CHOWDHURY Subroto / CHATTOPADHYAY Madhuri
Sanjog

Fy 8058


Dunya Records
India

 

Indian Music has once again found a home in the Dunya catalogue, where it already has a conspicuous and valuable place. Again we have refused the temptation to compromise. What you will hear on Sanjog is nothing other than pure Indian music played to perfection by three masters of their respective instruments. These extremely recent recordings have a startling freshness and immediacy to them that testifies to the vitality of a scene that beyond the inevitable historicisation of some established maestri continues to offer new perspectives and bring to light shining, singular talents the likes of violinist MADHURI CHATTOPADYHAY.

The first track, Raga Desh, has the typical features of a nocturnal raga, developing in a languid, relaxed fashion that is nonetheless imbued with a profoundly devotional spirit. Raga Kirwani in contrast is an night raga from southern India, and its agitated vibrancy is evident from the opening bars. Yet at the same time the piece is awash with timbral nuances that reveal an underlying romantic vein. The CD closes with a dhun (short and condensed raga) in Mishra Khamaj, which despite its brevity shows a perfect harmony of intent between the three musicians as they glide effortlessly across the dense and highly concentrated melody.

MADHURI CHATTOPADYHAY is one of India's leading contemporary violinists. Though based in Berlin since 1982 her rapport with the tradition has remained strong, enriched by the myriad stimuli that a musician living abroad naturally absorbs. Born to an educated Bengali family in the ambit of which she had the chance to meet musicians of the calibre of Ustad Vilyat Khan, Keramatullah Khan, Parvin Sultana, Nikhil Banerjee. Her father Sri Subodh Chatterjee and mother Srimati, both artists and established music teachers were from the beginning extremely supportive of Madhuri's artistic ambitions which matured over a twenty-year period of study with the maestro V.G. Jog, who introduced her to the north Indian violin. Since making her European debut in Berlin in 1976 she has performed with great success around the world at important festivals.

SUBROTO R. CHOWDURY began studying the sitar at the age of 13 under the guidance of Sri Nirmal Chakravarty, subsequently training not only in the spirit of the classical vedic tradition but also in that of Dhrupad. His musical career has thus in a certain sense taken the form of a great leap backwards in time, and many reckon his playing style to be much closer to that of the 19th century than to today's. Subroto's musical interests have always been accompanied by a strong religious sentiment and he has followed the teachings of several gurus. He performed his first European concerts during the 1970s in France Germany and Switzerland.

SANKHA CHATTERJEE is one of India's greatest tabla players, a virtuoso who from an early age studied numerous instruments that greatly broadened his musical perspectives (he also boasts an uncommon singing talent). He developed his percussive art studying under several masters among whom Ustad Maseet Khan, Keramatullah Khan and the late Alla Rakha) at three of the most prestigious gharanas (schools): Farukhabad, Delhi e Punjab. As well as representing a complex synthesis of these three diverse philosophies of percussion his playing style and technique are also the fruit of a highly personal and original approach to the instrument. In concert he has accompanied some of India's greatest musicians including thel sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan and has received innumerable awards and prizes from the government. He has taught Indian music in Berlin since 1979 and through seminars and workshops has come into contact with numerous western artists, working in diverse ambits with musicians such as Albert Mangelsdorff, and Chico Freeman.