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NEW NOTE LIMITED

One of the UK’s largest Independent Record Distributors
 


NEW NOTE LIMITED
The Pinnacle Building
The Teardrop Centre
London Road
Swanley
Kent BR8 8TS
Phone: 01322 616050
Fax: 01322 615658
 

NEW RELEASE from saregama

CDNFC1507123 Bismillah Khan

The Shehnai’s Humble Master

Introducing the Masters
format: 2 CDs in slip-case

cat.no: CDNFC 150712-3

 

As India gained its independence in 1947 and the old Imperial flag was hauled down … for that midnight-moment, it was the shehnai of
Bismillah Khan which sounded out across the ramparts of the
Red Fort in Delhi.

A devout Shia Muslim living within a Hindu majority, he embodied the vital secular foundations of the new nation and, single-handedly, took the shehnai (shawm or oboe) - a people’s instrument of weddings, temples and shrines - into the mainstream of Indian classical music and a newly enfranchised mass audience. Today it’s rare to find an Indian family, in India or elsewhere, who does not have a recording of Bismillah Khan.

When he died in 2006 aged 90, a day of National Mourning was declared in India and he received a state funeral. In the UK his obituary appeared in the Times, the Guardian and the Independent. Yet for too long the West has paid only lip-service to this particular Master. For a musician as important to Indian classical music as John Coltrane was to Jazz, we hope this release is a fitting introduction. 

The 2CDs include some of his most important recordings and some that have never been released before on CD. All were made during a 30-year period of creativity from 1959 to 1989. Wherever possible we have returned to the original master tapes and all performances are full-length and unedited.

  • 2CDs that introduce one of the most important and iconic Indian musicians 
  • includes his classic recordings together with some that have never been available before on CD
  • remastered, unedited and full-length – a perfect introduction to a national treasure 

CD1: … with Party

  • 1. Raga Deshi Todi
  • 2. Raga Multani
  • 3. Raga Sarang 
  • 4. Raga Iman Kalyan
  • 5. Raga Jogia

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CD2: … in film and with others

  • 1. Bihag (Tere Sur Aur Mere Geet) (3:09) from the film: Goonj Uthi Shehnai
  • 2. Raga Jaijaiwanti (22:33) with V.G. Jog (violin)
  • 3. Raga Yaman (27:43) with Vilayat Khan (sitar)
  • 4. Raga Bhairavi (18:50) with Vilayat Khan (sitar)
  • 5. Kajri (title music) (3:26) from the film: Goonj Uthi Shehnai

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