Raga Shree

The first track, the alap, does a great job laying out rather sweet melodic lines that are constantly jangled and displaced by the restless stabbing, over them, of the tonic and/or fifth of the raga (although the tonic and fifth are traditionally consonant intervals, Vilayat Khan's performance of raga Shree is dominated by notes in the intervals of the minor sixth and minor second from the tonic -- notes which sound dark and edgy against those in the intervals of the tonic and the fifth).The alap really prepares one for the hallucinogenic second track, and does not get boring though it lasts for half an hour.Ooh man, that second track! Wow!While Akram Khan's tabla lay on a fast, continuous, rolling and almost martial beat, for thirty minutes Vilayat Khan launches raid after melodic raid upon his unseen adversary, playing blindingly fast and absolutely aggressive lines that often surprise your ears like a crash of thunder or a fist coming out of a dark alley to strike your cheek, yet always stay in rhythm. The aggressiveness and sheer ecstacy of it is surprising to hear coming from a man in his sixties.And HE DOES NOT LET UP FOR ONE SECOND.After listening to this, you feel pummelled. All of your violent passion has been exhumed from the depths of your soul, given room to play around in, and pacified.All hail Vilayat Khan, the dark prince of sitar! This disk makes Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" sound about as dangerous as reggae guitar.

If you want a true virtuoso of the sitar, pick up this CD by Vilayat Khan. It was the first time I had heard him and heard of him, and I feel ashamed. If you have only limited yourself to Ravi Shankar's playing, it's time to expand your mind a bit. "Raga Shree" is described as a raga of restless energy, someone searching for inner peace, and he explores this through the 34 minute "alap". His style of playing is very unique, and while you can't compare him to anyone else, his approach to the sitar is very much like Jimi Hendrix, doing things that aren't of the norm, but sound perfect in his hands. The second half of "Raga Shree" explores all of the emotions, at times sounding like someone who has too much going on in his mind. In other words, not enough time in the world to do everything you want. But by the end, Vilayat Khan has explored all possible emotions and you feel elated once its over. It's a 75 minute raga where it's impossible to lose interest.

Ustad Vilayat Khan was definitely one of the "big three," sitar players, the other two of whom are Ravi Shankar, and the late Nikhil Banerjee, in my book. Vilayat Khansahib's recent passing has definitely left a void in the world of North Indian classical music.Shree, one of the most time-honored ragas in the North Indian classical repertoire, is easily one of my ten favorite ragas, so I was really looking forward to hearing Vilayat Khan's rendering of it. Vilayat Khan elected to shift the emphasis from komal Re (the flattened second) to komal Dha (the flattened sixth), for this performance, which changes the flavor of the raga too much, imo, and not in the most positive way.There is an element of minimalism to North Indian classical music that contributes to its meditative quality, as there are main phrases and motifs that recur, and are developed and improvised upon throughout the course of a raga performance; but this development and improvisition do not necessarily happen in the same way as they do in western classical and jazz music.[Before I go on, I will clarify a couple of points addressed in the previous paragraph. To some music listeners, the word "minimalism" has a negative connotation. I have heard and read about North Indian classical music referred to as having a "minimalist" element to it, but this was not intended in any negative way: at worst, it is taking a predominantly western musical term, used to describe music by composers such as Phillip Glass, and applying it to eastern music. 2) North Indian classical music has commonly been referred to as Hindustani music, but it has come to my attention that some people consider the latter term passe, or perhaps "un-PC," so I have chosen not to use it here.]If the recurrent motifs and phrases chosen by the performer, within the framework of the raga, are pleasing to the ear and soul of the listener, listening to a traditional extended treatment of a raga can be a transcendent experience. If the recurrent phrases chosen by the performer do not resonate with the individual listener, the performance can be a bit difficult to "get into."Unfortunately, even after several listenings I couldn't get past the feeling that Vilayat Khan's melodic material sounded rather banal--I kind of hate to use this word to describe a performance by such an acknowledged master, most of whose other recordings I greatly admire, but I can't really think of a better word. I feel that part of the reason for this less-than-satisfactory impression has to do with the shift of emphasis of the leading note (vadi). Don't get me wrong, I am not a rigid traditionalist when it comes to music, Indian or otherwise, and I often admire artists--especially "elders"--who have the courage to get "progressive," but I just don't think that Vilayat Khan's alteration of the raga works here. In effect, he has practically created a new raga, which is perfectly acceptable, but maybe it would've been better to call it "Dhaivat Shree," or something like that, to acknowledge the tonal shift, instead of leading the listener to believe that he is going to hear a traditional performance of Shree Rag.If you are not well-acquainted with Shree Rag you might find this recording perfectly enjoyable--and of course, the quality of Khansahib's playing is never in doubt--but if you have studied North Indian classical music in some detail, and esp. if you have a fondness for this particular raga, you may find this performance a bit frustrating.

This is an extremely strange performance. I could also call it great music if only the title did not say "Shree". This could be "Vilayat Khani Shree" or "Enayet Khani Shree" but not the Raga Shree as it is generally known. It is reassuring to note that the excellent cover notes by Deepak Raja, in effect, say as much.Shree is one of the six main Ragas of Hindustani music along with Bhairav, Hindol, Deepak, Megh and Malkauns. It is therefore mildly disconcerting to see liberties being taken with her.So listen to this music only if you know very well what Shree is supposed to be and supposed to do. This is not a beginner's guide to Shree !! This is the spontaneous rapture of a legendary musician of our times expressing his most heartfelt emotions. In that, we can be sure, there is immense value.