VOCES8 announces Lyyra: Jhoro Jhoro arranged by Shabnam Abedi

Lyyra sings traditional Bengali melodies 'Jhoro Jhoro' arranged by the group's own Shabnam Abedi.

About Jhoro Jhoro:

Jhoro Jhoro is an arrangement binding together three different Bengali songs from three different genres of Bengali music. Bengali music refers to the music of Bangladesh and Kolkata (West Bengal region of India).

The first part of the arrangement is a portion of a song called ‘Jhoro Jhoro Borishe’ by Rabindranath Tagore. This song comes from the genre known as Rabindra Sangeet which is the style of music that originated in the region because of Rabindranath Tagore’s style of composing. The lyrics of the song is a poem by Tagore talking about the rain and its way of being; its growling thunder, howling winds, roaring waves, and its dark stormy skies.

Continuing forward, the second part of the arrangement is a snippet of a song called ‘Megho Meduro Boroshay’ by Kazi Nazrul Islam. This song comes from the genre known as Nazrul Geeti or Nazrul Sangeet, a style that originated in the region specifically because of Kazi Nazrul Islam’s style of composing, similar to how Rabindra Sangeet came to be. The text of this song is a poem by Islam talking about the rain and nature, but in a slightly different context than the poem by Tagore. Islam’s poem talks about how the rain and the nature surrounding the poet can sense that the poet’s lover is gone. It talks about nature (the rain in particular) trying to reunite the poet with his lover; the rain is weeping as it falls and kisses the riverbank, the flowers fall off the trees and into the wind in search of the poet’s lover, etc.

Finally, the last part of the arrangement is a Bangladeshi folk song called ‘Amar Gaaye Joto Dukkho Shoy’ by Ukil Munshi. This folk song is from Mymensingh which is a state (or division) in the Northern part of Bangladesh. The poem is more like a monologue where the person is talking to the Universe/the divine/God; telling them about how their lover deceived them and broke their heart. The monologue goes: “my lover is cruel, my lover once gave me their word to be together and they did not fulfill their promise, the stars and the moon were the only witnesses of our promise and so when the time comes for you (divine spirit) to know our hearts and judge us, do as you will, give me as much pain as you wish because I have suffered so much that more pain can do me no harm.”

These three genres are at the core of what make up Bengali music. This music holds countless stories and melodies that have been passed down for generations. This is my attempt to continue the work of passing down these songs for generations to come. I used musical translation rather than text translation so that the audience can feel the true weight of the words in Bangla as they are; I crafted the melodies into a harmonic and rhythmic context that allows the sound of these songs to be translated into the sound world we live in today. This work is a deliberate portrayal of keeping the language untouched because Bangla is what Bengalis fought for. The purpose of this arrangement is to bring out the harmonic story hidden behind these melodies and to have the stories of Bengali music reach the ears of people all over the world using the relatability of the Western sound vocabulary.

Shabnam Abedi


TEXT:

(Parenthesis- text that is in the original setting of the text; without parenthesis- text that Shabnam chose to arrange)

(Jhoro jhoro borishe bari dhara)
Hae potho bashi, hae gothihino, hae grihohara
Phire bayu, ha ha shore
Dake kare jonohino oshimo prantore
(Rojoni adhara)

(Megho meduro boroshay kothay tumi)
(Phulo chorae kade bonobhumi)
Jhure baridhara phire potho hara
(Kade nodi thotochumi)
(Megho meduro boroshay)
Phulo chorae kade bonobhumi
Megho meduro boroshay

(Amar gaaye joto dukkho shoy)
(Bondhuare koro tomar mone ja ha loy)
(Nithur bondhu re, bolechile amar hobe)
(Mon diyachi ei bhebe, shakkhi keu chilona she shomoy, oh bondhure)
Shakkhi shudhu chondro tara
Ek deen tumi porbe dhora re bondhu
Tribhuboner bichar je deen hoy
Bondhuare koro tomar mone ja ha loy