It has long been a practice among impresarios, music organisations and foreign universities to arrange radio and television recordings of touring Indian musicians. These recordings of interviews and performances are often made with a view to informing potential audiences of forthcoming concerts in the area. Such engagements are at times hosted by community radio and television channels that expressly cater to the South Asian community. Fortunately, many of these older broadcasts and telecasts have survived to this day and have been shared on various net-based platforms.
Many Indian musicians travelling to the UK were recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation at its Pebble Mill studio on the edge of Birmingham. These musicians included practitioners of art or classical music, those involved in film playback singing and popular ghazal singers. This week, we take a look at some of the Hindustani music recorded at this studio.
Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha
We begin with a composition in raag Pancham se Gaaraa set to the six matra (count) dadra taal, performed by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar accompanied by tabla exponent Alla Rakha. Around 3.40” into the track, Ravi Shankar changes to a drut gat or fast-paced instrumental composition set to the 16 matra teentaal. The piece moves to a climactic end, but unfortunately, the video uploaded on YouTube stops short of the finale.
Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Bannerjee, a major figure among sitar players of the twentieth century, presents a medium tempo gat in the morning raag Nat Bhairav set to the 16 matra sitarkhani taal, also known as addha taal. Playing for a small invited studio audience, he is accompanied here by the virtuoso tabla player Anindo Chatterjee.
Surinder Singh
The next clip features Surinder Singh, a disciple of the pathbreaking Indore gharana vocalist Amir Khan, presenting a well-known composition set to teentaal in the morning raag Lalit.
Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain
To conclude, here is a tabla duet featuring the maestro Alla Rakha and his charismatic son Zakir Hussain, both of who have significantly influenced several contemporary tabla players. They present tabla compositions in the fast-paced 12-count ektaal. Towards the end of this short clip, some of these compositions are first recited and then reproduced on the tabla, as is the convention when the tabla occupies centre-stage and moves away from its role as an accompanying instrument.
Many Indian musicians travelling to the UK were recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation at its Pebble Mill studio on the edge of Birmingham. These musicians included practitioners of art or classical music, those involved in film playback singing and popular ghazal singers. This week, we take a look at some of the Hindustani music recorded at this studio.
Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha
We begin with a composition in raag Pancham se Gaaraa set to the six matra (count) dadra taal, performed by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar accompanied by tabla exponent Alla Rakha. Around 3.40” into the track, Ravi Shankar changes to a drut gat or fast-paced instrumental composition set to the 16 matra teentaal. The piece moves to a climactic end, but unfortunately, the video uploaded on YouTube stops short of the finale.
Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Bannerjee, a major figure among sitar players of the twentieth century, presents a medium tempo gat in the morning raag Nat Bhairav set to the 16 matra sitarkhani taal, also known as addha taal. Playing for a small invited studio audience, he is accompanied here by the virtuoso tabla player Anindo Chatterjee.
Surinder Singh
The next clip features Surinder Singh, a disciple of the pathbreaking Indore gharana vocalist Amir Khan, presenting a well-known composition set to teentaal in the morning raag Lalit.
Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain
To conclude, here is a tabla duet featuring the maestro Alla Rakha and his charismatic son Zakir Hussain, both of who have significantly influenced several contemporary tabla players. They present tabla compositions in the fast-paced 12-count ektaal. Towards the end of this short clip, some of these compositions are first recited and then reproduced on the tabla, as is the convention when the tabla occupies centre-stage and moves away from its role as an accompanying instrument.
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