S-r-G-mM-D-n-S
Devised by Maihar fountainhead Allauuddin Khan, and expanded upon by Ravi Shankar and Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ahir Lalit draws from three morning ragas: Ahiri, Ahir Bhairav, and Lalit. As per Deepak Raja, “for most listeners, Ahir Lalit will be unable to escape the shadow of Ahir Bhairav over the Lalit facet of the raga…since Ahiri is heard mainly as a Bhairav variant”. Nevertheless, the raga’s distinctive ‘double-Ma, no Pa’ structure (matching the shape of ‘Ahir Bhairav komal Pa‘) allows for unmistakeable flavours of Lalit – and, being a rare and recently-created raga, its phraseologies remain largely uncodified, with fresh melodic expanses open to the interpretation of performers. As per the liner notes to Hariprasad Chaurasia’s 1980 Breaking New Ground album, “The credit for popularising this beautiful morning melody goes to the great Ustad Allauddin Khan. The raga depicts a subtle mood of pathos, languor, and separation”. Also see other members of the Lalit raganga, plus more Ravi-related forms such as Parameshwari, Gangeshwari, Kameshwari, Rangeshwari, Jogeshwari, Mohankauns, Bairagi, Bairagi Todi, & Pancham se Gara.
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राग अहीर ललित
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• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SrGmM, DnS
Avroh: SrnSnD, GmMm, rGmG, GrS
Chalan: e.g. SDnD; DnSr; nrS; rGmMm; MD; MDn; DnrS; rnSnD; MDGmMm; rGmG; GrSnD; DnrS (Shankar/Raja)
—Ravi Shankar (1971)—
[refrain, e.g. 10:33] D D D, MMD, nnS(rS), r, r(/GMG), G\r, S, rGm/M M\G, rS, n SS, Dn(Dn), D D D…
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Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
Sep 30
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (…originally at the request of a student!)
Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)
#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
Sep 27
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj – a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment…
—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)
#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
Sep 22
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh – resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)
—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival
#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic
Sep 15
• Classifiers •
Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):
Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+
Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM
Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS
Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: (none found)
See all shadav ragas which omit Pa – and also compare to other members of the Lalit and Bhairav ragangas (as well as to other ragas which fuse elements of both)
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–r–G–mM–D–n–S
• Reverse: SRgMPdNS (=Simhendra Mad.)
• Complement: SRgPdNS
• Imperfect: 3 (Sa, re, Ga)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (m—N)
• Murchanas: Bhairav set
• Quirks: ‘komal Pa‘ (=mMP) • ‘centred‘ (constellation balances at the wheel’s centrepoint)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Bhujangini
S-R1-G3-M1-M2-D2-N2-S
• Jazz: Phrygian Dominant (b5)
1-b2-3-4-#4-6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-1-4-5-6-9-10-0
(1–3–1–1–3–1–2)
o o • • o o o • • o o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma
• Names: Ahir Lalit, Aheer Lalat
• Transliterations: Hindi (अहीर ललित)
—Hariprasad Chaurasia (2000)—
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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!
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