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MUSIC: MUSINGS
REVERBERATIONS
Coming into their Own
The trouble with
an ancient yet living tradition is that it tends to cling on to the aged,
quite ignoring the maturing of contemporary talent. Invariably in Indian
classical music, masters are only acknowledged late in their life and
only when the pandits and ustads of the past generation have passed away
from the scene. While we fawn on young prodigies and venerate old masters,
we tend to undermine artists in the period of their prime productivity.
It is thus of much significance that Music Today
has now expanded its Maestro's Choice series by including new names in
the august company.
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Maestro's
Choice,
Music Today; Rs 75
Shubha Mudgal, Ulhas Kashalkar, Veena Sahasrabuddhe |
All the three voices here are well known to lovers
of music as having made their mark on the classical concert circuit for
the past many years. Their inclusion here is their final anointment, as
it were.
Also, despite widely differing individual temperaments
and musical articulation they do share some commonalities. All three,
for example, have been trained in the basics of the old gayaki (style)
of the Gwalior school and then gone on to assimilate diverse influences
from consciously chosen sources.
In fact, the secondary sources that inform the
classicism of each of these three vocalists are interesting to note as
the choice itself is a comment on contemporary musical tastes. All three,
interestingly owe a debt-in varying degrees-to the style and/or repertoire
of the Agra and Jaipur schools.
If the memory of Ustad Faiyaz Khan, the Agra
giant, is obliquely evoked by Veena Sahasrabuddhe when she chooses to
sing his famous composition Aaj sajan ghar aaye in raga Jog, it is celebrated
unabashedly by Ulhas Kashalkar in his full-length and masterly handling
of the combination raga Nat-Behag. Although Shubha Mudgal does not present
in this series any composition directly associated with the Agra or Jaipur
gharanas, her handling of rhythmic play and taan patterns do display the
Agra-Jaipur approach.
Not only that, the Agra influence is also evident
in many compositions of that much neglected musical genius of Allahabad,
Pandit Ramashray Jha, from whom both Mudgal and Sahasrabuddhe continue
to learn even today. Both have sung his bandishes in this series, albeit
each in her own manner.
And yet, notwithstanding the references to the
music of past masters each vocalist featured here has established an idiom
and accent of her (and his) own.
In presenting her Yaman and Adana (including
the copybook Punjab composition, Taan Kaptaan), Mudgal capitalises on
her broad, powerful voice, her sense of archetectonic balance and play
of creative acumen. Sahasrabuddhe, in her Abhogi and Jogi, relies on a
carefully cultivated seriousness and the appeal of emotional expression.
With her small toy-like tamburi, she would pass for the Meerabai of the
21st century. And Kashalkar, by presenting absolutely riveting renderings
of Nat-Behag and Bhairav Bahar, proves that after the late Pandit Mallikarjun
Mansur he is the unmistakable king of complex and uncommon ragas.
A series that will definitely be a benchmark
in the careers of these three charismatic maestros of our time.
-S.Kalidas
HOT
TRACK
BUZZ, Steps
(HMV/Saregama; Rs 125)
 Having
inflicted 5,6,7,8 on the world four years ago, Steps-at the time little
more than three pretty girls and two cute guys-are back with their third
album. The numbers song of 1997 marked their entry into the music world.
It rested on their good looks, a video featuring skimpy clothing and a
bunch of silly lyrics. This latest one rests on more. Buzz makes you wonder
why this quintet (names: Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer, Claire Richards,
Lee Latchford Evans and Ian Watkins) have shortchanged themselves so far.
The group has co-written five of the songs on this album, and done a decent
job of it. Their husky voices are shown off to good effect particularly
in the spunky Buzz, the achingly melancholic though familiar melody It's
the way you make me feel and the equally soulfully rendered Summer of
love. This is pure pop, no question about it. But it's not about senseless
words and mindless music. It's about a few good songs, a few that are
forgettable, and the promise of more to come.
-Anna M.M.
Vetticad
Arrivals
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Param Shraddha
(Times Music; Rs 65) Ashit Desai's instrumental tunes based on ragas
to uplift you to a prayerful mood.
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Memories
(Tips; Rs 55)
Fourteen hits by
Noorjehan, including Chandani raaten and Mera laung gawacha. |
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Sahavaadhan
(Music Today; Rs 75)
Jugalbandi of sarangi maestro
Sultan Khan and mandolin man U. Shrinivas. |
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Max
8
(Sony Music; Rs 150)
Recent hits from Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child, Ricky Martin and
Christina Aguilera. |
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