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THE ARTIST

Ravi Shankar, Born in 1920, at Benares, the seat of Hindu Culture, Ravi Shankar left his home soon, contrary to the orthodox ideals then prevailing, and joined his brother, Uday Shankar, for a long spell of activities abroad. It was in his brother’s troupe that he began his career of music and dance.

In his travels he had the opportunity of hearing the West’s great music. His consequent understanding and respect for Western music have greatly helped in his unique success in interpreting the highly emotional and complex gamut of Indian music to Western audiences.

On his return to India, his craving for classical music led him to Ustad Allauddin Khan, one of the greatest living musicians. After years of rigorous training in the technique of sitar and music in general, he started anew as a classical soloist and soon established himself in the front rank of young musicians. Richer with the foundation of classical values, he started experiments in orchestrating Indian music on a hitherto unattempted scale, and successfully founded, composed for, and conducted the National Orchestra at All India Radio. He was the first classical musician to set a pattern of creative composition and orchestration, and also conducted his own works.

THE MUSIC

SIDE ONE

RAGA HAMSADHWANI: A pentatonic Raga in a major scale which omits the “fourth” and “sixth”. It is more popular in South India where the musicians usually begin a performance with this raga. The main theme or the Gat that Ravi Shankar plays is his own composition and is Rupak-Tal of seven beats.

DHUN KAFI: Kafi is a popular Raga of the Spring depicting principally the “mood picture” of Lord Krishna, the Love God, making merry with lovely gopinis (Milkmaids) in the “Holi” season (the color festival). The Dhun is a medium Tin-tal (16) followed by a fast Gat also in Tin-Tal (16).

SIDE TWO

RAGA RAMKALI: A morning Raga depicting principally the moods of devotion. It uses the “minor second’ and the “minor sixth” and often the “augmented fourth”. This recorded pice is a shortened from a concert performance that Ravi Shankar would normally give to and Indian audience lasting about two hours, demonstrating all the movements of solo-playing, i.e. Alap, Jor, Jhala as well as slow, medium and fast “gats” accompanied by the Tabla. The “gats” played here are in Tin-Tal (16).

THE INSTRUMENTS

SITAR: The most popular stringed instrument of India. It has existed there in its present form for approximately seven hundred years. Fashioned from seasoned gourds and teakwood, it has a track of twenty metal frets and six or seven main playing strings above them, and thirteen sympathetic resonating strings. The sympathetic strings are also strummed upon occasion with the little finger of the right hand inserted in the main strings. The instrument is tuned to the Raga being played and the main strings are plucked by a wire plectrum worn on the index finger of the right hand.

TABLA: The most popular two-piece drum of India. The right hand drum (the Tabla) is tuned to the tonic, dominant or sub-dominant, and  often might be returned with the tuning hammer during a performance. The left hand drum (the Banya) acts as the bass drum and is capable of many tones which can be varied by degree of pressure from the base of the left palm.

Tamboura: A four or five stringed instrument which gives an essential drone background to all Indian music. It is also tuned to the Raga, and emphasizes the tonic and dominant or the sub-dominant.