A highlight of the tour to Nepal was the opportunity to sing in a Hindu temple in Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu. This was made possible with the help of Professor Richard Widdess, who has spent many years conducting ethnomusicological research into dāphā, the choral music sung there.
Richard introduced the choir to a piece of dāphā music as part of our pre-tour concert in Teddington in February 2016. Through Richard's presentation of just one piece, He Shiva Bhairava, we gained an understanding of the history, language, religion and architecture of the place as well as the music. We performed the piece as part of our concert, surely the first time that the music has been heard sung live in the UK. We were then very keen to hear an authentic performance on our visit to Bhaktapur.
Usually tourists admire the Dattatreya Temple from the outside; thanks to our musical introduction we were welcomed into the building and even initiated into the temple as members. As the sun set, we took our places sat on one side of the temple pavilion, and the regular choir took theirs on the other side. Those of us singing in the ceremony were given wreaths, annointed with red tikkas and given rice by women beautifully dressed in red saris. The temple was surrounded by locals, intrigued by the number of visitors. The instruments were blessed and the ceremony began.
The local choir first sang a number of pieces, including He Shiva Bhairava. Then it was our turn. Closely watched over by Shamsher Praden, Richard’s research assistant and our guide for the day, as well as Buddha Lal, a local musician, experienced in the complicated rhythmic structure of dāphā music, we sang the piece, aware we were not singing it perfectly but enjoying the experience of singing it in its intended location and as part of the intended ceremony. The local choir applauded our efforts and the ceremony continued, with more music, an offering of yoghurt and the presentation of Richard’s book to the local members of the temple.
This was an unforgettable, unrepeatable experience for the choir and we’re very grateful to the members of the temple, Shamsher Praden and Professor Widdess for making it possible. Ishirini was set up to share our musical tradition with others; through Richard's involvement with our tour we were able to have a truly two-way conversation, performing the music of another culture in situ.
