Customer Reviews

The Confluence: Santoor & Piano

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a general rule, I tend to be very skeptical of mixed musical genres (artistes as well as instruments) , believing them to be usually having negative synergy. Yet the first time I listened to Confluence at a relative's place, I was soon captivated. The santoor has long been my favorite listening instrument and to my surprise, the combination of santoor and piano goes remarkably well despite the somewhat eclectic choice of numbers. The tracks on the CD have a strong classical orientation, including a handful of golden Bollywood movie favorites and just about every track is good. It no doubt helps that the key artists, Richard Clayderman on the piano and Rahul Sharma (son of the incomparable Pandit Shivkumar Sharma) are established names in their respective fields who need no introduction to music lovers. Rahul has also composed some of the numbers on this CD which impressed me further. Able support to piano and santoor is given by guitar, flute and percussion. Picking a favorite is hard as all the numbers are good but if I had to choose, I would recommend Blues Heaven for the interweaving of melody from instrument to instrument, with Dekha Ek Khwab from Silsila a close second. Highly recommended.

i'm a HUGE piano fan and a santoor fan as well. so when i saw this album i thought i'd love it. unfortunately, it is as my title says: disappointing. first off, why does the album (and why do so many of the songs) start off with synthesizer sounds? actually, why are there synthesizer sounds at all on an album advertised as a confluence of piano and santoor? not that synths are universally bad (i like electronica) but in the context of combining piano and santoor, it seems unnecessary. perhaps it's because they didn't have the money to hire real musicians. it ruins what might have been an ok album. they could have just left it out - it seems like there's a lot of stuff that's simply extraneous: along with the cheesy synths, there's cheesy electric guitar sounds (which ruin the experience of norwegian wood). it's as if they thought by adding in more variety they could make it more interesting. but i think in this case paring it down to the play and tension between two unique instruments would have made the album stronger.

my other main complaint is that they don't seem to have really COMBINED the two instruments, but rather just played songs where the two instruments take turns. this is perhaps the biggest letdown. the whole way through while listening, i'm waiting for a moment where the two of them actually play together and build off of each other... and it never happens.

the great santoor-piano crossover album still remains to be made.

I agree with all the points made in the single one-star review of this album. Yes, the use of synth is a bit cheesy and over the top, and the piano and santoor never truly harmonize, but merely take turns. But the truth is, I fell in love with it anyway. It's just charming to listen to, and it makes a nice introduction to a certain genre of Indian music for western ears. I too am still waiting for a truly great synergy of piano and santoor, but in the meantime, I will happily play this over and over.

If you never had a Santoor CD this CD can make you fall in love with its sweet melody. This CD departs from classic Indian Music and includes a good mix of Piano. However santoor overtakes the lead in most songs. So if you want Piano this is not a good choice.

Having heard the live performance of both the artists I was compelled to buy this CD and is now my favourite. Based on Indian classical music and hit bollywood film music, the compilation is melodious and a welcome refreshing change from the usual fare. Correctly titled confulence it features the best of both prodigies. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Richard Clayderman or Rahul Sharma.

I liked the album. But it did not live up to my expectations.
Richard Clayderman does bring a lot of his romantic touch to the music, but somehow the combination with Rahul Sharma doesn't quite live up. I enjoyed the selection of songs on the album. Yeh Hain Bombay Meri Jaan is a favourite of mine and was pleasantly surprised to see Norwegian Wood included. Also liked Tere Ghar Ke Saamne. Definitely could have had more tracks on the album.