Coming together of lot of people, dreams: Joi Barua on Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert
New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) “You realise it’s not just a burning ambition that got you there, but the heart to tell a story you truly believed in,” says Assamese singer Joi Barua, whose compositions were played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London earlier this month.
The UK premiere of the Manu Martin’s Lim Fantasy of Companionship for Piano and Orchestra was presented by the London-based British symphony orchestra with 74 musicians and conducted by Robert Ziegler at the Cadogan Hall on July 5.
Besides Barua, the composers of the songs for the musical are Ron Danziger, Martin and Matthieu Enyard.
The orchestra played Barua’s pieces like “ALAN the musical” theme song, “Ode to Alan”, “Teleportation”, “New World Order”, “Synthetic DNA”, and “The Jungle Song”.
“It was a coming together of a lot of people and dreams. To have a sold-out concert at the Cadogan Hall by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is such a thrill,” Barua told PTI in an interview.
“For creators Susan Lim and Christina Teenz Tan, and my co-composers Manu Martin, Ron Danziger and Matthieu Enyard, seeing our work on stage being delivered by a Philharmonic Orchestra is a stuff of dreams,” he added.
According to Barua, the ideas and pieces of music came together in the past couple of years.
“You realise it’s not just a burning ambition that got you there, but the heart to tell a story you truly believed in. That we all truly believed in. To hear the powerful string and brass sections that really accentuate the emotions, in that amazing hall, takes your breath away,” he said.
The UK premiere featured pianist Mark Bebbington, the London voices with 36 choir singers and the ALAN team of musicians’ feat – Jerome Buigues on electric guitar, Frederic Riviere on bass, and Matthieu Enyard as solo voice.
The audience was primarily from London as also those who had travelled from India, Singapore, France, Switzerland, the US and Canada, said Barua.
The Lim Fantasy of Association for Piano and Orchestra derives its music from the musical ALAN.
“This is a work in progress and Susan Lim intends this story to be on Broadway or a Broadway kind of musical,” he added.
Barua and Lim met at a music conference in Singapore in 2016, where he showcased the song “Rava”, he had created along with his friend Ibson Lal Baruah and had collaborated with George Brooks on saxophone and Samudra Kajal Saikia on video.
“That particular song ‘Rava’ was the genesis of the association which went ahead. It was amazing that a song which had its heart in the history of Assam, triggered a project of global impact,” said Barua.
“Rava” is based on Assamese polymath Bishnu Rava.
Barua has worked as a playback singer, vocal arranger and background singer in a number of films such as “Agent Vinod”, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, “DevD”, “Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.” and “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”. He has also sung the popular number “O Meri Laila” (radio version) from the 2018 film “Laila Majnu”.
Lim found her experience of collaborating with Barua nothing short of exhilarating, intriguing and copiously rewarding.
“In songwriting, Joi’s compositions are out of the ordinary, profound and flavourful. As the creator of musical project ALAN, I turn to Joi when I need songs that run deep, are well researched to deliver my message, and have an ethnic twist that adds mystique to our musical storyboard,” she added.
