Bairagi Bhairav- New raga ?
Krishna G. Hegde
Documentation of new ragas- Bairagi
John & Company:
I thought the matter was clarified quite a while ago that Bairagi Bhairav
(supposedly a denial of credit by Ravi Shankar) is not a new raga, but
Revati of Carnatic music.
Any clarification is appreciated.
Krishna Hegde
Vidyasankar Sundaresan
(Krishna G. Hegde) writes:
-
- Documentation of new ragas- Bairagi
-
- John & Company:
-
- I thought the matter was clarified quite a while ago that Bairagi
Bhairav
- (supposedly a denial of credit by Ravi Shankar) is not a new raga, but
- Revati of Carnatic music.
-
- Any clarification is appreciated.
-
-
- Krishna Hegde
-
Yes, Bairagi Bhairav is nothing but Revati of Carnatic music.
Vidya
Corvin Russell
Two points. 1) If you'll notice, the original posting described this as
a bogus claim, no verification needed. I don't know who originated
this claim, but it's clearly untrue. 2) Bairagi was not even borrowed
from Carnatic music, to my knowledge. It is an old rag with
compositions in the dhrupad tradition.
Corvin
John Campana
First of all, I don't think that we can categorically state that one
Hindustani rAg is a Carnatic rAg. The words "resembles" "is akin to"
are undoubtedly implied. Bairagi is not Revati, therefore. Just listen
to them side by side. The attribution to Ravi Shankarji should be only
limited to, as Raganidhi attests, "popularized". Of course, this can
be also said of many artists who have performed and also recorded it
perhaps even before the maestro. Subbha Rao goes on to mention a
bandish in this rAg: "Naina tore matwar piyarva", one which I have
never heard (Rameshji?), linking it to the broader repertoire of
vocal performance. In the general flexibility of Indian music history,
I wonder what the term "new" really means. With relation to
Bhatkhande, I guess Bairagi is a new rAg since he doesn't include it
in his tomes. I wonder too, how "new" it must have been for the Dagars
who first performed it or recorded it (could you give the discography
for this Corvin?). Perhaps Art can find other sources of documented
instances of this rAg besides Raganidhi and Jaysukhlal Shah and the
Bhairav Ank from Hathras. The latter source also links Bairagi to
Raviji. The plot thickens! We are fortunate, however, that we can
still personally confirm authorship with the musicians. Pt. CR Vyas
did say to Art Levine that he invented Nat-Bhairav. Our task is a
piece of cake.
Seriously though. We feel that created rAgs ought to be documented if
they don't already appear in print, regardless of authorship. After
all, who really invented Malkauns or Marwa; and, who really cares?
John Campana
Arthur Levine
>First of all, I don't think that we can categorically state that one
>Hindustani rAg is a Carnatic rAg. The words "resembles" "is akin to"
>are undoubtedly implied.
I like the term "cognate".
I wonder too, how "new" it must have been for the Dagars
>who first performed it or recorded it (could you give the discography
{for this Corvin?).
Just did some checking in Kinnear
Ali Akbar Khan - 1967
Ravi Shankar - 1967
Rais Khan - 1969
Bismillah Khan (Bairagi bhairav) - 1971
Ummeed Ali Khan - (Bairagi bhairon) 1973
Amanat, Fateh Ali Khan - (Bairagi bhairon) 1976
Munawar Ali Khan - 1980
Ragunath Seth - 1981
Ravi Shankar & orchestra - 1982
Shyamala Bhave - 1982
Charanjit Singh - synthesizer - 1983
I don't get the reference to the Dagar's.
>Perhaps Art can find other sources of documented
>instances of this rAg besides Raganidhi and Jaysukhlal Shah and the
>Bhairav Ank from Hathras.
I can, but I need more time.
CR Vyas
>did say to Art Levine that he invented Nat-Bhairav. Our task is a
>piece of cake.
Doesn't taste like cake to me!
>
>Seriously though. We feel that created rAgs ought to be documented if
>they don't already appear in print, regardless of authorship. After
>all, who really invented Malkauns or Marwa; and, who really cares?
What do you mean when you say "documented"? Performance rules? Can
this be done otherwise than be consulting the performer directly? Do
you think it possible to generate a grammar for a given rag solely on
the basis of recordings (and in many cases, a single recording)? And
to the extent that you consult non-commercial recordings, your
conclusions remain unverifiable, no? And
as far as discography is concerned, Kinnear has pretty much done that.
I guess I'm still having trouble grasping the nature of this project.
After you've compiled a list, then ...?
Yours truly,
Art
John Campana
>In article <1993May6....@epas.toronto.edu> jcam...@epas.utoronto.ca (John Campana) writes:
>>First of all, I don't think that we can categorically state that one
>>Hindustani rAg is a Carnatic rAg. The words "resembles" "is akin to"
>>are undoubtedly implied.
>
>I like the term "cognate".
>
>I wonder too, how "new" it must have been for the Dagars
>>who first performed it or recorded it (could you give the discography
>{for this Corvin?).
>
>Just did some checking in Kinnear
>
>Ali Akbar Khan - 1967
>Ravi Shankar - 1967
>Rais Khan - 1969
>Bismillah Khan (Bairagi bhairav) - 1971
>Ummeed Ali Khan - (Bairagi bhairon) 1973
>Amanat, Fateh Ali Khan - (Bairagi bhairon) 1976
>Munawar Ali Khan - 1980
>Ragunath Seth - 1981
>Ravi Shankar & orchestra - 1982
>Shyamala Bhave - 1982
>Charanjit Singh - synthesizer - 1983
>
>I don't get the reference to the Dagar's.
It should be pointed out that Kinnear's book covering the early
period, turn of the century to 1965, or whenever, would be the source
to consult, were it ready for distribution. The above info is of no
help to this discussion.
>>Perhaps Art can find other sources of documented
>>instances of this rAg besides Raganidhi and Jaysukhlal Shah and the
>>Bhairav Ank from Hathras.
>
>I can, but I need more time.
By all means, Art.
>CR Vyas
>>did say to Art Levine that he invented Nat-Bhairav. Our task is a
>>piece of cake.
>
>Doesn't taste like cake to me!
My comment was obviously (I guess not) meant to point to the contrary.
If I am not mistaken, Durga was also supposed to have sprung from the
unending reservoir of the Gunidasses and Ratanjankars, acc. to their
claim. The cake is
tasting worse than ever. These are just anecdotal asides. Durga is
what it is.
>>
>>Seriously though. We feel that created rAgs ought to be documented if
>>they don't already appear in print, regardless of authorship. After
>>all, who really invented Malkauns or Marwa; and, who really cares?
>
>What do you mean when you say "documented"? Performance rules? Can
>this be done otherwise than be consulting the performer directly? Do
>you think it possible to generate a grammar for a given rag solely on
>the basis of recordings (and in many cases, a single recording)? And
>to the extent that you consult non-commercial recordings, your
>conclusions remain unverifiable, no? And
>as far as discography is concerned, Kinnear has pretty much done that.
>I guess I'm still having trouble grasping the nature of this project.
>After you've compiled a list, then ...?
OK, I'll simplify this even further for you. All this talk is keeping
us from the real purpose of this intended project, however. After the
list has been collected, we will proceed to document the rAgs: spell
out and map out the grammar a la Raganidhi (which is a rather simple
primer in my opinion) or a la Bhatkhande or whichever reputable source
text you choose. Yes, I think it is possible to generate or else I
wouldn't go ahead with this project. Yes, I think it is possible even
from one single recording, commercial or not. If someone asked for
info on Chandranandan, what would you do? You wont find it in any
book, so you'd ask a disciple or even Khansahib himself. If this were
not possible, you'd listen to the recordings, as Khansahib himself did
when he consulted his 78RPM recording of the rAg to remember how it
went. I really don't see what your problem with this is. The rAg Kosh
we are planning will just provide the basic info for the rAgs which
can't be found in any existing text:aroh, avroh, pakads and chalans.
Sure,vadi, samvadi, ras etc. will be tricky; thath too, but this is
secondary to providing the essence of the rAg. I always wanted to get
a handle on Gauri Manjari. At this point, I couldn't explain it the
way I could Marwa, for example. If you can, send me the info. If
Kinnear can help in this collection of info re invented rAgs, send
this along too. Otherwise, just wait until the project has been
accomplished and read all about it.
I ask the netters to contribute to this also. I know this is a good
excercise in "sur gyan" if nothing else. We're not trying to supplant
Bhatkhande here. We are just being guided by his thought and example
of labour and love for this music.
See you later Art.
John
>
>Yours truly,
>Art
>
>
Devakumar Sreevijayan
This is somewhat tangential to the ongoing discussion whose
beginning I have missed and largely a plug for an artiste I
have come to admire greatly.
Nimbus Records has a wonderful recording of Bairagi Bhairav by
Brij Narayan on the sarod. The tabla accompaniment is by Zakir Hussain.
The CD (NI 5263) has a rendition of Lalit (Aalap, Jor, Vilambit and
Drut Gat in Teental) and a shorter one of Bairagi Bhairav (Aalap,
Madhya Laya and Drut Gat). The CD was recorded in 1990 in England.
Listening to Brij Narayan has perhaps been the most pleasant musical
experience I have had in a while. In my mind, he is the true heir to
Ali Akbar Khan, projecting as he does, an aura of intrinsic authority
and supreme confidence. The Bairagi Bhairav is one of the best
sculpted pieces I have ever heard. He has a profound melodic sense
and plays the Gat with considerable verve, imagination and invention.
His control of tempo, like Ali Akbar's, is impeccable, and again like
him, gives space for ringing silences--especially in the Aalap.
A single note spans a universe.
Brij Narayan is the son of Sarangi maestro Ram Narayan. Other than his
father, he was taught by Chatur Lal (the table virtuoso, and incidentally
his uncle) and by Ali Akbar Khan. He is 41.
I am listening to the CD as I write this. I can hear Zakir Hussain going
'Sabash' in the background. Involuntarily, perhaps, as this is a studio
recording.
The liner notes by Joep Bor mention that Bairagi Bhairav is 'a fairly
recent creation' and that it is a morning raga. No more details except
it's pentatonic scale 'which allows for freedom of movement'.
Dev
Vidyasankar Sundaresan
- First of all, I don't think that we can categorically state that one
- Hindustani rAg is a Carnatic rAg. The words "resembles" "is akin to"
- are undoubtedly implied. Bairagi is not Revati, therefore. Just listen
- to them side by side.
This view does have a lot of merit to it, but one anecdote may point
otherwise. In 1991, Sankaran Namboodiri sang Revati at the SPIC-MACAY
convention in IIT Bombay. One of the Dagars who was there (I don't
remember the name; quite a few members of the family were present) was all
praise for the handling of Bairagi Bhairav. His actual words were "Kya
kamaal kar diya, Bairagi Bhairav mein!"
Vidya
Thyagarajan Mohan
John may be agreed with.There are differences in the rAgas of
Hindustani and Carnatic Music,though the scales are the same.Definitely,
bilAval is not shankarAbharaNam,bhUp is not mOhanam,kAfi is not kharaharapriya
Ahiri bharavi is not cakravAham etc.
Regarding sankaran Namboodri,we have to remember that his teacher TVG
is a professional Hindustani Musician like MSG.He might have sung bhairAgi
bhairav itself as revealed by the rAga mudra in the lyrics.
MOHAN