New Raga list
Corvin Russell
As John mentioned today, we have been discussing compiling and
publishing a Rag Kosh for 20th century ragas not including in standard
reference works. Owing to his expertise, John will
be the legitimating factor in this work, while I can at
best be credited with enthusiasm and a share of the grunt work.
Of course, anyone else who would like to contribute is welcome.
I think this enterprise will put the net to excellent use
in helping to create a reference of genuine (and hopefully
lasting) musicological value.
The inspiration for this weighty endeavour came from preliminary
discussions (like some which took place on the net) about
ragas composed by, inter alia, Ali Akbar Khansahib and
Nikhil Banerjee.
We thought it might be good to establish a preliminary list
of rags for which we could verify authorship, collect and transcribe
compositions etc. Anecdotes, musicians' comments and so forth would
all be helpful. Eventually the composers' input will be sought.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to limit our collection
to rags for which compositions in a Hindustani genre are known to
exist.
We started with rags created by Ali Akbar Khansahib and Nikhil Da
because both are dear to our hearts, and because Khansahib has been
perhaps the most prolific and successful composer of rags in his
generation. However, any citations would be welcome. Vilayat,
Amir Khan, Salamat Ali, Bhimsen Joshi, Imrat, and many more
have composed rags. A complete list of Allaudin Khan's rags would
also be good, if none exists. Also someone might contribute rags
on CD (like many of Amjad's).
Following are lists for Khansahib and Nikhil Da. Virtually all these
titles are *grace a* John.
AAK
Alam Bhairav, Alamgiri, Alami Kauns, Bhairavi Bhatiyar, Bhup Mand,
Bihagra Bihag, Megh Sarang, Nehru Sarang, Chandranandan, Gauri
Manjari, Nandini, Chandrika, Chitra Gauri, Gandhari Todi (?), Jhinjhat Manjh,
Jhinjhot or Jhinjhat, Jogiya Kalingra (?),
Kafi Barwa (?), Pilu Barwa (?), Khambavati Kanada (?), Lome Nat (?),
Lome Mand (?), Madan Manjari (for his mother), Madhu Malati, Mala,
Malayalam Smruti (also called plain Malayalam), Medhavi(for Tagore),
Pahadi Jhinjhoti, Prabhakali, Shobhavati (?), Tilak Nat (?),
Zilla Kafi Gara (?).
John also believes Khansahib composed one last year called Chandralekha,
for his new baby. Another one, Lajwanti, apparently
created for one of his older daughters, seems to be cited in
Raga Nidhi and has been sung by Mallikarjun, so it's not likely KS's
creation ( though someone might clarify this).
NB
Hem Lalit, Purabi Kalyan, Monomanjari, Chandrakaushiki
Bogus claims, please do not contribute:
Ravi Shankar: Nat Bhairav, Bairagi, Monomanjari, Purabi Kalyan.
There are many which Panditji HAS composed, and these will be listed
with pleasure.
Yours,
Corvin
Arthur Levine
recorded, rather than printed documentation? And the idea is to identify
all rags which were specifically invented by a certain individual and
recorded at least once by that person? Is this a fair description of
what you and John were thinking about?
Another question is: what then? Could you take , say, a fairly
straightforward example (at least in terms of attribution and
performance rules) and produce a sample of the documentation you are
projecting? Would Chandranandan be a good place to start, or is the
rag too complex? What about that "Amirkhani" rag? There must be a few
good candidates for a mock-up.
Further, I suspect the issue of attribution will turn out, in many
cases, to be as contentious as it is critical. One example: in an
interview I did with C.R. Vyas last December, he told me straight out
that he invented Nat bhairav, and went into some detail regarding its
inception. That tape is available for the listening pleasure of anyone
interested. Now, before the protests start, I only ask someone to PROVE
that this statement is untrue. And if you can't, then how do you
propose to address this matter. Perhaps the true measure of an invented raga's
viability is that no-one can any longer remember its history, but
that, after a certain point, it seems "always" to have been there. For
this reason, I suppose, I see no particular need to question Pandit
Vyas's claim.
Art
ChristianAMR
> <<<<Bogus claims, please do not contribute:
> Ravi Shankar: Nat Bhairav, Bairagi, Monomanjari, Purabi Kalyan.
> There are many which Panditji HAS composed, and these will be listed
> with pleasure.