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Face the Music

The musical saw,in the hands of a novice,can be a very tricky instrument to play. Unlike its cousin,the ordinary carpenter’s saw,this thin strip of metal comes without any serrated edges.

The musical saw,in the hands of a novice,can be a very tricky instrument to play. Unlike its cousin,the ordinary carpenter’s saw,this thin strip of metal comes without any serrated edges. Yet it’s still capable of inflicting serious injury. Tal Kravitz,a travelling Israeli musician,however,looks totally at ease,as he sits nursing the instrument in the Sacred Heart Cathedral,opposite the Gole Dak Khana in Delhi. He introduced the assembled guests to the harmony it produces. “The more you bend the blade,the higher the pitch of the sound will be,” he says,gently gliding the violin bow over one side of the ‘saw’.

Kravitz is in India at the invitation of the Israeli Embassy. The 36-year-old Tel Aviv-based musician has been playing the ‘musical saw’ for the past 22 years and enjoys the distinction of playing close to 100 other unheard of world instruments. “My home has run out of space for these instruments. Now I have started stringing up instruments on the wall as well,” he grins. A musical gypsy of sorts,Kravitz Kravitz is adept at playing the piano,the harp,guitar,a variety of Scottish bagpipes,the musical saw,and a rare flute called the Mashrukita,which was played by priests of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 2 nd century BC. In fact,he travels from place to place and picks up rare instruments to play. The musical saw,for instance,is a Russian inheritance,learnt from a Russian-Jewish friend in Israel.

After training in classical music and choir conducting from the Israeli Music Conservatory,Kravitz decided his purpose as musician was to go beyond cutting record deals and creating albums. He maintains a website and posts his tracks online,earning money from concerts across Israel. “I want to explore cultures whose musical traditions are in danger of extinction,” explains Kravitz,whose first trip outside Israel was to Papua New Guinea in 1994,where he worked with the indigenous tribesmen. His most frequent destination has been Africa — he has been working with the Baluya tribe in western Kenya. “They have a unique way of welcoming strangers. They will spit on their hand and touch it to your face to welcome you in to their community,” he smiles.

As part of his first India tour,Kravitz also jammed with a few lesser-known Delhi based Indian classical musicians like Surjit Singh on sitar,Mahesh Prasad on basuri,Lorraine Fiona Aloysius on the piano,Neena Rajan vocals,Karun Chakraborty on the harmonica,for a performance at the Alliance Francaise,Delhi,on Monday. “I am mesmerised by the bulbul tara at present. One of my Israeli friends gifted it to me and I am mastering it slowly,” says Kravitz,who will conduct a music workshop with children of Scottish High International School,Gurgaon,today,organised by the Gurgaon-based Lorraine Music Academy. There are other workshops planned over the week.

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