitely more at home with Indian classical music, but there’s more expected of me in that world and I put a lot of expectations on myself as well to deliver.’ And with most of Degun’s music improvised, how does he prepare for such an important performance? With scales of course. ‘It’s ninety per cent improvisation upon very strict rules and regulations of raag and taal (that’s the melodic and rhythmical aspects of our music). You have to practise as much as you can within that framework to be able to then let go of that and see what happens on the on the day.’

On the day, the stakes are even higher as Darbar’s ‘family’ of musicians occupy the front row of every concert – Degun’s potential critics are his idols. ‘That’s why Darbar is such a powerful place to perform because you’ll be performing in front of world-class maestros – all these big names are sat right in front of you.’ Pair this with the Indian classical tradition of reacting to the music with ‘people shouting out and giving real-time appreciation’ and one can understand why Degun finds his main stage debut daunting.

The Indian classical immersion doesn’t stop there. Not content with a packed programme of workshops and performances, the Darbar team will also fill the Barbican foyer with carefully selected vendors for the festival’s marketplace element. Even here, every detail is taken into account, with a strategic layout keeping foot traffic in mind and detailed timetabling for setup and breakdown. ‘Balancing the festival’s ambience with the commercial aspect of the market poses another challenge’ admits Lall, ‘but the marketplace is a vibrant complement to the performances taking place just a few metres away, and helps with fostering a sense of community among vendors and visitors alike’.

This year’s music programme is centred around ‘the balance between the legends and young emerging masters of the form’ and includes a ‘special focus’ on women in music, with 40 per cent of the musicians headlining the major concerts choosing to celebrate female voices. A particular performer who might be familiar to both Indian and western classical audiences alike is western classical and Carnatic violinist and composer Dr L Subramaniam, who will feature in a double bill alongside his son Ambi, a new voice in Carnatic music.

‘This concert has been a work in progress for several years,’ says Lall, ‘One of the features of the festival is to present artists that shock audiences because they have never heard of these musicians – “shock of the new”, as we call them.’

Degun’s long-standing relationship with Darbar lifts him firmly out of the new voice category at the festival, but he might be a newer face for western classical audiences, making a name at the 2024 RPS awards by becoming the first sitar player to win in the awards 35-year history. 

‘I’m still pinching myself,’ smiles Degun. ‘I come from a very standard family in Leeds – my parents aren’t musical at all – and I just learned in primary school.’ Degun is very keen to point out that he is the product of a good music system, having participated in the Yorkshire Young Musicians scheme for under 18s at Leeds College of Music, and joined SAMYO, the National Youth Orchestra for South Asian music.

‘The whole reason that this has happened is not because of my brilliance at playing sitar,’ he insists. ‘To be recognised on that level is not an award for me, it’s an award for the entire army of Indian classical musicians and infrastructure that has been put in place generations before me.’ 

Degun’s words speak volumes about the carefully constructed musical ecosystem nurtured by the organisations he has come into contact with throughout his career, and Darbar perfectly embodies this approach; bringing together respect for the deep roots of the Indian classical tradition, an exacting standard of performance, and a proactive concern for its future.

The Darbar team’s forensic attention to detail and meticulous preparation underpins an event that fosters joy and community – as well as music. Their approach to the annual festival reminds me of Degun’s description of his creative process – extensive practice within a strict framework before ‘letting go’ for the final performance.