Bageshri- Drut Teentaal – Some compositions

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I’ve been a bit late with my posts – but here the latest one covering off more material in Bageshri -  this time some select compositions in Drut Teentaal…(Bageshri is such a “big” raga, one could spend years on it..)

I’ve recorded a video showing 7 compositions in Drut Teentaal, some never played on the sarod (e.g. sitar heritage) but all unique in some ways:

First up, without the tabla – is the vocal composition “Balma More Tore Sang”.. sung by many (even fusion bands)
Then the lineup begins with an intricate composition that I learnt from Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan. What is different about this composition is the rhythmic phrasings and long taans, not commonly heard on the sarod.
I then play an old composition for Ustad Amjad Ali Khan from the 60s. I’ve modified the antara by truncating it the first phrase only – which works better for me

Then some traditional compositions in sarod from the Shahjahanpur Gharana, learnt via Shri Sugato Nag

Then two masterpieces by the greatest musicians of the last century: Ustads Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Amir Khan Sahab.
In particular, as I went back to Ud Amir Khan Sahab’s original rendition of the Bageshri, it really had a profound effect on me in terms of his notes and tone. He managed to say so much in a few notes… we mere mortals can never hope to accomplish that. I now know what Pt Nikhil Banerjee felt when he first heard the legendary Ustad… please read the article here….
Then a self composition that I’m working on.

Next, Bageshri in Rupak… to round out the collection…

Raga Marwa – An evening mood

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For some time now, I’ve been “besotted” by Raga Marwa. Raga Marwa is a unique raga in many respects and its characteristics can take a while to understand. The Raga goes like this

Notes of Raga Marwa:

Family (Thaat): Marwa

Ascending (Aarohan): N r G m D N S

Descending (Avrohan): S N D m G r S

Characteristic phrase (Pakad) : N(lower) D (lower) N (lower ) r,  G  m D m G r, N(lower) r S

What makes Marwa a unique raag is that Sa plays a secondary role in this raga. N D N r bypasses Sa  and builds up a tension, which is released when the Sa is finally reached. In doing so, Marwa establishes a signature distinct from its derivative ragas : Puriya and Sohini (Sohni)

On the sarod, there are hardly any Marwas recorded at all. The deep sound of the instrument suits the raga and I present here a simple composition in Vilambit Teentaal

The notations of the vilambit compositions are as follows, starting from the 12th beat:

D N R G m D – m – G R S – SS N

r- N D x x , N N S x, NN r X, G m G r, N D S

I’m going to record a few more compositions in Marwa and upload them as soon as I can…

Bageshri – Drut Ektaal – Notes from a practice session

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In this post, I have published a video showing a recording of a practice session featuring a Drut Ektaal composition in Bageshri – which I believe has never been played before on the sarod (so I get to be first ???).Anyway, frivolities aside, I’m not quite sure why this masterpiece of vocal music  (called Apni Garaj Pakar Leeni Baiyan Mori) hasn’t been played more on the sarod. It suits the vocal style perfectly. The video is designed to show the fingering approach to this piece.

The link is here:

After the main part, I focus on taan and tihai development, with multiple iterations and permutations designed to terminate on the Sam. This bit is sometimes the hard slog of “tayyari” or readiness for a performance. You need to have the framework of the piece ready in your mind and improvise within that framework. Most of the taans are linear vocal type, but I do fit in some rhythmic style ones as well, designed to vary the tone of the taan.
Due to the vast expanse of the raga, I simply manage to cover taans just ending in the first line (mukhda) – imagine the possibilities… you could spend months on this piece alone….

Next, I’ll post a few drut teentaal bandishes on the sarod in Bageshri – most of them never played before on this instrument.

Short samples in Bageshri

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Here’s the video from a recent program where I went through around 6 compositions in Bageshree – the time was limited, so I instead of doing an in-depth performance of the raag, I meandered in and out of the various gats- got a few negative comments from listeners for this approach.

As always, the videos are good learning exercises – one can see areas of improvement.

1. Vilambit Teentaal

2. Rupak Madhyalaya

3. Drut Ektaal – Based on the famous khayal “Apni Garaj” performed to perfection by Ud Shahid Parvez (and many others)

4. Drut Teentaal (3 gats – the first one is my composition)

I will record these gats in detail with taans, notations and (hopefully) better sound (than in the past) along with the brilliant tarana by Ud. Amir Khan – which translates nicely to the sarod.

 

Raga Bageshri – Part 1

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Of late, I’ve been studying and playing Raga Bageshri (variously called Bagesri, Bageshree, or Bageshri Kanada).  Bageshri is a grand raga, attributed to Thaat Kafi and is a staple of evening concerts. The time prescribed for this raga is evening to late night.

I learnt Bageshri when I was 7 years old from my first music teacher Smt Ruby Bose (wonder where she is these days). She taught me a drut khayal “Moha Liyo ” a Sadarang composition. As Bageshri is a staple of music schools, everyone learns it. But, like Yaman, it’s a ocean of a raga – the  more you delve into it, the further you can go.

Bageshri has the following scale :

 (italics – lower octave, bold – upper octave – Caps -Shuddha -Natural swaras, lower case – komal (flat)

Ascending: n S g M D n S

Descending: S n D M g R S

Bageshri uses the Pa beautifully to embellish the emotion of the raga. Pa has to be judiciously used, as too much or too little can ruin the raga character.

I start off with a slow (Vilambit) composition set to 16 beats recorded raw in my music room. I learnt this composition from Shri Sugato Nag, and it has Imdadkhani and Shahjahanpur elements in it. A number of other vilambit compositions are similar to this one:

The notations are (simplified form)-Starts from the 12th beat

Sthyai

S n D – M P g R D n S

D n SM g M D P D nD g-g R

S n D – M P g R D n S

Manjha – starts from 4th

N d M DD N S M g R N S

D P D n D g g M D N S

S N d M PP D M P D g R S – back to Sthayi

Antara

N D gg MM DD N S-S-S

SRRS N g g R N NSRSS

S N D n D  M D N R S- M

M g R S D N D – M PP D M P D g R S – back to sthayi

There is infinite scope to vary this composition and put in embellishments – that is the nature of Bageshri.

Next, I’ll do the Madhaylaya and Drut gats from various sources.

Raga Durga

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At long last I managed to start up a Youtube channel (it’s got only one video in it so far) but I thought I’d begin with the Raga which started my sarod journey – Raga Durga. Along with Yaman, it remains a favourite of Ud Amjad Ali Khan to start off new students with. I must acknowledge that it was Shri Abhik Sarkar (a senior disciple of Ustadji) who taught me this Raga. A very nice composition, in Madhyalay Teentaal.
The notations for the Madhaylaya are here: (lowercase – komal, italics – lower octave, bold higher octave)

-  -  -  – / – -  S S/R P -P/ D M P D/ D- M -/ R – (SS – repeat)

The manjha is a bit complicated, but goes like this

MM MM R S D P M -/ PDSRMPD PM/ (SS RP-P

The antara starts from the 9th and goes like this:

M P D S SSS -/ S D S R S D D PM/ MM RR S R S D P M/ (SS RP-P)

The Drut Gat in Durga is a favourite- as it really needs fast left hand work.  Whenver you feel confident about your fingering skills, try and play this gat at a fast pace. That’s when you’ll appreciate the technical mastery of Ud Amjad Ali Khan.

The gat goes as follows:

Sthyai

S D-DP MPDP MR S D S  x R MPD

M PP DD SS DDP DP MP DP MR SR MP DP MR SR DS  SD-DP

Antara

D M PP DD SS SS D RR S x S D S R M- M RR S R S D/ DD PM PD-P

PDSRMPDPMR SS (SD-DP

Quite a workout – believe me.

I’m going to post some other compositions next.

The Magnificence of Malkauns

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I’ve been practicing Malkauns a bit lately – in preparation for an upcoming concert.

Malkauns is a grand raga but very simple in its construction -

S g M d n S (lowercase=komal swaras)

Technically, it’s classified as a member of Bhairavi, however, it is an ancient raga, and the classification system is of recent origin in Hindustani music.

In Carnatic music, there is a raga with the same notes, called Hindolam. However, the treatment of the two varies greatly – each according to its own tradition.

The simple construction allows beginners to easily pick up this raga – however, like many “fundamental” ragas, it can take a lifetime to explore. That is the magic  of North Indian Classical music – you can keep yourself busy with just five notes for decades and never get bored…..

In my mind, Malkauns is a slow, deliberate raga – and should not be rushed. Instrumentalists in concert are always under pressure to “do something” or risk putting their concert audiences to sleep. In my mind, there is a fine balance between exploring the raga and repetitive playing. It comes down to the capacity of the musician. My personal preference is not to do lengthy alaps but do a longish vilambit if greater elaboration is required. That keeps the audience’s interest in a raga as well.

Malkauns has been called by some as an instrumental raga (this probably stems from something that Shrimati Kishori Amonkar said about it being a “been ka raag”). Anyway, my general preference is to avoid the musicologists and focus on enjoying the music first (thus avoiding some very aggressive characters)

The sarod lends itself very well to Malkauns technically. The five notes span the Sa and the Ma string. At faster speeds, the open Ma helps. Here is a standard Malkauns Vilambit Teentaal composition recorded on my iPhone in my music room – I’ve tried to maintain the deliberation around the lower Ni and Dha. This composition is certainly not my creation, but bears some resemblance to legendary Amir Khan Sahib’s “Jinki Man Raam”.

(Sidenote: Ustad Amir Khan really elaborated the raga and not his “value add”. In doing so, he attained legendary status and added far more value than those who deliberately set out to do so. He would plumb the depths of the raga as a complete devotee – giving us a glimpse of the “inner core” -and he did it so effortlessly, when lesser musicians look for “new angles” to the raga. When a musician starts planning to “value add” to ragas, their ego takes over – and the result is usually not good. (The same goes for those who venture into creating new ragas). These ragas are greater than any musician – let’s enjoy their essence and be enriched by it.

Among legendary Malkauns renditions is Ud Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s “Mandira Dekh” which has given me enormous joy and inspiration- and I’ve written about it before here:

http://sarod.com.au/?p=81