13 March 2013

I will be live-tweeting track titles and interesting musical moments @vonwichert.

Set #1 - 8:00am - 8:45am

1. Raga Malkauns
24:43
(Scale: C Eb F Ab Bb. Emphasized note: F. Totally omitted note: G! Play time: Late night.

"It has been said that Malkauns is a raga for becoming a complete human being. Though simple in structure, it expresses the extraordinary state of being, particularly being human, an incarnation where the heavenly and earthly qualities converge" (sitarist Amit Chatterjee).

Malkauns is kinda spooky. We should play it in dry ice smoke. The Raga Guide says "superstitious musicians describe it as a raga with supernatural powers, and some believe that it can attract evil spirits". Who said that personal growth was a walk in the park?)

Kohlberg's stages of moral development, anyone? Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg suggested individuals pass through six (maybe seven) stages of moral development, from "blind egoism" through to "morality of cosmic orientation". Can music be your guide through these levels of being?)

2. Raga Bhairavi/Raga Sagar
19:24
(Scale: C Db Eb F G Ab Bb aka the Phrygian mode. Raga traditionally performed in light classical style with lots of flexibility as concluding piece in concerts. This concludes the first set.)

Tracks 1-2
Zarin Daruwala - sarod, Vibhav Nageshkar - tabla, Sujan Salkar & Ram Pratham - tanpuras
Ornate Strings: Sarod
Gramophone Company of India, CD-PSLP 5370

Set #2 - 8:45am - 10:00am

3. Raga Jaijaivanti (rec. 1999)
Asad Ali Khan - rudra vina, Mohan Shyam Sharma - pakhavaj [double-sided drum], Zaki Haider - tanpura
Nimbus Records, NI 5601
76:50
(Now for something very serious, an old version of Jaijaivanti. Scale: major scale, with Bb in descending passages. Emphasized notes: D and G. Play time: Late night. The rudra vina is striking in its low register, resonating with the gonads to an extraordinary degree. You'll want to listen to this over loudspeakers, not earphones. This performance is the North Indian equivalent of a late Beethoven string quartet.)

Set #3 - 10:00am - 11:00am

4. Raga Piloo
Nikhil Banerjee - sitar, Anindo Chatterjee - tabla, Ratan Mukherjee - tanpura
Audiorec Classics, 766032 1048-2
54:45
(A light classical raga. Scale: "It is a difficult raga to describe in technical terms, because it defies reduction to a scale or a handful of 'rules': Piloo resembles more a collection of common phrases or motifs....")

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