Dhrupad - Ashish Sankrityayan

Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of classical music in India, tracing its origins to the ancient vedic chants. This meditative style of singing was originally performed in temples in North India, and later developed under the patronage of Mughal and Rajput kings into a classical art , with a rich and intricate grammar and aesthetics. Fundamental to Dhrupad singing is the practice of nada yoga, or the yoga of sound, in which the singer, through various yogic practices, develops the inner resonance of the body, to produce a vast palette of sound colours and microtonal shades of notes. In this music the notes are not regarded as fixed points, but as fluid entities with infinite shades. The music is improvised using the abstract syllables of a mantra, and progresses from serene, meditative, free flowing lines to progressively faster and playful passages, and ends in an ecstasic finale of syncopated rhythmic improvisations to the accompaniment of the pakhawaj, the majestic, resonant barrel drum that is the precursor of the modern tabla. Dhrupad encompasses a vast range of human emotions : serenity, pathos, sensuality, compassion, anger, heroism. Dhrupad is the Indian equivalent of the Gregorian chants, but being an oral tradition, has a history of development and refinement, that has continued almost till the present times.Ashish Sankrityayan is an exponent of the Dagar tradition of Dhrupad singing. He has learnt Dhrupad in the traditional Indian system of apprenticeship for 20 years, from several maestros of the legendary Dagar family, having received a prestigious fellowship from the Indian National Academy of Music to do his studies. Ashish has performed extensively in many countries and has taught Dhrupad in institutions like the Anton Bruckner University Linz and the Free University of Berlin. His singing has been described in the press as follows : ‘a caress for the soul - indian musician fascinates with the art of Dhrupad’ and ‘notes like lotus flowers - artist astonishes at the university with his Indian singing’. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- MODERATE TEMPO ALAP RAGA YAMAN ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------