www.jansmusic.co.uk - for musical independence

Click here to review the contents of your basket or check out

Back to ARC listings

JANSMUSIC RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Tarun Bhattacharya: The Art of the Indian santoor
ARC Music EUCD 1708

Raag Yaman - Alaap, Jod, Jhala; Raag Hament - Jhaptaal; Raag Hament - Teentaal; Lightl classical piece based on
Raag Misra Pahadi - Taal-Deepchandi

I studied Indian Classical Music when I was reading music all those years ago, and it became a bit of a passion so I was delighted to receive this CD from ARC Music.  I have to say though I don't have much experience of the santoor, I always seem to have come across sitar CDs and concerts. 

To anyone reading this review i would say "open your mind", particularly if you're an avid classical music fan.  Indian classical music is based on incredibly complex sets of rhythms (taals) and scales (raags) and as you listen you can hear the complexity develop through the piece.  A raga isn't simply a scale. It is a pattern of notes arranged in a certain way, that can convey different emotions, or a different time of day, different moods, and says  so much more than our own scales.

Tarun Bhattacharya is a master of the santoor - known as "the master of 100 strings".  The santoor is a hammered dulcimer, which is why I thought this recording would go nicely with the Scarlatti.  It has a fantastic resonance, and a huge range of sound effects, ranging from the harp like arpeggios with which he begins and ends the tracks, to the more complex frantic rhythms, and the punching chordal effect.  As in jazz, each musician is given greater prominence depending on where they are in the piece - on this there is some fantastic tabla playing as well, which is brought to the fore at the relevant points.

This is a completely hypnotic recording. It's a complete wash of sound, and there are some lovely tunes that come out of it. Don't make the mistake of thinking this kind of thing all sounds the same - it certainly doesn't.  On this CD there is the early evening raag, which is more gentle, and a later evening raag which is more lively, and has lots of syncopation (dare I say that you can hear the influences of the 20th century?). The 3rd raag is again gentle and there are definitely some other musical styles creeping in - which are fascinating to listen to. The experimental final piece is more like an arrangement and gets away a little more from the formal structures of the raag, and has some interesting effects which are worth a listen.