Banerjee gives a splendid performance of Patdeep with a meandering and fluid alap, jor and jhala followed by two compositions. His sensitive treatment of Patdeep revealed with delicate phrasing develops to stately bolkaari-based passages based on lovely patterns of the raga’s phrases highlighted by the brightness of his sound. He is accompanied by the accomplished Sanju Sahai on the tabla.

Prattyush Banerjee pushes the boundaries of the modern sarod, combining superb solo musicianship with innovations in composition and instrument design. He started sarod aged eight, training under Pandit Samarendra Sikdar and then Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, doyen of the Senia Shahjahanpur gharana. His novel approach to the instrument is informed by a detailed study of vocal music, tabla, and Western classical piano. He is notable for being the first to capture the intricacies of tappa vocal music on the sarod - a semi-classical style derived from Punjabi camel-riders replete with fast, distinctively angular melodies, typically depicting the emotional outbursts of a lover. Recently he invented the jyotidhwani, a tastefully electrified sarod.

Precise, powerful, and intricately funky, Sanju ‘Vishnu’ Sahai embodies the Benares tabla gharana. As the sixth generation of his family’s illustrious rhythm lineage, his talent was recognised early - at age 9 he was playing major festivals, and completed his music degree at 13 with a Masters following at 18. He is mindful of diluting classical tabla styles, but this has not stopped him taking them into a breathtaking array of contexts. Alongside accompanying top Hindustani musicians he has collaborated with artists spanning flamenco and jazz to opera and Gregorian chant. He has played in schools and prisons as well as for the Queen, and tutors tabla at SOAS in London. Today he lives in the UK, and travels the globe as a star accompanist and soloist.

Prattyush Banerjee (sarod)
Sanju Sahai (tabla)
Raag Patdeep