| Dhun |
| In modern India, instrumentalists are increasingly turning to folk materials for musical inspiration. One way of describing the use of these materials in performance is simply to describe them as dhun [Hindustani "tune"]. However, classical performances of dhuns are never the strophic vehicles for text they are in rural contexts. Instead, the performance of a dhun is more a vehicle for the exploration of and creation of a new rāg. Essentially, performers of dhun are taking a well-known melody and treating it like a rāg- establishing an āroh and avroh, a vādi, and pakad. |
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| Selected Recording |
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| "Pahāri
Dhun" performed by Ravi Shankar (sitar) and Alla
Rakha (tabla). Source: Sound of the Sitar (World Pacific
Records WPS-21434). |
| Pandit Ravi Shankar (b. 1920) is arguably the best-known musician of the Hindustani sangit paddhati in the West. One of the hallmarks of his style is the rāga-like interpretations he gives to melodies from regional traditions. Rāg Pahādi is particularly associated with him. |
| Ravi Shankar does not come from a hereditary musician family. His father was a diplomat who spent much of his time in Europe and his older brother, Uday, took up art but was drawn to dance, particularly after the famous balerina, Anna Pavlova selected him as a dancer for one of her orientalist creations. Uday's Indian flavored modern dance depended upon Indian music for its success. The musician he attracted to accompany him in his Parisian performances was Ustad Allaudin Khan, the father of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The young Ravi Shankar learned much of his stage sense from his brother and his music from Ustad Allaudin Khan. |
| Ravi Shankar relied upon Ustad Alla Rakha Khan (1919-2000) as a drummer for much of their professional careers. Alla Rakha will perhaps be best-remembered for bringing tablā performance into the electronic age, experimenting with microphone placement and what can be accomplished on the drums with the aid of amplification. Nevertheless, as the senior representative of the Punjabi gharāna his complex compositions and sophisticated presentations have helped establish quality benchmarks for all tablā performers. His son, Zakir Hussain (see earlier recording), carries on the tradition. |
| Pahāri is a popular rāg which calls for a decidely light treatment and which musicians generally describe as originating in folk songs from the mountains of the north. This performance combines qualities associated with regional song traditions with conceits characteristic of classical music (e.g., ālāp / medium-tempo tāl / fast-tempo tāl). |
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| RAG PAHARI |
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| Bhatkhande (1969, 5:235-237) describes Rāga Pahāri as originating in Bilāval thāt with sadaj as its vādi and pañcam as its samvādi. He also observes that performers should avoid madhyama and nisād and that the rāg is best when focused in the lower and middle registers (mandra and madhya saptaks). |
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| The tāl in which the first part of this performance is set is Kaherawā, a very popular 8-beat time cycle. |
| Kaherawa Tāl |
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| Performance Organization |