S-R-g-M-P-D-N-S
A creation of Gwalior vocalist and educator Ramashreya Jha ‘Ramrang’ – named in honour of Anjana, a mythic Vanara princess fabled in Hindu lore as Lord Hanuman‘s mother. As per his student Rajan Parrikar, “the basic idea involves rendering the aroha of Madhuvanti sampurna, by taking in both [shuddha] Re and Dha. The aroha contour thus…permits the advance of Kalyan-like clusters”. Abhirang’s rendition of Ramrang’s bandish (Hanana Hanumana Manake: transcribed below) features strong meend on ga, Ma, & Dha (which, along with Sa, form a ‘diminished square’: S-g-M-D) – with all swaras except komal ga set to their highest specific variants (SRMPDNS). Also congruent with a Carnatic form known as Dharmavati – and compare to other Ramrang-related ragas including Bhankari and Kesari Kalyan.
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राग अंजनी कल्याण
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—Abhirang (2020)—
[bandish, e.g. 4:09] (DM)PMgM PD S(NS)DP, P(DN) D(PM)P, PMgP, PD S(NDNS)DP, P(DPDNSND), (P)MgR/gS S(RN), NNS, DNSRgM P(DP), (DP)MgR/gS S(RN), NNS, DNSRgM P(DP), (M)gMPDN, S(RSgR) (R)S N(SDNP), N(DPMD)PMg, PMgM PDN/S(ND)…
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Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
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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)
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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)
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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
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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: Thaat #5, Madhuvanti
Also compare to other members of the Kalyan raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–g–M–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmMDnS
• Complement: SrGmdnS
• Imperfect: 3 (ga, Ma, Dha)
• Detached: 1 (ga)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Nat Bhairav set
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: Dharmavati (mela #59)
S-R2-G2-M2-P-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Lydian b3
1-2-b3-#4-5-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-3-6-7-9-11-0
(2–1–3–1–2–2–1)
o • o o • • o o • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Anjani Kalyan, ~Dharmavati
• Transliterations: Hindi (अंजनी कल्याण)
—Vinay Sharva & Abhirang (2010)—
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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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