PRIYAANKAA MATHUR
Us. Kamal Sabri Dives into the Intricacies of
'Sarangi' an Instrument closest to the Human Voice!
A distinguished 'Sarangi Nawaz' and a virtuoso Us.Kamal Sabri
comes from the Senia Gharana of Moradabad, that has been
one of the prominent Gharana's of Sarangi playing.Son of the
legendary Sarangi Maestro Ustad Sabri khan, Kamal became a
child prodegy as he made waves in the musical world at the tender
age of 5. Today,he is regarded as one of the most seasoned Sarangi
players,as his name reckons with the international cultural scene
not only as a performer,but also as guest lecturer at several major
Universites and music academies globally.
Talking about his musical lineage Us.Kamal says"I belong to
the seventh generation of Muradabad Gharana of Sarangi, that
bestows a distinguished lineage of many prominent Sarangi
stalwarts namely Us.Chajju Khan,Us. Haji Mohammad Khan,who
was the greatest Maestro of his time known for his finasse as a
Sarangi Nawaz and also my father Us.Sabri Khan.My father was
the first sarangi player to have received international acclaim
popularising it in Europe & USA and became the first visiting
professor of Washington University in Seattle to teach Indian
music.He was the first sarangi player to incorporate sarangi
with western violin in a duet with Sir Yehudi Menuhin in 1971 for
All India Radio.He played for India's independence celebration
on 15 August 1945 and received
several national awards.Most
recently a postal stamp is being
dedicated to him that is soon
to be released by President
of India."
In the 13th
century
scriptures
Sangeet
Ratnakar
and
Sangeet
Parijat,
we find
references about the ‘Pinaki Veena' that was considered as a
forefather intrument of sarangi.The present form of sarangi was
evolved by Ustad Haider Baksh in the 15th century and eventually
it came into being.Sarangi' comes from the word ‘sau-rangi’ that is
capable of creating 100 colours or Bhavs (emotions) across genres
like Khyal,Thumri,Chaiti, Ghazal and even Classical and Jazz
fusion today.
Sarangi is played both in ‘Tantkari' and ‘Gayaki ang’ and Kamal's
repertoire involves both.It depends how the sarangi nawas
incorporates one's technique with the vocalist and the gayaki
of different gharanas corresponding to their different styles of
'Badhat',Bandishes,Laykari and Taan elements,and this is the key
element of the Moradabad Gharana as how to incorporate
the gayaki ang with it's characteristic taan styles.
Moradabad gharana have many variations and taans to play that
include Madhya Phirat, Dogun, Teengun,Chaugun Taans and
then Gamaks of various types, that are produced with different
playing techniques.One of them is known as 'Sapat taan' of three
octaves called 'Gatte ki Taan' with long bow played only with the
hands,some gamaks are played with the bow only and are called
'Gaz ki Taan' and some taans are a combination of both gamaks
and sargams played both with the bow and the hands on the
stringed Pannell,this taan is called as 'Gaz Gatte ki Taan',that is
the speciality of the Moradabad Gharana of sarangi, wherein the
art requires blending of all elements to create a beautiful recital
that enthralls the audience.
"Sarangi is a solo Instrument, but is perceived as an
accompanying intrument,which is one of its greatest quality out
of many,since most of the other instruments cannot be played to
accompany,while sarangi's sound bestows in it a unique closeness
to the human voice,which actually represents the gayaki ang,in the
true sense.Unfortunately sarangi had very few solo performances
intially,but I'm trying my best to revive it," says Sabri.
A Top graded artist of All India Radio,Kamal has have the privilege
to be the youngest musician to participate in "Les 24 heures du
raga" in Paris, where he played 9 concerts accompanying vocalists
from cross genres enthralling the audience,while his stint at the
'Art of the Bow' festival in Geneva made him play a repeat concert.
He has made India proud on several international platforms. As
a composer he has delivered classically rich music scores for
documentary films like 'The Big Question',' Mystics of Sufism' and
has composed for several orchestras namely 'Indian Contemporary
Music Orchestra' and 'Vienna contemporary orchestra' and likes.
"Initially sarangi was considered to be a shadowed intrument
used for deep sorrowful songs and Ghazals,but I tried to make it
sound more enjoyable for both classical and western audiences.I
incorporated it with Jazz and Blues tunes and created my album
'sarangi funk' a trans amalgamation,bringing it to the world
music scene.In 2006 I came out with this unique album 'Dance of
the Desert' that portrays sarangi as a lively instrument capable of
enthralling people to dance on its tune,that was a revolutionary
thought for sarangi and was much appreciated"elaborates Sabri.
Us.Kamal Sabri continues to explore the realm of music as most
recently he recorded for an upcoming film 'Jhansi ki Rani',
wherein his renditions display the pu rity of Indian music, yet with
a global appeal.
The
Score Magazine
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