1er Festival Algérien de la Musique Andalouse 1967 - Vol. 1 - LP published in Algeria

Here we post the 6 Volumes of the first Algerian Festival of Arabo-Andalusian music, which took place in Algiers in 1967. In May 2012 we had posted already volumes 7 to 12 of the "2ème Festival Algérien de la Musique Andalouse 1969" and in September 2011 three volumes of the "3ème festival de musique Andalouse - Alger 1972".

Side A:

1. Ben Tobbal & l'Orchestre de Constantine:

Extraits d'une Nouba du mode Rasd

2. L'Orchestre de Lybie - Direction: Hassan El Aribi:

Malouf - extraits d'une Nouba

Side B:

1. Mohamed Khaznadji & l'Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire d'Alger:

Extraits Sika & Dil

2. Mohamed El Ghomeiri & l'Orchestre de la Socièté "El Muwahiddia" de Nedroma:

Extraits d'une Nouba du mode Sika

Download wav
Download mp3

On Ben Tobbal see:
http://musique.arabe.over-blog.com/article-16945176.html
On Mohamed Khaznadji see:

http://musique.arabe.over-blog.com/article-18734282.html

On Hassan El Aribi and the Malouf in Libya:

Hassan Uraibi (1933 - 2009; also spelled Arabi, Araibi, Araiby, or Oraibi) was a Libyan composer and one of the pioneers of Libyan music, performing Andalusian music known as Malouf. During his lifetime he has received many prestigious medals and awards, as well as chairing various positions in Libya and the Arab world, such as the Arabic Music Board and Libyan Music Festival.
He was born in 1933 in the Sough El Guima area of Tripoli. At a young age he moved to Benghazi and worked as an employee at Ministry of Transportation. He was soon discovered as a singer by Mohamed Sudagi who gave him an opportunity which he did not waste and joined the Music Department at Benghazi's radio station as an advisor. During this time Uraibi composed many songs for a number of Libyan and Arab singers, including: Mohsen Attia, and Egyptologists Suad Mohammed and Hoda Sultan. After returning to Tripoli, Uraibi founded his Malouf ensemble in 1964 with many well-known names at that time in Libya. He was named the first president of the Libyan music board in 1974.

Hassan Uraibi died in April 18, 2009 in Tripoli. His funeral was attended by a number of artists and cultural officials in the country. His death came as a shock to many Libyans who loved his timeless work.

Malouf (Arabic: مالوف‎ Ma'lūf) is a genre of music in the Andalusian classical tradition of Algeria, Libya and Tunisia after the Conquest of Spain in the 15th century. It was revived in the 1920s by the French musicologist Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger. Though in its modern form, malouf is likely very dissimilar to any music played more than four centuries ago, it does have its roots in Spain and Portugal, and is closely related to genres with a similar history throughout North Africa, including malouf's Libyan cousin, Algerian gharnati and Moroccan ala or Andalusi. During the Ottoman era, malouf was highly influenced from Turkish music. Even now most of malouf examples are very similar to Turkish classical music. Malouf is played by small orchestras, consisting of violins, drums, sitars and flutes. Modern malouf has some elements of Berber music in the rhythms, but is seen as a successor to the cultural heights reached by Muslim Andalusia. Malouf has been called "an emblem of (Tunisian) national identity." Nevertheless, malouf can not compete commercially with popular music, much of it Egyptian, and it has only survived because of the efforts of the Tunisian government and a number of private individuals. Malouf is still performed in public, especially at weddings and circumcision ceremonies, though recordings are relatively rare. The term malouf translates as familiar or customary.

from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSO6wfBwtU8

Dhondutai Kulkarni (23 July 1927 – 1 June 2014) - In her memory some unpublished recordings

Download CD 1 & scans - wave

Download CD 2 - wave

Download CD 1 & scans - mp3

Download CD 2 - mp3

Many thanks to KF for the recordings, the covers and the booklet.

Of Raga Lalita Gauri there is on YouTube a version with better sound quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2JxsAbddg

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhondutai_Kulkarni

http://swaratala.blogspot.de/2014/06/dhondutai-kulkarni-1927-2014_6.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Dhondutai-Kulkarni-A-life-steeped-in-simplicity-soaked-in-music/articleshow/35911853.cms

Al-Haj Abd er-Rahman ben Moussa - Al-Qur'an al-Karim - TCK 678 - Cassette from Morocco

We post here one more cassette by Al-Haj Abd er-Rahman ben Moussa with beautiful Quran recitations, based on so-called "Andalusian" melodies, a style which has almost completely disappeared.

Before we had already published Vol. 1 and Vol. 60 of a complete Quran on 60 cassettes and five cassettes from this series (see here).  Originally we wanted to post this cassette already in february 2013, but abstained from it because this tape has unfortunately some weaknesses: the sound is partly muffled, especially on side 1 up to 11:05. Now on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan we finally decided to post it.  

Haj Abd er-Rahman ben Moussa was very well known in Morocco as he used to recite the Quran on Moroccan TV and radio for decades.

This volume is from a series of 8 cassettes. Some volumes were given to me as a gift by some Moroccan friends, some I bought in the late eighties in Brussels. There is also a complete Qur'an on 60 cassettes by him, of which we have posted already the first and last volumes and which I bought in the early or mid nineties, also in Brussels. I don't remember what inspired me in the beginning to look for recordings by him, but I did for many years. Two or three years ago one could still not find anything about him in the internet, but now there are a couple of sites from which one can download his recitations. As this style has more or less completely disappeared, now there seem to be people who feel the loss and are eager to get hold of his recordings.

Addition on 1 february 2015:

By now one can find many recitations by Al-Haj Abd er-Rahman ben Moussa on YouTube, for example the complete Qur'an in 5 parts here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/tanga1958/videos

If you put his name (abderrahman ben moussa) into the search bar of YouTube you will find many many more files.

There are now also 40 downloads to be found on platforms like Amazon, Deezer etc.

Side 1:

Surat al-Tauba (16:50)

Side 2:

Surat al-Ma'ida (16:38)

Download

Mohammad Shareef Khan Poonchwale (1926-1980) - Some Vichitra Veena Recordings

As the great Sitar and Vichitra Veena master Ustad Mohammad Shareef Khan Poonchwale (1926-1980) has still not got the attention by music lovers he deserves and especially his mastery over the difficult and rare Vichitra Veena is very little known, we post here some recordings, orginally posted by Dr. Ashfaq Ali Khan (Holistic Khan) in his wonderful treasure troves on esnips and mediafire. The original folders don't seem to be available anymore in the internet. Earlier we posted the only Vichitra Veena LP by the artist here. 

1. Raga Aimen (31:23)

2. Raga Darbari (18:16)

3. Pilu Thumri (13:05)

Download

On the artist see  our earlier posts:

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.de/search/label/Mohammad%20Sharif%20Khan%20Poonchhwala

and also:

http://www.thefridaytimes.com/15042011/page25.shtml

See also our earlier Vichitra Veena posts:
http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.de/search/label/Vichitra%20Veena

Ali Akbar Khan - From the Concert Hall - LP published in India in 1980

Download wave

Download mp3

Abdelkrim Rais (1912-1996) - Musique Andalouse Marocaine 2 - LP published in Morocco in 1973

Download mp3

Download wave

Abdelkrim Rais (1912-1996) - Musique Andalouse Marocaine 1 - LP published in Morocco in 1973

Download mp3

Download wave

See our earlier post of a cassette by the artist here.

About the artist see: http://musique.arabe.over-blog.com/article-18172382.html

Vilayat Khan (1928-2004) - Sitar - Concert at WDR Nachtmusik in Cologne, Germany, on Oct. 3, 1981

Download CD 1 - mp3

Download CD 1 - wave

Download CD 2 - mp3

Download CD 2 - wave

Many thanks to KF for the recordings and the covers.

Balaram Pathak (1926-1991) - Sitar & Surbahar - Live in Amsterdam - Cassette published 1986 in Holland

Download wave

Download mp3

Many thanks again to Danny for sharing this cassette.

Legendary Late Pandit Balaram Pathak

'This great musician was also a great man. His real simplicity and unaffected manners, his laughing and mischievous eyes from which a child-like purity filters out, are eloquent enough. In one word: he is a true Artist.'

Late Pandit Balaram Pathak is one of the most important sitar players of the former generation. He influenced many sitar players and got recognized by many great musicians for his unique style.

Pandit Balaram Pathak's family traces ancestral tradition to Gopal Nayak; Lt. Pt.Ramgovind Pathak, the renowned musician, sitarist and surbahar player.

His family was of refined musical stock, his Great Grand father Lt. Pt. Dinanath Pathak was a great Dhrupadi. Pt. Balaram Pathak is acknowledged as one of the greatest sitar players in Northern Indian music in India. He was born on November 5, 1926 in Balia, Uttar Pradesh. He learned the art of playing on sitar and surbahar in his early childhood under his talented father. From the age of ten he practised sitar and surbahar eighteen hours a day for the next sixteen years, learning Sur-singar (instrument) and vocal music. At the age of twelve he gave his first public performance at Murshidabad, West-Bengal.

Balaram Pathak's debut concert dates back to 1938. As a winsome boy in his early stages, he played with rare artistry creating unprecedented sensation and great impact on the master musicians.

At a very early age he became the court musician of Maharaja Kamla Ranjan Royin Kasim Bazar, Murshidabad, West-Bengal. His talent has been able to graft all the finer points and subtleties of Dhrupad and Khayal in the instrument.

Balaram Pathak's style consisted of a unique combination of the qualities of novelty and perfection in exposition of the Indian ragas. His alap, meends, mukris, gamaks, zamzamas, ulta zhala created an atmosphere of ideas and feelings which was at once serious and moving. Pathak's individual talent along with the tradition of this Gharana has produced a living legend. Based on his extensive and erudite research of the Carnatic (South Indian) and North Indian styles of music he had made immense contribution to classical music by way of his compositions and introductions of new Ragas like Latangi, Charukeshi, Sanmukh-priya, Amrit-versa, Bakra-madhama Tori, Mukhari, Lilawati, Ahiri etc.

Awarded of 'Sur Sadhak' title from Calcutta Conference, he had two discs to his credit. Pandit Pathak renders even rare and difficult ragas with commendable fluency, and will be held in high esteem in the minds of true music lovers.

After having been nominated for the head of the department in the Music faculty of Khairagar University in Madhya Pradesh for some years, Balaram Pathak shifted in 1980 from Calcutta to New Delhi. Balaram Pathak participated to the most prestigious annual music festivals of the country and has been regularly performing for All India Radio (A.I.R. Calcutta, A.I.R. Delhi).

Specially delegated by the 'Government of India', Pandit Pathak visited the European countries. He was awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1989. He has a unique credit of inventing the 'Raag Bahadur Shastri', dedicated to our late Prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Pandit Balaram Pathak expired on 15th February 1991, in New Delhi.

Patrick Moutal 1986 (Ocora LP 558 672-73)

from: http://www.ashokpathak.com/Ashok_Pathak_pages/Balaram_Pathak.html

Mushtaq Ali Khan (1911-1989) - Sitar - Cassette published in India

Download wave

Download mp3

Many thanks again to Danny for sharing generously this cassette.

For more information on the great artist see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushtaq_Ali_Khan

See also the external links given there.

Bolingo had posted a while ago this LP:

http://bolingo69.blogspot.de/2011/05/ustad-mushtaq-ali-khan-miyan-ki-malhar.html

For decades there were no recordings available by this great artist. Now at least three CDs have been published. They can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917-1981) - Sarode & Mohan Veena - Cassette published in India

Download wave

Download mp3

Many thanks to Danny for sharing this cassette.

Here a very detailed article about the great artist in 5 parts:

http://debatesangeet.blogspot.de/2008/05/radhika-mohan-maitra-i.html

See also this DVD about instruments from Radhika Mohan Maitra's collection of instruments:
https://katalogshop-smb.museumsportal.org/startseite/sarodiyo-bin.html

"Das Spektrum der vorgestellten Instrumente neben der populären Sarod ist gleichermaßen erstaunlich und faszinierend. Die Sursringar verbindet das bundlose Metallgriffbrett der Sarod mit dem horizontal geschnittenen Kürbisresonator, der Holzdecke und der flachen Brücke der Surbahar. Sie kommt ohne Resonanzsaiten aus und war, ähnlich wie die Surbahar, von Mitte des 19. bis Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts beliebt für die Interpretation von Alap im Dhrupad-Stil. Die Sur Rabab gleicht baulich weitgehend der Sursringar, hat aber statt der Holzdecke eine Ziegenhautbespannung und einen schmalen Steg wie die Sarod. Die Mohan Vina wiederum gleicht einer Sarod, hat aber statt der Ziegenhautbespannung eine Holzdecke mit breiter Brücke. Sie ist eine Erfindung von Radhika Mohan Maitra aus den 1940er Jahren und nicht zu verwechseln mit der von Vishwa Mohan Bhatt im letzten Viertel des 20. Jahrhunderts entwickelten modernen Mohan Vina, einer modifizierten Slide-Gitarre - mehr dazu hier. Letztes der fünf Instrumente ist die Dhrupadiya Rabab, neben der afghanischen Rabab eines der Vorläuferinstrumente der modernen Sarod. Sie hat ein bundloses Holzgriffbrett, Darmsaiten und eine Hautbespannung und war im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert neben der Rudra Vina das verbreitetste Melodieinstrument der Dhrupad-Musik."

from:  http://www.india-instruments.de/newsletter-archiv/566-rundbrief-maerz-april-2014.html

After been neglected for a long time by record labels there are now at least six CDs on the market by this great artist. They can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

Sursringar - A Rare Instrument from India - Recordings by Ustad Allauddin Khan & Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra from AIR

Ustad Allauddin Khan playing the Sursringar

Sursringar is a very rare instrument from India used in the past as an instrument for Dhrupad style Alaps. It got forgotten and nearly extinguished in the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays there a number of younger artists, basicly Sarod palyers, who occasionally play this in strument, but almost always like a Sarod.

Here we present two older recordings by two great masters. Both have strong Dhrupad backgrounds, the first through his teacher, the Beenkar Ustad Wazir Khan of the Senia Gharana (direct descendant of Tansen), the second through one of his teachers, the Beenkar Ustad Dabir Khan, grandson and student of Wazir Khan. These recordings we found a while ago in the internet. Many thanks to the original uploaders: the first one I don't remember unfortunately, the second one being Abhimonyu Deb from Kolkata. A note about the pictures: normally the Sursringar is hold against the left shoulder, but because of Ustad Allauddin Khan being lefthanded he holds it to his right shoulder.

1. Ustad Allauddin Khan 

Raga Nat (31:02)

A recording from All India Radio

Download

Ustad Allauddin Khan playing the Seni or Dhrupad Rabab

2. Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra

Raga Jaunpuri (30:26)

A recording from All India Radio

Download

Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra playing the Sarod

Sursringar

Another instrument that appeared in Hindustani music in the early years of the nineteenth century was the Sursringar, which was analogous to surbahar.

Sursringar is a modified version of the Seniya rabab. The instrument rabab had some limitations. Its gut strings and skin parchment upon the resonator make the slow passages of alapchari, impossible unlike the been. Moreover, due to the dampness in the monsoons, the sound of rabab used to deteriorate so much that the notes played on it could not even be discerned. In Sursringar, the skin parchment of the resonator had been replaced by a wooden sound board, the gut strings by those of steel and the wooden fingerboard was covered with a thin iron sheet. With these modifications Sursringar became a distinct improvement over the rabab with regard to the tonal quality and for the alapchari of dhrupad anga. These modifications, in the rabab were carried out by a descendant of Tansen's named Jaffar Khan.

Sursringar was well-suited for vilambit (slow) alap, and the techniques of both veena and rabab playing could be incorporated in it. The melodious effect of Sursringar was so overpowering that it could even outshine the veena in its vilambit alap. Thereafter, it became a tradition amongst the Rababiya gharana to play the Sursringar during the rainy season.

The instrument was well received in the world of music and became popular in a very short time in northern India.

Sursringar and surbahar, both these instruments were meant for playing the dhrupad anga alap in an elaborate manner. Sarod players used to play alap on the Sursringar before playing gat toda on sarod in the same manner as sitar players used to play on the surbahar before playing gat toda on the sitar. Therefore, it was customary to learn the Sursringar along with the sarod till the early years of the twentieth century. Gradually, when the sarod and sitar were modified and became well equipped with greater range of expressiveness, the popularity of the Sursringar and surbahar ebbed and these became obsolete in the latter half of the twentieth century.

from: http://www.india-instruments.de/instrumente/instrumentenlexikon/sursringar.html

Sursringar: Making way for sarod ?

is the popularity of sarod responsible for elbowing out sursringar from circulation, asks richa bansal unlike most other instruments in hindustani classical tradition, sursringar, which falls in the category of stringed instruments, can be dated back to a specific time. it was devised, according to traditional accounts, by the great rabab player jafar khan in or around the year 1830. organologically, a cross between rabab and surbahar but with a distinct sound and string system, sursringar is fast declining in the modern age. sursringar consists of a large semi-spherical gourd sounding box covered with wood fitted to a hollowed tapering wooden stem. the stem has a steel plate attached to it with steel and brass wires stretched across the plate. in its present form sursringar has six main strings and three subsidiary strings. it is played with a stiff wire plectrum called 'java'. the traditional style or baaz of sursringar is extremely difficult and is slowly dying out. the instrument was mainly used for playing alaap in the complex dhrupad system. it has a marvellous tone and depth of sound and is held upright like a been or sitar during a performance. pyar khan, jafar khan and bahadur sen khan were some of the great exponents of sursringar. in bengal, ustad allauddin khan, kumar birendrakishor roychwdhury, shaukat ali khan and pandit radhika mohan maitra were the noted sursringar players. trained under ustad ali akbar khan and shri dhyanesh khan, anindya banerjee is virtually the only practising exponent of sursringar in its traditional style in india today. anindya banerjee, who is originally trained in sarod, "fell in love" with sursringar when he heard a recording of ustad allauddin khan playing the instrument sometime in the 1970's. it was much later in the 80's that he decided to revive it and his ensuing efforts since then deserve high praise. "i was the first to take this instrument abroad and use it in ballet music in the dhrupad festival in uk organized by amc in 1992," said banerjee. "i have also used it in the background music of some kolkata tv serials," he added. he has even taught music in canada in 1984 and is scheduled to leave for uk in coming november. invited to various other prestigious music festivals both in india and abroad, banerjee's cd's are expected to be released fairly soon by an american as well as a french company. banerjee feels that sursringar has declined primarily since ustad allauddin khan incorporated the different styles of rabab, sarod and sursringar into sarod alone. this made sarod so versatile that gradually sursringar and rabab lost their popularity. besides, he explains that the instrument, being very large in size, poses difficulty in transportation. the sitting style of sursringar is verasan is extremely difficult to learn. lastly, it is not an easily affordable instrument priced between rs 30-50,000. "while five years is the maximum time a student requires to learn sursringar it is much easier for a sarod student to learn it," feels banerjee drawing on his own experience. anindya banerjee owns a relatively new sursringar instrument made from tunkat with its tabli recently replaced with 200-year-old teakwood. "initially sursringar was made from teak but nowadays only tunkat is used," he said. "the main maker of sursringar in kolkata today is hemen and company with instruments ranging from rs 30,000 onwards," he added. essentially a connoisseur's delight,sadly enough, sursringar is now hardly played in front of mass audiences. however, banerjee feels that with proper instruction, it will be possible to play this instrument alongside sarod and sitar on the concert stage some day. strongly maintaining that classical music still has its select audience, even banerjee could not help but agree with the fact that the quality had deteriorated immensely over the past years. and sursringar is no exception to this rule.

from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/calcutta-times/Sursringar-Making-way-for-sarod-/articleshow/1375957068.cms

See also this note about Anindya Banerjee and a recording hopefully to get published one day:

http://www.raga.info/indian-music/musicians/Anindya-Banerjee.html

Abhimonyu Deb's wonderful collection of files are here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?stpc5rgt65o4i