What is the raga in Rag Desh?
C, D, F, G, B, C, Bb, A, G, F, E, D, C
What is Rag Desh?
Rag Desh is the rainy season raga - to be played at night. It has a feeling of romance and devotion. There are 3 versions studied:
- Performed by Steve Gorn and Benjy Wetheimer
- Performed by Anoushka Shankar
- By S.D.Dhandhada and H.Dhandhada
What are the Key features of Steve Gorn and Benjy Wertheimer’s version (Priyagitah)?
This version was improvised in a recording studio. Based around the traditional raga structure, the musicians miss out some sections (to keep the audience interested).
It is divided up onto 3 tracks: 1.Alap 2 +3. Gats (each gat based on a different tala).
What are the key features of the Alap in Pryagitah?
At the beginning you can hear the tambura drone. Then, the bansuri and esraj come in - they improvise using notes of the rag Desh. This is a slow and flowing section - there is no pulse to drive it along.
What are the key features of the Gats in Priyagitah?
- In this section the tabla comes in playing a steady rhythm. The bansuri plays another improv melody. It’s a bit faster than the Alap. This Gat is based on the rupak, which has 7 beats.
- This second Gat has a faster Raga. The Tabla plays a fast, complex rhythm using the 12-beat ektal tala. The bansuri’s melody is much more structured. Still based on the Rag Desh, the melody is now pre-composed with lots of runs.
What are the key features of the Alap in Shankar’s live at Carnegie Hall?
When there’s just the sitar and the tambura playing, you can hear the different techniques Anoushka uses; she plucks, strums and bends the notes of the sitar.
What are the features of the Gats in Shankar’s live at Carnegie hall?
- Uses a 10 beat tala called Jhaptal.
- Gets a bit faster, using the 16-beat tintal tala. - a pre-composed melody is used.
This rag Desh is all on one track with no gaps.
What are the features of the Alap in Mewar Re Mira (Dhandhada)?
The sitar improvises using the notes of the Raga over the tambura drone. It is joined by a sarangi, then the voice comes in. The voice is Male, he uses a lot of vibrato + scoops notes (portamento). This is quite a short Alap.
What are the key features of the final two sections in Mewar Re Mira?
- The tempo increases and the tabla comes in.
- (The Bandish - like a gat with Singing) the vocal part is more elaborate, lots of trills and portamentos. Hand cymbals come in towards the end.
What are the 4 typical sections of a raga?
- Alap: Sitar player introduces, improvising freely. No beat or pulse to the melody - just flows accompanied by the tambura
- The Jhor: speeds up and becomes more rhythmic
- The Jhala: Speeds up loads faster,
players improvise around the melody - The Gat or Bandish: The raga really takes off - the tabla comes in, the group play a pre-composed piece, improvisations added, in a sort of question and answer style.
What is the difference between a Gat and a Bandish?
A Gat is an instruments only pre-composed piece whereas a Bandish has singing.
