Hindustani Classical Vocal

This triple-disc box set issued by the UK-based label, Nimbus Records, features three-and-a-half hours of spellbinding, evocative and expertly sung and played vocal music from the Hindustani classical tradition of northern India.  Highlighted are three legendary female singers:  Sulochana Brahaspati, Girija Devi, and Shruti Sadolikar, who are each given a disc of at least sixty-five minutes to show their amazing talents and vocal gymnastics.

As typical for this breathtaking style of music, the ragas tend to start slow and, anchored by the drone of the tambura and occasional striking of the tabla, atmospheric. For the longer pieces, lasting in one case nearly an hour, the gradual buildup of tension and tempo is a wonder to behold, at least for those with the patience to listen that long.  Something of a concentrated effort on listening to the unfolding, however, is well worth the time invested.

Brahaspati, now approaching her eighties, is given that one-hour Raga Bilakshani Todi to demonstrate the full range of her impressive vocal prowess, and her miniature (well, at sixteen minutes in comparison to the first piece) Raga Mishra Bhairavi is also a tour-de-force.  Recorded at the Nimbus Records studio in England in late September 1991, the then 57-year old vocalist has a deeper voice than her compatriots, and is accompanied by sarangi player Sultan Khan and tabla performer Anindo Chatterjee.

Shruti Sadolikar is much younger, though now in her mid-sixties, and is from a subsequent generation than the other women on this set.  She has two longer ragas, the Miyan-ki Todi and the Bibhas, the former being over thirty-five and the latter twenty-seven minutes in length.  She concludes with a shorter fourteen-minute Raga Bhairavi.  Anand Krishna Kunte plays the sarangi, Chatterjee is again on tablas, and there are two tambura players, Uma Mehta and Kamaljit Kaur.  This disc was recorded at the end of February 1992 in France.

Finally, there is Girija Devi, who was recorded at the Nimbus studio, a couple of weeks after Brahaspati in October 1991.  Her first raga, the Maru Bihag, is just over a half-hour.  She has by far the shortest piece in the set, the Raga Desh at just under seven minutes, followed by the sixteen-minut Raga Pilu and the eleven-minute Dadra.  Devi is accompanied by tambura player Sudha Datta, tabla performer Subhen Chatterjee, and Ramesh Misra on sarangi.

While not as well-known as the instrumental music embodied by such internationally-acclaimed performers as Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha, Ali Akbar Khan, and Zakir Hussain, the female vocalists featured on this box set are as technically breathtaking and emotionally evocative as their male instrumental counterparts.

Salamat Ali Khan: Ragas Gunkali, Saraswati, Durga

The British Nimbus label has released many recordings of classical music from the Indian subcontinent over the years and this very fine album of Hindustani vocal music, recorded in November 1990 at the label's studio at Monmouth, England, by the master Salamat Ali Khan and his sons, Sharafat and Shafqat, features three long ragas. 

As pointed out in the notes, very helpful to an amateur (however enthusiastic) such as YHB, Hindustani music from northern India is also found in Pakistan, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), Nepal and parts of Afghanistan.  It is also observed that Muslims and Hindus are practitioners of the ghazal form of the music and often perform together despite the political differences that have driven the two groups apart.

Salamat and his brother Nazakat became known for their vocal duet performances from childhood in the early 1940s and were partners until 1974.  Sharafat then began working with his father and Shafqat joined the two for this first recording session with this album.  The partition of India in the late 1940s meant that the Khans moved to Pakistan and performed there for many years, although their return to India much later was widely hailed, as audiences recognized the brilliance of these amazing vocalists.

The first, the Gunkali, running over 20 minutes, highlights the singing of Shafqat and, while this was his debut on record, his vocal technique is outstanding with power, deft handling of complex lines, and beautifully-controlled tremolo as he navigates the tricky crescendos and diminuendos germane to the form.

On the half-hour Saraswati, Salamat and Sharafat sing with the elder Khan leading and the younger supporting beautifully.  The song is filled with great technique and expressiveness, despite Salamat's recovery from a recent stroke, and his sons obviously learned well from their father's tutelage.  The piece begins quietly and solemnly with the two vocalists accompanied by the harmonium before the tabla breaks in with a flourish at 3:45.  From then on, the Khans work their magic with the fine underpinning by the instrumentalists.

The closing Durga, at a hair over 20 minutes, is a tour-de-force with Salamat and both his sons.  The intertwining and harmonizing of their vocals is a wonder to behold and makes this wonderful song the highlight of the album, even through the other two ragas are remarkable on their own.  The improvisations and vocal gymnastics are spectacular and the three frequently return together to the composed main vocal line.  The tabla player also has the chance to demonstrate more of his skill here than on the other pieces.

The supporting musicians do an excellent job of providing the right balance of playing to buttress the singing of these masters and include Sharafat on harmonium, tabla player Ghulam Abbas Khan, who had accompanied Salamat and Nazakat from the age of 13, and tambura player Christian Ledoux.

The notes also have a useful history of the "khyal" or vocal music embodied by the disc and detailed explanations of the form of each raga.

For a novice, quickly absorbing what he can of the amazing variety, tradition and beauty of the music of India and Pakistan, this is another phenomenal recording among many that will be highlighted here.  While Salamat Ali Khan died in 2004, his sons continue to work as ustads, or masters, in their field. 

Hariprasad/Zakir Hussain: Venu

This is a fantastic live performance from 1974 that was remixed and released again fifteen years later on the World 360 subsidiary of Rykodisc that was run by The Grateful Dead's drummer Mickey Hart. 

The North Indian bansuri (bamboo flute) master Hariprasad Chaurasia is joined by the great tabla player, Zakir Hussain, in one long raga, programmed into two tracks because of a change in tempo and style, showcasing the improvisational ability and melodic and rhythmic complexity of these awesome musicians working in a long and distinguished musical tradition.

The album title of Venu is a reference to the ancient name of what is today called the bansuri.  The Rag Ahir Bhairav has a beautiful melody played by the flautist with, on the first portion of the track, a drone provided by the tambura.  The uncredited liner notes observe that the piece was created "for the early morning hours" and has melodic origins with a mountain tribe's music that "evokes the expectant hush of the predawn hours."  Consequently, the piece serves to remind the listener of "a time when romantic thoughts of the night mix with a feeling of reverance [sic] for the daily return of life-giving forces."

It is certainly with a feeling of wonder that the listener hears the complexity of the variations of several themes (gats played by Hariprasad on the flute with such purity of tone and range of phrasing, both subtle and powerful.  During the last thirty-five minute section, Hussain's table performs a seven-beat rhythm but, as is typical with Indian ragas, the tempo and tension build to a point where both performers express extraordinary speed and control in a 16-beat cycle called teental, this form achieving some popularity with Western listeners because of its rapidity and energy.

The performance was recorded in northern California in a house with granite walls and state-of-the-art recording equipment for the mid-1970s.  The remixing fifteen years later utilized fairly new digital technologies for that era and the sound is remarkably clear, well-equalized, and crisp.

This was one of the first Indian recording YHB heard when exploring "world music" back in 1990 and it retains its impact and impressions nearly a quarter-century later and is a true favorite, not just of Indian music, but all music.  It is a spectacular experience!