A classical apart

The Bangalore Men, an all-vocal group are attempting to revive Western classical compositions — one song at a time

Acapella has caught on quickly in the country with Pentatonix, Penn Masala, Voctronica and Raaga Trippin becoming common names in the music scene. While these groups work with contemporary hits, The Bangalore Men perform western classical compositions, in an attempt to revive interest in the genre. The Bengaluru-based male chorists — a product of the Bangalore School of Music — is led by Swede Jonas Olsson, who recently picked up a teaching gig at the school.

Subin Thomas, who sings bass for the group, says that an appetite for experimental music has contributed towards making acapella a success. He says, “There’s a throwback movement happening right now — today a lot of people are going back to western classical music. Now the onus is on us on us to take this forward. If people stop listening to us, this the school will die out. We see ourselves as flag bearers of the western classical tradition, not just in Bengaluru, but in India too.”

In the seven months since the band was formed in January this year, the group has performed five times in Bengaluru, Mysore and Hyderabad, with their sets encompassing works from the Renaissance to the Romantic eras. Their last three performances, however, have focused on Austrian composer Franz Schubert. “His music is very easily accessible to everyone, because Schubert writes music that reflects emotions that everyone has experienced — joy, anger, love, hate, fear and he paints that very beautifully in his music,” explains Jonas. Subin adds, “The beauty of western classical is that it’s about the music — very little frills. If you look at earlier composers, you won’t find accompaniments (to the music) because they’re written as the vocal parts themselves. One part takes the lead melody, then the others do the rest.”

Joined by pianist Natalia Kapylova, and occasionally by Pune-based classical vocalist Payal John, the troupe hopes to take their set, that’s titled Simply Schubert, to other cities in the country. Also lined up, is a Christmas-themed classical set. Their shows so far have seen a great response from audiences, Jonas says, with the only real challenges they see being adapting symphonies and compositions that have been written for huge choirs to their strength of eleven. Subin echoes Jonas’ sentiment. “People who come to our concerts say they’ve had emotional experiences, and that’s our reward. It’s not like we’re not in tune with the times. We hang out and listen to jazz and what not, but this is our passion.”