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The Inner Path- Shiv Kumar Sharma & Shaafat Ahmed Khan . |
Recorded at Saptak Festival 2003, Gujarat.
Mixed and Mastered in the U.K. by Derek Roberts of Soundcraft Productions
Shiv Kumar Sharma - Santoor
Shafaat Ahmed Khan - tabla
Raga kirvani
1. alap 10.07
2. jor and jhalla 14.19
3. gat in slow teental 20.40
4. gat in medium teental 8.18
5. gat in fast teental 16.32
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For generations, the sound of the Santoor has been used by the people of Kashmir to echo the vast beauty of its surrounding mountain landscapes. Until Shiv Kumar Sharma came along the Santoor was categorised as a simple folk instrument in India. Prompted by his father and teacher Pandit Umadutt Sharma, he set about re-inventing the Santoor, introducing a series of modifications to increase its tonal range and improve its ability to sustain notes; making it suitable to fulfil the demands of Indian classical music.
The Santoor is part of a larger global family, which includes the Chinese 'Yag Chin' the Eastern European 'Cymbalon', 'Hammered Dulcimer', and Greek 'Santoori'. According to musicologists, the Santoor has evolved from the harp and was previously known by its Sanskrit name 'Shathatantri Veena', or the 'hundred string lute'. Kashmiri music is influenced by its Sufi tradition, being a combination of Indian and Persian cultures and thus the Shathatantri Veena came to be known by its Persian name 'Santoor', which literally means 'one hundred strains'.
Shiv Kumar Sharma has been able to adapt all the major Indian ragas, and some lesser known ones, onto his eighty seven stringed Santoor despite initial scepticism from the critics who at first doubted the instrument's capacity to express the subtler melodic nuances of classical music. Over the last forty years he has captured the hearts of millions and successfully established the Santoor at the heart of Indian classical music culture.
Shiv Kumar Sharma's contribution to modern Indian music is incalculable, composing music for some of India's most popular films. Over the years, his collaborations with masters like Hariprasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain have provided memorable moments for Indian music connoisseurs. Many of India's aspiring young Santoor maestro's have benefited from his teaching including his son Rahul, with whom he has performed several duets. At the beginning of the twenty first century, Shiv Kumar Sharma still remains the musician that all young Santoor players aspire to.
Raga Kirvani is a favourite with Indian audiences, and has been successfully absorbed into North India from the Carnatic South Indian music system. The two musical traditions share the same roots, but have developed separately since the thirteenth century, when the northern part of India was invaded by the Moghuls from Persia through Afghanistan.
Raga Kirvani is most conducive to the temperament the Santoor, expressing a sense of yearning in the slower tempo, while taking on a more romantic, lighter mood in faster tempo. Although all Indian ragas are associated with specific emotions, such as pathos and love etc., the intention of the artist is to transcend these basic emotions and transport the listener to experience a state of bliss. For Shiv Kumar Shama, music is a means of spiritual exploration through which he strives to create a mood of meditation for self-realisation. The music is not pre-conceived or pre-written. Guided by imagination and skill, the artist improvises freely, within the framework of the rules governing the raga.
This performance follows the traditional pattern of presentation for North Indian Classical Music, beginning with the slow, meditative Alap. The alap (track 1) is a gentle unfolding of the raga without the restrictions of meter. The Alap itself is divided into three distinct parts, Alap, Jor and Jhalla, through which the depth of imagination and creative musicality of the performer is revealed. The Jor section (track 2) is marked by the introduction of a gentle rhythmic pulse, which gains pace and intensity concluding with the lively Jhalla. The first composition (track 3), or gat, is played to a slow, fixed rhythmic cycle of sixteen beats called teental, provided by the tabla. Shafaat Ahmed Khan is one of the most popular tabla accompanists in India. Music is in his blood, starting his tabla training with his father Ustad Chamma Khan before he even could walk. He is regarded as a maestro of the Delhi gharana, the most influential of the six distinct styles of tabla playing in India. Throughout the performance, the tabla skilfully echoes the complex rhythmic phrases of the Santoor. A medium tempo composition (track 4), leads into a lively fast tempo incorporating a stream of flowing improvisations for the climactic jhalla section (track 5). The recital concludes with a beautifully crafted musical phrase repeated three times (tehai) played in perfect unison with the tabla.
John Ball
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