New doc looks at trip from India to Cúil Aodha

A new film that will be shown this week looks back at a very special trip that a famous Indian music family made to the Cork gaeltacht in 1981.

‘Continuing Traditions’ is a new music documentary by Dónal Ó Céilleachair that will be broadcast at the Dublin International Film Festival on Saturday at 5.30pm at the Light House Screen.

It tracks the journey made by members of the renowned Ustad Imrat Khan Indian classical music family who travelled to the West Cork village of Cúil Aodha to perform at the 10th anniversary commemorations of Irish composer Seán Ó Riada.

The events were officially opened by President Patrick Hillery and attended by leading national and international musicians, cultural figures and dignitaries.

What followed surprised everyone in attendance as the Irish and Indian musicians began to discover musical resonance and sympathy between their respective traditions.

Now, 40 years later, Ustad Wajahat Khan and Peadar Ó Riada have come together to continue the conversation through a creative collaborative exploration of what their respective traditions share in common and what makes them so radically different.

For these master musicians, this is an exploration firmly rooted in a mutual heritage of musicianship and composition modulated through structure, melody, rhythm and time.

Compiled from over 40 hours of footage, filmed over a two-year period, ‘Continuing Traditions’ captures the creative process, charting the birth and evolution of two new compositions, from their initial conception through meticulous arrangement and rehearsal, right through to their first public performance.