Into The Fire
Composers: Karaikudi R. Mani, Adrian Sherriff, John Rodgers, Niko Schauble, Scott Tinkler
Musical Directors: Karaikudi R. Mani and Adrian Sherriff
Premiere: Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, October 1996
Original Program for Large ensemble
Into the Fire (Karaikudi R. Mani and Adrian Sherriff)
Moras (John Rodgers and Karaikudi R. Mani)
The Ferryman (Niko Schauble)
Stitching Leonardo (Scott Tinkler)
New Program for Small Ensemble
Pentacle (Adrian Sherriff)
Madhuran (B. V. Balasai)
Hydradub (Niko Schauble)
Sacred Cow's Tail (Sandra Evans)
In the Loop (Alister Spence)
Vande Matharan (Chatterjee)
Into the Fire (K. R. Mani, Adrian Sherriff
Stitching Leonardo (Scott Tinkler)
Program Notes
One of the primary aims of the Australian Art Orchestra has been to create situations allowing for a free and open exchange of musical and dramatic ideas between different cultures and traditions. Into the Fire is one such exchange. As such, the AAO has been collaborating with Guru Karaikudi Mani (one of the greatest exponents of the complexities of Carnatic music) on this project, since 1996. From this point on, Into the Fire has been performed throughout India, Europe, Australia and Asia; wowing audiences throughout the world with it's intoxicating blend of music, percussion and dance.
The rhythmic intricacies and improvising practices that reside at the core of both the South Indian Carnatic tradition and the Western jazz tradition are revealed in this program in virtuosic splendour. Rich in power, beauty and originality, Into the Fire is a new style of music built on the rock solid foundation of the Carnatic tradition with Western interpretations, performed both on South Indian and Western instruments.
Watch excerpts from Into the Fire.
Tour History
1996 - India Tour: New Dehli, Mumbai, Calcutta
1997 - Wangaratta Jazz Festival
1998 - Ironbank Music Camp, South Australia, Adelaide Festival of the Arts
2000 - European Tour: Australia Celebrates: Heads Up, London, World Expo, Hanover, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Archa Theatre, Prague, Pori International Jazz Festival, Finland
2003 - Hamer Hall, Melbourne International Arts Festival
2007 - India Tour: Hyderabad, Mumbai Arts Festival, Kolkota, Bangalore
2008 - India Tour: Hyderabad, Mysore, Bangalore, Chennai
Recording History
1999 - Into the Fire, ABC classics
2008 - The Chennai Tapes, AAO recordings
Performance Artists
2008 Small Ensemble
Guru Karaikudi Mani Mringdangam
B.V. Balasai (Flute
U.P. Raju Mandolin
V. Suresh Ghatam
Alister Spence Keyboard
Adrian Sherriff Trombone
Scott Tinkler Trumpet
Niko Schauble Drums
Sandy Evans Saxophone
Philip Rex Double bass
Lachlan Davidson (Reeds)
Collaborators: Rajeswari Sainath, Bharatanatyam dancer
T.V. Vasan, Ghatam (1996)
Durga Prasad, Gottu vadyam (2007)
Duration: 1hr 45min
Press for Into The Fire
- Hypnotic Rhythms
- Adelaide GT May 2000
- Ideas Never Become Tangled
- Weekend Australian (Lynden Barber) June 2000
- West Meets the Subcontinent
- Sydney Morning Herald (John Clare) 6 May 2000
- The Exception to the Rule
- The Age Green Guide (Leon Gettler) May 2000
- A Brilliant Collaboration
- Australian Financial Review (Shane Nichols) June 2000
- Unique and Beautiful
- Capital Q May 2000
- For Sophisticated Listeners
- Canberra Times (Michael Porter) June 2000
- All That Jazz
- The Indian Express, Bombay 31 October 1996
- New Music From An Older Tradition
- The Indian Express, New Delhi October 1996
- Out of This World Music
- Adelaide Advertiser (Stephen Whittington) March 1998
- A Triumphal Hurrah
- The Telegraph, Calcutta (Prosanto Dutt) October 1996
- Melody is the Mother; Rhythm is the Father
- The Age (Jessica Nicholas) 13 October 2003
- When East Meets West!
- Hyderabad Times (Usha Raman) 25 January 2007
- Into The Fire: Synthesising East With West
- The Hindu (Ranee Kumar) 26 January 2007
- Experiment that worked
- The Hindu (Lalithaa Krishnan) 13 June 2008
- Oceanic Wave of Fused Rhythms
- The Hindu (Usha Raman) 6 June 2008
- Music Connecting People
- Newsindiapress.com Express Features 24 June 2008
- Where Genres Meet
- The Hindu, Chennai (Divya Kumar) 2 June 2008
- Moved by Rhythm Patterns
- The Hindu (V. Balasubramanian) 1 May 2009
- Into the Fire - An Introduction and Brief History
- A Quick Word From Paul Re. Into the Fire
- (Paul Grabowsky) 2003
