Recorded by Darbar on location in India

Musician:
- Kamal Sabri (sarangi)

Raag Shree; Thaat: Poorvi; Samay: Late Afternoon

The word sarangi translates to ‘one hundred colours’, said to reflect its expressive versatility. It is thought to have evolved from Rajasthani folk instruments.

Kamal Sabri carries his family’s musical tradition forward to a seventh generation. He absorbed the rich Senia sarangi gharana from his father, esteemed Moradabad master Sabri Khan, and rigorous early training saw him gain respect for mature accompaniment slots with eminent Hindustani singers. He has represented the sarangi in the ‘Art of the Bow’ Festival in Geneva, as well as recording for the BBC and working with varied musicians including Zakir Hussain and as saxophonist Jan Garbarek.

Shree is a devotional sunset raga with ancient roots. The name has sacred origins, representing humanity’s material relation with the world (as opposed to ‘Om’, which represents our spiritual dimensions). It is associated with Lord Shiva, the destroyer and transformer, and Lakshmi, the giver of wealth and prosperity, and also with various Sikh saints, many of whom composed in the raga. Sitarist-scholar Deepak Raja quotes legendary vocalist Omkarnath Thakur as considering Shree to be a raga of fear: “The prescribed time for performing this raga (around sunset) is the time when nature and humans are at peace, but the disembodied spirits (of whom Shiva is the Lord) become active, and aid the black magic of Tantriks”.

It is considered among the most difficult ragas to master. Hailing from Purvi thaat, it takes the swaras SrGMPdNS, with Re and Pa as the vadi-samvadi pairing [king and queen notes]. The core of the raga is to be found in the movement between these two notes, with musicians employing all manner of ornamentations to explore their co-relationship. The raga is typically elaborated in madhya and taar saptaks [middle and upper octaves]. A range of different sruti [microtones] are used, with many variants of Re and Dha in use.

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