Selected Recording |
| Ali Akbar Khan (sarod)
with Mahapurush Misra (tablā), The 80 Minute Rāga: Rāg
Kānara Prakaar [Rāg DarbārīKānara]; ālāp, jor, and jhāla and gats
in vilambit and madhya lay Tīntāl, drut lay Ektāl, and drut lay Tīntāl (Connoisseur Society CS 2012). |
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Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009) was one of the best-known musicians in India and traced his family
history to none other than the illustrious Mian Tansen. He gave
his first public performance at the age of fourteen and was a court
musician to the Maharaja of Jodhpur. His father, Padmabibhusahan
Ustad Allaudin Khan, pioneered the use of the sarod and,
in his turn, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan has made the sarod a fixture
of the north Indian musical scene. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan composed a number of new ragas as well as a maintaining a career as a performer
of traditional repertoire. In 1968, he founded the Ali Akbar College
of Music in San Raphael, California. |
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| Mahapurush
Misra (1932-1987) was born in Bihar and was one of the
most active drummers of the 1960s and an exponent of the Benares
style of tablā drumming. Very few recordings of
him exist, but he could be a spectacular player. |
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| PERFORMANCE
STRUCTURE |
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| Notes on Performance |
| ālāp:
The opening ālāp is of a relatively brief type called a svarvistār ālāp in which the various ranges of the rāg are explored in a rather quick fashion. |
| gat: The gat is a modified Masitkhāni gat (see the previous listening example
for information on gat). |
| The transition from vilambit-lay tintal to madhya-lay tintal is gradual. The
entire performance is a series graduated tempo increases. |
| A momentary break separates
the madhya-lay tintāl section from the drut-lay ektāl section. The drummer stops and Ali Akbar Khan begins
a new gat on the sarod. |
| The transition from drut-lay ektāl to atidrut-lay tīntāl is
made through a section called sawāl-jawāb ("question-answer")
in which the sarod plays a musical phrase and the tablā imitates. The phrases get gradually shorter and shorter. When the exchanges
end, the performers play a very fast version of tīntāl and conclude with long unison tihā'ī (cakradār paran or tihā'ī). |
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| Rag Darbari Kanada |
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| This rag is said to
have been composed by Mian Tansen for performances for the Moghul emperor,
Akbar. It is described as a late evening rag (9 P.M. to Midnight). Vadi: risabh. Samvadi: pañcam. Bhatkhande
claims that it's best ranges are the mandra and madhya sthans.
Furthermore, komal gandhar is commonly treated with an andolan (slow tremolo) and in descent. |
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| Rag Darbara Kanada
(Masitkhani gat) |
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