Artist/s: Ustad Aashish Khan & Ustad Zakir Hussain
Album: Golden Strings of the Sarode
Label: Music Today/Moment Records
Catalog Number: CD A 06166
Source: Factory Pressed Silver CD
Package: Jewel Case
Recording Year/s: 2005
CD release Year: 2007
Review: A unique co-production with Meyer Sound, this extraordinary CD presents Aashish Khan, one of the foremost sarodists of our time. The eldest son of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, he here presents both rare and popular raags, described in his own words in authentic and moving liner notes. He is joined by his musical colleague Zakir Hussain, with whom he has enjoyed 30 years of making music. Moment Records is proud to present this audiophile-quality recording.
CD Notes: "Raag Bhimpalashri (or Bhimpalasi) is an afternoon raag. The moods of this raag are melancholy and pathos, with a deep meditative and spiritual feeling. This was one ofthe first afternoon raags I received for talim from my guru and grandfather Baba Allauddin Khansahib,I was very, very young when I learned this raag from him,and,although I was too young to understand the feelings of this raag,it was one of my favorite afternoon raags,one which I would practice every afternoon.According to the North Indian tradition, it is necessary to play and practice the raag according to their fixed timings and season. I learned two gats (compositions) in this raag, a vilambit (slow tempo) and Drut (faster tempo) in teental (I6 beats). Even until now, I have never ever heard such beautiful compositions in Raag Bhimpalashri. It uses 5 notes in the ascending and 7 notes in the descending and is a very simple and easy raag to play, as long as you can have the feelings for the raag. The scale is like a Western minor scale,and the feelings are very,very deep and emotional. It keeps coming back to you again and again like an ocean wave. Raag Lalita Gouri,comes in the category of apracha/it (uncommon) raag. It is only played at sunset and is known as Sandhi Prakash Raag,a raag for the evening twilight.The mood of this raag is meditative, tranquil and spiritual. lt is like an offering to God in the evening prayers. The ascending and descending notes are not simple in this raag.Without learning this raag from the right Guru, you will never know the infinite depth and feelings of this raag. It is played at the end of the day when,in lndia,the young cowherders of the village are bringing the cows back home after having brought them to the open field for the day to graze,During this hour ofthe evening, the sun is just setting with its golden colon the dust from the cows’hooves is flying all over: and at home the housewives are lighting their kerosene lamps and their clay cooking stoves with cow dung and dried tree branches,creating a typical village atmosphere of smoke with its familiar aroma. In this kind of surrounding,I grew up with my grandparents, learning my sarode and all the rare raags with rare compositions,These keep reminding me to go back to my childhood once again,and never return from there,evei: The gat which I play in this raag is in the rhythm cycle of jhaptal which is a ten-beat cycle counted 2-3-2-3. Raag Bhairavi, according to my Grandfathers feelings, is an image of a Mother as well as the name of Lord Shivas wife, Parvati.The raag Bhairavi has many names:Shuddha Bhairavi, Mishra Bhairavi, Sindhi Bhairavi or Sindhu Bhairavi. In Shuddha Bhairavi, there are only 7 notes and in other forms it uses all I2 notes.This was one of my first lessons for morning raag and it is a very beautiful raag, although people started playing and singing it in a lighter mood,in a thumri(light classical) style. Usually, it is our North Indian tradition to end the performance with this raag. If there is an all night festival, the only person allowed to perform this raag would be the musician ending the festival. The mood of this raag is very sweet, lyrical, melodious, romantic, longing for the lover In this piece, the melody has been played in the vocal style of thumri in the 6-beat taal, dadra, " – Ustad Aashish Khan.
Music Today: A unique piece of art, ‘Golden Strings of the Sarode’ by Aashish Khan and Zakir Hussain, made its way to the prestigious 49th Annual Grammy Awards this year, in the category of Best Traditional World Music Album, which by itself is an award. The album is a collection of Hindustani classical music performed by the Indian classical greats on sarod and tabla. The three tracks in this album are the afternoon raga Bhimpalashri (or Bhimpalasi), Lalita Gouri- an uncommon raga that is only played at sunset (also known as Sandhi Prakash Raga) and Bhairavi, a morning raga.
Amazon: For this intimate yet scintillating, Grammy-nominated duet, Aashish Khan, son of the legendary Ali Akbar Khan and a brilliant sarode virtuoso, is heard with percussionist, producer, and composer Zakir Hussain, who has not only taken his ancestral tabla drums into the 21st century, but is a noted classicist with an impressive pedigree of his own. His famous father, Ustad Alla Rakha, working with sitar master Ravi Shankar, was largely responsible for bringing Indian classical music to Western ears during the 1960s. Together, the two younger men explore and expand the perimeters of their respective instruments. Invented in the 17th century, the fearsomely demanding sarode (sarod-dhayak-vina in sanskrit) is made of teak wood with a fretless steel fingerboard, resonating goat skin belly, and 25 metal strings variously employed for drone, rhythm, and melody. The term tabla actually refers to a pair of drums; the smaller dayan is played with the right hand while the larger bayan is played with the left. The three raags that make up the recital are, as is typical of this type of music, are associated with different times of day. Bhimpalashri, meant for the afternoon, is gently but not passively melancholy. Lalita Gouri captures the lingering fires of sunset, while Bhairavi is redolent of fragrant night shadows, romantic longing, and the eternal feminine. - By Christina Roden
Track List:
01 - Raag Lalita Gouri - Alap
02 - Raag Bhimpalashree - Gat in Jhaptal
03 - Raag Mishra Bhairavi - Gat in Dadra
Wildstrings Comments: Ustad Aashish Khan & Ustad Zakir Hussian are two of the greatest musicians of their/our time and also the sons of the very famous fathers i.e. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod) and Ustad Alla Rakha (Tabla) respectively. Aashish and Zakir played together for more than 30 years and in this particular album, they played masterfully and IMO, one of the great Indian Classical albums I could recommend to you.
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