Sunday, 15 April 2018
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929-1990) - Raga Mangeyabushan - Re-release of an LP originally published in France in 1974
This LP was one of the greatest discoveries ever for me. I still remember vividly how I first saw the cover hanging in the window of a record shop in Cologne and discovered that it was a Rudra Veena recording. In effect, it was the very first Rudra Veena LP ever. I immediately bought the record. At home when I put the record on I was completely taken by the sheer beauty and majesty of the sound of the instrument and the exquisite musicianship of the artist. For many years it was my favourite record and till today it always kept a very special place in my collection. The LP I bought then was the first edition (see its cover below), but when the second edition was published a couple of years later I bought that one too, as I wanted to make sure never to be without this recording, if ever the first LP got damaged. I sold the first one when I had to reduce my collection as I had planned then to move to New York, which finally never happened.
An alternate take of this recording was published in 2001 on CD. According to the information given there the recording was done in
Chembur, Mumbai, January 31, 1968. Also according to the information there the correct name of the Raga is Gangeyabushan. This CD can still be obtained
on Discogs though
the label doesn't exist anymore for quite some years.
We had recently posted a cassette from 1989 by the artist. More recordings will follow.
On the artist see:
On the website of Raga Records you can read the booklets to the two CDs by the artist: Raga 219 & Raga 222.
Here the cover of the first edition:
Sunday, 8 April 2018
Sharafat Hussain Khan (1930-1985) - In Memoriam - Cassette published in India in 1987
To close our Dhrupad Series (for now), which became much longer then originally intended, we present here a cassette by the great Ustad Sharafat Hussain Khan, who was, next to his teacher Ustad Faiyaz Khan, amongst the few outstanding singers of the Agra Gharana, who still sang reguarly long Alaps in the Dhrupad style, most times followed by a Khayal compostion. But Ustad Faiyaz Khan sang also Dhrupad compositions, mostly Dhamar. See our post of a cassette by Ustad Faiyaz Khan.
Sharafat
Hussain Khan (1930 - 1985) was amongst the most brilliant Khayal
vocalists of the post-independence era. He represented the Agra
Gharana (stylistic lineage), and was unanimously regarded as the most
illustrious heir to the legacy of his principal mentor, the legendary
Ustad Faiyyaz Khan (1886 - 1950).
Here on this cassette the complete Side A is filled with a long Alap in Raga Jaijaiwanti, followed on Side B by a Khayal composition in the same Raga.
In 2011 and 2015 we posted already four recordings by him, partly also with long Alaps. See here.
In 2011 and 2015 we posted already four recordings by him, partly also with long Alaps. See here.
The Agra Gharana was originally a Dhrupad Gharana. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra_gharana
Here two pages from the book "Sonic
Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition" by Guy L. Beck, on which some information on the Dhrupad background of the Agra Gharana is given:
from: Google Books
Addition on 25th of may, 2018:
Addition on 25th of may, 2018:
Here a link from Saptak Festival 2018, devoted to Ustad Sharafat Hussain Khan, containing a beautiful article on the artist and a CD published on that occasion:
http://www.saptakarchives.org/artist-bios/ustad-sharafat-hussain-khan/Thursday, 5 April 2018
Falguni Mitra - Cassette published in India in 1992
"A foremost vocalist of North Indian Classical music and an outstanding exponent of its oldest and most revered genre, Dhrupad, Falguni Mitra has been a performing artiste since the age of 12. A Guru, and until recently also the Prefect, of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (Kolkata, India ) Falguni Mitra brings impeccable musical credentials and rich experience as a concert performer, teacher and administrator.
Falguni Mitra was initiated into music by his father, Sangeetacharya Shib Mitra at the age of five. Shib Mitra was a disciple of Sangeetacharya and Mridangacharya Bholanath Pathakji of Varanasi, a doyen of the Bettiah tradition, a school known for its expertise in the four Banis of Dhrupad that find expression in Falguni Mitra’s music. Shib Mitra also had the privilege of receiving training in “Alapchari” from Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Sahib, the patriarch of the Dagars. Thus Falguni Mitra presents a distinctive style of Dhrupad, blending elements of the Dagar style of Raga delineation and the Bettiah style of Dhrupad and Dhamaar, with an aesthetic balance that reflects his musical ideals.
Possessing a rich and sonorous voice, Falguni Mitra’s music is marked for the depth and sensitivity of alap, majestic compositions in all four Banis of Dhrupad, intricate layakari keeping intact the text of the composition, and an extraordinary sense of proportion giving an overall effect of great completeness and charm. Rooted in tradition, he is refreshingly innovative as his own compositions reveal.
Featured at prestigious music festivals in India and abroad, Mitra is the recipient of many titles and awards, and is a regular artiste of Akashvani and Doordarshan. A thoughtful musician and a wonderful teacher, his concerts, lecture demonstrations, workshops and articles in various journals receive unqualified appreciation from all. In Chennai for over a decade until 1998, he was a frequent speaker at the annual December conferences of Indian Fine Arts Society and the Music Academy, Chennai. He composed and directed the music for the dance ballet “Meera” choreographed by Smt. Rukmani Devi Arundale and presented at Kalakshetra’s prestigious Annual Arts Festival.
Pandit Mitra is associated with various Universities such as Viswabharati University, Rabindra Bharati University, Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University, and the Annamalai University as an expert scholar, advisor and external examiner. He is a member of the experts Committee of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, a panel member of West Bengal State Music Academy and the Audition Board of All India Radio."
On Bettiah Gharana:
On Indra Kishore Mishra, who seems to me to be the more authentic representative of the Bettiah Gharana:
Here you can purchase recordings by Indra Kishore Mishra for a very low price:
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee (1928-2004) - Gouhar Bani style of Dhrupad - Raga Bhairo
Not much is known about this Dhrupad singer, except for the notes on the back side, taken from the booklet of the only commercial CD by the artist, published in 2004 by Makar Records in Paris (see below). Amongst his students are Satinath Bhattacharya & Durga Shankar Acherjee.
I don't remember anymore if the recording is from my collection or the one of KF. Anyway, my friend KF made a CD out of this recording and created the covers. Many thanks to him.
Here the commercial CD by the artist:
It can be obtained for only 6 Euros here: https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/651233613
At the same Discogs shop can also be obtained other Dhrupad releases from Makar Records:
Sunday, 1 April 2018
Temple Dhrupad - Recordings from the Dhrupad-Mela in Vrindaban in 1982 - From broadcasts by WDR, Cologne, Germany
Painting of Swami Haridas teaching Miyan Tansen in the presence of Emperor Akbar.
Here some
more recordings from the Dhrupad-Mela in Vrindaban, recorded by Peter
Pannke in 1982 on behalf of WDR, the West German Broadcasting in
Cologne. Peter Pannke made 7 broadcasts out of these recordings:
Dhrupad-Mela
Vrindaban · 7 Folgen · WDR 1982
Dhrupadas aus
Darbhanga
Dhrupadas aus
Braj
Asghari Bai -
Die letzte der Baijis
Pakhawaj -
Die Trommel mit dem satten Klang
Bhutji - Der
singende Dämon
Holi - Das
Fest der Farben
Der
gestohlene Ring - Ein traditionelles Musikdrama
The first program we had already posted recently under the title "Nicht einmal Gott steht höher als der Klang". As I don't have recordings of the complete broadcasts with the announcements and comments I don't know from which ones the recordings of this post stem. Only the recordings of one of the singers, Kundanlal Sharma, seem to be from the broadcast "Bhutji - Der singende Dämon".
The origin of
Dhrupad are the temples, before it turned into court music. But there
was always a Dhrupad tradition which stayed in the temples. Here we
have recordings from three different of these traditions:
1. Kundanlal
Sharma "Bhutji" (Bhootji) (tracks 1 to 4) was, according to a recent talk to Peter
Pannke, a leading senior temple Dhrupad singer from Punjab.
2. The
Caturvedis (tracks 5 & 6), popularly known also as Caube, are
representing an old form of Dhrupad sung in certain temples in
Marutha and Vrindaban, belonging to the Mathura Gharana of Dhrupad.
Our two artists of this tradition, Lakshman Caturvedi (Caube)
and Balaji Caturvedi (Caube) have been in the 1980s eminent
artists of this tradition.
See
here on this tradition some excerpts from "Sonic
Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition" by Guy L.
Beck:
3. Swami
Shriramji Sharma (track 7) was the director of the Krishna Ras Leela Mandal troupe in Vrindaban in the early 1980s and, according to Peter
Pannke, had some knowledge of Dhrupad, probably of a tradition similar (if not
the same) as the Caturvedis, and performed it on the Dhrupad Mela.
We received these recordings from our friend KF. Many thanks for the sharing.
Friday, 30 March 2018
Dhrupad recordings from All Pakistan Music Conference in 1961 - Mian Mehr Ali Khan of Talwandi Gharana & Niaz Hussain Shami of Sham Chaurasia Gharana
Here we present some Dhrupad recordings from the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) in march and april 1961. We downloaded these many many years ago from the Esnips and Mediafire folders of "Holistic" Ashfaq Khan, which have disappeared already many years ago.
Mian Mehr Ali Khan (1913-1976) of Talwandi Gharana was the father of Muhammad Afzal & Muhammad Hafeez Ali Khan. We have here twice the same recording, first a shorter excerpt in good sound quality, second a longer version unfortunately of very unequal quality.
Niaz Hussain Shami (1924-1972) was a famous Dhrupad singer of Sham Chaurasia Gharana. This Gharana, founded in the 16th century, was till quite recently a Dhrupad Gharana. Only with Nazakat Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan and some others it turned into a Khayal Gharana. Even Vilayat Ali Khan, the father of Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan, was apparently still a Dhrupad singer.
We have here three recordings by Niaz Hussain Shami, all three in Lalit or variants of Lalit.
On the artist see: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/03062011/page28.shtmlWe have here three recordings by Niaz Hussain Shami, all three in Lalit or variants of Lalit.
On the Sham Chaurasia Gharana:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sham_Chaurasia_gharana
In all these recordings Pakhawaj accompaniment is provided by the legendary Ustad Bhai Naseera, one of the greats of the Punjab Pakhawaj Gharana.
As the original recordings have been in mp3 format we offer them here also only in mp3 format.
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Muhammad Hafeez Khan Talwandi (1933-2009) - Dhrupad from Pakistan - Talwandi Gharana
Here we present two recordings by Muhammad Hafeez Khan Talwandi (1933-2009), who was, together with his late brother, the eminent representative of the Talwandi Gharana, the only Dhrupad Gharana in Pakistan. The recordings, Ragas Bageshree & Jaijaivanti, we downloaded, if I remember right, many many years ago from the website, no longer existing, of the Lahore Music Forum or from Lahore Chitrkar, also no longer existing.
Orginally Muhammad Hafeez Khan performed with his late older brother Muhammad Afzal Khan as a duo. In 2015 we had posted a cassette by the two brothers.
Peter Pannke recorded them for the CD "Pakistani Soul" published in 1997 by Wergo: Rag Patdeep (14:08). He also invited them for the Festival "Pakistani Soul - Musik der Sufis aus Pakistan" in Berlin and Munich, also in 1997. This was perhaps the most beautiful Festival I ever saw.
Today's representatives of the founding family of the Talwandi Gharana of Dhrupad vocalists, Labrez Afzal Khan and Ali Hafeez Khan, also known as Talwandi Brothers, are the sons of the two older brothers and are quite active, performing in Pakistan and India. On YouTube one can find a good number of recordings by them.
For a very detailed and fascinating article on the Talwandi Gharana see:
http://www.naseeb.com/journals/dhrupad-in-pakistan-111674Another fascintaing article. Read from page 147 (page 3 of the pdf):
http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.gisp.d7_sp/files/sitefiles/journals/volume16/no1/9-Obituaries16.1.pdf
For some beautiful recordings see:
https://harmoniummusicblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/03/an-old-tradition-in-the-land-of-the-pure-hafeez-khan-talwandiwale/
Monday, 26 March 2018
Frères Dagar: Nasir Moinuddin Dagar & Nasir Aminuddin Dagar - Inde du Nord - Private CD
Here we have a private CD with beautiful recordings by the Senior Dagar Brothers. And here we have an extreme case of a private CD looking like a real release, in this case an LP published by Ocora, the well known label of Radio France. But for sure it is a private CD and never was published by Ocora. An Indian collector made out of these recordings of unknown sources a private CD and created covers for it. This person seems to take a great pleasure in creating covers and to let them look like real ultra rare releases. Which is sort of funny and sympathetic. And looks nice. But can create some confusion amongst music lovers and collectors.
There are several details proving that this is not an official recording from Ocora:
1. The release date is given as 1977. At that time it was LPs and the tracks are too long to fit on an LP.
2. The two tracks have very different sound quality and different accompanists, but are supposed to stem from the same concert.
3. The Dagar Brothers are accompanied in the first track by harmonium, pakhawaj and in the last composition by tabla. In the second track they are accompanied by sarangi and pakhawaj and the track is incomplete and ends abruptly (we made a short fadeout). Ocora would never have published recordings as imperfect. Also the only moment these recordings could have been recorded in France was during their 1964 tour (as mentioned on the back cover), but this tour was organised by Alain Daniélou on behalf of the Unesco and Alain Daniélou as a strict purist would never have allowed the singers to be accompanied on harmonium or sarangi in a Dhrupad performance. On the backcover are given the correct accompanists of the 1964 European tour. But in India it was not unusual for the Dagar Brothers to be accompanied by these instruments, as one can see in other recordings posted by us.
4. The track information is wrong: the first track has after the Alap as a composition not a Dhrupad, but a Dhamar, then in the last few minutes a Tarana in Khyal style with Tabla accompaniment. The second track is neither in Raga Rupashree nor in Raga Shree, as mentioned at another spot on the backside. It sounds like a Hori in Kafi - "Aaj Brij Mein Holi Khelat Nandlal" (different from the one found in the Royal Collection of Mewar CD set). Track information given to us by the Indian collector who shared these recordings. Many thanks to him.
So it is clear that these recordings are not from the 1964 European tour of the Senior Dagar Brothers. And that they were not published by Ocora. They must be recordings done in India at different moments.
I only know of one other case of someone creating covers to make recordings look like real, but ultra rare LPs. They can be found on the Harmonium blog. See these for example:
I received these recordings from an Indian collector based in the US. Many many thanks to him for his kindness to share these.
Saturday, 24 March 2018
The Hindustani Archives - Dhrupad & Khayal - Pandit Tansen Pandey & Ustad Amir Khan - Private Release
Here we have another outstanding recording by the great master of the Dagarvani, Ustad Hussainuddin Dagar (Pt. Tansen Pandey) (1909-1963), next to Rahimuddin Khan Dagar the only artist of the 18th generation of the Dagars, by whom recordings exist.
As a filler there is also a piece by the great Ustad Amir Khan, unfortunately of quite bad sound quality. In the near future we plan to post 2 or 3 recordings by him.
This is a private CD. It seems that an Indian collector made out of these recordings from unknown sources a private CD and created covers for it. This person seems to take a great pleasure in creating covers and to let them look like real ultra rare releases. Which is sort of funny and sympathetic. And looks nice. In this case the release looks like a published cassette. But for sure it was never released.
I received these recordings from an Indian collector based in the US. Many many thanks to him for his kindness to share these.
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Thursday, 22 March 2018
Darbhanga & Dagar - Various Artists - Dhrupad Series
Here another private CD with Abhay Narayan Mallik and some artists of the Dagarvani. Amongst the recordings on this CD is an outstanding Alap by Ustad Hussainuddin Dagar (Pt. Tansen Pandey) (1909-1963), next to Rahimuddin Khan Dagar the only artist of the 18th generation of the Dagars, by whom recordings exist. Ustad Hussainuddin Dagar was one of the four sons of Ustad Allahbande Khan (1845-1927) and the father of Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar.
"Tansen Pande (1908-1963) was born Hussainuddin Khan, the fourth son of Allabande Khan. While most of the members of the Dagar musical family acknowledge their Hindu antecedents, Tansen Pande formally chose to revert to his ancestor’s faith around 1947. He ranks as one of the great Dhrupadiyas of the 20th century." From http://www.parrikar.org/vpl/?page_id=618
There exist a couple of performences by him on YouTube.
I received these recordings including the covers from an Indian collector based in the US. Many many thanks to him for his kindness to share these.
"Tansen Pande (1908-1963) was born Hussainuddin Khan, the fourth son of Allabande Khan. While most of the members of the Dagar musical family acknowledge their Hindu antecedents, Tansen Pande formally chose to revert to his ancestor’s faith around 1947. He ranks as one of the great Dhrupadiyas of the 20th century." From http://www.parrikar.org/vpl/?page_id=618
There exist a couple of performences by him on YouTube.
I received these recordings including the covers from an Indian collector based in the US. Many many thanks to him for his kindness to share these.
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Over 500 posts since we started this blog in 2011
Dear lovers of Oriental music traditions, by now we have posted over 500 LPs, cassettes, radio broadcasts and also a couple of CDs. We hope you enjoyed them and we also hope that we are able to continue this journey for a while.
A remark: as in Western music, especially pop music, there is mainstream music and music which is not at all mainstream, so in classical Indian music and other Oriental music cultures, there are musicians and musical forms which are mainstream and others, which are not mainstream at all. These are often very little known and neglected by the general public, even in their own countries.
About fifty and more years ago, when in India the Gharanas had still quite marked identities and great masters of these Gharanas were still living and well known, Indian music was still more diverse and this contibuted greatly to its fascinating richness. Todays public often hardly knows about the greats of these Gharanas and hardly perceives these identities, as nowadays the differences between them have nearly completely been washed away. In mid last century there were quite a number of musicians which were in one or the other way quite extreme or extremely intense, sometimes even bizarre. In todays music one looks in vain for these qualities. Compare for example, in Dhrupad, old masters like Rahimuddin Dagar or the Senior Dagar Brothers with the extremely intense Nasir Moinuddin Dagar or Ram Chatur Mallik with todays Gundecha Brothers: worlds apart. But todays public for sure opts for the easily appreciable Gundecha Brothers.
The same is true for other musical cultures: in Uzbek Maqam music, for example, in the music of the older masters which we posted, there is an intensity and depth and a minimalism in the instrumentation that makes this music a universal music, whereas todays music, by its sentimentality and also its instrumentation, close to folk music, is reduced to a just local music.
Or Iranian Dastgah music: the music of the old Radif masters had a universality and depth and an inner architecture or logic hard to grasp and only revealing itself, at least partly, after listening to it many many times, and therefore always remaining fresh and new, because one hardly ever is able to grasp it completely. This quality most later musicians don't have anymore, except for the very few ones which understood the old masters and are their heirs.
Right from the beginning our focus was always on the quality of the music, not on the fame of musicians. Our choice of music has always been a very personal one, looking for depth and intensity. Not for the immediately appreciable, which soon looses its interest. Though part of the public of this blog is not interested in a lot of the music we post, we will continue to remind of musical jewels, musicians and musical forms, which are more or less completely forgotten. In between there will show up musicians, which one could consider more or less mainstream, but which we like a lot.
A remark: as in Western music, especially pop music, there is mainstream music and music which is not at all mainstream, so in classical Indian music and other Oriental music cultures, there are musicians and musical forms which are mainstream and others, which are not mainstream at all. These are often very little known and neglected by the general public, even in their own countries.
About fifty and more years ago, when in India the Gharanas had still quite marked identities and great masters of these Gharanas were still living and well known, Indian music was still more diverse and this contibuted greatly to its fascinating richness. Todays public often hardly knows about the greats of these Gharanas and hardly perceives these identities, as nowadays the differences between them have nearly completely been washed away. In mid last century there were quite a number of musicians which were in one or the other way quite extreme or extremely intense, sometimes even bizarre. In todays music one looks in vain for these qualities. Compare for example, in Dhrupad, old masters like Rahimuddin Dagar or the Senior Dagar Brothers with the extremely intense Nasir Moinuddin Dagar or Ram Chatur Mallik with todays Gundecha Brothers: worlds apart. But todays public for sure opts for the easily appreciable Gundecha Brothers.
The same is true for other musical cultures: in Uzbek Maqam music, for example, in the music of the older masters which we posted, there is an intensity and depth and a minimalism in the instrumentation that makes this music a universal music, whereas todays music, by its sentimentality and also its instrumentation, close to folk music, is reduced to a just local music.
Or Iranian Dastgah music: the music of the old Radif masters had a universality and depth and an inner architecture or logic hard to grasp and only revealing itself, at least partly, after listening to it many many times, and therefore always remaining fresh and new, because one hardly ever is able to grasp it completely. This quality most later musicians don't have anymore, except for the very few ones which understood the old masters and are their heirs.
Right from the beginning our focus was always on the quality of the music, not on the fame of musicians. Our choice of music has always been a very personal one, looking for depth and intensity. Not for the immediately appreciable, which soon looses its interest. Though part of the public of this blog is not interested in a lot of the music we post, we will continue to remind of musical jewels, musicians and musical forms, which are more or less completely forgotten. In between there will show up musicians, which one could consider more or less mainstream, but which we like a lot.
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