First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 24, 2015. In the second part of the series on the thumri ‘Baajuband khula khula jaaee’, listen to this evergreen Bhairavi composition sung by vocalists who otherwise practise a variety of genres. Evidently, their manner of elaborating the composition is influenced by the iconic presentations of Faiyaz Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, which were included in the first part of this series. These expositions do not have the detailed and layered handling of
Author: Aneesh Pradhan
First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 17, 2015. Often, vocal compositions have crossed barriers of gharanas or stylistic lineages, but there are some that have even entered the concert repertoire of vocalists following different genres of music. One cannot be sure if these vocalists incorporated such compositions because they were drawn to them aesthetically, or if they wanted to add variety to their repertoire, or still further if they wished to prove that they could even sing classical compositions.
First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 10, 2015. Thumri was originally a vocal form linked to kathak dance and women performers employed adaa, or hand gestures, and facial expressions to communicate the multi-layered imagery hidden in the song-text including its erotic overtones. While thumri and its allied form dadra was performed primarily by women performers, there have been male vocalists of repute who have handled these forms with the delicacy that they deserve. Faiyaz Khan was one of the most
First appeared in www.scroll.in on January 3, 2015. Last week, we heard detailed aalaap expositions by Agra gharana maestro Faiyaz Khan that prefaced his khayal renditions. They displayed his ease with the intricacies of the dhrupad form, which he learnt in addition to his training in khayal. The aalaaps demonstrated his ability to manoeuvre a voice that would otherwise be considered inflexible and guttural. He gracefully nudged individual swaras or notes that shape the essence of the raag, used
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 27, 2014. Vocalist Faiyaz Khan (1881-1950), was one of the most important representatives of the Agra gharana. Though his father belonged to the Rangila tradition, Faiyaz Khan was trained by his maternal grandfather, Ghulam Abbas Khan and the latter’s brother Kallan Khan, of the Agra gharana. His artistry is said to have been impacted by the tutelage he received and the variety of stylistic influences that he drew upon. He was therefore known
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 20, 2014. According to convention, a student of Hindustani music learning in the guru-shishya tradition cannot unilaterally decide to change his or her guru. It is incumbent on the student to seek permission from the first guru before such a change is made. The guru may or may not deign to sanction the move and the student has to accept that as the final word on the subject. There have been several instances
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 13, 2014. The gottuvadyam or chitraveena has been used in Carnatic music for several generations. But the introduction of the vichitra veena, its northern Indian cousin, to Hindustani music has been attributed to Abdul Aziz Khan (1881-1946), originally a sarangi player from Patiala. A fretless instrument, the instrument is also called batta been. Batta in Hindi refers to the stone that grinds spices, but here it refers to the round glass piece resembling a
First appeared in www.scroll.in on December 6, 2014. To conclude the three-part series on the tappa form, let us turn to some presentations that are outside the Gwalior and Banaras gharanas. We begin with a tappa in raag Kafi sung by Mushtaq Hussein Khan (1880-1974), one of the most eminent vocalists from the Sahaswan-Rampur tradition. The composition is sung in a 16-count cycle, and although the tabla is not very audible, it appears to be a kind of Ekvai
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 29, 2014. In the second part of the series on tappa, we focus on Banaras gharana exponents. The elaboration of the tappa in the Banaras gayaki or vocal style is quite different from the Gwalior style, although the compositions created by Shori Miyan in Punjabi are common to both gharanas. The Banaras gharana vocalists seem to prefer the 16-count or matra taal called Sitarkhani or Addha. We begin with a tappa set to
First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 22, 2014. Tappa, one of the Hindustani music forms, is said to have its origins in the songs of the camel-drivers from Punjab. Ghulam Nabi, a musician in the court of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulah of Awadh (1775-1797), incorporated elements of these songs and created the tappa form as we now know it. In fact, many traditional tappas have been composed by Ghulam Nabi in dialects of Punjabi and his pseudonym Shori Miyan appears in