Presented at the Dolores Winningstad Theater, World Fusion brings together Portland area musicians from all different cultures and genres to create a sonic journey across several Asian, African, and Middle Eastern musical traditions. Balamurali Balu, the composer and conductor for the night, is a Portland-based composer and musician who blends multicultural musical traditions with modern orchestration. Balu is also the founder of The World Fusion, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting cultures through music.
The performance starts off showcasing the Indian musical tradition and then travels to the sounds of China. Balu takes a familiar folk song, “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon,” and builds lush textures around the focal point of the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese instrument. The interplay between the sweetly plaintive timbre of the erhu (Jerry Lin) and the rich, warm tone of the cello (Joseph Harchanko) creates a balanced, modern feel to the traditional piece.
Between songs, Balu shares that meeting Renata Choglo inspired him to write music following the Middle Eastern traditions. Renata blends jazz and classical Arabic violin. Balu notes how Arab maqams are similar to Hindustani ragas, as both specify a set of notes, characteristic melodic phrases, and associated moods and emotions. His Middle Eastern-inspired compositions center Renata on the violin and also feature a graceful belly dancer, Heather Louise.
The most enchanting piece in the set is an unreleased song that opens with the flute accompanied by a droning choir. That dissipates into a pizzicato moment, which then makes room for a melancholic vocal melody. Renata’s ethereal yet soulful voice injects the melody with heart-wrenching emotion. While the mode and harmonies are familiar to the Western ear, the polyrhythms during the pizzicato section pull from Middle Eastern rhythmic patterns.
Towards the end of the show, Balu asks Masumi Timson, Jerry Lin, and Vijay Kannan to play “Happy Birthday” on the koto, erhu, and Indian flute, respectively, to demonstrate the different timbres and embellishments of those instruments. Oohs and aahs emerge from the audience as each musician demonstrates their virtuosity through this simple piece.
Balu dedicates “Aasai Mugam” to his mentor, and the lyrics to this song are based on a poem by Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi about losing the last photograph of his mother. I personally prefer this orchestral version to the electronic (“reimagined”) version posted online. The hauntingly beautiful intertwining of the choir, strings, and Lavanya Madhavan’s voice in the live version fully captures the somber, meditative quality of the poem. The last song of the set is an African-inspired number, though it starts off with an almost Spanish sounding guitar intro. It’s upbeat and celebratory, and the audience is invited to sing along, and by the end of it, everyone is having a blast.
It’s clear that the cross-cultural artistry presented in World Fusion is rooted in education and appreciation, and the performance also uplifts BIPOC and immigrant musicians in a city that is very White. World Fusion proves that this dialogue between musical traditions is not only a site of rich artistic possibility, it’s also a delightful and joyous experience for audience members.
