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News and Events
2008 09 03
Master Class with Ravi Shankar
Blogger Angelo Misterioso has posted his experience of a Master Class with Ravi Shankar which recently took place in Paris. Here’s some video from that class:
Here’ the text from the original article:
Ravi Shankar is in Paris for what is supposed to be his last ever european shows. He’s with his daughter Anoushka .
He played a “normal” concert @ la salle Pleyel yesterday which i couldn’t go to .
But tonight is different , this is a Master Class with the Master of indian music in the very same theatre.
Of course, both shows are Sold Out because it’s probably the last time ever that a french audience will have the pleasure to hear such a gifted musician.
For the people who don’t know him , he’s a sitar player from India , as a kid he was a dancer ( he first came in Paris in 1933 ) and then turn to the sitar .
He’s wellknown in western countries for playing the Monterey & Woodstock festivals and for co-organising “the concert for Bangladesh” in 1971 with Beatles’ George Harrison.
He’s also the father of Norah Jones( yes , the one ).
I really did not know what to expect tonight. First he started talking about his life then about indian music ( what it is, where it comes from , how you play it , the different rhythms and so on ... ) I thought he would never stop . You can’t imagine how complicated this music is .
After a good hour , we still haven’t listen to a single note of music. He started introducing each instrument ( tabla , flute ... ) with a
2008 08 26
Panchahan Sardar - Dunmore Lasses
Here’s something a little different. Raag mishra kafi played by Panchahan Sardar using the Irish melody Dunmore Lasses.
Watching that I was reminded of “Scarborough Kafi” by Praful Kelkar (sarod) and A. Pavan (tabla):
2008 08 24
Feature Concert Video - Arvindh Parikh, Raag Bihag
A performance of raag Bihag by Arvindh Parikh in Surrey, UK, 2007. Tabla accompaniment by Anutosh Degharia.
From the video’s YouTube page:
Pandit Arvind Parikh—the senior-most disciple of Ustad Vilayat Khan—is ranked amongst the top ranking sitar players of India. Having received talim from the legendary Ustad for the last 60 years, he is a unique product of the Imdadkhani—Etawah Gharana—sometimes called the Vilayatkhani Gharana.
Shri Parikh’s creative ability and spiritual family background has enabled him to add his own personal dimension to the musical philosophy and expression of his traditional Gharana. An effective blend of soulful music and technical dexterity is reflected in every recital of Shri Parikh—be it in the form of classical or light classical music. No wonder therefore that he has been invited to perform both nationally and internationally by organizers of important musical events.
In addition to rigorous training that Shri Parikh has received, his brilliant academic background has been responsible for various thought-provoking articles on various subjects of music that he has authored. As an organizer, his business acumen has assisted him greatly in organizing and conducting several highly successful seminars of variegated musical themes.
His appointment as a Vice-President of International Music Council (UNECO) for the period 1994-97 is indicative of the respect that Shri Parikh commands all over the world.
He has been awarded the
2008 08 22
A new and previously unreleased video of Shafaatullah Khan playing raag Desh.
There’s no information about where or when this concert took place, but it looks like might be from the 90’s. If anyone out there has any idea, please let us know in the comments.
2008 08 21
Niladri Kumar has released a new “electric sitar” video. We’re not able to embed it in this post, but you can view the video by clicking this link:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=AQU5eGg8wcM
From the YouYube page:
Music video for the Zitar (electric sitar) track - Priority by Niladri Kumar.
Directed by Bijit Kundu and Debashish Ghosh. Produced by Johnny Soko and the Flying Robots. Artist: Niladri Kumar.
One interesting thing to note is the use of the word “zitar” to describe the electric sitar. This is the first time I’ve heard this word used.
2008 08 20
Anouska Shankar - “Sitar Trek”
Thanks again to TrippyMonkey for this 30 minute long British documentary on sitarist Anoushka Shankar.
2008 08 19
An exceptionally rare video of Vilayat Khan performing Raag Darbari on Indian television. Sudhir Pandey accompanies on tabla.
2008 08 16
The Sitar Factory is a great website run by a Belgian luthier, Sitarananda. It’s great fun to browse through with interesting photos, experiments in sitar design, and helpful tips on repair.
There’s loads of stuff on the site, but here are a few highlights:
Cracked Tumba Repair
Using a pressure cooker to repair a loose joint.
How to clean a sitar body using a cleaner called popote.
Interesting instrument building projects.
How to turn a guitar into a sarod.
The flower sitar.
There are also a number of interesting videos:
Hari Chand, a Delhi based sitar maker, doing a jawari in 1997
And, how to make a mizrab in one minute:
Have fun at the sitar factory!
2008 08 14
Cryogenic strings are musical instrument strings have have been treated by freezing them to -190C. for about 15 hours. This changes the crystalline structure of the metal. The result is a string which lasts 2-5 times longer, has much more stable intonation and improved tone over regular strings.
Paul Larson is a supplier of cryogenic strings specifically for sitar, and will ship strings anywhere in the world. Paul also does peg to machine tuner conversions for sitar, esraj and dilruba, and also sells strings for esraj and dilruba. You can contact Paul for current rates and shipping costs at:
Paul Larson
1263 1/2 e 2nd st
Loveland, CO 80537
USA
For more information on the history and properties of cryogenic strings, please see: http://www.guitarnotes.com/notes/noteget.cgi?cryogenic_strings
2008 08 12
A great experimental film by Sergio Bulgakov, featuring a sitar soundtrack.
You can find out more about Sergio Bulgakov at his website.
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Events
- 2008 07 16 :: Rex van der Spuy (sitar) and Anita Katakkar (tabla): An evening of contemporay Indian classical music featuring Rex van der Spuy on sitar and Anita Katakkar on tabla. More...
- 2008 04 25.26 :: Terra do Sangeet, Land of Rhythm: The Toronto Tabla Ensemble will be collaborating with Aline Morales and Maracatu Nunca Antes as well as the infinitely talented Ian de Souza (bass). More...
- 2008 03 29 :: Anwar Khurshid and Ustad Tari Khan: The Sitar School of Toronto is presenting a Sitar concert by Toronto's own sitarist, Anwar Khurshid. The audience will also be privileged by the accompaniment of world class Tabla player Ustad Tari Khan. More...
View all Events. Please send an email to events@sitar.co.za to have your event listed.
Music
- Ravi Shankar Interview: Audio documentary with Ravi Shankar speaking to the BBC's Anita Bhalla.
- A Chairy Tale: A rarely seen Norman McLaren animated film featuring a full soundtrack by Ravi Shankar and Sri Chatur Lal (tabla.)
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Full concerts, documentaries, and rare television broadcasts. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
View the complete Music Archive...
Articles
- Sitar Making In India: Scott Hackleman's detailed and highly readable account of the year he spent in Delhi learning the art of sitar making in Katar Chand's shop.
- Annapurna Devi: Mohan D. Nadkarni accounts his meetings with this enigmatic artist and comments on her legacy.
- Quality Sitar Construction: An informative article on sitar construction methodologies and what you should look for in a good quality instrument.
Learning Resources
- Tabla Lessons: A half hour of basic tabla lesson demonstrations, recorded in Bangalore, June 2003
- Electronic Tanpura Samples: Tampura samples in all keys (C# for sitar)
- Electronic Tabla Samples: A collection of electronic tabla samples, of about 10 minutes each, in a variety of tempos and taals.
View all Learning Resources...
Useful Links
- David and Chandra’s Sitar Forum: The epicenter of the sitar universe and the best place to find accurate, insightful and up-to-date information on all things sitar. This is the place to ask questions about sitar music, learning the sitar, or where to find a teacher. Become a member, spend some time reading the threads, and ask a question! We're there to help.
- Ali Akbar College of Music: A great place for strings, sitars, music, books and the all-important fibreglass cases.
- Tabla.co.za: Information on learning the tabla and an excellent resource for South African Indian musicians. Local events listings and information on local musicians.
- The Buckingham Music Sitar Tutorial: Excellent basic information about learning, maintaining and playing the sitar.
- Sitarplayer.net: Canadian site on learning to play the sitar. Well written with great resources, advice and practical information. This is the place to visit for the "Sargam" font.
- Patrick Moutal’s Indian Music Page: A wonderfully sprawling French site packed with rare recordings, photos, videos and all sorts of fascinating information.
- South Asian Women’s Forum Music Page: A huge collection of detailed articles (with thousands of audio clips) on aspects of Indian classical music. A very good place to visit if you are seeking info on a raga that you are just warming up to.
- The Wikipedia Sitar Entry: Although it ranks high in Google's search ratings... be careful! A lot of the information here is great, but an equal amount is not completely comprehensive, open to debate and often confusing. There's a been a lot of work done on this entry over the last year but it's very far from being an adequate, complete or accurate source of information. Come on, sitar community, we need to make this entry better! Click "edit" and contribute something!
- Radel Tabla and Tanpura Machines: The essential accessory for any sitar player is a tabla machine. Radel's models are superbly built and their customer service is exceptional. They ship worldwide.
- Swar Systems Indian Music Software: Sitar.co.za hasn't demo'd this software yet, but it gets regular complimentary reviews. If you've had a good (or bad) experience using it, let us know! Available for Windows and Macintosh.
- Audacity: Open-source audio recording software for Windows and Macintosh.
- Riyaz Studio: Tabla/Tanpura accompaniment software ideal for sitar practise. Inexpensive and easy to use. If you can't afford or obtain a tabla machine easily, this is an excellent choice.
- Amelia Maciszewski’s sitar videos: Superb instructional videos on basic sitar practise and theory by Amelia Maciszewski. Great if you're just getting into the intstrument and don't have a teacher.
- Deepak Raja’s world of Hindustani Music: A treasure trove of articles on Indian classical music, including rare interviews with many instumentalists.
- The Toronto Gharana: The Toronto Gharana: A website devoted to Indian classical music in Toronto.
- That Which Colors the Mind: 12 minute sample of Steven Baigel's wonderful documentary on sitarist Nikhil Banerjee. (from Stevenbaigel.com)
- Andy’s Music Indian Instruments Page: Rare, vintage and historic instruments. If you're looking for the best, and have the cash to spend, this is a great place to start.
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of rare sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
- The Sitar Factory: Lots on information on sitar maintenance and repair, as well as interesting info on electric and experimental sitars.
Do you have any favourite sitar or Indian classical music links? Email them to us!