After Sarah Rodgers’s The Roaring Whirl launch event, everyone’s talking about this exciting cross-cultural release!
Planet Hugill
The work gives a number of ways in for people. It tells the Kim story, the relationship between Kim and the Lama which is essentially a journey, and about friendship. Sarah finds Kipling’s book interesting because there is so little jingoism in it, it does not feel as Colonial as many of his other works. The Roaring Whirl is in seven sections, the titles of which come from the novel. Six of these sections are narratives, each an accompanied reading followed by a musical interpretation, and the central movement is purely instrumental.
Sarah’s music very much combines Western classical music with Indian classical and Sarah found it a lovely project, giving her the luxury of investigating the conventions of Indian music. Each section uses a different raga (implying a musical scale) and tala (implying rhythm), and Sarah points out that the different ragas have different qualities which affect the way they should be used.
—Robert Hugill
Read Robert Hugill’s feature on The Roaring Whirl on PlanetHugill.com
Jonathan Fryer
“Cross-cultural works are more common today than they were nearly three decades ago, but this is an original and genuinely exquisite piece that deserves widespread exposure.”
See the feature (and some great photos) on JonathanFryer.wordpress.com
Eastern Eye
“At the exclusive launch last Wednesday (18), Patel, Allen and Shrivastav played three extracts from the CD for an audience in central London.
Speaking to Eastern Eye before the performance, Patel admitted he never expected that the album would ever be released.“In the beginning, I thought it was a piece which would carry on year after year,” he said. “We did a couple of shows, but then I didn’t hear anything, and it fizzled out. When I got the call to say that it was being relaunched, I knew I had to make this happen.”
Composer Rodgers agreed that it was “fantastic” to finally have the album launched so many years after it was initially created.
“It was cut off in its prime and didn’t get the exposure and the performances it should have had,” she told Eastern Eye. “I’m truly thrilled that we have been able to launch it today.”
Described as a “revelation of west meets east,” the album is set in Punjab, north India. As British Asian culture has become more mainstream in the UK, Patel believes this is a perfect time to revive the album.
“Some may think (the time) has gone now, but I don’t think it has,” he said. “If you look at Asian music and dance in the UK, we are more vibrant now than ever before.”
—Lauren Codling
Read the features and interviews at EasternEye.biz
The Roaring Whirl – Composer and Performers at Dress Rehearsal for Launch Event 18.09.19 
The Roaring Whirl – Geraldine Allen 
The Roaring Whirl – Composer and Performers with Others at Launch Event 18.09.19 
The Roaring Whirl Composer and Performers at the Launch Event
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