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Raga: Yaman - Alap
Artist:
Umakant Gundecha - Vocals
Ramakant Gundecha - Vocals
Pushparaj Koshti - Surbahar
Akhilesh Gundecha - Pakhawaj
Manik Munde - Pakhawaj

Recorded Live at Saptak Festival - Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India)
Executive Producer - Alpesh Patel
Produced, Mixed and Mastered in the U.K by - Derek Roberts
Assistant Engineer - Krishna Shirgaonkar
Photography - Deko, Raju Srivastav
VFX Producer - Vijay Dave | Varun Creations
Thanks to - The stage crew at Virtual Studios,
Nandan Mehta, Prafull Shah, everyone at Saptak, Kanti Dattani, Rushi Shastri and
Verity Sharp (BBC Radio 3 / Late Junction) for inspired radio.

A very rare and inspiring Dhrupad masterclass with the Gundecha Brothers in a trio with the baritone sitar the Surbahar. This fantastic recording is a must for lovers of deeply spiritual music.

The Gundecha brothers are at the forefront of the revival in fortune that has overtaken the ancient vocal form, dhrupad. For much of the 20th century it was assumed to be in slow terminal decline, a victim of the all-conquering khayal tradition which had evolved from it in preceding centuries to become the basis of contemporary classical music in India for instruments as much as voices. But you can't keep a great experience unnoticed. The key aspect of dhrupad is its elemental nature. It contains all the elements that still go to make up a full-scale raga elaboration today, and it presents them with elemental focus and intensity. When the opening stages introduce the notes of the raga one at a time, that is what you hear spread out over many minutes, hugely concentrated in expressive force but largely unadorned except for connecting slides and pitch-bending, rather than buried beneath layers of ornament and frisky invention as you might hear in another alap. When rhythmic movement begins, there is correspondingly more activity from the singers, but the level of excitement rises very gradually. Only in the later stages of the percussion-backed compositions, or bandishes, does the time arrive for a full range of virtuosity to be presented. Compared with the many performers who like to show off their prowess as early as they can, a dhrupad singer will make you wait; but the payoff is all the more thrilling for the length of the build-up.

Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are among the most active younger performers of dhrupad in Indian and international circuits. They have learnt their music with members of the Dagar family, who for many years were among the very few leading exponents of the style. Born in Ujjain in Central India, both were initiated into music by their parents. They received a conventional university education and studied the dhrupad vocal art under the renowned vocalist Zia Fariduddin Dagar and also with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar - the distinguished instrumentalist of the rudra veena - in Dhrupad Kendra Bhopal. The Gundecha brothers have sung great Hindi poetry by Tulsidas, Kabir, Padmakar, Nirala in dhrupad style. They have recorded about 25 releases; they have also sung for many television channels in India and have been broadcast on international stations. As well as being an integral part of India's music festivals, the brothers have performed at many festivals and institutions around the world. They have received the Sanskriti Award in 1994, the Kumar Gandharva Award in 1998 from the government of Madhya Pradesh, and the Dagar Gharana Award by Mewar Foundation in 2001.

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