InChorus #11 Queens of Melody - Indian tour - April 2019

"From Kurdish songs to Hindustani ragas", here you are the musical journey proposed by Kalasetu and the Alliance française of Delhi for the next InChorus project "The Queens of Melody" with Eléonore Fourniau (vocal and hurdy-gurdy), Nandini Shankar (violin) and Abhishek Mishra (tabla).

Few dates all over India to discover these wonderful musicians.

17th April – Alliance française of Delhi
21st April – Alliance française of Hyderabad
23rd April – Alliance française of Chennai
25th April – Alliance française of Pune
26th April – Alliance française of Ahmedabad

For the 11th performance of [InChorus], two gems of music will meet on stage and marry their exquisite styles of singing and fiddle playing: the French singer and hurdy-gurdy player Éléonore Fourniau who performs the pains and joys of the Kurdish people with stunning sensitivity and the Indian violinist Nandini Shankar who interprets the ragas of Hindustani music in the gayaki ang (vocal style) with great subtlety. Their repertoires are known for the highly refined treatment of microtones and the delicate musical ornamentations. They will be accompanied by the talented tabla player Abhishek Mishra who will add his touch by creating rhythms in his brilliant style. This concert is an invitation to immerse ourselves in the timeless melodies of the vast lands of Kurdistan and India: a pure bliss to expect!

Opened to all - Free entry

Presentation of the artists 

      Eleonore Fourniau, vocal and hurdy-gurdy

After an adolescence in Ouzbekistan, Éléonore Fourniau left her native France for Turkey to learn Turkish and Kurdish musical styles and chants. She learnt saz in the conservatory of Istanbul and in the school of Erdal Erzincan where she met numerous masters. With her saz and her hurdy-gurdy, a medieval instrument that she brings subtly into Oriental music, she sings the traditional repertoire of Turkish popular music with great passion. Appreciated for her technique and her crystalline voice, Eleonore is recognized as a brilliant interpret of the Kurdish repertory and is touring now all over the world as a soloist as well as singer in different ensembles. 

      Nandini Shankar, violin

Nandini Shankar is one of the talented daughters of the violin maestro Dr. Sangeeta Shankar: she began her training in music from the tender age of 3 under the tutelage of her mother and illustrious grandmother, Padmabhushan Dr. N. Rajam. Being born and brought up in a musical atmosphere, she started her career as a violinist at an early age. Nandini is presently one of the promising figure of Indian Classical music. She has been the recipient of Cultural Scholarship awarded by Ministry of Culture and has also received ‘Jashn-e-Youngistan’ from the Vice-President of India in 2018. In parallel of her music career, she is a Faculty member at Whistling Woods International, a premier film institute in Mumbai.

      Abhishek Mishra, tabla

Born in a family of musicians, Abhishek Mishra is one of the young gifted tabla players from the Benaras style of playing. Son of Pt. Birendra Nath Mishra, he has started to learn tabla at an early age with his grandfather, Pt. Surendra Mohan Mishra, before getting the guidance of Pt. Pooran Maharaj and Pt. Kumar Bose. Abhishek is currently an A grade artist from All India Radio & Doordarshan and he is regularly accompanying senior Hindustani artists in renowned music festivals.