Shanker Krishnan - Confluence: Raga and Counterpoint (CD)

Confluence: Raga and Counterpoint is an album by composer Shanker Krishnan that integrates Baroque counterpoint and Western harmony with Carnatic music, the classical music tradition of South India. The album comprises two works: Fugue-Kriti (three movements) and Field of Dharma, a concerto-kriti in four movements inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. It includes a 20-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes.

From his early years in India, Shanker was immersed in the distinctive, sinuous sound of the gamakas (microtonal oscillations and glides) that characterize Carnatic ragas. Bringing that intricacy into the architectural beauty of Baroque counterpoint is central to his work.