Shree Rag

Ali Akbar Khan - Shree Rag

The Shree Rag is of late afternoon, intended to be played in the brief, fragile time between sunset and the end of twilight. It is, in my experience, a most vulnerable and revealing time - if, as a Westerner, you stop long enough to know that that time has come and to become part of it. I remember separate instances - in a park in Paris, at Big Sur, in the dusk of Central Park - when, being alone, the shading of light into darkness took me out of usual time (time consumed) into time itself (time experienced as a continuum, time felt, actually felt.)

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Nearly all Indian music, I confess, is capable of bringing me into this time of twilight, and that is why I am so drawn to it. Making a space in time, it gives me a dimension of time I find in no other music. I cannot pretend that on internal musical evidence I would have known, without being told, that the Shree Rag is specifically of twilight. But knowing it, I find the music all the more - if I may use the word - precious to me.

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The performance here - by Ali Akbar Khan [sarod] and Shankar Ghosh [tabla] - requires little explication. Shankar Ghosh and Mahapurush Misra (who has appeared on previous Connoisseur Society albums) are interchangeably, Ali Akbar Khan's regular accompanists. Ghosh, as you will hear, tends to be more forceful, one of the consequences of which are occasional heavy, low bass, forte attacks. When playing with Ghosh, Ali Akbar Khan appears to become, in the slow sections, more introspective and his melodic line more delicately ornamented.

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Listening to this recording, I was immediately seized by the quality of the sound itself - not only the clarity but also the remarkable presence, the penetrating immediacy of this search into time and self at twilight. The recording was made in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University and is regarded by Ali Akbar Khan as having the best sound yet of any of his recordings.

And now there is the music, into which you can go as far as you permit yourself to go into your self. And beyond. (Nat Hentoff)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Alap in Two Parts and Gat (beginning) {20:02}

Side 2

1. Gat (conclusion) {19:18}

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Master Musician of India

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - Master Musician of India

released on LP in 1966

The title of Chandranandan alludes to the Hindi words "chandra" (moon) and "nandan" (son). Accordingly, it is evening music, and introspective rather than romantic. After the briefest possible alap the basic rhythmic pattern of sixteen beats (teental) is set by the tabla. This particular performance unfolds first in vilambit laya (slow rhythm), gaining momentum with the ensuing madhya laya (moderate rhythm), then breaking into drut laya (fast rhythm). An unusual feature here, beginning about three-quarters of an inch from the end of the side, is the yugal-bandi ("yugal", concert; "bandi", a sort of contest) or question-and-answer exchange in which the sarodist and tabla player "talk" to each other, the latter replying to the former in precisely the same "words", mutatis mutandis. Not once in the heat of this episode do the artists traduce the fundamental teental; the "questions" are exactly eight beats long and the "answers" begin on the ninth beat and end on the sixteenth. Nor does this fidelity to the rhythm waver in the ati-drut (very fast) peroration, which readers such an overwhelming climax that one of the invited guests at the recording session could not forebear from applause despite a strict injunction. The engineers could not edit out the spontaneous first moment of this reaction without doing violence to the recording., and so it is still there to be heard, at the very end of the side.
The word "Gauri" is a proper female name; the prototype was the wife of none less than Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity who was among other things god of the arts. The word "manjari" means flower petals.Gauri Manjari, then, one may take to be an artist's offering to his muse. Properly under these circumstances, it is not one of the thrice-familiar ragas. It is in fact one of the aprachalit ones - "unpopular" is the translation but in the sense that it is relatively new and known only to Ali Akbar Khan's audiences. Being without benefit of tabla, this recorded performance seems to be all alap. In truth it is a complete but compact ragini. There is no rhythmic pattern, but in the absence of beats there is a clearly defined pulse and a feeling of laya (which alludes to bar-lines; the teental units on the overside contain four layas each). When this pulse quickens, about one inch in on the side, we are in the jor, corresponding very roughly to what we would call the development section. Less than another inch later we are precipitated into the concluding jhala, which emphasizes overtones and Beethoven-like patterns of repeated notes and dazzling pyrotechnics all contained within the compass of the ragini as initially stated by the composer-performer.  (James Lyons from the liner notes)

Chandranandan and Gauri Manjari are both raginis (female). The playing time for Chandranandan is between 8 P.M. and 3 A.M. It has three expressions of human feelings (rasas); they are Karuna (pathos), Bhakti (devotion), and Sringara (love). In the beginning, the melody creates the pathetic emotion, and then leads to the expression of devotion. When the Bhakti or devotion is settled and established in the tune, then through a change of notes, but maintaining the same ragini, it takes us into the feeling of love. And that is Sringara. This Sringara rasa is not bound by the carnal desires. It is a love which is based above that; the love which comes through the pains of life and the devotion of life.
Gauri Manjari is composed of Bhakti (devotion), Karuna (pathos), and Vir rasa (the rasa of strength), mixed with very little Sringara. The time for this music is between 9 P.M. and 2 A.M. Gauri Manjari begins with a feeling of uneasiness of mind, and then, gradually, the rasas will bring the other feelings one by one, and end in the notes of happiness.
These two raginis took several years to compose. They are my original creations. I have taken the characteristics of many ragas and raginis and mixed them, and created a new color and character. This is the final shape and expression of the tunes.  (Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1.  Raga Chandranandan  {21:28}
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - sarod ; Pandit Mahapurush Misra - tabla ; Anila Sinha - tanpura

Side 2

1.  Raga Gauri Manjari  {19:07}
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - sarod ; Anila Sinha - tanpura

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The Forty Minute Raga

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - The Forty Minute Raga

Performers:

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - sarod

Mahapurush Misra - tabla

Rag Marwa is a late evening and nighttime raga. It's essentially heroic in character but elements of devotion and pathos weave throughout its texture.

Marwa is an old, very great and strictly classical raga which predates the latest developments of the sarod. It was not intended originally to be played on the sarod because the performance on the old sarod would have been virtually impossible in a purely technical sense.

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It is somewhat like a reversal of the famous story of Paganini finishing a virtuoso performance on one violin string. Since Mr. Khan must play the entire melodic line of Marwa for 42 minutes with restricted use of 2 of his left-hand fingers, it is a feat comparable to Paganini particularly in view of the great emotional range of this raga.

Because of the above mentioned difficulties, Rag Marwa is infrequently performed in public and performances on records encompassing the full scope of emotions inherent in such a raga are rare indeed. The time limitations imposed by LP records have frequently necessitated the avoidance of certain powerful Indian ragas whose mood and development cannot be completely explored and consummated in the twenty-odd minutes of a long-playing side, but now, for the first time on records anywhere, the full mood and intensity of this raga is unfolded without regard to time limitations. This performance is over 40 minutes long and occupies the entire record with the Alap on side one and the Gat on side two.

Ali Akbar Khan has expressed the opinion that this performance of Marwa is perhaps the fullest expression of his art ever recorded. (E. Alan Silver)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Raga Marwa (Part One), Alap {20:57}

Side 2

1. Raga Marwa (Part Two), Gat {20:56}

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Indian Music: Ragas and Dances

The Original Uday Shankar Company of Hindu Musicians - Indian Music: Ragas and Dances

LP released in 1968; all music recorded in 1937

Instrumental ensemble: Vishnudass Shirali, Sisir Sovan, Rabindra (Ravi Shankar), Dulal Sen, Nagen dey, Brijo Behari

Ars longa and all that, but in art as in life a lot can happen within a few decades, and it is ever fascinating to observe the interaction of chance events and cultural attitudes. The case of Indian music and dance provides an especially clear illustration of this process. Both are among the glories of civilized man, with traditions tracing to furthest antiquity. In the perspective of their history a span of thirty-odd years is but a millisecond of time.

And yet January 1938, the original release date of a famous recording herewith reissused, could be said for all practical purposes to define the beginning of America's acquaintance with these vast exotic realms of expression. That acquaintance has since ripened to deep affection, and with it has come a healthy awareness that the "universal language" of art in fact comprises many a language other than our own - other than, for example, the tempered scale to which all Western ears are attuned by nurture if not by nature.

The psychedlic perversion of Indian aesthetics along with the raga-rock vogue among our young people are only the most-publicized manifestations of this new and growing awareness. The former is plainly pathological, the latter transitory. But the point is that neither phenomenon - nor,obviously, the widespread interest in the music of India among today's serious listeners - would have come to pass when it did without Uday Shankar.

Starting with his first American tour in 1931, it was this incomparable dancer-showman who effected virtually singlehanded the cultural cross-pollination that was to be enormously accelerated in the CBI (China-Burma-India) deployment during World War II. The subsequent introduction of long-playing records, followed by the "travel explosion" made possible by jet aircraft, brought Kipling's twain even closer. All of which paved a way for the more recent triumphs by such artists as Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar and Bismillah Khan.

But the pioneer proselytizer of Indian arts in the United States indubitably was Uday Shankar, and his artistry had reached its highest peak when his company assembled - it was Washington's Birthday in 1937 - to make what was to be its only recording. More's the pity that it can only be an auditory souvenir of what was above all a stunning visual experience.

The consensus of contemporary reports is that Uday Shankar's artful mingling of dance and music was, at its best, total theater. He was himself an electrifying performer, and whenever he was onstage his radiant presence was said to be felt by the entire ensemble - and by everyone on the other side of the footlights as well.

So saying, it needs to be added that any music written for choreographic use must be, as Lincoln Kirstein once put it, a "platform" for the dance. Therefore, and particularly in the light of our latterly more sophisticated listening habits, it should be understood that what one hears in this recording is not the pure classical music of India.

It is true that some dozen ragas are importuned or alluded to, but none of them is "developed" as it would be in a concert performance (nor could this have been accomplished without fantastic difficulties in an epoch when record sides rarely exceeded four minutes). And certain of the instrumental combinations are wildly unorthodox, though effective - and in the theater only effectiveness counts. In short, this is "pit" music, tailored for Western consumption and not meant to be heard without reference, at least, to its carefully contrived context.

In a sense, and by no means a pejorative sense, the musical "platform" put together by Vishnudass Shirali for this program might be described as the Indian approximation of a cross between the Vaughan Williams folk-song settings and the Bach transcriptions by Leopold Stokowski, scaled to chamber-orchestra proportions. That is to say, ethnic material is "classicalized," and strictly classical material is so to speak popularized; the result is admittedly hybrid but always well within the bounds of good taste. And everywhere there is consummate showmanship, which is hardly to be scorned even by purists. (Those who were fortunate enough to see Uday Shankar in his heyday will have no trouble conjuring up that ineffable presence in the three male solos - Side 1, Band 3; Side 2, Bands 1 and 2.) (James Lyons)Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Raga Tilanga {4:00}
(Sitar, Sarod, Esraj, Flute, Tabla, Sarangi, Gongs)

2. Raga Bahar {4:06}
(Sitar, Sarod, Flute, Tabla, Sarangi)

3. Danse Gandharva: Raga Malkauns {4:09}
(Sitar, Sarod, Esraj, Sarangi)

4. Danse Ramachandra: Ragas Sinhendra-Maddhyama, Hansaddhwani {3:52}
(Tampura, Sitar, Flute, Sarod, Mridungam, Khunkhuni)

5. Tabla-Taranga: Raga Adana {4:12}
(Played on Twelve Drums by Vishnudass Shirali)

Side 2

1. Danse Kartikeyya: Raga Malkauns {3:44}
(Jala-Taranga, Flute, Sarod, Sarangi, Mridungam, Gongs, Shankha, Zhanzha)

2. Danse Indra: Raga Bhairava {3:13}
(Sitar, Sarod, Flute, Tabla, Esraj, Sarangi)

3. Danse Snanum: Ragas Durga, Khamaj {3:10}
Jala-Taranga, Flute, Sarod, Sitar, Madal, Kohl, Khunkhuni)

4. Bhajana (Religious Song) {3:36}
(Flute, Sitar, Sarod, Tabla, Karatal; Sung by Vishnudass Shirali)

5. Raga Mishra-Kaphi {3:23}
(Sarod, Tabla, Esraj)

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The 'Ultimate' in Percussion Music

Ustad Zakir Hussain - The 'Ultimate' in Percussion Music

performers:

Ustad Zakir Hussain - tabla

Ustad Sultan Khan - sarangi

Swati Tavargiri - tanpura

Shaukat Hussain - harmonium

Promising something ultimate is lofty and is a set up for disappointment. I'm not sure yet if I would say that the music on this release is the "ultimate" in percussion music. But Ustad Zakir Hussain gives an intense and amazing performance on the tabla and this possibly cannot be considered a disappointment. Hussain is widely regarded in the area of percussion music and it is quite obvious that he is a master of his instrument. The 'Ultimate' in Percussion Music is another great thrift store find that was priced at 50 cents. I had forgotten that he had co-founded the group Tabla Beat Science with Bill Laswell until I saw this mentioned on Wikipedia when looking up Hussain's background. Hussain has had quite a career as mentioned below.

Zakir was touring by the age of twelve. He attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim, and graduated from St Xaviers, Mumbai. Zakir went to the United States in 1970, embarking on an international career that today includes no fewer than 150 concert dates a year.
Zakir has worked with many western and Indian artists, and has produced many works for fusion, perhaps most notably with The Beatles. In 1971 he recorded with an American psychedelic band called Shanti. He has also worked with John McLaughlin in Shakti in 1975, with L. Shankar (Lakshminarayanan Shankar) in the Diga Rhythm Band, and with Mickey Hart on his Rolling Thunder album (on which he and his father played a tabla duet). Although Shakti was disbanded a few years later, it reunited under the name Remember Shakti.
In 1987, his first solo release, Making Music, was acclaimed as one of the most inspired East-West fusion albums ever recorded. In 1988, he became the youngest percussionist to ever be awarded the title of Padma Shri. In 1990, he was awarded the Indo-American Award in recognition for his cultural contribution to relations between the United States and India. In April, 1991, he was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India, making him one of the youngest musicians to receive this recognition from India's governing cultural institute.
In 1992, Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Zakir and Mickey Hart, was awarded a Grammy for Best World Music Album, the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best World Beat Album, and the NARM Indie Best Seller Award for World Music Recording. The band Planet Drum, with Zakir as music director, toured nationally in 1996 and 1997. Zakir also continues to tour with the musicians from Shakti — John McLaughlin, Shankar and T.H. Vinayakram — in different collaborations and ensembles as well as leading various percussion ensembles of his own design. In Summer'99, Shakti re-grouped for an international tour.
In 1992, Zakir founded live concert performances by masters of the classical music of India. The label presents Zakir's own world percussion ensemble, The Rhythm Experience, both North and South Indian classical recordings, Best of Shakti, and a Masters of Percussion series. He has recorded and performed with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Aashish Khan,Vasant Rai, Imrat Khan, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Jack Bruce, Tito Puente, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Charles Lloyd, the Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony.

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Teen Taal (Vilambit) {15:49}

2. Matta Taal {8:28}

Side B

1. Punjabi Dhamar {15:42}

2. Teen Taal (Drut) {7:33}

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