THIS IS A RARE AND USED ITEM. IT IS NOT MANUFACTURED
ANYMORE. NO RETURNS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Doyen of the fraternity of classical artistes in India, Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan is the nation’s foremost classical singer. Indeed he is today a
living legend for two generations of music lovers who have enjoyed his
exquisite music and derived inspiration from it.

 Born at Kasur near Lahore in what is now West Pakistan
at the turn of the century, young Ghulam Ali Khan was initially trained by his
father Ali Bux and later groomed by his uncle Kale Khan. Both his father and
uncle were disciples of the late Ustad Fateh Ali Khan of Patiala in North India
and consequently Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is known to represent the Patiala School
of music.

 Bade Ghulam Ali Khan made his debut in 1939 at an All
India Music conference in Calcutta and three or four years later took the
country by storm at his first public concert in Bombay. Today at the age of
fifty-nine this veteran artiste performs with the same vigor as he did twenty
years ago and his voice with its amazing range moving through three full
octaves with perfect ease and grace has not lost any of its earlier sweetness
and flexibility. This utterly gifted artiste whose artistry represents the fulfillment
of a great tradition in Indian classical music excels at giving expositions
that are not only chaste and pure from a scientific angle but are also
embellished with workmanship of such rare artistic skill that for sheer beauty
they are difficult to match.

 Bade Ghulam Ali Khan has performed extensively in the
Indian sub-continent and was recently commissioned to perform before the King
of Afghanistan in Kabul. On this, his first Long Play record ever, are offered
two exquisite performances which will be a rare musical experience for lovers
of Indian classical music.

THE MUSIC

 SIDE ONE: Raga Goonkali

 Raga Goonkali is essentially a morning melody. It is
sublime in character and is best suited for creating a devotional or prayerful
atmosphere. In this Raga the third and seventh notes vis “Gandhar” and “Nishad”
are dropped both in the ascent (arohan) and in the descent (avrohan). Its
structure therefore is pentatonic, that is, permitting only the remaining five
notes of which the second and the last notes are “komal” or flat.

In this exposition the artiste expounds a composition
invoking the blessings of the creator. He starts the exposition in a slow tempo
confining it to a “Tall” (rhythm) consisting of 16 beats (matras) divided into
four equal parts of four “Matras” each. And in keeping with the sublime mood of
the Raga the artiste goes on to weave such attractive variations and patterns
that help to enhance the beauty of the composition and create the appropriate
atmosphere.

 SIDE TWO: Raga Malkauns

 This Raga is usually expounded in the night. Like Raga
Goonkali appearing on the other side Malkauns too is pentatonic in structure.
It permits only five notes both in ascent and descent omitting the 2^nd
and the 5^th. The mood of this Raga is romantic and the exposition
can be either happy or sad depending upon the performing artiste’s mental
state.

 The slow moving exposition in the first half of this
side is confined to a “Taal” (rhythm) consisting of 14 beats divided into two
equal parts of 7 beats each and is known as “Jhoomra”. After establishing the
character of the Raga with the help of varied type of Alaps, the artiste goes
over a faster melody in Teental consisting of 16 equal beats and the amazing
range and flexibility of the artiste’s voice are clearly discernible in the
intricate and picturesque patterns in the fast tempo.

Artists:

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (Vocal)

Tracks:

SIDE ONE: 

Raga Goonkali                   Teentaal                   - Ae Kartar Pooree Karo

SIDE TWO: 

 Raga Malkauns                 Bilampat  in Taal Jhoomra          - Eree Kab Avey Sajan

Raga Malkauns                 Drut Teentaal                                    - Ab Yahi
Bheda Hota