Juxtaposing Indian classical Raga and Western classical Counterpoint, composer Shanker Krishnan’s upcoming debut album, “Confluence:Raga and Counterpoint” creates a harmonious musical experience.
Releasing September 26, 2025 on the largest Indian arts platform, “IndianRaga” label, the Confluence: Raga and Counterpoint (the Confluence hereafter) comprises of the multi-movement works of Fugue-Kriti and Concerto-Kriti. The album explores the integration of Counterpoint with Carnatic music.
Composed by Krishnan, the Confluence contains solo performances by Shraddha Ravindran on violin, K.R.Shrievats on veena, R.Thiagarajan on flute and Mannarkoil J. Balaji on mridangam.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Music describes Kriti in Carnatic music as a devotional musical composition with a three-part structure of pallavi, anupallavi and charanams.
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Fugue is a complex contrapuntal composition usually involving two or more independent melodies, each with its own distinct rhythm and contour while interacting harmonically.
A concerto is a composition for a solo instrument or a small group of solo instruments accompanied by a full orchestra.
What inspired the Confluence?
Speaking to News India Times in an exclusive interview, Krishnan said he had wanted to pursue integrating Carnatic and Western classical music at a deep structural level from the time he first heard Western classical music in 1982. Especially as the combination of complex Counterpoint with Carnatic music has not been similarly explored, he added.
“For me, the complexity of Bach’s Counterpoint evokes the same response I feel when I hear the intricate Gamakas of T. Brinda,” he said. “I’ve explored other traditions along the way, but Carnatic and Western classical have been closest to me throughout my life,” Krishnan said.
Early exposure and influence of Carnatic Music
Krishnan and his family lived near the Shanmukhananda Sabha and the Bharatiya Music & Arts Society, which were major centers of Carnatic music in Mumbai and Krishnan often attended vocal performances there with his family, he said.
At home, his sister Geetha Raja had become a professional Carnatic musician and his parents were deeply involved in it. There were regular family Carnatic music concerts at home, which were recorded on a tape recorder and he kept listening to his favorite musicians, Krishnan said.
Of the Carnatic singers, two have left lasting impressions on Krishnan, influencing him deeply. Krishnan had been listening from childhood to T.Brinda, known as Brindamma, and loved her “subtle gamakas,” he said. He was also influenced by the kirtans for Vitthala by the fifteenth century saint-composer Purandara Dasa. The Kriti form in which Krishnan composes descends from the kirtana developed by Purandara Dasa, he said.
Introduction to Western Classical Music
After getting his undergrad degree in engineering from IIT Madras in 1982, Krishnan came to UC Berkeley for a master’s in applied math, taking Western classical music courses along with math. Krishnan also has an MBA and a master’s in development economics from Stanford.
It was at Berkeley that Krishnan first heard Hungarian composer and pianist Bartók and French composer Claude Debussy who was the founder and leading exponent of musical impressionism. “The piano was very important – I learned it for many years to absorb lessons in harmony, and as a tool for composition,” he said.
The Confluence explores the Baroque era Counterpoint, which is described by Oxford Music as characterized by the simultaneous melodic interaction and interplay of two or more independent, yet harmonically interdependent melodic lines, often expressed through complex forms including the fugue.
From the most prominent Baroque musicians and composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi, Krishnan has been influenced the most by Bach whose fugues perfected the counterpoints.
Themes and Composition of the Confluence
Both Carnatic music and Baroque Counterpoint, although very different cultural and musical traditions, are forms of worship. The Confluence has been created from influences of these two different forms.
Much of the music in the Confluence is based on the Bhagwad Gita, on themes of time, war, victory, righteousness and non attachment.
The Confluence features a Concerto-Kriti – the Field of Dharma, a Pallavi movement – Arjun’s lament, an Anupallavi movement – the Field of Battle, a Charanam movement – the Dilemma, and a Swaram movement – the Realization.
A Concerto is a composition for a solo instrument or a small group of solo instruments accompanied by a full orchestra, according to Oxford Music.
Krishnan described the first three movements of Field of Dharma follow Arjuna’s emotional struggle and his dilemma over the right path. The fourth movement draws on key teachings including unattachment to results of action.
Deep emotions
The emotional depths are conveyed through Krishnan’s use of Phrasing and notes and Gamakas which are described in Oxford Music as microtonal embellishments between notes adding depth and expressiveness to them.
Gamakas are at the heart of Carnatic music, Krishnan said. He said he has brought subtlety in shifting moods by changing Harmonic Progressions and Counterpoint. “Varying the instrumentation in the Concerto-Kriti brings in entirely new colors,” he said.
An integrated fusion
“For me, the integration is architectural, built from within both (Indian classical and Western classical) traditions, drawing on my long training in each,” Krishnan explained. “For each Phrase that I compose, I keep moving between the two systems,” he said.
Krishnan said his pieces are driven by a single, unified compositional vision. Towards this end, Krishnan has made use of both the Fugue and the Kriti. “Using them together provides a gateway for listeners from either tradition without having to know the technical details,” he said.
Instruments in the Confluence
“From the Carnatic tradition, I’ve chosen the instruments most common in concert performance: the flute, violin, and veena — spanning high to low registers. For percussion, I used the mridangam, with its wide array of expressive tones,” he said.
Krishnan has focused on the trumpet and the harp, and to a lesser extent the oboe and cello for the solo Western instruments, he said. Together, they offer a broad range of timbres and sonic colors that contrast and blend with the Carnatic instruments, he added.
The Profession
Krishnan had been an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, and an economist at the World Bank before taking his current position as the deputy treasurer at the IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm. He sets up most of IFC’s treasury functions and launches new financial products to fund areas like microfinance, infrastructure, and education.
Krishnan has chosen to pursue his passion for music instead of becoming the CFO at IFC. He hopes to continue following this passion.
The Confluence will be available at https://indianraga.com/