Indian classical instrumental is a much sought after genre of music all over the world today. Gone are the days when listeners from Western countries could not make out if the instrument that was being played was sarod or sitar. The only sound that convinced Westerners that the music is really Indian was the constant drone of the tanpura. But thereafter, of course, the sounds of the sitar strings became recognizable everywhere and even got featured in a few Hollywood movies of the 1950s and 1960s. The sound was also noticed by many Rock bands of the West and some experimented with it in their music.
Bismillah Khan - Malkauns (Shehnai) :
Hariprasad Chaurasia - Pilu (Bansuri) :
Ali Akbar Khan - Gour Sarang (Sarod) Vocals: Asha Bhonsle :
Anoushka Shankar - Shuddha Sarang (Sitar) :
Note: Please inter-change the names of the last two songs after you download them. They were wrongly named while uploading.
Indian classical musicians worship their instruments as if the Goddess of knowledge, music and art, Saraswati, bestowed them to them herself. During the Monterey International Pop Festival of 1967, legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix smashed his guitar all over the stage and later burned it into flames at the finale of his performance. Another guitarist, Pete Townshend, followed suit by breaking his guitar into bits and pieces. In sheer contrast, Pandit Ravi Shankar, who also participated, lifted the sitar to his forehead as a mark of respect for the art and the instrument. Recently, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was seen weeping when his sarod was damaged during a flight. Herein lies the divinity of Indian classical music.
India has a rich source of instrumental music with its innumerable kinds of musical instruments be it classical, traditional or folk. The mild and melodious tunes of bansuri or the healing sound of sitar, each one soothes the mind and soul. Instrumental music can be used as the best kind of meditation music. The beautiful sounds of instruments help the mind and soul to relax and concentrate on a single thought.
Indian classical music is a part of the Indian heritage, and is said to be found in the oldest scriptures, namely the Vedas. Indian instrumental music is a part of the classical music and is a much revered tradition of India. Globally, Indian instrumental classical music has greater acceptance than classical vocal music. The reason attributed for this is that the lyrics in Indian vocal music are incomprehensible to people other than Indians. Presented here are four of the most delightful performances on various instruments.
Adnan Sami has a special command on Indian classical music notes. He developed his musical style and technique on the Piano, evolving a new sound, which he pioneered and ultimately introduced to the world, thus becoming the first person to play Indian classical music on the electric Piano. As a classical concert pianist, Adnan Sami has had the honour of giving performances before heads of governments such as President Mitterand of France, President and Prime Minister of India, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan and Prime Minister of Sweden. Apart from this, Adnan has performed for prestigious music festivals to sold-out stadiums of his concerts all over the world.
Ecstasy, a 1990 album, is part of Adnan Sami's journey into the world of Indian classical music, a world that he, unfortunately, abandoned in the later part of his career. Ecstasy has four tracks including one in Raga Khamaj. I am skipping this one as it has already been featured in one of my earlier posts, and was also part of Adnan's earlier album. It is surprising, but no details about Ecstasy is available anywhere. The whereabouts of the accompanyists, like the Tabla player, are unknown. Can someone find them, please?
East-meets-West musical experiments have often been doomed to failure, foiled by good intentions gone haywire. Many a times, attempts at synthesizing Western music's linear qualities with the more ethereal North Indian classical traditions can result in cultural collision rather than collusion. The lack of worthy precedents is partly what made A Meeting by the River such a remarkable and ear-opening piece of music making.
American composer, musicologist and guitar legend Ry Cooder teams up with North Indian classical musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, creator of the Mohan Veena (an Indian slide guitar), to create an exquisite musical blend, with both musicians playing exceptional slide guitar. Their collaboration evokes musical elements from many cultures and styles. The musical interplay between the two is nothing short of astounding, especially considering that they met for the first time only a few hours before the recording of this album.
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder - A Meeting by the River :
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder - Longing :
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder - Ganges Delta Blues :
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder - Isa Lei :
They are accompanied by a pair of percussionists, Tabla player Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari and Ry Cooder's own son, Joachim, on Dumbek (a Middle Eastern drum). This recording won a Grammy Award in 1994.
Some people are born to be self destructive.. like Adnan Sami. Take a look at his career graph. Once known to possess the fastest fingers on the piano keyboard, Adnan Sami took his classical music lessons from none other than Santoor maestro, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Two decades ago, in 1990 he, together with Tabla wizard Ustad Zakir Hussain, created music that can safely be termed as sheer magic. It was at a live concert in Karachi, Pakistan. Classical instrumental music, Adnan is playing the piano, cannot get better than this. Wonder why the two magicians never collaborated again. Also wonder why Adnan Sami made a mess of his career and ..personal life.
Adnan Sami & Zakir Hussain - Raga Durga :
Adnan Sami & Zakir Hussain - Folk Tune :
Adnan Sami & Zakir Hussain - Raga Bageshri :
Adnan Sami & Zakir Hussain - Dhun in Raga Khamaj :
The striking feature of Rajasthan's music and dance is that there is great variety. In fact, nothing much has changed since the time of their inception, probably a thousand years back. The music and dance are rooted in tradition. Although music and dance are an integral part of the daily life of Rajasthan, it is more pronounced during festivals. Songs of ancient poets like Kabir, Malookdas and Meera have become an integral part of the Rajasthani folklore. Apart from festivals, music and dance are also performed during special occasions like marriage, and childbirth.
The music of Rajasthan is very vibrant and the manner in which Rajasthani music has evolved by absorbing the unique features of its adjoining states like Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab has meant that Rajasthani music is bold and evocative. It has already carved a niche for itself in not only India but has also been very popular overseas, courtesy the 'Festival of India' shows that are conducted in western countries.
The most unique offering of Rajasthan is the majestic sand dunes in the Thar desert. Set against the blue sky, the wind shaped dunes gives a magical view. The picturesque dunes in the desert are the accumulation of windblown sand marks and one of nature's most interesting and beautiful phenomena. The sand dunes keep changing colors and shapes every minute.
The shimmering sands and contoured desolation of the Thar Desert have cradled for centuries, the old folk tradition of the people of Rajasthan. The brightness of the daily life, the legends of its heroism and romance are all captured in the vibrant and evocative music of this desert land. Folk music of Rajasthan, which is rich, evocative, heroic, plaintive and joyful, comes from a tradition that is old and undisturbed.
In Rajasthan the folk instruments have developed according to regional settings and environment. Some folk instruments are hundreds of years old in style and are comparable to the classical music instruments in quality of music. Every instrument is still made and played according to same tradition and passion.
String instruments like Sarangi, Rawanhatha, Kamaycha and Bhapang add haunting melody to the music. Percussion instrument like Dholak, Nagara, Chang and Dhap add the rhythmic beat to joyous music. A variety of wind instruments complete the multitude of folk instruments which include, Algoja, Satara, Murla, Nad, Poongi and Shehnai. And then there are instruments like Kartaal or Morchang that are unique additions to the great repository of folk instruments as they are unlike any instruments found anywhere in the world.
The vast array of Rajasthani folk instruments are made ingeniously from a variety of materials. Shells of dried gourds of all shapes and sizes are used for making string instruments, stems or bamboo segments for flutes and baked clay pots for drums. Conch shells are blown to produce full, resonant sounds, sticks create rasping rhythms and ghungroos (brass bells) jingle on waists and ankles.
When you think of instrumental side of hindustani classical music, names of certain icons representing it, crop up in your mind at once. Tell a person to name the artists associated with the sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri (flute), santoor, shehnai or even tabla and invariably he or she will relate these instruments with established artists like Ravi Shankar, Amjad Ali Khan, Sultan Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Bismillah Khan and Zakir Hussain respectively. Recalling a second name associated with these instruments can be an arduous task for the uninitiated. I am not speaking of the 'know-alls' of hindustani classical music but the person on the street.
Unlike vocal music which has a Rashid Khan to every Bhimsen Joshi, an Ajoy Chakrabarty to every Pandit Jasraj, a Kaushiki Chakrabarty to every Kishori Amonkar and so on, young instrumental artists struggle to get recognition. With due respect to the icons of instrumental music who without doubt are the best performers of their respective instruments there are many others who have excelled but are yet to get noticed. Incidentally instrumental music is also the more glamourous side of hindustani classical music.
A few days back I received an email from an young sarod player from Kolkata, Abhisek Lahiri who is a regular on this blog asking me to review his performance. He sent me a composition in Raga Shree both in Vilambit and Drut. Moron as I still am, as far as the finer nuances of classical music are concerned, I religiously loaded these mp3 files onto my iPod and found them to be quite engaging. I have uploaded these songs on my Indian.Raga.Instrumental folder at eSnips and would love to have a feedback on this young and talented artist.
Abhisek, just 24 years of age is the only son of eminent sarod artist Pandit Alok Lahiri. He has trained under his father and is an 'A' Grade artist on All India Radio and Doordarshan. He has performed extensively worldwide including the US, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Abhisek is the first Indian Sarod artist to perform solo and also along with his father in European Parliament, Strasbourg, France in 2002. He has also won a President's Award in Sarod through All India Radio music competition and Rashtriya Gaurav Award.
I see a great future for this young boy and would like all you connoisseurs of hindustani classical music to hear his music and give your opinion on this blog.
