Big Earl Sellar wrote this review.
This is one of those discs I haven’t been able to pry out of my computer since I got it. A jugalbandi, or duet, between two santoors, this disc contains just over 66 minutes of improvisations based on the six-note Raga Janasammohini. The santoor is an Indian cousin to the hammered dulcimer with 116 strings (!), traditionally a folk instrument of the Kashmir region.
The four musicians on this disc are Sharma, his son Rahul, Shafaat Ahmed Khan on tabla (tuned hand drum) and Manorama Sharma on Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Sampradaya (an upright four-string drone harp). The first thing that I noticed about this disc was the wonderful mixing of the mainly Sufi-originated santoor music with more traditional Hindi tabla patterns: a wonderful mixture that really propels this music more than traditional Indian Sufi music, which is often rhythmically lacking. Although to the unaided ear this disc sounds like simply another disc of “Indian music,” there is a certain litheness to it that is often missing in the Hindi tradition, a certain melodic shift towards more complex and sweeter melodies.
Since this program is divided into three tracks, each over 20 minutes long, it’s really difficult to choose highlights. The closing track “Teen Taal” contains some breathtaking playing, with fascinating pauses, call-and-response work, and some insanely fast playing by Sharma. His touch is exquisite, with hard hammering mixed with delicate strums, and some utterly fantastic work with harmonics – notes played from node points on the string, resulting in high-pitched, bell-like tones. A solo artist for 40 years, Shiv Sharma has created a fascinating style on the santoor I haven’t heard before, taking this instrument into territories that I’d guess would threaten the structural integrity of the fragile instrument.
Although the recording isn’t bad, the balance between Shiv’s and Rahul’s instruments leaves a bit to be desired. Especially noticeable on the first track (an alap, or traditional opening theme based on the scale), Rahul is distinctly quieter in the mix, which really detracts from the pure duet santoor playing. Khan’s tablas often clip and distort, which is not uncommon with such a loud drum. The level of ambient noise is quite perceptible in places too, as if the room microphones were not mixed as the recording was being mastered. But these are minor quibbles; this is such a stunning piece of music, why argue with tiny recording flaws?
Realworld is the label for world music set up by Peter Gabriel in the mid-1980s, so this disc should be relatively easy to track down. And track it down you should. With excellent liner notes, beautiful close-ups of the intricate inlay work on the santoor for the artwork, and some truly magnificent music, Sampradaya is a work any world music fan simply must have in their collection.
(Realworld, 1999)
