Legends - Ustad Amir Khan (MUSIC CD) by Amir Khan


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ProductID: 14522 - Music CD Jewel Case - N/A Pages (Year: 2004-11-01)
Sagarika ~ ISBN: S300212

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Indiaclub.com Description

This Music CD has following tracks:

1. Raag Nand
BANDISH-BAAR BAAR SAIYAN-VILAMBIT KHAYAL
DRUT-MAN BER BER CHAHAT
TAAL-JHUMRA

2. Raag Darbari
VILAMBIT KHAYAL IN EKTAAL

3. Raag Bahar
BANDISH-KAR SULJAIYE GADVA
TAAL-TEENTAAL

About the Author

Although different gharanas adopt different styles of singing, it sometimes becomes difficult to identify a particular individual with a group. This is the case with Ustad Amir Khan(1912-1974), an important figure in the khayal gyaki in the mid 20th century. Some sources place him to belong to the Indore gharana. Due to a steady influx of visitors at his home, he was also exposed to many great maestros like Bahre Wahid Khan, Rajab Ali Khan of Kirana gharana and Amanat Ali Khan of Bhendi bazar gharana.The Ustad, himself, spoke of Indore as his gharana on the grounds that he had gained his musical consciousness there.

Amir Khan was born at Kalanaur in Indore in April 1912. He had a musically rich heritage, his ancestors had been musicians in the Mughal court. Amir Khan began his musical training as a sarangi disciple of his father Shahmir Khan, himself an expert sarangi player. Seeing his interest in vocal music, Shahmir Khan gradually devoted more time towards his son's vocal training.Even as a vocalist, he would occasionally play the instrument and his exceptional sense of judgement arose from his initial training on this instrument.

Amir Khan was an intellectual and talented classical vocalist. In his gayaki, he assimilated distinctive features that appealed to his aesthetic sense and were in perfect accord with his voice. It was a unique fusion of intellect and emotion, of technique and temperament, of talent and imagination. His style was influenced by three great giants of his younger days - Bahre Wahid Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Aman Ali Khan. His rich mellow voice was at its best in the deep, dignified mandra saptak notes.

His music combined the massive dignity of dhrupad with the ornate vividness of khayal. His forte was the extremely slow or ati vilambit khayal which he developed in a most leisurely mood with deep serenity and contemplation. Superfast tans, highly premeditated in pattern, was another characteristic feature of the Ustad. He believed that the poetic element in khayal is as vital as its melodic element. Therefore bol-alaps and bol-tans were conspicuously absent in his singing. He chose highly serious, expansive traditional ragas; Todi, Bhairav, Lalit, Marwa, Malkauns, Kedara, Hamsadhvani and Darbari were some of his favourites. Of the slow talas, he was partial to Jhumra and Tilwada.

He always avoided the sarangi as an accompaniment and wanted a steady plain theka from his tabla accompanist.He used the six string tanpura, which obviated the need for frequently having to tune the drone. At his concerts he would always sit in the posture of a saint - his eyes closed in deep meditation. He would maintain this stance throughout the concert. He always had a smiling countenance, with a complete lack of gesticulation or facial distortion.

Amir Khan created a fresh ideology in the Hindustani raga tradition which was so powerful that it directly or indirectly influenced a large number of subsequent artists and styles. He was a good composer and has left behind many valuable compositions. The induction of Hamsadhvani, a Carnatic raga, into Hindustani music, owes its success to Amir Khan. He extracted a lyrical quality out of the raga, primarily through the perceptive exploitation of the rishab. The Ustad has left behind a tradition which continues to live through his pupils like Amarnath, Kanan, Srikant Bakre, the Singh Bandhu (jugal bandhi), Kankana Banerji, Poorabi Mukherji and many others.

He was given the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1967, the Presidential award and the Swar Vilas from Sur Singar Sansad in 1971. He was also awarded the prestigious Padmabhushan in 1971. It was a great loss to Hindustani music when, at the height of his form and fame, Amir Khan was tragically killed in a car accident on February 13, 1974.

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