Through her music, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton has undertaken a journey that can barely be summed up in words. It’s one of those things that communicate best through an unspoken language. After her Mediterranean Odyssey, she brings her sonorous sounds to India, a country she doesn’t know well, but is eager to explore and enjoy.
Under the umbrella of Bonjour India, Alliance Française de Delhi is presenting a classical rendition by her. It’s called The Odyssey in India, that brings out the importance of sharing stories, the very foundation of human life. “Stories help us understand life. Wherever there are signs of human presence, one can find a stage, and see or imagine a person standing, interpreting the story. It is also for me about solitude. Surviving the emotions of life is related to solitude,” she says.
Atherton wants to surround herself by sounds of the wind, of the sea, of waves, of a tempest and of human voices from far away. She wants to give the voice of the narrator to her cello and have him/her go through the many contrasted emotions of life that come about.
The instrumentalist doesn’t hold on to a stiff paradigm. Her cultural eclecticism born out of living in different places could be the reason. She was born in the States, then relocated to France and studied in Russia. As she moved, she imbibed various ethnic influences into her practice. “My sounds were my language even before words.
From sounds I came to a melody, from a melody to my instrument, the cello,” she says, adding, “My curiosity and need to feel that music is a way to transmit what words often cannot, is the essence of the emotional strength of music. My interest is in the cohabitation of tradition, knowledge and practicing with infectivity.”
The sound track she’ll perform at the upcoming recital comprises her experiences of meeting Indian people and hearing their voices. A beautiful exercise in the synthesis of cultures is now waiting to be heard.
December 13, at 7 pm, Auditorium at the Bahá’í House of Worship, Kalkaji.
The Odyssey in India
Under the umbrella of Bonjour India, Alliance Française de Delhi is presenting a classical rendition by cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton. It’s called The Odyssey in India, that brings out
the importance of sharing stories