Credits Tabla: Shripad Nageshkar, Ahmed Mohammed Khan Catlog No: 88691945762 Duration: 1 Hour 20 Min. Approx Format: Audio CD
Described as the ‘treasure trove’ of Indian classical music, the NCPA Archives has over 5000 hours of music of the ‘who’s who’ of classical music-both in the Hindustani and Carnatic styles. Maintained for over 4 decades in the most ideal conditions of temperature and humidity, and on the best recording formats, the NCPA Archives preserves and protects India’s rich musical heritage.
According to the Artists themselves, the work recorded on the Archives features some of their best works, recorded at the prime of their careers. This wonderful ‘khazana’ is being presented to the music loving public for the first time.
Ustad Vilayat Khan Vilayat Khan was born in the early 1920s in Gouripur in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) into a family of renowned sitarists. He began his training under his illustrious father Ustad Enayet Khan, who sadly died while Vilayat was still a child. Thereafter, Vilayat Khan’s early musical education was shaped by the maternal side of his family, though in later years he studied the Surbahar under his father’s brother Ustad Waheed Khan.
His innate instincts leaned towards vocalism, although under pressure from his family he chose to carry forward the great Sitar legacy of his ancestors-the ‘Imdadkhani’ gharana, named after his grandfather. His musical genius enabled him to underpin his outstanding dexterity and musical prowess on the Sitar with his strong vocal leanings. To make his Sitar come closest to the vocal pitch, he worked on its basic design with the expansion of the range of the ‘meend’ – the technique of pulling the string laterally across the fret. From this emerged his own individual style of expression-the ‘Gayaki Ang’ which was not just unique but highly endearing to his listeners.
Vilayat Khan always challenged his audiences with his elaborate architecture, richness of musical content, and sophisticated presentation. His repertoire encompassed popular ragas as well as the occasional ‘achob’ or rare raga. Although, he had no great enthusiasm for creating new ragas, some limited experimentation resulted in the creation of two distinctive ragas-Sanjh Saravali and Enayet Khani Kanada.
The dominant influence on Vilayat Khan’s musical vision came from Kirana maestros, Ustad Abdul Kareem Khan and Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan. Vilayat Khan also greatly admired Ustad Faiyyaz Khan of the Agra gharana. In addition to these major influences, Vilayat Khan adopted some features from the music of several other vocalists-Kesarbai Kerkar, Omkarnath Thakur to name just a few. To many observers Vilayat Khan is the finest exponent of the sitar to be produced by the Imdadkhani gharana. It is not difficult to see why, as his technical virtuosity and control even at unbelievably high speeds would always impress, as would his natural flair, and unpredictable style.
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