music vocalists: genius Middle-Eastern music
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Sabri Moudallal — Great Voice of Syria
I know very little about this music, but from the moment I first heard Sabri Moudallal sing I was transfixed. His voice production is completely embodied, and age has not withered nor custom staled his infinite variety. What a magnificent voice.
The former muezzin of the Great Mosque at Alleppo, Syria, he was born in 1919 and died in 2006.
Born in Aleppo in 1918, highly esteemed by native Aleppians but scarcely known beyond the city limits, he has almost always lived outside the ” star system “. His talent was revealed relatively late on his life, from the seventies on, when he gave a series of concerts in Paris with his group of the time, a vocal quartet known as ” The Muezzins of Aleppo “. Ever since then he has received constant requests from abroad, has been appointed principal muezzin of the city and was even decorated in 1996 by Farouk Hosni, the Egyptian Minister of Culture.
Uncategorized: 78 rpm discs bansuri genius
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Kumar Birendra Narayan
Here is a beautiful pair of bansuri performances by Kumar Birendra Narayan, whom I gather was an important instrumentalist in Bengali light and film music, thanks to an en passant mention by Durbadal Chattopadhyay:
Since my father was a musician, many eminent personalities visited our place. He also had an orchestra of which I was the monitor. I started taking music lessons from several people in instruments like the banjo, piano and violin. Musicians like Kumar Birendra Narayan (flute), who accompanied SD Burman on numerous Bangla songs, AS Dubey and others were there. I learnt the violin from my father. Then I took lessons in classical music under the baton of Professor Robin Ghosh…
Link
He has beautiful classical chops; these are very attractive and lilting performances. Enjoy!
Raga “Pradeep” (Patdeep)
Thumri
India Indian music music: 78 rpm discs genius shehnai
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: The Genius of Bismillah Khan
Bismillah Khan dominated the music world of the twentieth century. A prodigious improviser with masterful technique, he stood head and shoulders above other shehnai players, and was beyond any doubt one of the towering figures in all world music. Here are four sides that showcase his mastery. Enjoy:
Raga Jaunpuri:
Raga Hansnarayani:
Raga Basant Bahar
Dhun
India Indian music music vocalists: 78 rpm discs genius
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: The Insouciant Virtuosity of Master Vasant
Not a lot is known about Master Vasant of Surat. His full name was Vasant Amrut, and like many of the vocalists from those days, he was affiliated with the film industry:
In 1931, the Indian Art Production, Bombay, produced a film titled Farebi Jaal (Trapped) directed by M. Bhavnani.Though the name of the music director was not given but Master Vasant has been credited for the lyrics. Of the six songs in this film, Durga Khote and Master Vasant sang three each. [Ref: Hindi film geet kosh, vol.1, (1931-40), by Harminder Singh Hamraaz, 1988, page 15]. Around 1930, Master Vasant Amrut (of Surat) had cut two records: HMV P 13474 and P 13542. Gramophone Company released these records on black label in February 1931 and November 1931 respectively. Of these four songs, three are identical in the list of the songs of this film. It appears that these records were directly used in the film. It is not clear on whom the songs sung by Master Vasant Amrut were picturised. Thus, Master Vasant Amrut of Surat, could then be the first playback singer of Hindi film songs.
His singing is straightforward Gwalior gayaki — but done with nonchalance, aplomb and incredible virtuosity. What a delight.
Raga Nat Bihag – “Jhan jhan jhan paayal baaje”
Raga Patdeep – “Dhan dhan baaje”
Raga Purvi – “Bhaj mangal Shyaam”
Raga Durga – “Phul rahi belariyaa”
Ghazal – “Usne kahaa hasti hai teri”
Misra Ghazal – “Ham hai bande ishq ke”
India Indian music music vocalists: 78 rpm discs bhajan genius Marathi bhavgeet
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Miss Gohar of Bijapur (Gauhar Karnataki)
Miss Gohar of Bijapur sings two Marathi devotional songs. Her voice is terrific, her delivery heartfelt, her intonation spot-on, her melismatic technique top-notch. What’s not to like?
Wikipedia notes that:
There were four singing contemporaries of Gauhar Jaan with first names pronounced the same way as hers and sometimes spelled in English in different ways:
– Gauhar Jan of Patiala;
– Miss Gohar, who was associated with Parsi Theatrical Company in Bombay (Mumbai);
– Gohar Mamajiwala, a singer actress who was associated with and mistress of Sardar Chandulal Shah of Ranjit Films (studio), Bombay; and
– Gohar Bai Karnataki of Bijapur.
I believe we are listening to the last-listed of these luminaries.
She was a fairly prominent name in Hindi Films in the ’30s, acting, composing and singing songs, most/all of which were never released on 78s and are probably lost for ever. Her sister
Amirbai’s name is far more famous and many brilliant songs sung by Amirbai are easily available today. Before her most prolific years in the ’40s, Amirbai sometimes sang under the name ‘Amir Jan’. Gauharbai’s name appears as ‘Gauhar of Bijapur’ in the Hindi Film Geet Kosh pages. Gauhar was devoted to Bal Gandharva; BG left his family to live with her. There were whispers around 1950 that Gauhar, whom BG used to call ‘Baba’, had cast an evil spell on Narayanrao Bal Gandharva, whose surname was ‘Rajhans’. The Gauhar
episode in BG’s life has been treated at some length in Ravindra Pinge’s beautiful article on BG, titled ‘Chandraast’ and included in the book ‘TuShaar aaNi Taare’. Whatever manipulations she may have resorted to, even her detractors concede that her devotion to Bal Gandharva’s style of singing was genuine. It is not surprising that many of her 78s are of Marathi songs sung in BG’s style.
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Afaghaachi sansaar
Satata vimal bhaj nama
India music vocalists: 78 rpm discs African music genius
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Swahili Song by Sitti Binti Saad
I was looking through stacks of 78s in Chor Bazaar during a Mumbai visit in the late 1990s when this one showed up under my fingers.
Always on the lookout for anomalies, I was delighted to find this double-sided recording of a Swahili song. Turns out the singer is really terrific; a little bit of searching under her name yields quite a lot of information about someone who was quite an important figure in world music in the first half of the twentieth century.
Sheikh Abdullah Amur Suleiman has more, in a charming biography on the Zanzibar facebook page:
With a characteristic and gifted voice, Siti binti Saad rose to a position of national pride as the songstress of her day. She was the first East African woman to have her voice recorded on discs for the purpose of entertaining and promoting the Swahili language and creating a commercial enterprise out of those records.
Those memorable love songs are still in the hearts of many admirers who pass them on to the next generation. Siti, as she was commonly known, sang in Swahili. She sang at the palace, wedding parties and other public functions.
Siti could also sing in Arabic and Hindustani. When the monsoon dhows from Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Southern Arabia visited here in those days she used to be fully booked with singing appointments to entertain the captains and crews of the dhows.
Elmughani Shahir Sitti Binti Saad (with Chorus):
“Riala Yashami Haisemi Uwongo”
India Indian music music vocalists: 78 rpm discs genius
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Mr. Vishnupant Pagnis
Vishnupant Pagnis was one of the great voices of Marathi theater and early film. As these two recordings show, he was a hell of a singer.
Vishnupant Pagnis was an actor in Marathi theatre. At the age of 10 he joined Janubhau Nimkar`s Swadesh Hitachintak Natak Mandali in Kolhapur as an actor of female roles. His portrayals of Deval`s Sharada and Shakuntala in command performances for Shahu Maharaja won him popularity. He gained fame for creating the heroines of Warerkar`s first play Kunjavihari or `Wanderer in Gardens` in 1908 and Govindrao Tembe`s Shivraj Natak Mandali production in Hindi of Manishankar Trivedi`s Siddha-sansar or `Successful Life` in 1916.
The style of the celebrated Gujarati female impersonator, Jaishankar Sundari, is said to have influenced him. He appeared in Warerkar`s early silent film, Poona Raided in 1924. After his Sangitnatak career flagged, he taught music in a municipal school. A last-minute casting decision for the eponymous role in the successful movie Sant Tukaram or `Saint Tukaram` in 1936, he went on to play the lead in such“saint` films as Sant Tulsidas in 1939, Narsi Bhagat in 1940, and Mahatma Vidur in 1943, and grew famous as a Kirtan singer. He also headed a short-lived theatre company, Jagchhitradarshak Natak Mandali. Vishnupant Pagnis died in 1943.
He played the lead role in the film “biography” of the saint-poet Tukaram:
Sant Tukaram was also the subject of a biopic, title Sant Tukaram, made in 1936 by V. Damle and S. Fattelal of the Prabhat Film Company, starring Vishnupant Pagnis as the lead, and released on December 12, 1936 at the Central Cinema in Mumbai. The film was a big hit, and broke all previous records by running continuously for 57 weeks.[3] It also had won an award at the 5th Venice International Film Festival in 1937, and still remains a part of film appreciation courses.[4][5][6] It is preserved at the National Film Archive of India.[3]
Wiki
These two performances are from the early years of the twentieth century. The first is the celebrated patriotic song, Vande Mataram:
Vande Mataram (Devanagari: वन्दे मातरम्); Vande Mātaram “I bow to thee, Mother”) is a poem in the 1882 novel Anandamatha by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. It is written in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit.[1] It is a hymn to the goddess Durga, identified as the national personification of India. It came to be considered the “National Song of India”,[2] and it played a part in the Indian independence movement, first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.[3] In 1950, its first two verses were given the official status of “national song” of the Republic of India,[3] distinct from the national anthem of India Jana Gana Mana.
Wiki
Vande Mataram
And here is Patita Deenoduranan, a “Karnataki geet” in Sanskrit:
India Indian music music: 78 rpm discs genius
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Ali Ahmed Hussain – Shehnai
Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain may not be as widely known as the great Shehnai master Bismillah Khan, but he’s an extraordinary player with a beautiful tone and a wonderfully lyrical approach:
Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan of Allahabad, the acknowledged premier shehnai specialist of Eastern India was born in Calcutta on March 21, 1939. His grand-father late Ustad Wazir Ali Khan was the first to demonstrate Indian classical music on shehnai at Buckingham Palace. His father late Ustad Ali Jan Khan and gurus late uncle Ustad Nazir Hussain Khan and late Ustad Imdad Hussain Khan of Benares were also renowned shehnai specialists. He presents shehnai in a soft, subtle and sweet tone enriched with melodious and mellifluous patterns. The purity of raags in his performances is a hallmark of his steadfastness to tradition. He has taught shehnai at Sangeet Research Academy, Calcutta since 1974.
He’s still playing, and he’s got his own website.
Enjoy these two short pieces of light classical music for their lilting melody and graceful improvisations
Kajri
Dadra
India Indian music music: 78 rpm discs genius pakhawaj rhythm tabla
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Ustad Amir Hussain Khan and Pt. Madhavrao Alkutkar
Here is another great set of rhythmic music — a tabla/pakhawaj duet between Ustad Amir Hussain Khan and Pt. Madhavrao Alkutkar. These 78s were part of the group I acquired stateside from another collector who had no interest in Indian music.
The two artists play two different taals side by side. Jhaptaal and Jhampa have the same number of beats (10), while Rupak and Dhamar are 7 and 14 beats respectively. The performances are too short…but brilliant!
Enjoy.
Jhaptaal aur Jhampa
Rupak aur Dhamar
India Indian music music: 78 rpm discs genius pakhawaj rhythmic cycles
by Warren
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78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Pt. Govindrao Burhanpurkar – Pakhawaj
Here is a two-sided performance of Chautaal by the pakhawajiya Govindrao Burhanpurkar. Amazing stuff: