Zahiruddin, Fayazuddin (Junior Dagar Brothers) - Dhrupad Chanting

 Dhrupad Chanting 
• Northern Indian vocal classical music
Nasir Zahiruddin, Nasir Fayazuddin Dagar
Auvidis - AV 4511 - P.1984




Side A

A1 Raga Bageshri - Poem dedicated to Krishna • Alap 26'44

This serious and "great" Raga is to be performed at night.

"The beloved Son of Nand is very torturing

He has trapped me in Has Love

One day to the temple of the Lord of Brij

I went, my friend, only once!"

Side B

B1 Raga Bageshri (suite) • Dhrut 10'42

B2 Raga Bhatiyar - Poem dedicated to Shiva.
     • Alap 

     • Dhrut (Tala Chotal, twelve beats) 15'54

This Raga is to be performed late after midnight.

"O Thou Shiva, provider of Bliss

And of boundless Knowledge,

Master of Flock. God of the Ganges,

Spouse of the Divine Motherl"

Junior Dagar Brother,vocal

Laxmi Narain Pawar, pakhawaj

Musarrat Dagar, tampura

Dhrupad, the Dagarvani heritage

In India, music holds a privileged place as compared to all the other forms of Sacred Art, and this is especially true of vocal music, for it is held to be the most direct path to Union with the Supreme Being In fact Brahma, the God of Creation in the Hindu Trinity, is also the Cosmic Breath, and Indian vocal music is called Nada Yoga. the Yoga of Universal Sound which is the ultimate quintessence and can only be achieved after having gained complete mastery of the eight stages of Yoga. from Yama (restraint) to the state of Supreme Consciousness, Samadhi. Nada or Universal Sound has two manifestations Anahata and Ahata Anahata Nada is the Subtle Sound that can only be perceived inwardly by yogis who have long practised asceticism, for it is not produced by the impact of one object on another It can, however, become manifest in the form of Ahata Nada, when a vibration is produced by the movement of breath, as in singing, or by contact with an object as in instrumental music.

Dhrupad is devotional music and its origins can be traced back to the sacred Sanskrit text, the Sama Veda, which is said to date from the 3rd century BC. Dhrupad is the oldest vocal style of Indian classical music From the chanting of OM, the sacred syllable and the source of all Creation, which is considered to have a physically and spiritually purifying effect on the person chanting it, evolved the rhythmic chanting of the Vedic Scriptures Later still this developed into Chhanda and Prabandha with the introduction of verse and metre. Dhrupad emerged from the fusion of these two elements

As sacred music, then. Dhrupad was sung in temples, the singer seated facing the divinity, totally immersed in his prayer. completely unconscious of the presence or the absence of an audience. All the compositions were prayers which took their inspiration from hymns addressed to gods in the Hindu pantheon.

Dhrupad as it is sung today has preserved its sacred character even though it is no longer a music confined to temples, in the sense that the compositions are still hymns addressed to divinities However, the evolution of regional languages as opposed to Sanskrit from the 12th century onwards led to a tremendous enrichment of these languages. both linguistically and poetically, under the patronage of enlightened rulers In the 16th century Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior was able to encourage poet-saints to write in Brijbhasa. which had come of age as a fullfledged language, and which also had the merit of being immediately comprehensible to everyone The greater part of the repertoire sung nowadays consists of these compositions. The same purity of sound and the same accuracy that the singers of old brought to their chanting of OM are now sought in the exposition and the linking up of the notes during the Alap and the composition. but this is more directly perceptible in the former, which s the introductory part and takes the form of improvisation. The Alap as it has evolved in the Dagarvani is in fact based on the primordial syllable OM, and it is this that distinguishes this particular school from the other Dhrupad traditions Led by their desire to give an evergreater importance to Sound as the pathway to Divine Fusion, the members of this school have opted for pure prayer, without the hurdle of words, in the first part, so that the impact of the sound is stronger. A mantric formula was then used - "Om antaran tom taran taram tom", as much for its meaning as for the sonorous sound of its syllables Due to this, the Alap has become much more difficult to render, but at the same time it has gained an infinite richness and its slow and majestic unfolding is characteristic of the Dagar family's style. Starting from the sound OM at the beginning of the Alap, all the Art of the singer lies in the modulation of breath and volume in order to create a vocal flux, supported by the vowels, while the consonants are used to punctuate and mould the vocal flow, channelling it in the direction most suited to evoke in the audience a mood akin to the mood of the raga that has been chosen.


The degree of abstraction that the singer achieves in the Alap allows the listener to see in the light of his own inner vision, to bring into play his own reserve of sensation and experiences to enrich the thoughts and images evoked by the music. However there is such a fineness of precision in the application of sound and of the microtones that the raga with its distinctive personality is recognisable as soon as the first notes of the Alap are sung The artiste has almost fifty different technical approaches at his disposal which he can use to link up and present the sequence of notes which is characteristic of the raga in question. in order to render them sparklingly iridescent and to express most effectively the emotion they are seeking to portray.

Dhrupad reached its apogee in the 16th century. during the reign of the Moghul emperor Akbar. At that time there were four Schools of Dhrupad, representing this Art in all its diversity. Brij Chand Rajput was of Dagar lineage, so the School of Dhrupad that he headed was called Dagar Vani. The other three Vanis, Khandar, Navahar and Gobarhar respectively. disappeared in the course of time and only in the Dagar Vani has the pure tradition of Dhrupad been maintained and brought down to our day. Until the 18th century the Dagars were Brahmins, but circumstances constrained their ancestor. Baba Gopal Das Pandey, to embrace the Muslim religion, and he came to be known as Baba Imam Khan Dagar One of his two sons. Ustad Behram Khan Dagar, was the most famous and the most learned musician of his time, in the 18th-19th centuries. During the 125 years of life that God granted him, he applied himself to the acquisition S of a thorough knowledge of the Sanskrit sacred texts and by his mastery of the six fundamental treatises he gained the title of "Shatshastri". He devoted the greater part of his life to the rigorous analysis of these texts in order to translate the formal musical rules into a pragmatic teaching method. He distilled the style of singing, the "gayaki" to a degree of purity and clarity never known before, elaborating the Alap and rendering singable the technical forms, which until then had been only names in the Sangeet Ratnakar and other treatises.


His grandson Pandit Inayat Khan Dagar. in keeping with a vow that he had made, only sang his own compositions, which were extremely numerous, and thus notably enriched the Dhrupad repertoire. The two grandsons of Haidar Khan, Behram Khan Dagar's brother, were trained by the latter and were accustomed to sing together in jugalbandi. This tradition has been preserved in the Dagar family throughout the generations. and today it is Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin and Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, the great-great-grandsons of Haidar Khan Dagar, who are perpetuating Dhrupad in duet.



Being only four and six years old respectively when their father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar died, they received their training in the extremely rigorous discipline of Dhrupad from their elder brothers Ud. N. Moinuddin Dagar and Ud. N. Aminuddin Dagar as well as from their uncles Ud. Rahimuddin, Ud. Riyazuddin and Pandit Hussainuddin Dagar. In addition to their perfect mastery of all the technical subtleties that bring to brilliant life the hidden lustre of each note and each emotion. there is the special quality of their voices, a timbre which can be tender and masterful by turns, or imbued with an unshakeable serenity that is very contagious. Their presentation itself, which springs directly from the very essence of what Dhrupad really is. i.e. the elevation of the being towards the Divine, inspires respect and imparts a soul-soothing peace. Eyes closed, they send up their inspired singing like an offering, filled with their intense Faith in Man and in Cod, and in so doing lead their audience further along the Path. causing all barriers of place, of language, of culture and of religion to melt imperceptibly away.


Pakhawaj
This is a percussion, a drum accompaniment which also has a long tradition. Tablas popularly seen now is a much later development perhaps 100 years old. Pakhawaj is the traditional drum for Rhythm accompaniment it first establishes the regular cycle of 12 or 14 beats depending on the composition and then builds up faster tempo and intricate patterns. The special feature is that all the time it enhances the mood and acts as complementary towards aesthetics.

Laxmi Narain Pawar
Shri Laxmi Narain Pawar comes from a family who have been playing this instrument from four to five generations and are known as Nana Panse Gharana. His ancestors have accompanied members of Dagar family.

Tampura
It is a drone and plays a significant role in this style Besides maintaining the pitch of the basic notes of the vocalist, it gives a tonal dimension and expands the atmosphere. It is being played by Musarrat Dagar, brothers Dagar's niece.

all text above is quoted from the record sleeve

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Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar • Chandrakauns in Stockholm 1981

 Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar 
• Chandrakauns


Recorded 25th September 1981 in Stockholm
Skivbolaget Urspår - Origo 1002 - P.1984





Side A

A1 Chandrakauns (I) 22'33


Side B


B1 Chandrakauns (II) 24'13




But here Chandrakauns is served in one piece at 46'36 

Happy Birthday!

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (born 15 june 1932)

Nuances of the notes

Ustad Fariduddin Dagar is one of the oldest living exponents of the Dhrupad and his music makes serious demands on the listener, writes Deepa Ganesh after a chat with the maestro.

Contemplative, unhurried and probing music.

"AGAR aap Hindi bol nahin sakte, mere baat kaise samjhenge?" snaps Zia Fariduddin Dagar, the oldest living exponent of the Dhrupad tradition. "Samajh sakti hoon, par theek se bol nahin paati," I meekly offer. "Accha theek hai...," he muttered to himself, with an unmistakable emphasis on the word theek. Nothing misses him.

He is an authority on the Dhrupad; on all classical forms of music, in fact, including Carnatic music. As the conversation progresses, you learn he is in tune with everything — from politics (something he is very condescending about) to the music scene (his life's breath).

A family's heritage

Dhrupad, the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music, has become synonymous with the Dagar family. So much so one wonders if the form existed before them. In fact, any discussion on the Dhrupad remains incomplete without bringing the Dagars into it.

Dhrupad, which represented the noblest style in Indian vocal art, was patronised by royalty. But during the first half of the 20th Century, the all-pervasive Khayal took over and Dhrupad became the preserve of a few families. The democratisation of royalty also led to decline in patronage, throwing artistes into financial hardship and severely impacting the age-old guru-shishya parampara.

Since the mid-1970s, as a result of broader re-evaluation, Dhrupad has enjoyed a revival. With the younger members of the Dagar family, disciples, and other families, this extremely contemplative form of music is steadily making an effort to reclaim its position at the centre of the Indian musical tradition.

Dhrupad was originally a Hindu tradition. Most compositions are also on Hindu deities. But interestingly, the tradition has come to rest with Muslim musicians.

Explains Ustad Fariduddin Dagar Saab: "My ancestor Baba Gopal Das was a Hindu. My ancestors were court musicians in the darbar of the Mughal king Muhammed Shah Rangeela. It was the custom to wind up the performance by accepting paan offered by the king. When my ancestors did so, there was a huge uproar in the community: `by accepting the paan you've become Muslim'. `So be it,' said my ancestor," he narrates nonchalantly.

With the coming of Khayal, a tradition that makes for easier listening, in the early half of the 20th Century, Dhrupad moved to the periphery.

Losing ground?

Why did the Dhrupad lose ground? The Ustad takes umbrage at this, insisting it was never unpopular. In fact, in the absence of royal patronage, musicians gave up singing the Dhrupad, because they did not have anybody to take care of them. "When my father passed away, I was a young boy. And the king, who was my father's patron, was out of power. But when he heard of my father's death, he sent his men to see how the family was." From that day till his death, the king bore the expenses of the family. "That was the commitment. But I can't expect the same to happen in my case. I'm sure after my death, my family will be thrown out of the house they have given me in Bhopal."

The maestro is furious with the state that does not try to preserve or protect its culture. "Politicians aren't capable of any good," he says. "What has your State done to take care of its musicians? Adil Shah of Bijapur was such a big poet. We sing so many of his poems. Have they preserved his works? He has done so much for music, architecture and paintings."

Ustad Fariduddin Dagar doesn't think much of Khayal, but doesn't reject it totally either. "Khayal also has a tradition. But now there is nothing in place; everyone plays to the gallery. The early Khayal singers had a firm grounding in Dhrupad." The Ustad, legendary for his total involvement, famously said: "When I close my eyes and begin to sing, there is only darkness... slowly, light comes, then the beginnings of colour." He explains how the musician is alone with the "vastness of the self" and musicality lies in contemplation. Like in other Indian classical forms, the alaap is the entry point to the raga. But Fariduddin Dagar says that if a listener fails to comprehend the alaap, he should be able to do so at least with the lyrics.

Difficult to learn

The singer's treatment of the composition should evoke the mood of the raga. "You can sing for hours, but you should be able to grab the soul of the raga."

Due to its strict adherence to purity, learning Dhrupad is very difficult. Is that what makes people think Dhrupad is rigid? "According to me, there is immense freedom. Khayal is like the romantic period in music," he elucidates. Though there have been master composers like Mozart and Brahms in the West, Bach is still the colossus. "Bach's music is on a different scale. There is no romance in his music. It is spiritual. And that is true of Dhrupad too."

In fact, there are many big-time Khayal musicians who trace their inspiration back to this grand old form. Some musicians even talk of a Dhrupad element in their rendition of Khayals. "Everybody now wants to claim the Dhrupad style. Thirty years ago, when it was forgotten, nobody talked about it as their source," says the Ustad indignantly.

"You can't go to a Dhrupad concert like you go to the films. When you set out to please your audience it doesn't work. A musician has to feel convinced about what he is singing, be believes.

How does one explain the West's penchant for Dhrupad? Is it an extension of its fashionable affinity for everything spiritual? For the Ustad, whose life centres on Dhrupad alone, this is too complicated. "They are very curious about it. But they like to listen to the alaap and not pada. They go into minute details and it's very heartening to perform for them," is his simple position.

This makes an interesting comparison to what Alain Danielou, a Western scholar of Indian music, has to say about Dhrupad: "Its verbal and emotional dignity is conveyed by slow, elephantine movements and with utmost economy of flourishes and decorations."

You know what that means when the maestro sings. His music is sensuous, subtle, and intensely spiritual. As he unfolds the notes of Shuddh Sarang, you know there is no escape except to surrender to it completely.

In the typical contemplative, unhurried, probing fashion, he delves into the nuances, note by note. The amazing flexibility of his voice, the exuberance, and sheer joy of the experience of singing makes such exacting demands on the listener that it leaves one exhausted.

article by K. Murali Kumar 

borrowed from The Hindu 2005.02.20 here

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, with Anita Livstrand, tambura

I hope you all appreciate this recording, several friends were involved in this production and to my knowledge it has never been reproduced on CD. The picture above may be from the same concert as the recording since it was taken in September 1981. The record was produced by Hans Isgren and engineered by Peter Hennix at his private loft where many wonderful concerts of Indian classical music took place. I hope you will enjoy it. Again like a recording of ZMD that i posted some days ago, this also had an unfortunate split in the middle to fit on the two sides of an LP. No such scars remain as that cut has now been "healed" and the concert is again "uncut".

record inlay leaf...

Music ▼ +

Senior Dagar Brothers • Kamboji - Philips Unesco P.1971

Mohinuddin Dagar,  Aminuddin Dagar
Dhrupad and Khyal - North India, Vocal Music VI-2
Musical Sources - Modal Music and Improvisation
Philips Unesco -  6586 003  - P.1971





Side A

A1 Dhrupad - Raga Kamboji 29'47



Mohinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar, vocal

Raja Chhatrapati Singh, pakhawaj

Suraya Dagar, tanpura

Side B


B1 Khyal - Raga Malkosh 22'58

Robin Kumar Chatterjee, vocal

Nazir Ahmad, sarangi

Kedarnath Batt, tabla

P.S. Rajvedi, tanpura

Raga painting 18th century

Drumplayer 11th century, Deogarh

Northern Indian music represents the most characteristic form of purely modal music which is constructed in relation to an absolutely fixed base, the tonic (Sa), without any modulation or change of tonality during the development. In relation to this fundamental sound a scale is established which contains very precise and highly differentiated intervals; these intervals can differ slightly in each mode (raga), and correspond to distinct sentiments. Slight modifications of the intervals, for example a minor third which is raised or lowered by one comma, are felt as conveying very different sentiments. When making his way along the degrees of a mode, the musician brings out and emphasises their expressive qualities by means of ornaments, various ways of attacking the notes, and stylistic procedures. Such a development is only possible in improvisation, in the pursuit of an inner musical idea. A fixed melody allows only the existence of an outline of the sound-material; improvisation alone provides the means of shaping and differentiating it, of imbuing it with an infinite variety of forms. Therefore the only melodic elements proper, and the only ones which can be notated, are short motifs which serve to introduce the words of sung poems.

Once the musician has become aware of the mode and the theme, he sets out to develop and express them in a variety of ways in the successive styles which form the vocal discourse, the latter being composed of a very slow exposition, the Alap, followed by variations in quicker tempi. The words of the song are not taken up until the second part of the development. At the beginning, the voice is employed like an instrument. Indian music is fundamentally vocal, and all the instrumental techniques are conceived as an accompaniment to, or an imitation of vocal sonorities. Numerous and varied forms of song exist, the most important of which in the classical music are the Dhrupad, the oldest, the noblest, and the most austere form, and the Khyal, a form created in the fifteenth century which is more imaginative, more brilliant, and more whimsical (khyal). In each form the development proceeds according to successive formulas which are controlled by very strict rules in such a way that the performance of a piece, although improvised and always shaped anew in every detail, nevertheless unfolds in conformity with an overall design which is always identical.

Mohinuddin Dagar (1920-1967) and his brother Aminuddin Dagar (born in 1924) are regarded as the greatest masters of the Dhrupad, a genre which nowadays has hardly any more qualified representatives. They belong to a dynasty of musicians which represent a "musical tradition" (gharana), the origin of which goes back to Tansen, the celebrated musician at the court of the Emperor Akbar (1542-1605).


Robin Kumar Chatterjee (born in Bengal in 1942) is one of the most remarkable singers of the young generation, and one of the very few who maintain the pure tradition of Indian classical singing. He studied music with some of the greatest masters, in particular with Amir Khan who represents the tradition known as Kirana.

notes by Alain Daniélou 

snipped from the record sleeve

Side 1:


Alap and Dhrupad sung by Mohinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar; accompaniment: Pakhavaj (horizontal double-headed drum), Raja Chhatrapati Singh; Tanpura (lute giving the tonic, fifth, and octave), Mrs. Suraya Dagar.

The raga (mode) is Kamboji (diatonic with minor seventh), a mode which is sung at nightfall and expresses calm tenderness and sweet memories.

The tala (rhythm) is Chautala with 12 beats grouped in 4, 4, 2, 2.

The Alap, or extended prelude, is a wordless exposition of the sentiment of the mode. Conventional meaningless syllables are used to support the vocal line.

The Dhrupad (sung poem) proper begins with the entry of the rhythm provided by the drum. The words, which are many times repeated, are taken from an old poem in Hindi by Rasa Khan (Manusha ho to vohi...), which is an appeal to the shepherd-god Krishna: "I cannot live far from thee; cause me to be reborn as one of the cowherds or among the herds of the village of thy childhood."

Side 2:

Alap and Khyal sung by Robin Kumar Chatterjee, accompanied on the sarangi (bowed instrument) by Nazir Ahmad, on the tabla (pair of vertical drums) by Kedarnath Bhatt, and on the tanpura by P. S. Rajvedi.

The raga is Malkosh, a pentatonic mode without second or fifth arid with minor sixth and minor seventh. Malkosh is sung during the first pan of the night. It is a mode which expresses
peace, softness, and tenderness.

The tala is Eka tala with 12 beats grouped in 4, 4, 2, 2 in the first part (Bara Khyal), and Tintala with 8 beats grouped in 2, 4, 2 in the second part (Chhota Khyal).

The words, in Hindi, of the first part signify "he whom I love has come to my door..." (sajana aye mere dware...), and those of the second part "what strange unrest dost thou inspire in me. . ." (kaisi lagana lagai Balama).

In the Khyal the words are employed right from the beginning, but interludes on sol-fa syllables (Sa, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni, Sa) also occur.


Recordings: Alain Daniélou (side 1) rec. 1965 
and Manfred Junius (side 2) rec. 1971

Phakawaj

tablas

tambura

Music ▼ +

A Musical Anthology of the Orient - India III: Dhrupad

Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar


A Musical Anthology of the Orient 
- Unesco Collection 18 - India III: Dhrupad 
recorded by Alain Daniélou
Bärenreiter - Musicaphon - BM 30 L 2028 - P.1961?




Side A


A1 Asavari 24'44


Side B

B1 Bhairavi 21'33
B2 Damar Tala, Pakhawaj solo 4'56



The Dhrupad received its present form at the court of Rājā Mana Simba, the ruler of Gwalior from 1486 to 1525. This style was perfected by such famous musicians of the sixteenth century as Haridāsa Swami and his disciple Tansen at the court of the emperor Akbar (1542-1605).


Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar are the descendants of a very old family of musicians. The particular style of Dhrupad of which they preserve the tradition dates back to Vrija Chanda, a contemporary and rival of Tānsen. Vrija Chanda was called Dāguri, because he was born in the village of Dagar near Delhi. Gopal Dāsa Dagar, who was one of the heirs of this tradition, is a direct ancestor of the Dagar brothers. Their grandfather Alla Bande Khan and their father Nasiruddin Khan Dagar, court musicians of Indore, are renowned for their performances and creations within the traditional music of India.


Today, Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar are recognized as the best singers of the classical Dhrupad

Raja Chhatrapati Singh, born in 1919, belongs to the ruling family of Bijna State in Central India. Chhatrapati Singh learned to play the drum, called pakhävaj, with the famous drummer Ramdāsji. For several years he was a teacher of this instrument at the Music College of Benares Hindu University.


Dhrupad

Dhrupad is the noblest style of Indian classical music. Dhrupad-s consist of two parts: a long prelude which establishes the mode, the rāga, which is today called ālāpa or “conversation” but was formerly termed Dhruva, and a poem or pada which is sung.

The Dhrupad is a sober and severe style of singing. The musicians must improvise strictly within the limits of the mode and avoid any elaborate vocalising or ornaments. The ālāpa which forms the first part of any classical improvisation is in a slow tempo and has no definite rhythmic form. It has only a metrical form, i. e. long or short notevalues, but these are not organized into a rhythmic pattern. The improvisation is free and descriptive. The ālāpa is essential in creating the mood or atmosphere of the mode. Time has to be taken before the minute variations on each note of the modal scale can reveal their expressive values and the significance of each note can be established and assimilated by the audience. Only then can the musician begin faster, more brilliant and lighter variations, and also omit some of the elements of the scale without affecting the raga. The mood of the mode has to be firmly established with all its deeper significance before the musician can feel free to display virtuosity in vocal arabesques, which take on their real meaning only within the emotional background of a particular raga The ālāpa is the most difficult part of the improvisation. It is here that the personality of the great exponent is immediately felt. In the poem which is sung after the ālāpa, the drum intervenes with complex rhythms. The poem itself is very short and its verses are repeated many times. It is sometimes divided into two parts, sthāyi and antarā, which are sung in forms that differ slightly from each other.

The Dhrupad is a much neglected art in India today, where the public demand is for lighter and easier musical forms, such as the bel canto virtuosity of the Khyāl, rather than the contained emotion and sober musical structure of the Dhrupad. There are very few Dhrupad  singers today.

Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar are almost alone among the great singers who still practise this form of singing; the most noble, beautiful, and severe form of Indian musical art.

Most of the Dhrupad-s which are sung today were composed by poets and musicians of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

From the original accompanying notes to the series by Alain Daniélou

Moinuddin Dagar, Aminuddin Dagar, Suraiya Dagar 

Here is a quote from a review by Walter Kaufmann in 

Ethnomusicology 1970 Vol. 14 No. 01 , page 184.

This is an interesting and, in general, valuable collection of Indian recordings. A few unusual comments and a certain unevenness in type and quality of a few pieces can be overlooked by a tolerant reader and listener when he considers the compelling beauty of the majority of the pieces presented. The four discs cover a wide field: Vedic Recitation and Chant; Music of the Dance and Theater of the South; Dhrupads; and Karnatic Music.

Disc Three

Presenting two dhrupads, this disc is as interesting as the recording of the Vedic chant. The commentator is correct when he describes dhrupad singing as a “much neglected art in India.” We could add that now this art is practically forgotten. It is very difficult indeed to hear a dhrupad performance at the present time. During my fourteen-year residence in India I had only one opportunity to hear a dhrupad performance. A single dhrupad takes a surprisingly long time to perform, usually several hours. This fact makes us wonder how it is possible to present not one but two dhrupads on one disc and with room to spare for a drum solo performance! If Indian musicians argue about the correct interpretation of a certain raga, they will never consult the old Sanskrit works but will invariably refer to the only undisputed authority: the dhrupad. Even the most heated argument will come to an end if it is stated that in the pure and unadorned dhrupad singing this or that manner of performance practice is employed. The dhrupad, the heavy forerunner of the khyal, consists of an alap, the asthayi, and the antara. It is always accompanied on a mrdanga (or pakha\vaj), never on the tablas. There is a saying in India that only a man who has the strength of several buffaloes should attempt to sing dhrupad. This style is devoid of all subtle ornamentations that may appear in the khyal. Although the description of intervals, as expressed in the commentary by fractions and mathematical calculations such as 25/24, 256/243, and so forth, is theoretically of interest, it is necessary to say that no Indian performing musician, neither now nor of the past, would ever refer to or apply mathematical concepts in his performance. My position as Director of Music at All India Radio, Bombay, enabled me to check repeatedly several aspects of microtonal alterations. Most of the older artists refused to accept their remunerations in the form of cheques. They insisted upon receiving bare coin. 

It was interesting to note that some of these great and wonderful musicians would bring along with them a young boy, a son or a nephew, who was able to count the rupee coins reliably. The old artist and his young helper would settle on the floor outside the studio and carefully count the money received which had come in a little cloth bag. It seems to be rather erroneous to assume that these celebrated artists dealt with the microtonal alterations in their performances from a rigid mathematical point of view. As a matter of fact I was able to measure some of these remarkable alterations electronically and found that the "same" intervals in a certain raga received differing alterations by the same artist at different broadcasts and, of course, other performers would deviate slightly from the former. It appears that the main point is the use of alteration, but the how high or how low, of course within the margin of an interval less than a semitone, was left to the prevailing mood produced by the raga itself and by the performing artist. Some interesting studies have been made in this respect by N. A. Jairazbhoy and A. W. Stone (1963). It is of interest to note that not one single Indian theorist before the end of the last century employed complex mathematical terms, and that none of the Indian notational systems possesses symbols that indicate microtonal alterations. Of course the alterations do exist in practice, but they are traditional, bound to the characteristic rasa, and their execution is left to the discretion of the performer.

The dhrupad excerpts given on the disc are based upon the northern ragas Asavari and Bhairavi. They are followed by a pakhawaj solo in Dhamar tal (5,2,3,4). Asavari, originally designated as a ragini, is often depicted as a beautiful woman. There are two types of this raga: the first-the scale of which is now used as the eighth thata-with RE shuddha (D natural); and the second with RE komal (D flat). The tone material shown in the commentary represents the second type. The vadi is DHA komal (A flat), and its somewhat weaker counterpart, the samvadi, is GA komal (E flat). Both notes when used in the descending line are generally performed with a slight vibrato which is characteristic of Asavari. The commentary informs us correctly about the omission of the notes GA komal (E flat) and NI komal (B flat) in ascent, and their use in descent. There are some instances when musicians combine both types of Asavari by using RE shuddha (D) in ascent and RE komal (D flat) in descent. Bhairavi is the next raga presented, its scale now being the ninth thata of the North Indian music system. As indicated in the commentary, the major second (RE shuddha, D natural) may appear, but only as an ornament.

As a matter of fact, various liberties may be taken in the performance of this noble raga because with the exception of the basic tone material and the vadis (MA, F, and SA, C) there are no strictly prescribed performance rules. The performing artists are Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar, Raja Chatrapati Singh, and Surayi Dagar.

Walter Kaufmann 

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

ill. 1 Raga Asavari - painting 17th century

ill. 2 Raga Bhairavi - painting 17th century

Dagar Brothers during recording

Moinuddin, Aminuddin, Suraiya Dagar in Bombay

Moinuddin Dagar (1919-1966)

The eldest son of Nasiruddin Khan and a charismatic performer who together with his younger brother Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar attained fame in the 1950's and 60's as the Senior Dagar Brothers. His  singing came the closest to that of Nasiruddin Khan, according to many who had heard Nasiruddin Khan. He trained under his father till his death in 1936, and subsequently learnt from his uncles Riyazuddin Khan and Ziauddin Khan. His style was characterised by a certain flamboyance, and there were always surprises in the sudden unexpected turns that his melodic improvisation could take. His concert tour of Europe with his younger brother in the 1960's earned great critical acclaim. He had amazing mastery over the use of the three different kinds of head resonance — nasika, anunasika and nirrannasika, which he used with much flair and artistry on the higher notes like ni and sa. His use of rapid ghamak patterns in the faster part of the alap created some controversy, because this led to the accusation that he had adopted some elements of khayal in his singing. But he defended its use by saying that the patterns, though very rapid, were syllabic and different from the aakar taans of khayal. Like his father Nasiruddin Khan he died in the prime of his career in 1966, probably from the same hereditary ailments that caused his fathers early demise — the progression of his illness no doubt accelerated by his fondness for the rich non-vegetarian cuisine of the Dagar family. Recently some recordings of his singing have been released from the private archives of the Royal family of Udaipur.

Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2000)

The second son of Ustad Nasiruddin Khan who, together with his elder brother Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar, attained fame as the Senior Dagar Brothers. Blessed with a deep resonant voice, and a slightly restrained devotional style, he was the ideal duet partner for his flamboyant elder brother Moinuddin. He had his initial training from his father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan, and later learnt mainly from Ustads Hussainuddin Khan (Tansen Pandey), Ustad Ziauddin Khan and Ustad Riyazuddin Khan. He however regarded his elder brother Moinuddin Dagar as his main guru. He was famous in his family for his prodigious memory and remembered many compositions, perhaps more than anyone else of his generation in the Dagar family. He did teach some of them to his students, but most are now lost.

Raja Chhatrapati Singh (1919-1998)

Chatrapati (also spelled Chhatrapati) Singh Ju Deo was born in the Royal family of Bijna State in Uttar Pradesh, bordering Madhya Pradesh, India. His grandfather Raja Mukund Singh and father Raja Himmat Singh were partrons of music. He showed a great deal of interest in music from a very early age and started learning Pakhavaj from a number of masters including Shri Kudau Singh Ji and Swami Ramdās Ji. He became the foremost exponent of Pakhavaj of his era. He accompanied all the great Dhrupad vocalists including the Dagar Brothers and Pt. Ram Chatur Malik. For several years he was a teacher of this instrument at the Music College of Benares Hindu University.

Music ▼ R

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar • Raga Bhimpalasi

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar 
• Raga Bhimpalasi
Le Chant Dhrupade de Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Traditions classiques de l'Orient - l'Inde. vol.15
Disques Esperance - ESP 8413 - P.1985




Side A


A1 Bhimpalasi - alap, jor (I) 25'11



Side B

B1 Bhimpalasi - jor (II), jhala 11'05

B2 Bhimpalasi - bandish - chautal 14'44

Manik Munde, Pakhawaj

I guess no one will complain if I continue to post recordings of the Dagar family, so here is a great recording from the early eighties of Farid, as he was affectionately known by some of his local students here. Hopefully this spree of Dagar recordings will also attract some new ones, so if you have something laying around, please share it with us. I will post one more locally produced record with Fariduddin recorded in the eighties. Later I will also try to locate what private tapes there are laying around. I have a few and there must be many more. A consorted effort here would be something very joyous, at least to me. What do you say? Anyhow I feel certain that you will enjoy this one!

(thanks WD, for your falcon eyes)

Zia Fariduddin Dagar (born 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist in the Dhrupad, the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music (Hindustani classical music) and part of the Dagar family of musicians. He taught at the Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal, along with his elder brother, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar for 25 years. He was awarded the 1994 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Hindustani music-Vocal by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama

He was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan in India on 15 June 1932, where his father, the great Ustad Ziauddin Khansahib was the court musician of Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur. He was taught dhrupad vocal & veena by his father. After his father’s demise, he continued learning under his elder brother, Late Ustad Z M Dagar, the foremost Rudra veena player of 20th century. Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar represents the 19th generation of the musical tradition of the Dagar family that is believed to have preserved and nurtured Dhrupad for 20 generations.

Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar has done a lot for popularizing dhrupad music by his numerous concerts and workshops. He has performed widely in India and abroad, and received the Tansen Samman from the Madhya Pradesh government and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 2005, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the North American Dhrupad Association.
He has a remarkable command over microtones (swara-bheda) and various gamakas, and is noted for his gradual development of alap through vilambit, madhya and drut laya (slow, medium and fast tempo). He is probably the only person alive to be able to demonstrate all the five geetis mentioned in the Sangita Ratnakara namely, Shuddha, Bhinna, Gaudi, Sadharani(which is dagarwani of today) & Vegasura (which is popular in south India). He is the most influential dhrupad vocalist in India after the senior Dagar Brothers (Ustads N. Moinuddin & N. Aminuddin Dagar).

By 1980, he had virtually settled down in Austria teaching Dhrupad in Austria and France. Once, during a visit to India, one of his disciples, the filmmaker, Mani Kaul came to him and pleaded with him to provide the background score for a film, The Cloud Door (1994) he was making on Madhya Pradesh. During the making of the film, they spent over two months in Madhya Pradesh, a lot of time in Bhopal,
and Ustadsahib agreed to move back to India and to take charge as the Guru at this Gurukul. He taught dhrupad for 25 years at this Dhrupad Kendra, under the Ustad Allauddin Khan Music Academy, Bhopal, to students like the Gundecha Brothers.

Nowadays, he stays & teaches at the Dhrupad Gurukul near Panvel, which was built by his elder brother Ustad Z. M. Dagar. He continues to perform widely in India and abroad.

snipped from Wikipedia, read the full text here 

Music ▼ +

Senior Dagar Brothers • Darbari Kanada - 1965 (2 pressings)

Dagar Brothers • Darbari Kanada
Khansahib Nasir Mohinuddin Dagar, 
Khansahib Nasir Aminuddin Dagar


Gramophone Co. Odeon - MOAE 135 - P.1965





(also EMI India - EALP 1291 - P.1965)

Side A




A1 Darbari Kanada - alap 18'55

Side B

B1 Darbari Kanada - dhamar 8'25
B2 Adana - dhrupad 9'33



Finally I get to post this LP by two wonderful singers that could have been enough reason for this whole blog (I am exaggerating just a little bit...) and as I have two copies of different pressings and catalogue numbers I will post both of them. Both of them have merits and shortcomings and the EALP 1291 that I think overall is the best copy, has a flaw in the beginning minute of side one. A "rotation counter" as we used to say, that gives a mild but annoying thud for each rotation, it does however go away rather quickly. There is no such thing on the MOAE 135, but I think there is a bit more surface noice on that one. But since you can have both, you can judge for yourself!

I have yet to hear a perfect copy of this LP if such a thing exists, but suffice it to say, these copies look perfect and have very little wear and are to my ear decent enough but as most vinyl goes, the sound is always a little flawed. OK, OK, Don't get all jittery now! I said most vinyl! I do have a few, a very few if I may add, that are of extremely good quality but that does not make it a norm.

There is unfortunately not many recordings on LP by the Senior Brothers and apart from the Bärenreiter [BM 30L 2018] Musical Anthology of the Orient; India III, [Philips 6586003] North India Vocal Music; Dhrupad and Khyal. Their may also be an AIR Archive LP but I have not seen it!

Fortunately there are also some CD's, like the [Auvidis D 8076] North India • Dhrupad & Khyal and the three CD's  [RAGA 220] Todi, 1957 & [RAGA 221] Bihag, Kamboji, Malkosh, 1955. These early recordings from Calcutta were graciously published, with some good information, by Raga Records. Not to forget the Royal Collection of Mewar on 6 CD's put out by by EMI and the privately issued "unfinished" jaijaivanti, the "registrazione senza fine", when the tape ran out for Alain Danielou. You see how every piece is so very precious that any fragment will cause a big stir among devoted aficionados. Whenever it happens, it really should be on the news! ;-)

Recently there was also this release from the All India Radio Archives (AIR) [AIRH 28] Dagar Brothers "Dhrupad" • Ragas: Gunkali & Jaijaiwanti, recordings from Mid 1960s.
But this is just a rare luck, as they are not in the habit of opening up their vaults very often and we have to look for private transcripts from radio broadcasts and recordings of private mehfils to hear any more by them!

Another discography of most of the published recordings of the Dagars and extensions 

is to be found here

The best is of course if we could find means to do real editions and publish high quality records but awaiting such circumstance anyone is hereby, of course welcome to contribute whatever you have and in whatever shape. Which whatever... It is always good to take inventory!

I will also share some that I and friends have saved over the years on cassettes and open reel, but alas that will still have to wait a while as there is so many things I want to post. I will however post the above mentioned LP's. Hope you enjoy this one (two) they have been sitting here waiting for the right moment to appear and I hope it is now!

Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar (1919-1966) and Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2000)

Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, two of the greatest Dhrupad exponents of the past century, were born in Indore in one of the most illustrious musical families that India has ever produced. Their father, Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar, was the court musician of the state of Indore and was widely regarded as the foremost Dhrupad singer of his age. Nasiruddin Khan was a stern disciplinarian and Moinuddin and Aminuddin began their rigorous talim under his strict tutelage at a very tender age. Moinuddin was blessed with a phenomenal musical memory and was known to repeat as grown-up bits and pieces of music that he had listened to while sitting on the lap of his grandfather Ustad Allah Bande Khan Sahab when he was barely one year old. Aminuddin too had imbibed this extraordinary memory which was tested to the limit in the talim they received from their father as he was loath to repeat any musical phrase more than once. Nasiruddin is said to have had a premonition of his early death ten years before he actually died. Thus he was eager to impart all the musical knowledge that he had perfected to his next generation before his death. As a consequence Moinuddin and Aminuddin received in mere ten years a quality of talim that usually takes more than three decades to acquire. When Ustad Nasiruddin Khan died in 1936 Moinuddin was 17 and Aminuddin only 13. The two brothers then received their next phase of talim under the guidance of their maternal uncle Ustad Riyazuddin Khan who was himself the great-grandson of Baba Behram Khan Sahab—the man widely regarded to be the father of dagar-vani Dhrupad music as it is now practised. They also received training from Ustad Ziauddin Khan, who was a cousin to their father. Finally however, it was the inherent musical genius of Moinuddin and Aminuddin that was responsible for blending these different musical influences into a style that was unique to them. It fused in itself the best elements of the various exponents of the dagar-vani tradition to form a blissfully harmonious style of Dhrupad presentation that would mesmerize the world for the rest of the century.


It was the 1940s that saw the meteoric rise of Moinuddin and Aminuddin on the stage of Indian classical music. After the demise of Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar, the rich and ancient tradition of Dhrupad had fallen into neglect and disrepute but with the rise of these two Dagar Brothers there arrived a new dawn in the sky of Dhrupad and of Indian classical music. Theirs were two voices that would forever change the course of Dhrupad and redefine the foundation of this ancient tradition. In his later years Aminuddin used to joke that back in the 1940s he and his elder brother were usually introduced as two singers who were mad enough to try and sing Dhrupad which was considered a dead form of music. But within a time-span of mere fourteen years Moinuddin and Aminuudin breathed a new life not only to Dhrupad singing but also to the tradition of ‘jugalbandi’. Previously ‘jugalbandi’ or duet singing in the field of classical music had degenerated into a competition between two singers where each tried his best to outdo the other in exhibitionism. The senior Dagar Brothers on the other hand brought back the concept of a harmonious synchronization between the two singers. In a typical performance by the senior Dagar Brothers, the honey rich voice of Aminuddin would draw the audience into a deep meditative mood by gradually descending the notes of the lower octaves and Moinuddin would dazzle the listeners with his ‘alankars’ or ornamentations in the upper octave. Each complimented the other and each of them had a deep respect for the singing ability of the other.


The two brothers, though they were attached to each other with the strongest of bonds, possessed two very different characters; whereas Aminuddin was like a ‘fakir’ or a sage whose music was a form of worshipping the divine, his elder brother had the heart of an emperor who fearlessly treaded through the realm of music and never hesitated from experimenting with Dhrupad and opening up new horizons. Best instances of such experimentation are to be found in the internationally acclaimed ballets that the two brothers composed—namely Malti Madhav, Kumar Sambhav and Shan-E-Oudh. In 23rd September 1946, they gave a memorable performance for Mahatma Gandhi at Bhangi Colony, New Delhi. Gandhiji listened to their alaap and Dhrupad in Rag Ashavari for nearly two hours and was deeply moved by their performance. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu and such other eminent personalities also joined the programme. Subsequently by the invitation of Sri Rohit Mehta, General Secretary of Theosophical Society, Varanasi, they joined the Society and formed Bhartiya Sangeet Vidyalaya, which was inaugurated by Dr. B. V. Keskar, the then union broadcasting minister. 


In the 1960s began their series of international tours. After having reestablished the tradition of Dhrupad on firm grounds in the soil of India they took the mission of spreading it throughout the world. In 1961 they extensively toured through USSR and in 1964 they visited Japan. It was in Japan that the eminent musicologist and the then director of UNESCO Dr. Alain Danielou came across the Dagar Brothers and was mesmerized by their music. It was he who organized the first Europe tour of the Dagar Brothers. Moinuddin and Aminuddin created history by becoming the first ever Indian artists to perform in Berlin, Venice and Paris at the UNESCO international festivals. Aminuddin later recounted to his disciples that after they had finished performing in Berlin's Candle Hall a storm of claps and ovations rose from the audience as mighty as a huge sea breaking into waves. The European press acclaimed them as the foremost musicians of India and whereas they had went to give three performances they ended up giving thirty in a span of nine weeks. A review of their performance published in Le Monde of Paris dated 17th November 1964 perhaps best expresses the mood of the western audience: “...we will remain under the deep impression of an art of such greatness and intensity that... we feel touched and moved to the deepest of our being.” 


Merely two years after this international triumph of the two Dagar brothers Moinuddin passed away on 24th May 1966. This was a great set back in Aminuddin’s life. Moinuddin had been to him not only an elder brother but also a surrogate father and a guide whom he referred through out his life as his ‘mahaguru’— that is the greatest of his gurus. Thus, with the death of Moinuddin, Aminuddin became an orphan for the second time. Even till the day of his death he could not stop his tears when singing a bandish in Rag Desi where Radha says to Krishna: "You have gone to Dwarika and it revels in your glory/But you have left me abandoned and alone." Through this bandish, Radha’s grief for being deserted by Krishna became imbued with Aminuddin’s grief at having lost his elder brother. However, in spite of the physical separation, the spiritual bond between the two brothers were so strong that in his later years Aminuddin was able to incorporate almost all the unique features of his brother’s singing in his own style and the audiences who had earlier listened to Moinuddin were often awe-struck at hearing such a close approximation of his voice in the singing of Aminuddin.


After Moinuddin’s demise, Aminuddin single handedly continued with the task of popularising Dhrupad through out the world. In 1971 Aminuddin toured Europe and USA and gave forty performances which met with great success, winning the heart of millions. In 1976 he was invited to the prestigious Shiraj Festival in Iran and then in 1978 to the Rome Festival. Each of these programmes established more strongly his claim as one of the greatest Dhrupad singers India has ever produced. In 1982 the government of India invited him to take part in the guru-shishya parampara programme with his disciples, in London.


Awards and accolades came from various quarters to Aminuddin acknowledging his enormous contribution to Dhrupad and to the field of Indian music in general. The most important among the awards were the Swami Haridas Award which was presented to him in 1979 by the then honourable vice-president of India Sri B.D. Jatti, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1985 and the Padmabhusan award, one of the highest civilian honours in India, in 1986. He was also honoured with a D. Litt degree by Rabindra Bharati university in 1991 and held the prestigious position of Producer Emiritus of All India Radio and Doordarshan between 1986-1989. 


In the last year of his life Moinuddin had given his brother the permission to shift base to Kolkata where Aminuddin was invited by the famous industrialist Sri B.K. Birla to join Birla Academy Swar Sangam as its founder Principal. Kolkata with its vibrant cultural life suited Aminuddin perfectly and he made it his home for the rest of his life. It is in this city that he was able to found a Dhrupad institute that would fulfill his dreams to propagate Dhrupad among the younger generation. He named it Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram in the memory of his elder brother. This institute stands today as the proud legacy bearer of Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar carrying aloft the beacon of Dhrupad music in all its resplendent glory. With the demise of Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar on 28th December 2000 an era came to an end. Though his physical body is no more here, yet his memory will live on forever through the music of Dhrupad to which he has so richly contributed.

unceremoniously snipped from the Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram here

Dagar Brothers  • Nasir Mohinuddin Dagar, Nasir Aminuddin Dagar

(also known as the Senior Dagar Brothers)

Ustad Moinuddin Khan and Aminuddin Khan, sons of the late Ustad Nasiruddin Khan, the doyen of the Dhrupad style, are better known as Dagar Brothers in the music world. At a very early age they were initiated into the art by their father. After the untimely demise of the latter, their uncles took over the young boys' interrupted tutelage and groomed and shaped them as able exponents of the Dhrupad and Dhamar styles. Dhrupad and Dhamar are very difficult to master and hence their exponents are very very few. These styles demand a vigorous voice and highly imaginative but massive mode of utterance and expression. Both brothers have proved to be most eminently suited for the exposition of these styles in the traditional manner.

The Dagar Brothers enjoy an international reputation, having travelled extensively both in the West and in the East, as cultural ambassadors of India. For several years they were on the staff of the Bharateeya Kala Kendra which is run by the Sangeet Natak Akademy, Delhi to impart tuition in classical music.



Side One • Alap — Raga Darbari Kanada.


Tradition demands that before the rhythmic rendering of a Dhrupad or a Dhamar, a complete and comprehensive picture of the Raga is woven with slow and ponderous movements from note to note. This side is entirely devoted to such an elaborate exploration of Raga Darbari Kanada and both the brothers share equal honours for building up an enchanting euphonious structure within the framework of the Raga.

Raga Darbari Kanada is a night melody. It has a very sublime mood and its exposition is usually full of majesty and grandeur.


Side Two • Dhamar — Raga Darbari Kanada, Dhrupad — Raga Adana



This side opens with a Dhamar piece. Usually in a concert a Dhamar is sung after a Dhrupad. But since the composition of Dhamar is in the same Raga as is featured on Side One, i.e. Darbari Kanada, the maestros have preferred to render it as the first item on this side. The performance is confined to a rhythmic cycle of 14 beats known as 'Dhamar Tala'.


This is followed by a Dhrupad in Raga Adana. which is an immensely popular night melody. It has a lively character and the performance is mostly confined to the higher notes of the octave. The rhythm cycle of this composition consists of 12 beats. This rhythm is particularly apt for the accompaniment of a Dhrupad and hence it bears the name of Dhrupad Tala.

The rhythm accompaniment on Mridanga, an oval shaped percussion instrument, is provided by Mr. S. V. Patwardhan, a reputed master of this instrument. The entire performance is marked by melodic and rhythmic jugglery created by the most fascinating mathematical combinations employed both by the singers and the percussion player vying good-humouredly with each other and displaying their virtuosity and proficiency.

equally snipped, but from the back of the record sleeve.

Music ▼ + (MOAE 135)




Music ▼ + (EALP 1291)

Third chance and possibly the best one
is thanks to Tawfiq at the Oriental Traditional Music blog, where we can also consult a French EMI Pathé Marconi pressing of the same thing. Do yourself a good service and take a gander here !