Raga Yaman

Uday Bhawalkar is a maestro of dhrupad, an ancient Indian classical vocal style, believed to be the world's oldest musical style that has reached us almost completely unchanged. An un-ornamented song-form, it focuses on singing a raga (melodic scale) stripped down to its profoundest radiant core. Starting in the lowest octave that the performer can manage with higher notes brought in slowly and systematically, it gradually builds up to a crescendo. On this album from i dischi di angelica, a label known for releasing classical as well as contemporary music from around the world, Bhawalkar is at his best as he presents Raga Yaman, a very popular evening melody which students of all classical music – vocal and instrumental – are taught as their very first raga. His powerful voice caressing every note, there is a feeling that one hears aspects of the raga that may not be as lucidly discernible in other genres. He is accompanied by percussionist Manik Munde on the pakhawaj, an ancient barrel-shaped drum which produces a deeper tone more suited to this style than the tabla, its better known successor. The album features a full alaap (introduction) followed by a shorter set piece and concludes with an extract from the first track. Any new release of a dhrupad album is an exciting prospect as there are relatively few practitioners of this rare and difficult genre.