The evening Banglafolk travelled West

Heritage, when not documented over the passing centuries, inevitably runs the risk of being lost in translation. Thankfully, Banglafolk music may escape this fate, as it has been passed down through generations, with contemporary musicians creating their own renditions of these timeless songs as well, which can be found on streaming platforms and social media.

That said, unlike the compositions of Beethoven and Mozart in the 1700s, Banglafolk music was never formally recorded and documented. It was merely transmitted orally and acoustically. So you may say, the purest renditions of our folk songs could be anyone's guess.

The 'Flaming Acoustics' ensemble, spearheaded by music instructor Iftekhar Anwar, claim they played to an authentically curated notation of Banglafolk songs on 11 October during Alliance Francaise de Dhaka's weeklong 65th anniversary celebrations. 

The melodies and harmonies were arranged from an anthology titled 'Folk Melody of Bangladesh', a book featuring over 200 folk songs, the result of a research that spanned over a decade, which was also launched on the same day.

The ensemble have performed multiple times over the years, mostly playing Western music, but on the night of the 11th at AFD, for the first time, their setlist comprised all Bangla tracks. They performed seven of our very own Bangla tracks, all played on Western instruments.

As an ode to the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters during the Liberation War, the 40-minutes long performance kicked off with 'Muktiro Mondiro Shopano Tole.' 

The instrumental began with a few soft, low notes from the three violinists, and after a few moments, the silver flute took over, carrying the lead melody, while the rest of the ensemble tuned in with their segments. Most of what followed on the track was nothing short of blissful. Especially in the segment where the lyrics 'tara ki firbe aar' would have been, all the other instruments took a back seat to the high soaring flute notes.

It wouldn't be fair to highlight a particular song or moment as the standout, simply because there wasn't one. The entire setlist was delivered with consistent skill and finesse. 

However, among the array of instruments—violins, a viola, a classical nylon string guitar, a cello, and a percussion instrument called the 'Baya'—it was the flute that stood out like a charm. Its distinct and fresh tonality provided a recognisable flavour to the ensemble's renditions of the folk songs.

Md Ali Akkas, guitarist by trade but the designated flautist on the night, pointed out that in Banglafolk, flutes have always been heavily featured and have led the melody. 

"The flute is ever present in our folk songs. That is also why when arranging our compositions, we specifically chose the flute to play the high melodies," said Akkas.

After the first song, the setlist featured two consecutive Tagore songs. By this point, the crowd began to catch on and started humming along to the recognisable tunes of Tagore.

The presenter made an effort to engage the audience by offering riddles to guess the next song, such as describing 'Amar Nishito Raatero Badolo Dhara' as a "moonlit rainy night." Unfortunately, these attempts didn't quite land with the crowd. Before the orchestra went in, the presenter tried singing the opening lines of the songs, but her off-pitch vocals didn't win anyone over.

The two Tagore songs, 'Amar Nishito Raatero Badolo Dhara' and 'Amar Khola Hawa' had longer segments where the guitar took charge. There's always something ethereally soothing about the sound of a nylon string guitar. 

However, if you had a good ear, you would have noticed the notes sounding flat a few times—probably owing to a distuned guitar. With only one guitar being part of the ensemble and that too being set to a higher level on the output monitors, the sounds sometimes struck out.

"Sometimes, due to venue limitations and not having the best sound system, what the audience hears may not be of the highest standard. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling and the rising temperature of the hall can also play a part in affecting the tuning of wooden stringed instruments," said Akkas.

From Tagore, the setlist moved on to a few iconic Fakir Lalon Shah folk songs such as 'Barir Pashe Arshinagar' and 'Amrito Megher Bari'. 'Barir Pashe Arshinagar' started off with an intro plucking on the guitar and had interludes with some heavy strumming as well. 

The flute is ever present in our folk songs. That is also why when arranging our compositions, we specifically chose the flute to play the high melodies.

Md Ali Akkas

This one song sounded quite complex in differentiating the melody lines, but that's just me probably, because the entire hall of around a couple hundred people hummed along to the performance from start to finish.

For the last song of the night, the ensemble decided to pay tribute to our national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, by performing his renowned song 'Dao Shurjo Dao Dhorjo'. It was one track where the guitar kicked in quite late, the first few bars sounded a bit different without the guitar strings ringing out, but to my surprise, it was not a bad change.