Ustad Isa in Philosopher’s Walk

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 Paul Horn, Ustad Isa

An incredible soundscape presented itself yesterday in Philosopher’s Walk as I headed across the footbridge to the University of Toronto’s music library to snag a copy of Paul Horn’s Inside compendium, a selection from which is currently being considered for inclusion in the new RCM Flute Syllabus and compilation series.

There is something eternal about the sound of children playing. The wind was an issue as I recorded, so, tucking my handy Edirol in behind the sheltered lee of my satchel, I decided to overlay the sound of my flute with the delightful cacophony of children from the ROMkids Summer Club at play on a lunch break.

Having recorded several renditions of Paul Horn’s Agra and realizing that I had the whole collection on hand, what better opportunity to try out another piece from the Paul Horn’s seminal Taj Mahal collection?

Ustad Isa  is reputed to be the architect of the famed Taj Mahal, and the piece as it sounds here strikes the perfect balance of improvisational free play and profound, reverent reflection, made that much more poignant with the background soundscape. ..instead of a glorious 28-second reverb, children at play is the acoustic framework and setting here.

This is my first read-through of the quasi-improvisational composition, transcribed from Paul Horn’s original improvisations inside that incredible and historic architectural, domed space. Although recorded somewhat on the ‘hot’ side – as you may detect toward the end of the recording – the sound of the children stays true and clear throughout!

At the risk of copyright violation, I have scanned in a copy of the music for you to follow along, or perhaps enjoy playing if you are a flute player! Ideally a very echo-y location is sought out for the piece to be fully realized as it was recorded originally by Paul Horn in the Taj Mahal.

My thanks to Paul Horn for his original inspiration, as well as his ongoing support and enthusiasm for my Urban Flute Project, and to Edward B. Marks Music based out of New York as they consider granting permission for the use of Agra so that this incredible music can be introduced to a younger generation of flute players. 

Thanks also to Brian and the staff at the U of T music library for having this music available – as it is currently out of print -  and for pulling it off the shelf for me! 

And of course I would like to express my gratitude to the children who are eternally at play around the world!