Discover 200-year-old British-Indian crossover music through story, song, & puppetry!

By 1780, the East India Company had transformed Calcutta into a small English city. Musicians travelled from London to India, bringing the music of England with them. Others played their harpsichords with local Indian classical musicians, and wrote down the Indian tunes they jammed on with European notes.

Explore music from a young Calcutta, where performers wound melodies from many cultures into their own traditions.

Ensemble Tempus Fugit melds this unusual combination of period music and Indian song with puppetry and drama to tell a story of a traveller making his way to the musical heart of the City of Palaces.

Repertoire includes music by British composers Dowland, Purcell, and Locke; music for sitar and voice; and 1780s transcriptions of Hindustani and Bengali songs made by the wives of East India Company officers.

What the critics said:

"Let Calcutta go to all corners, and speak for diversity." - Chichester Observer

"A very impressive musical invocation of a fascinating period of British and Indian history, well acted, well staged, well sung and well played." - Andrew Benson-Wilson