All together now...

Massoud Shaari

Christophe Rezai
Journey

2001

Tracks:

01 Presence 10:44
02 Journey 15:47
03 Fervor Of Love 08:50
04 Complaint 14:23
05 Rejoicing 09:1

Personnel:

Massoud Shaari - Setar
Christophe Rezaï - Composer

Darshan Jot Singh Anand - Tabla
Manu Codjia - Electric Guitar

and Reza Asgarzadeh

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Journey is the fruit of collaboration between two musicians, Massoud Shaari, a traditional Iranian musician and a virtuoso of Persian setar and Christophe Rezaï, a French-Iranian composer of European culture.

Journey is introduced under the form of five pieces for Setar evoking four different modalities and therefore four different ambiences of traditional Persian music.

The Indian tabla (played by the Indian Darshan Jotsingh Anand), closely linked to the setar, takes us further to the east towards Indian tradition, which has many common points with Persian music.

Furthermore the accompaniment by classical or contemporary orchestral formations such as Strings, Electric Jazz Guitar, Sound Effects... takes us to the west towards the "European musical tradition" of the 21st century.

Journey is based on five pieces for setar evoking different modalities and ambiences of traditional Persian music. The Indian tabla, closely linked to the setar, takes us further east while classical and contemporary orchestral formations such as strings, electric jazz guitar, sound effects... pay tribute to European musical traditions of the present day.
  

 

Massoud Shaari

Born in 1961 (Tehran, Iran), started playing Santur at the age of 13 and soon his tendency to Setar led him to master Dariush Talai. In 1982 he started practicing Tar with masters Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Bahari, but his vocation for playing Setar became most apparent under the mentorship of master Hossein Alizadeh.

Since the mid 90s and parallel to his musical creation, he is actively teaching Setar and theory of traditional Persian music at the Open University Tehran and his self-established Hamsaz musical center.

So far he has recorded four albums (solos snd duo for setar and tabla). Shaari has also assisted Christophe Rezai in the composition of the Persian part of the "Peace Anthem for the 3rd Millenium" in June 200

link 

 Christophe Rezai

Born in Toulouse, France in 1966, Christophe Rezai studied music (theory, piano and vocals) alongside his college education in hydraulic engineering and marketing. As a composer, he has written the scores of a number of French and Iranian films and documentaries.

A tenor, he co-founded Aria Musica, a group that staged numerous concerts in Iran and India. He further established the Nour Ensemble, whose repertoire focuses on medieval, baroque, Kurdish and Persian vocal music. The Nour Ensemble has been featured in a documentary produced by Arte in 2002 and has performed in numerous concerts in France, Iran, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Korea and Austria. In the summer of 2004, Nour appeared in a second musical documentary, this time filmed at the Babakan Castle in Firouzabad. The arrangements of Journey (2001, Hermes Records) is also among Christophe's musical activities.

In 2003, Rezai won the first prize of the Avignon Film Festival for the best Film Music. Since then, he has concentrated on writing music for films and on developing the Nour Ensemble.

link

 rickdog says:

I absolutely love this recording.  This is contemporary Persian music, simple in orchestration but cinematic in sound.  The main instruments are the setar ... the tabla ...  These ... instruments are accompanied in parts by modern string orchestra, electric guitar and sound effects.  The result is sonically sensual and multi-textured.  For those not familiar with the fantastic contemporary music coming out of Iran then please check out the Hermes record label for consistently high quality releases.

 ♥

  

Le pays des maharajas et du désert...

 

Musiques du Rajasthan
Enregistrement réalisé en Inde par 

Gérard Krémer 

1990

Tracks:

01. Danse Rajpoute, sindhi sarangi (Dholak) - 2:53
02. Solo de flûte double (Satara) - 5:01
03. Chant traditionnel du Marwar (Ravanhata) - 4:12
04. Improvisations sur une guimbarde - 3:36
05. Solo de flûte double II (Satara) - 3:28
06. Musicien du fort de Jodhpur, shanai (Nagara) - 6:09
07. Le Katpuli (Dholak) - 3:03
08. Solo de flûte double III (Satara) - 2:50
09. Danse traditionnelle de Jaisalmer, kamayacha (Dholak) - 3:01
10. Solo de guimbarde - 2:18
11. Chant traditionnel de Khuri, kamayacha (Dholak / Khartal) - 3:17
12. Danse traditionnelle du Rajasthan (Sindhi sarangi) - 2:36
13. Chant traditionnel Manghaniyar, kamayacha (Dholak / Khartal) - 7:02
14. Solo de flûte double IV (Satara) - 3:20
15. Danse de Pushkar (Sindhi sarangi) - 4:14

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 Recorded in Rajasthan/India 

by  

Gerard Kremer in 1983.

In the West of India, Rajastan (the land of the Maharajas) counts a great number of musician who live in communities which can be distinguished from each other origin, social status, repertoire and the instruments they play. The recording included on this disc were made live and are the reflection of all this. The main instruments which can be heard are flutes (sarata), fiddles (kamayacha, sindhi sarangi, ravanhata) ans percussion (morchang or jew's harp, dholak or drum, khartal, nagara).

About the LP 

(11 tracks)

Musique du Rajasthan: “Au Pays Des Maharajas” Descriptive liner notes on the back. Original 1984 French pressing. Recorded in the field by Arion's in house ethno-musicologist Gerard Kremer. Located in the East of India, Rajasthan is a semi-desert kind of place and is one of the biggest states within the Indian continent. This amazing collection sheds some light on the right musical tradition that reigned there, ranging from bewitching double flute tracks, to sarangi styled madness over to traditional chants. Definitely a head bending recording.

  

Folk Instruments of Rajasthan

The Rajasthani musical instruments are essential in making the traditional music more melodious. Simple instruments are used with the songs and they are played with such expertise that the songs sound incomplete without them. Some of these instruments are self-sufficient. They are played individually i.e. without any lyrics. While some of them are made by people who play them others use make them for profit. For travelers Rajasthan offers exotic music that can completely stupefy them. The Rajasthani musical instruments can be classified into Percussion Instruments, Wind Instruments, Autophonic instruments and String Instruments. The materials used to make these are also picked up from day to day life. Today these very instruments are used for creating fusion music as well.

Percussion Instruments

  
The most popular percussion instrument in Rajasthan is the dhol or drum. It is made out of wood. The two ends are kept hollow. These two ends have skin parchment on each side. It is stretched with the help of gut strips or strong cotton strips. The drum is played by hand on one hand and the other with a wooden stick to form the basic rhythm of the folk music of Rajasthan.

The smaller version of the dhol is the dholak. It is played on both sides with hands. Besides these there is the nagara. It consists of two drums made of metal iron or copper. Nagara are traditionally beaten with wooden sticks during marriage ceremonies, processions or other community dances. At the ceremonies the nagara is accompanied by tasha and shehnai. The Dhaf is used especially during holi, the festival of colors. This is a large tambourine consisting of a rim of iron or wood and a skin parchment. It is held in one hand and is played in a definite rhythm with the other hand.

Wind Instruments

The common wind instruments are Shehnai and Flute. Algoza is a double flute, which is played simultaneously. From a desert grass (rangore) a four-holed flute is made. Satara is an assembly of two flutes; one containing holes and in the other holes are absent. Another interesting wind instrument is the widely used by the snake charmers. The sound of this music can fascinate anyone. The snake charmers believe that it has a hypnotic effect. It is popularly known as Been or Poongi. Apart from flutes there are several trumpets that include Bankiya and Nagphani.

Autophonic instruments

The Thali, a Metal Platter and Khartaal are the Rajasthani autophonic instruments. The khartaal is mostly used as backdrop for bhajans (devotional songs). In Rajasthan these are commonly used during the religious ceremonies. They also have historic significance as they would remind the Indians about the Bhakti Movement and Rajasthan was famous for Meerabai and other bhakti saints.

String Instruments

The well-known string instrument of Rajasthan is the Sarangi. This is a multi-stringed instrument that is played by using a bow drawn across the strings and running of fingers on the strings. The modern guitars have probably been modeled upon these. Kamaycha is another popular string instrument. Ravanhatta is also a kind of sarangi. Chautara and Bhapang are the other two kinds of string instruments.

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♥

La Fusion

Sea of Rhythms
Le Bain D'Or
1992

Tracks:

1. Le Bain d'Or, Pt. 1
2. Po Mwin Bondye
3. Le Bain d'Or, Pt. 2
4. Le Loup

Personnel:

From Reunion Island:

Filip Barret: Bass

Danyel Waro: Vocals

From Tamil Nadu:

S.Balachandran: Vocals

A.R.P.Ganesan: Nadaswaram

M.S.Kalyanasundaram: Tavil

G.Muralikrishan:Tabla, Konnokol

V.Muruganandan: Violin

S.Sakthivel:Mridangam

S.Sethuraman: Kanjira

J.Sowrirajan: Morsing

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The somewhat obscure CD by Filip Barrett and Danyel Waro's Sea of Rhythms ensemble, Le Bain d'Or, combines Indian nadaswaram flutes, electric bass, tavil, tabla and mridangam drums with vocals and violin for another example of highly dynamic, melodic music. Again, it was only the music which was present in the room and one needed just a little imagination to sit in the half circle of musicians playing there right in front of us on the floor.

source 

 The essential bastard nature of La Reunion is something that Waro endorses with insistent zeal throughout our various conversations. The island is without doubt a miniature rainbow ‘nation’ with a scrabble-ready collection of richly hued Creole words to describe its various ‘tribes’; kaf (black African, from Arabic kafir meaning ‘unbeliever’), Malbar (anyone of central Asian descent, after the Malbar coast, where the first Indian arrivals on the island came from), yab or ti blan (small time poor white farmer), Malgache (anyone from Madagascar), Komor (anyone from the Comoros), Sinwa (Chinese), Zarabe (Arab or Muslim) and Zoreil (wealthier French landowning or administrative class).  The fact that all these ethnic groups coexist on their tiny island in relative peace, each with their own faiths, rituals, feast days, music and food, at times separate, at times combining and mingling, is astonishing. It reveals a shared sense of belonging and destiny that Danyel Waro holds in deep affection and praises in his music time and again.

source 

 Filip Barret:

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The Nadaswaram

Nadaswaroopam G. Ramesh
Reverberations Vol 3
2006

Tracks:

01. Mallari
02. Sri Chakraraja
03. Govardhana
04. Bhagyada Lakshmi
05. Maname Kanamum
06. Raghupathy
07. Abheri - Fusion
08. Thamarai pootha
09. Nadabindu
10. Brahmamokate
11. Harivarasanam

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Mr.  Nadaswaroopam G. Ramesh is from Chennai, so he knows how to play the Nadaswaram very well. His music is not classical carnatic music. They call it fusion. And I am posting it for the sound of the Nadaswaram which I love. If you like it too go check one of these many classical Indian blogs... : )

  

The nadaswaram, nagaswaram, nadhaswaram or nathaswaram, (Tamil: நாதஸ்வரம்) is one of the most popular classical musical instruments in Tamil Nadu and the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument. It is a wind instrument similar to the North Indian shehnai but much longer, with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal.

In South Indian Hindu culture, the nadaswaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition. It is part of the family of instruments known as mangala vadya (lit. mangala ["auspicious"], vadya ["instrument"]). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil; it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe called the ottu.

Construction

The nadaswaram contains three parts namely, kuzhal, thimiru, and anasu. It is a double reed instrument with a conical bore which gradually enlarges toward the lower end. The top portion has a metal staple (mel anaichu) into which is inserted a small metallic cylinder (kendai) which carries the mouthpiece made of reed. Besides spare reeds, a small ivory or horn needle is attached to the instrument, and used to clear the reed of saliva and other debris and allows free passage of air. A metallic bell (keezh anaichu) forms the bottom end of the instrument.

Traditionally the body of the nadaswaram is made out of a tree called aacha although nowadays bamboo, sandalwood, copper, brass, ebony and ivory are also used. For wooden instruments, old wood is considered the best, and sometimes wood salvaged from demolished old houses is used.

The nadaswaram has seven finger-holes, and five additional holes drilled at the bottom which can be stopped with wax to modify the tone. The nadaswaram has a range of two and a half octaves, similar to the Indian bansuri flute, which also has a similar fingering. Unlike the flute where semi and quarter tones are produced by the partial opening and closing of the finger holes, in the nadaswaram they are produced by adjusting the pressure and strength of the air-flow into the pipe. Due to its intense volume and strength it is largely an outdoor instrument and much more suited for open spaces than indoor concerts.

wiki

and a big hello to Chennai : )

♥

Postcard from India

source

One love...

   

Hari Prasad Chaurasia
"Live Inside Khajuraho"
1999

Tracks:

1. Raga Malaya-marutam 17:34  
2. Raga Pilu 15:44
3. Raga Hamsadhwani 15:00
4. Music Of Joy Based On Raga Vachspati 7:44

  

   

Personnel:

Flute - Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Flute - Rakesh Chaurasia, Rupak Kulkarni
Acoustic Guitar - Jayantilal Gosher
Tabla - Rashid Mustafa
Pakhawaj - Bhavani Shankar

      

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Ragas:  Malayamarutham, Piloo, Hansadhwani, Vachaspati.

  

     

The Flute is the symbol of the Spiritual Call - A call of the Divine Love.

  

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia,
  

the internationally renowned exponent of the bansuri or bamboo flute, surprisingly does not come from a long lineage of flautists. His father was a famous wrestler who had aspirations of his son following in his footsteps.

The younger Chaurasia had an early love of music, however, and by the age of 15 was taking his first steps toward a lifetime as a performer by studying classical vocal with Pandit Raja Ram of Benares.

Soon after, he heard a flute recital by Pandit Bholanath and was so impressed he changed his focus to studying the flute. When he was just 19, he got a job playing for All India Radio, Cuttack, Orissa, and within five years he was transferred to their headquarters in Bombay. There he got the additional exposure of performing in one of India's cultural centers and also studied with Shrimati Annapurna Devi, daughter of Ustaad Allauddin Khan of the Maihar School of Music.

There he established the creative peak of his career, developing a style that was respectful of tradition, yet full of innovation. Over a lifetime of performances, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia has become one of India's most-respected classical musicians, earning several awards, including the National Award of the Sangeet Natak Academy, which he won in 1984.

In 1992, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Konarak Samman. In 1994, he was bestowed the Yash Bharati Sanman and in 2000, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. In the year 2000, he also received the Hafiz Ali Khan Award and the Dinanath Mangeshkar Award. He has collaborated with several western musicians, including John McLaughlin and Jan Gabarek, and has also composed music for a number of Indian films. He has performed throughout the world winning acclaim from varied audiences and fellow musicians including Yehudi Menuhin and Jean Pierre Rampal.

On 1 July, 2008 on the occasion of his 70th Birthday, his official biography "Woodwinds of Change" by Shri Surjit Singh was released by none other than Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Soon after, Panditji was honoured by the Dutch Royal family at a glittering ceremony at Amsterdam. He was conferred the title OFFICER IN THE ORDER OF ORANGE-NASSAU( “officier in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau”) and was honored by Princess Maxima herself.  Pt. Chaurasia has been teaching Indian music at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory for the past 15 years. He is the Artistic Director of the Indian Music department....

source 
  

 more photos
  

♥

Bansuri in Nepal

Sunil Dev

The Music of Sunil Dev
2009

Tracks:

1. Improvisation 1
2. Improvisation 2
3. Improvisation 3
4. Improvisation 4
5. Improvisation 5
6. Improvisation 6
7. Improvisation 7

  

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Sunil Dev Shrestra is a young Nepalese flautist who is now 30 years old. His favourite flute is the bass reed flute (in F). His repertoire is that of Indian classical music. He plays north Indian ragas for traditional festivities and in the thousand-year-old temples of Bakhtapur. His first master and guru was Prem Autari, an internationally renowned Nepalese flautist whose own guru had been the Indian flautist Chaurasia.
    Since then, Sunil has been to France to play at the Nuits de Fourvière festival in Lyon in front of 3,000 people and then in Paris at the Paris Quartier d’été festival. Those who were lucky enough to be there still remember these concerts. At the first, Sunil, who was totally unknown, had an audience of less than a hundred people; by the fifth concert, there were more than a thousand people there. People followed him around like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
    Since then, Sunil has been to Bombay to study for three years with the great master Prasad Chaurasia. Sunil has become a master himself.
    Sunil belongs to the Newar tribe. This tribe is very devout and practises a blend of animism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Sunil performs in temples at the incredibly lively Hindu festivals with his accompanist, Babu, the best tabla player in Nepal.
    What is interesting about these Nepalese musicians is that when they play this music in these places where it has been listened to for centuries, they give a new impetus to Indian music. Their energetic, rustic, sometimes naive performances give it a freshness, an emotion and an immediacy that the masters from Varanasi often lack. Sunil’s work helps us to understand how this north Indian classical music has been able to survive until the present day. Sunil’s music is important because it allows us to arrive, through him, at a better understanding of Hindu polytheism and Indian classical music.
    This is a very rare opportunity to see classical music performed in a traditional context that has not changed for hundreds of years. Raw and original. I went back to Nepal to record a whole album with Sunil.

- Martin Meissonnier -

get the cd here

Martin Meissonnier
  

space

Thank you for the music Arvind and not just for the music :)

♥
  

some more music from the roof :)

♥

Postcard from India

Bansuri

  

Paras Nath
Flute bansuri
2006

Tracks:
        
1. Raga Megh
2. Pahari Dhun
3. Raga desh
4. Raga Gujari Todi
5. Varanasi Folk Tune
6. Light Dhun
7. Raga Madhuvanti
8. Raga Chandra Prabha

 

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The bansuri a bamboo flute is one of the oldest instruments of the Indian sub-continent. And the young Paras Nath is from a dynasty of flautists whose family tradition of dedication to the art of flute playing stretches back four centuries Sublime melodies are inspired by divine love. The Indian flute has always been associated with the God Krishna. The CD opens with the Raga Megh which is played during the monsoon season. At this time the whole of nature quivers and hearts waver between joy and melancholy.

 

***

 

Born in the family of traditional Flute players of Banaras in 1954, pandit ji has learned flute since his very early childhood. He first started receiving his formal training at the age of nine from his father Pt. Shiv Nath Prasad (a renowned flute player) & uncle Pt. Anant Lal (a renowned Shehnai player).

Pt. Amar Nath has inherited his art from his own family tradition (Banaras Gharana) which is nearly four centuries old and which has produced some of the great flutist of India.

Pandit ji has performed in numerous prestigious music conferences in India & Abroad. Namely ICCR, Sangeet Natak Academy, Bharat Cultural Integration Committee, Sahitya Kala Parishad and has won accolades from the Critics of Indian Classical Music. He also has performed many times in National Program of Doordarshan Kendra and Akashawani.

He has performed in many Western Countries and has given numerous solo performances in countries like Holland, West China, Germany, England, Switzerland, U.S.A., Japan, Russia, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Taipei etc.

His CDs have been released in U.S.A., which have made a great impact on the listeners. One of his memorable performances in abroad was in “50 years of Indian Independence Festival” in Kazakhstan held under the auspices of ICCR.

 

♥

Bansuri & Tabla

   

Hariprasad Chaurasia 

&

Zakir Hussain

Venu
1974

Tracks:

1. Rag Ahir Bhairav: Alop And Jor
2. Rag Ahir Bhairav: Slow Gat In Rupak Tal/Fast Gat In Teental

Personnel:

Zakir Hussain (tabla drums),
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia  (bansuri - Indian flute).

  

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.ღ•:*´♥`*:•ღ.

        

♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫
  

Credited to Hariprasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain, this recording by Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead dates from December 1974 and was recorded in Fairfax, CA. It consists of the early morning raga "Ahir Bhairav."

 

Classical flute music from India that is both devotional and romantic. The divine playing of Hariprasad with tabla master Zakir Hussain moves mountains of emotion.

  
This historic concert took place in 1974 (Street Date Nov 10, 1989) at the Stone House (literally a large granite room) in Fairfax, California, and was a youthful collaboration between two true geniuses of Indian classical music.

 

   

Bansuri

 

The Bansuri flute is one of the three original forms of rendering Indian Classical music according to ancient scriptures - Vaani (Vocal), Veena (String) and Venu (Flute). According to Hindu mythology, it is the instrument of Lord Krishna and is thus very popular for playing folk music. The introduction of the flute in modern Indian Classical concerts has been rather recent however, and the late Pandit Pannalal Ghosh has been widely recognized for this achievement.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia further enhanced the bansuri playing style, with his innovative fingering and blowing techniques and took bansuri music to yet higher level.

The Hindustani bansuri flute usually consists of a blowing hole, six fingering holes and one tuning hole (though in some cases, flutes do not have tuning hole). The pitch of the bansuri varies depending on the length and diameter of the bore. The longer the flute, the deeper its pitch. However, longer flutes are also difficult to blow and finger. To balance this tradeoff, most Hindustani bansuri players tend to choose bansuri with pitch E (safed teen) and this flute is approximately 30" long.

Naturally, the bamboo suitable to make bansuri is not available freely. In its entire length, the flute bamboo should not have a node. If you think about it, it is not common to find a bamboo that is thin, straight and yet does not have a node for 30". Such bamboo species are only found in the jungles of Indian states of Assam and Kerala. Before making the flute, the bamboo is seasoned so that the natural resins strengthen it. It is then blocked with a piece of cork or rubber stopper from one end. Holes are then burned into it as drilling holes often breaks the bamboo. The proportions between bamboo length, bore, diameter of each hole and the location of stopper cork are extremely critical for getting the tuning of the bansuri right. Strings are then tied around the bamboo for both decoration and protection.

The Bansuri is a versatile instrument. It can easily produce all basic elements of Hindustani music variation such as meend (glide), gamak, kan. Versatile bansuri players also produce emotions in their music through variations in blowing style.

The Bansuri is a very simple instrument. Unlike string instruments, it does not need tuning once it is tuned by the flute maker. However, as Hariji puts it, it is Krishna's instrument and the Lord has made it deceptively simple. To become adept in the bansuri, one needs many months of practice.

source

♥