Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonchwalay - Sitar - Vol. 3 - Cassette released in Pakistan in 1988

Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonchwalay was one of the greatest Sitar players of his generation. We posted in the past already six recordings by the artist. Unfortunately I have only the vol. 3 of this series of three cassettes.

Side 1:

1. Raga Bhairavi

2. Mishra Khamaj

Side 2:

Raga Basant Bahar

From the logic of the music probably the two sides should be reversed.

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Chandrashekhar Naringrekar - Sitar & Surbahar - Music beyond Words - Cassette released in India in 1980

We take now a little break from our Dhrupad Series - as this might get a little too heavy for a number of visitors of this blog - with some cassettes of instrumental music. We start here with a quite rare cassette by the great Surbahar and Sitar master Chandrashekhar Naringrekar, a student of the Rudra Veena master Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. This cassettes is perfect as a transition from Dhrupad to instrumental music. We had posted another cassette by him in 2011. See here.

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Chaturlal (1925-1965) & Ramnarain (Ram Narayan) - Beat and Bow - LP published in India in 1967

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Sharafat Hussain Khan (1930-1985) - 30th anniversary of his death - AIR memorial broadcast on 14th of july 1985

In honour of the great artist, we admire very much and of whose music we are especially fond, we post here a National Program of Music broadcast by All India Radio on July 14, 1985, one week after his sad and premature passing. His first and only LP we had posted in 2011. See here.

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A big thank you to KF for the recording and the beautiful cover.

Ustad Sharafat Hussain Khan “Prem Rang” (1930 – 1985)

A disciple of Ustad Faiyaz Khan and Ustad Ata Hussain Khan – A great vocalist from Agra Gharana. His approach towards music was always to expand the Raga. Take any Raga-s and Ustad-ji would sing these Raga-s at length. For example Raga Malati Basant, Raga Raisa Kanada, Raga Maluha Kalyan to name a few – He could and would sing them for about an hour plus, on an average. He was always open to greater development of his music and so he was never shy to adopt something from other musicians or their respective styles. And almost always, he was successful in blending those so called foreign elements into the musical structure of Agra Gharana that he used to prefer and perform. And then the concept he would sing would be his own “Khayal”.

He was probably one of the last musicians who performed full-length, full featured Nom-Tom Alap before Khayal. His command on Laya (rhythem) was also great which is visible (audible, I mean) in various pieces that are presented here. He was blessed with a voice which he successfully preserved and cultivated to suite his imagination.

He was never tired of singing because he loved his music. Once a mehfil was organized in Ahmedabad and the organizer requested Ustad-ji to sing without microphone and without Harmonium accompaniment to get the essence of music in untainted form. Ustad-ji agreed. The mehfil eventually turned out to be a whole night concert where Ustad-ji sang Nom-Tom Alap, Vilambit (Traditional Composition) and Drut Khayal (His own composition) in Raga Savani (a variant with Komal Gandhar) followed by Raga Jaijaivanti, Vilambit and Drut, followed by Raga Nat Bihag, Drut Khyal, Raga Sohini, Drut Khayal. As it was about sunrise, He started Raga Ramkali – Vilambit & Drut. In the end he sang a Dadra in Raga Bhairavi. Fortunately this concert was recorded and recently it has been published as a set of 4 CDs by Sangeet Kendra.

from: https://utterjoy.wordpress.com/2007/07/11/ustad-sharafat-hussain-khan-prem-rang-1930-1985-2/

This series of 4 CDs and some other CDs by the artist can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

On the artist see further:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharafat_Hussain_Khan

http://www.itcsra.org/celebrated_masters.asp?id=11

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150523/jsp/opinion/story_21521.jsp

Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986) at WDR, Cologne, Germany - Broadcasts recorded 1971, 1975 and 1984

CD 1:

Raga Bageshri (27.11.1971)

This recording was published by Chhanda Dhara on CD:
Nikhil Banerjee - Alltime Classics - CD 1 (SNCD 701/02)
(now no longer available)

Download CD 1 & Scans - wave
Download CD 1 & Scans - mp3

CD 2:

Raga Pilu (17.8.1975)

Download CD 2 - wave
Download CD 2 - mp3

CD 3:

Raga Desh (studio recording by WDR on 10.11.1984)

Download CD 3 - wave
Download CD 3 - mp3

CD 4:

Raga Mishra Khamaj

Ragas Pilu & Suha Sugharai (10.11.1984)

Download CD 4 - wave
Download CD 4 - mp3

CD 5:

Commentaries on Indian music given by Nikhil Banerjee
after the studio recording of Raga Desh (see CD 3)

(studio recording by WDR on 10.11.1984. Moderator: Jan Reichow)

Download CD 5 - wave
Download CD 5 - mp3

Many thanks to KF for the recordings and the covers.

Masters of Vichitra Veena - Part I - Gopal Krishan (1926-?) - Some AIR recordings

In the past we had already posted a couple of recordings by some masters of the Vichitra Veena, an extremely rare instrument of classical North Indian music. First we had posted a cassette by Lal Mani Mishra (1924-1979) (see here). Then we had a beautiful LP from Pakistan by Habib Ali Khan Beenkar (1898-1971), the younger brother of Abdul Aziz Khan Beenkar, the inventor or re-inventor of the Vichitra Veena (see here), and finally we had another beautiful Vichitra Veena LP, again from Pakistan, by the legendary Sitar player Mohammed Sharif Khan Poonchhwala (1923-1980) (see here) who learned to play the Vichitra Veena also from Abdul Aziz Khan. 

As there are only very few recordings of Vichtra Veena masters available and it is such a beautiful instrument we will post here some concert recordings and radio programs by two great masters of the instrument from India. We start here with Gopal Krishan (1926-?). The recordings are from All India Radio.

Download CD 1 & Scans

Download CD 2

Recordings courtesy of VN,  CD compilation and covers by KF.

Many thanks to both. 

See on the musician: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopal_Krishan

Budhaditya Mukherjee - Sitar - Raga Bhimpalasi - Raga Mishra Khamaj - ECSD 2619 (1980)

Side 1:

Raga Bhimpalasi (20:52)

Side 2:

Raga Mishra Khamaj (21:55)

Download