Together

Dr. N RAMANI & HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA – “Together”
Dunya, 2004

INDIA – A meeting of the minds between two bansuri flute masters and two musical philosophies. Ramani is from the south (Tamil Nadu) and plays in the Carnatic tradition. Chaurasia is from the north (Uttar Pradesh) and works in the Hindustani idiom. The first disc-and-a-half are a performance of the Carnatic Raga Hindolam merged with the Hindustani Raga Malkauns. Disc 2 concludes with the short & exciting Raga Pahadi. The recording quality isn’t great, but the music is outstanding. Listen for Anindo Chatterjee’s fantastic tabla work.

1-1. 27:16 – Atmospheric flute dialogue over mystical mridangam string tones. Ramani is bright & flowery, Chaurasia slow and quiet.

1-2. 13:32 – Teental, part 1: Both flutes, still taking turns, dance easily over intricate tabla beats. Upbeat but unhurried, and very nice, turns wild at ~8:00!

2-1. 26:51 – Teental, part 2: Fade in to a quick-tempo call & response section, bright and playful, about 5 mins. Some rhythmic shifts, then an incredible 20-minute tabla solo! Flutes back in for final minute.

2-2. 16:31 – An easygoing, folksy raga: flutes in light-hearted conversation over mridangam, tabla comes in at ~7:00, grows increasingly dense.

[Fo] 12/9/05