Another romantic evening raga, with six notes; C, D, E flat, G and A.  This scale imparts an unusual flavour because of the A natural and the lack of F.  Although this raga is most often used in Indian popular music, it is rarely played in a classical context.  However, it does seem quite well suited to the Surbahar bacause of its low pitch. 

Raga SHIVRANJANI

This is a romantic evening raga, comprising seven notes, C, E flat, E natural, G, and B flat.  These notes impart a distinctly blues or jazz flavour to the melody line, and as such, is usually one of the easier ragas for Western listeners.
This raga ( and all the subsequent ragas in this selection) starts with a very slow section called the Alap, where each note is introduced and unfolded without rhythm. This is followed seamlessly by the Johrr, where a regular rhythmic pulse is introduced through interplay with the higher pitched Chickari strings.  The Johrr is followed by the Jhala, which is performed in high speed rhythm and brings the piece to a conclusion.

Raga JOG

This is a devotional raga, traditionally played in the early morning, and is considered to be feminine in character.  It uses seven notes; C, C sharp, E flat, F, G, A flat and B flat (note: in Indian music, only F can be sharpened, all others only flattened).  In modern times, it has become the custom to play this raga at any time of day or season and occasionally introduce extra notes such as D natural, F sharp and B natural.


RAGA BHAIRAVI

This is a very old raga, going back at least 2000 years.  The scale is C, E flat, F, A flat, and B flat.  It is always played around midnight and the main note shifts from C to F.  This necessitates retuning the instrument from C-G intervals on the strings to C-F, so when strummed, instead of hearing a perfect fifth, a perfect fourth is heard.  This gives a darker, richer sound: more appropriate to nighttime. 

keithrwilliams

Popular tracks