Dhrupad vocal Gurupath-A tribute to
Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar by Gundecha Brothers
This unique recording introduces a jugalbadi(duet) of vocal and intrumental music in the ancient Dhrupad tradition as performed by students of the late Zia Mohiuddin Dagar,who himself was both an outstanding exponent of the rudra vina-the oldest stringed instrument of India and an accomplished singer.
In this CD,his students , Pandit Pushpraj Koshti(on surbahar-a bass chordphone with a quality of sound similar to rudra vina,but with a construction similar to the sitar)and the Gundecha brothers(in Dhrupad vocal)pay tribute to him in performanceof Rag Bhoopali, Bhoopali is a pentatonic raga which in western terms would be the major scale(all notes natural,with no accidentals),with the fourth and the seventh omitted.In Indiannotation, that would be sa re ga pa dha sa,and in western solfege, do re me sol la do.The performance progress in melodic improvisation through a pure alap(in which there is virtually no pulse), through a jor(in which a slow pulse is introduced), and jhala(in which the rhythmic element comes to dominate over the melody).This is followed by a famous Dhrupad devotional composition, Tu hi soorya, Tu hi chandra-you are the sun, you are the moon in a rhythmic cycle of tweleve beats called chautaal and composition Shankar Sut Ganesh(a prayer of lord Ganesh)in the 10 beat cycle called Usool-e-faqta.
This singular performance is in effect a double duet:on the one hand, a vocal collaboration between the two Gundecha brothers, whose different vocal qualities complement one another in an otherwise unified improvisational progression, this dual vocal performance unfolds, parallel to the continuing improvisation with the surbahar, into yet another creative dimension. What is remarkable is the extraordinary intuitive understanding shared by these outstanding musicians, formed on the basis of their common educational heritage under the guidance of their late teacher, the eminent Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.
Dhrupad in Chautal -
Tu hi soorya tu hi chandra - 24:00
Dhrupad in Usool-e-faqta
- Shankar Sut Ganesh - 12:28
