Profile
Indian music and culture have been TEENTAAL’s constant sources of inspiration, motivating it to explore the spiritual journey it long aspired for.
TEENTAAL was conceived by Igor Wakhevitch, an extremely talented composer and pianist himself who has been the recipient of numerous awards from the “Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique” at Paris. Igor Wakhevitch is also well known for his several compositions created for contemporary dance forms choreographed by the likes of Carolyn Carlson, Rina Schenfeld, Jean-Marc Torrès, Jean-Christophe Paré, Norbert Schmucki, Olivier Patey, etc. He has lived in India for nearly thirty years and considers it his home.
Teentaal-Wakhevitch & Co — The House of Indian Classical Music — offers a complete experience woven around the rich, musical traditions of India, and a sense of kinship and belonging amongst the great artists of classical music. TEENTAAL attempts to pay tribute to this deep-rooted culture that has been passed over from generation to generation and tries to understand and fulfill artists' needs as well as their expectations.
At the same time, TEENTAAL also hopes to reach out to the general public and present Indian Classical Music in a way that helps them better understand its underlying principles. This necessitates going back to the origins of Sound or even its very nature, both from a spiritual as well as from a creative level.
Pure Sound is ultimate authority, a descent of the Divine Powers into the sphere of music. If it is true that India never developed harmonies in the same as in the West, - considered by some as the vertical form, as opposed to the horizontal that is represented by the melodic line - it nevertheless recognized the only Vertical possible: the Original Pronunciation of the Divine Manifestation that has no beginning and no end.
The music of India belongs to the nature of the sacred emanations and as such escape from linear time and linear history. At contrary it reveals the Immanence and carries its Transcendental Semen. Semen - a Sound - from which all musical forms and their diverse languages flow, a nucleus from where all musical instruments from the simplest to the most elaborate and complex manifest the sound, the Verb from which Man himself was born: the Primordial Tool, the Origin of all the tools. Man is Voice and this Voice is the Path. Man as a Song, Man as an Act of Grace. Man, the primordial instrument is at once the artisan and the instrument. The Hand; it is the reason why all instruments must “sing”, mimicking the human voice. It is the “Voice” that creates in the image of the Divine Perfection, eternally improvising, pronounced but never written down, representing in its own way the great Divine freedom, erratic, a pilgrim on a path, a breath of fresh air, everything that is non-conditioned. Such is the true significance and origin of the Raga in India.
A Voice which is a Hand. A Voice which is Light and this Light is the Path. The Cosmic Man is his own Path.
Teentaal-Wakhevitch & Co coordinates between Indian classical music and the networks, event managers, theatres, concert halls, small and big festivals all around Europe and Asia. TEENTAAL takes utmost care in maintaining high standards of management and to the professionals of music and entertainement features the most prestigious figures in the Indian musical scenario to the immediate young generation of instrumentalists and singers only the very best that they deserve.
This intimate tryst of a soul with India is like a beautiful love story – a romantic journey with a nation and its vast secular traditions: India with its history, its civilization, its scriptures, its great spiritual leaders, its saints, its avatars; its artists, poets, dancers, musicians, architects; its people, its artisans, farmers, commoners, intellectuals: all an integral part of the deep river of Mother India – the Mother of all the mothers ...
This story is about fate – the inescapable fate of an individual whose heart belonged to the school of western classical music. But one beautiful day he discovers the soulful music of India and instantly sets off on a path of spiritual experiences. It is a story about the ecstasy and shock that makes the soul tremble in delight when it ultimately comes in contact with its origin, its true essence.
When two cultures unite, two hemispheres that mutually nourish one another but at the same time are in touch with their individual essence, its results in harmony and peace. It is not only the source of spirituality but also the source of scriptures and language and of all other existing music.
Pure Beauty, Intonations. Gestures, Movements.
Aspiration. Invocation of the Divine Flamme. There is Ecstasy in Indian Music. And also Joy. Joy, essence of everything.
The Joy ... and the Game !
TEENTAAL’s aspiration, TEENTAAL's necessity ... is to share with as many people as possible the certitude embodied in Indian classical music. India’s music is like a majestic river whose Spring is Silence in whose charged waters harbor the highest and profoundest values of spirituality that humanity has ever produced.
In fact no other civilization in the world has known more about the ancient VEDAS than the Hindus themselves. The Hindus explored the Vedas with incredible dedication and sensitivity, the sacred fields of Rhythm and Sound that carry certain secrets and powers, followed in a systematic and uninterrupted manner for over four thousand years.
It is India’s sheer genius that knew how to amass unfathomable knowledge and to perpetuate the Living Flame:
“Agni” – Fire of Sacrifice.
“Vak” – The Sacred Word, the Creative Sound.
“Saraswati” – Goddess of Art and Perfection.
Indian music most importantly represents “transmission”.
The concept of “Gurukula” is the transmission of knowledge from master to disciple practiced continuously over centuries together. This practice borrows heavily from Sanskrit (with its science of articulation and pronunciation of sacred sounds – the mantras – and its science of roots) the necessary materials for the elaboration and developement of a rich and complex edifice.
Over centuries India has been enriched by contributions from Persia and Afghanistan and has also absorbed, through sheer genius, from a network of diverse Indian cultures (especially from the north with its Hindustani music). This has given birth to numerous styles of expression that act like real “points of force” or centers of influence: the “gharanas”, or even the “gayaki” of a founding Guru that initiates an entire lineage of musicians) - ... India takes from all these discreet ingredients and makes a vast, coherent ensemble – nevertheless in constant renewal – organized around a principal axis which acts as its foundation and keystone: the Sanskrit language, inseperable from the revealed Veda, without a written form because it was forbidden to be written down.
A Cosmic Temple, a Temple of a Man God, a temple not just made of stones but out of vibrations, rhythms, of sounds, a temple made of pronunciations and speech, of verses and slokas: a sacred edifice made of voices, instruments, musical structures, intervals, as many as the Sacred Names incorporated in the music itself: the “ragas” and the “talas”. These are the real stones of the temple - A Musical House, a Cosmic House. It is left to each of us to choose a special corner - a room -in this temple for ourselves.
It is therefore natural to conclude that Indian music goes beyond music itself; it is “supra-music”: an immediate and active power whose very origin emanates from the Divine Sphere, from the world of Creative Sounds.
While listening to Indian music, the individual unconsciously comes in contact with the Emanations of the Supreme Existence, the divine influences – the very source of the “ragas” – that carry the indispensable essence (an entire range of subtle energies) that illuminates the mind, body and soul: keeping this in the right intonation with the spiritual forces of the cosmic order that permanently supports the Creation of the Earth. This Creative force has never stopped working inspite of essentially being perfect and divine by nature – it still is alive at every moment, it is the heart-beat of the Present contrary to the concept of linear time that is bound to the five senses. This is how the “Seven days of Creation” should be perceived, as a symbol of unlimited progress rather than a limited and static creation that slumbers in the dark shadows of time. Every day of Creation is in itself beautiful and perfect and at the same time has a breath of infinity blown into it. The "7" of the Cyclic Evolution spiral incessantly -like a sacred “naga” (cobra) – around the cosmic pillar of Infinity, with or without attribute: "Personal or Impersonal", indissociable and non contradictory, two aspects of the Supreme Being.
A “raga” to an Indian musician is firstly a “heavenly body” that manifests itself in his being; this entity expresses itself through the artist’s talent, inspiration and virtuosity as its medium – be it through his voice, fingers or hands.
Freedom, in the strictest of disciplines (the reflection of Creation itself), is based on a Superior and Luminous Knowledge of the Self. This Self eliminates all room for murky forms of ignorance that lead to the satisfaction of an individual’s selfish and immediate needs. Selflessness is the key-word of Indian music. The “improvised” piece is far from a random expression with a superfluous impact. It is not an aimless trickle of notes or the kind of shallow music that is artificial and powerless, in search of petty flattery that impresses the ear.
Indian music gives primary importance to the “inner ear”. The listener and the music cease to have separate identities and merge as one being. This being is both the Pronouncer and the Pronounced. There is no division between the musician and the audience. On the contrary, both sides are inseparable and belong to the same movement – where the Eternal Self delves deep into the being and consciousness of the heart while still remaining unmanifest, not bound by the necessity of birth in spacetime and matter.
TEENTAAL has humbly initiated to serve this inner flame and to help it grow. It offers people all over the world a chance to come in contact with a nation’s soulful music. TEENTAAL celebrates the joy and goodwill Indian classical music spreads in peoples’ heart and soul.
TEENTAAL was conceived by Igor Wakhevitch, an extremely talented composer and pianist himself who has been the recipient of numerous awards from the “Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique” at Paris. Igor Wakhevitch is also well known for his several compositions created for contemporary dance forms choreographed by the likes of Carolyn Carlson, Rina Schenfeld, Jean-Marc Torrès, Jean-Christophe Paré, Norbert Schmucki, Olivier Patey, etc. He has lived in India for nearly thirty years and considers it his home.
Teentaal-Wakhevitch & Co — The House of Indian Classical Music — offers a complete experience woven around the rich, musical traditions of India, and a sense of kinship and belonging amongst the great artists of classical music. TEENTAAL attempts to pay tribute to this deep-rooted culture that has been passed over from generation to generation and tries to understand and fulfill artists' needs as well as their expectations.
At the same time, TEENTAAL also hopes to reach out to the general public and present Indian Classical Music in a way that helps them better understand its underlying principles. This necessitates going back to the origins of Sound or even its very nature, both from a spiritual as well as from a creative level.
Pure Sound is ultimate authority, a descent of the Divine Powers into the sphere of music. If it is true that India never developed harmonies in the same as in the West, - considered by some as the vertical form, as opposed to the horizontal that is represented by the melodic line - it nevertheless recognized the only Vertical possible: the Original Pronunciation of the Divine Manifestation that has no beginning and no end.
The music of India belongs to the nature of the sacred emanations and as such escape from linear time and linear history. At contrary it reveals the Immanence and carries its Transcendental Semen. Semen - a Sound - from which all musical forms and their diverse languages flow, a nucleus from where all musical instruments from the simplest to the most elaborate and complex manifest the sound, the Verb from which Man himself was born: the Primordial Tool, the Origin of all the tools. Man is Voice and this Voice is the Path. Man as a Song, Man as an Act of Grace. Man, the primordial instrument is at once the artisan and the instrument. The Hand; it is the reason why all instruments must “sing”, mimicking the human voice. It is the “Voice” that creates in the image of the Divine Perfection, eternally improvising, pronounced but never written down, representing in its own way the great Divine freedom, erratic, a pilgrim on a path, a breath of fresh air, everything that is non-conditioned. Such is the true significance and origin of the Raga in India.
A Voice which is a Hand. A Voice which is Light and this Light is the Path. The Cosmic Man is his own Path.
Teentaal-Wakhevitch & Co coordinates between Indian classical music and the networks, event managers, theatres, concert halls, small and big festivals all around Europe and Asia. TEENTAAL takes utmost care in maintaining high standards of management and to the professionals of music and entertainement features the most prestigious figures in the Indian musical scenario to the immediate young generation of instrumentalists and singers only the very best that they deserve.
This intimate tryst of a soul with India is like a beautiful love story – a romantic journey with a nation and its vast secular traditions: India with its history, its civilization, its scriptures, its great spiritual leaders, its saints, its avatars; its artists, poets, dancers, musicians, architects; its people, its artisans, farmers, commoners, intellectuals: all an integral part of the deep river of Mother India – the Mother of all the mothers ...
This story is about fate – the inescapable fate of an individual whose heart belonged to the school of western classical music. But one beautiful day he discovers the soulful music of India and instantly sets off on a path of spiritual experiences. It is a story about the ecstasy and shock that makes the soul tremble in delight when it ultimately comes in contact with its origin, its true essence.
When two cultures unite, two hemispheres that mutually nourish one another but at the same time are in touch with their individual essence, its results in harmony and peace. It is not only the source of spirituality but also the source of scriptures and language and of all other existing music.
Pure Beauty, Intonations. Gestures, Movements.
Aspiration. Invocation of the Divine Flamme. There is Ecstasy in Indian Music. And also Joy. Joy, essence of everything.
The Joy ... and the Game !
TEENTAAL’s aspiration, TEENTAAL's necessity ... is to share with as many people as possible the certitude embodied in Indian classical music. India’s music is like a majestic river whose Spring is Silence in whose charged waters harbor the highest and profoundest values of spirituality that humanity has ever produced.
In fact no other civilization in the world has known more about the ancient VEDAS than the Hindus themselves. The Hindus explored the Vedas with incredible dedication and sensitivity, the sacred fields of Rhythm and Sound that carry certain secrets and powers, followed in a systematic and uninterrupted manner for over four thousand years.
It is India’s sheer genius that knew how to amass unfathomable knowledge and to perpetuate the Living Flame:
“Agni” – Fire of Sacrifice.
“Vak” – The Sacred Word, the Creative Sound.
“Saraswati” – Goddess of Art and Perfection.
* * *
Indian music most importantly represents “transmission”.
The concept of “Gurukula” is the transmission of knowledge from master to disciple practiced continuously over centuries together. This practice borrows heavily from Sanskrit (with its science of articulation and pronunciation of sacred sounds – the mantras – and its science of roots) the necessary materials for the elaboration and developement of a rich and complex edifice.
Over centuries India has been enriched by contributions from Persia and Afghanistan and has also absorbed, through sheer genius, from a network of diverse Indian cultures (especially from the north with its Hindustani music). This has given birth to numerous styles of expression that act like real “points of force” or centers of influence: the “gharanas”, or even the “gayaki” of a founding Guru that initiates an entire lineage of musicians) - ... India takes from all these discreet ingredients and makes a vast, coherent ensemble – nevertheless in constant renewal – organized around a principal axis which acts as its foundation and keystone: the Sanskrit language, inseperable from the revealed Veda, without a written form because it was forbidden to be written down.
A Cosmic Temple, a Temple of a Man God, a temple not just made of stones but out of vibrations, rhythms, of sounds, a temple made of pronunciations and speech, of verses and slokas: a sacred edifice made of voices, instruments, musical structures, intervals, as many as the Sacred Names incorporated in the music itself: the “ragas” and the “talas”. These are the real stones of the temple - A Musical House, a Cosmic House. It is left to each of us to choose a special corner - a room -in this temple for ourselves.
It is therefore natural to conclude that Indian music goes beyond music itself; it is “supra-music”: an immediate and active power whose very origin emanates from the Divine Sphere, from the world of Creative Sounds.
While listening to Indian music, the individual unconsciously comes in contact with the Emanations of the Supreme Existence, the divine influences – the very source of the “ragas” – that carry the indispensable essence (an entire range of subtle energies) that illuminates the mind, body and soul: keeping this in the right intonation with the spiritual forces of the cosmic order that permanently supports the Creation of the Earth. This Creative force has never stopped working inspite of essentially being perfect and divine by nature – it still is alive at every moment, it is the heart-beat of the Present contrary to the concept of linear time that is bound to the five senses. This is how the “Seven days of Creation” should be perceived, as a symbol of unlimited progress rather than a limited and static creation that slumbers in the dark shadows of time. Every day of Creation is in itself beautiful and perfect and at the same time has a breath of infinity blown into it. The "7" of the Cyclic Evolution spiral incessantly -like a sacred “naga” (cobra) – around the cosmic pillar of Infinity, with or without attribute: "Personal or Impersonal", indissociable and non contradictory, two aspects of the Supreme Being.
A “raga” to an Indian musician is firstly a “heavenly body” that manifests itself in his being; this entity expresses itself through the artist’s talent, inspiration and virtuosity as its medium – be it through his voice, fingers or hands.
Freedom, in the strictest of disciplines (the reflection of Creation itself), is based on a Superior and Luminous Knowledge of the Self. This Self eliminates all room for murky forms of ignorance that lead to the satisfaction of an individual’s selfish and immediate needs. Selflessness is the key-word of Indian music. The “improvised” piece is far from a random expression with a superfluous impact. It is not an aimless trickle of notes or the kind of shallow music that is artificial and powerless, in search of petty flattery that impresses the ear.
Indian music gives primary importance to the “inner ear”. The listener and the music cease to have separate identities and merge as one being. This being is both the Pronouncer and the Pronounced. There is no division between the musician and the audience. On the contrary, both sides are inseparable and belong to the same movement – where the Eternal Self delves deep into the being and consciousness of the heart while still remaining unmanifest, not bound by the necessity of birth in spacetime and matter.
TEENTAAL has humbly initiated to serve this inner flame and to help it grow. It offers people all over the world a chance to come in contact with a nation’s soulful music. TEENTAAL celebrates the joy and goodwill Indian classical music spreads in peoples’ heart and soul.
