Music of the angels

The recent Timber Valley Leadership Golf Tournament saw Pune experience the melody of this beautiful instrument. Clio Karabelias,a French national of Greek origins,has been playing the harp since she was seven years old. Initially studying the classical harp form in Paris,she turned to a style of improvisation,thanks to her teacher Helene Breschand. Living in Pune for two years now,Clio says,“I was initially in India for musical research as part of the improvisation style,where I got in touch with various Indian musicians. I had always been applying other musical styles to my classical training,thanks to my Greek heritage. I generally apply Turkish,Indian and Greek touches to the makan (raag),” she says.

One of her favourite compositions is La Mer (The Sea) by Claude Debussy. However,she generally leans away from the orchestral. “I have always felt that traditional music gives me more freedom. For me,the classical form is much more restrictive. I am more interested in the idea of a song,in the aesthetics of music and developing the sound with uneven rhythms as opposed to classical music,” she says

Clio’s harp is a far cry from what we generally picture. “My harp is made of carbon-fibre. It is not as big nor does it have as good a sound as the orchestral harp. However,that kind of harp requires an optimum temperature and humidity. Plus the advantage with this harp is it is smaller,less expensive and easier to transport,” she says. Like all who play stringed instruments,her fingers have been cut countless times. Yet she strongly recommends one use the harder,traditional strings. “I use sheep-gut strings for my harp. Though nylon strings are softer,the sound quality is nowhere the same,and I can’t compromise with the sonority of my instrument,” she explains.

A performance-based musician,she has,to her great surprise,found Indian audiences to be very accommodating. “The audiences here are very receptive. People of an older generation,especially who listen to Indian classical music,have been very appreciative of what I play.” She does,however,have a complaint. “The younger generation in India pays more attention to rock and Bollywood styles of music,forgetting the traditional styles. These are very limited in their expression.” And is she open to fusing the two? “Not really. Often fusion is just putting two things together just because it is ‘cool’. The end result doesn’t mean a thing,” she smiles.