Sixty years ago, the legendary Dagar Brothers recorded this beautiful album for EMI. It features a relatively extended treatment of Raga Darbari Kanada, considering the constraints of LP timings. Of course, in a live setting, it would be expected to last over an hour.
This pressing features a very quiet first side, and a lot of effort was put into suppressing pops, clicks, rumble, and other vinyl noise which was much more noticeable than on louder music. Thankfully, the software I use (iZotope RX 10) allows me to listen to just the noise that is removed in real time so that I know for a fact that no music is lost in the process. Two loud bumps were erased in Audacity.
Odeon LPs were export versions of EMI India albums. Often they had a sticker on the cover covering up the EMI logo. I believe there was some issue with the logo in other countries (for example it was used by RCA in the US). This copy has had its Odeon sticker on the back partially removed.
The liner notes are as follows:
Ustad Moinuddin Khan and Aminuddin Khan, sons of the late Ustad Nasiruddin Khan, the doyen of the Dhrupad style, are better known as Dagar Brothers in the music world. At a very early age they were initiated into the art by their father. After the untimely demise of the latter, their uncles took over the young boys' interrupted tutelage and groomed and shaped them as able exponents of the Dhrupad and Dhamar styles. Dhrupad and Dhamar are very difficult to master and hence their exponents are very very few. These styles demand a vigorous voice and highly imaginative but massive mode of utterance and expression.
Both brothers have proved to be most eminently suited for the exposition of these styles in the traditional manner.
The Dagar Brothers enjoy an international reputation, having travelled extensively both in the West and in the East, as cultural ambassadors of India. For several years they were on the staff of the Bharateeya Kala Kendra which is run by the Sangeet Natak Akademy, Delhi to impart tuition in classical music.
The rhythm accompaniment on Mridanga, an oval shaped percussion instrument, is provided by Mr. S. V. Patwardhan, a reputed master of this instrument. The entire performance is marked by melodic and rhythmic jugglery created by the most fascinating mathematical combinations employed both by the singers and the percussion player vying good-humouredly with each other and displaying their virtuosity and proficiency.
SIDE ONE • ALAP-RAGA DARBARI KANADA.
Tradition demands that before the rhythmic rendering of a Dhrupad or a Dhamar, a complete and comprehensive picture of the Raga is woven with slow and ponderous movements from note to note. This side is entirely devoted to such an elaborate exploration of Raga Darbari Kanada and both the brothers share equal honours for building up an enchanting euphonious structure within the framework of the Raga.
Raga Darbari Kanada is a night melody. It has a very sublime mood and its exposition is usually full of majesty and grandeur.
SIDE TWO • DHAMAR-RAGA DARBARI KANADA
DHRUPAD-RAGA ADANA
This side opens with a Dhamar piece. Usually in a concert a Dhamar is sung after a Dhrupad. But since the composition of Dhamar is in the same Raga as is featured on Side One, i.e. Darbari Kanada, the maestros have preferred to render it as the first item on this side. The performance is confined to a rhythmic cycle of 14 beats known as 'Dhamar Tala'.
This is followed by a Dhrupad in Raga Adana, which is an immensely popular night melody. It has a lively character and the performance is mostly confined to the higher notes of the octave. The rhythm cycle of this composition consists of 12 beats. This rhythm is particularly apt for the accompaniment of a Dhrupad and hence it bears the name of Dhrupad Tala.
