Call of the Valley

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Various Artists - New Age, Hari Prasad Chaurasia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 1995)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005H0H
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,843 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #43 in Music > World Music > India & Pakistan > General
  • #73 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > General AAS
  • #74 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > General

Track Listings

1. Ahir Bhairav/Nat Bhairav

2. Rag Piloo

3. Bhoop

4. Rag Des

5. Rag Pahadi

6. Ghara-Dadra (Bonus Track 1)

7. Dhun-Mishra Kirwani (Bonus Track 2)

8. Bageshwari (Bonus Track 3)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most important albumof Indian Classical Music, January 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Call of the Valley (Audio CD)

"Call of the valley" is to Indian classical music what "Hamlet" is to the English theater or "Mona lisa" is to the European painting - a milestone that is destined to remain the gold- standard forever. Quite possibly the highest selling album of Indian classical or instrumental album of all time, it is still finding - after three decades - new listeners who find listening to the album to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of their life. The music is simple. It is profound. It is mesmerizing. It is also revolutionary. On santoor(hammered dulcimer), flute and guitar three maestros created six simple pieces, about six-seven minutes each, and presented essence of six ragas. They say the theme is romantic. One of the instruments represents the natural ambiance and the other two represent a man and a woman courting. You may or may not get this but you will understand that this are hymns to mother nature. The beauty is that you don't have to be a connoisseur, you don't even have to know the first thing about Indian classical music to enjoy this. It simply pulls you in. In fact this is the music that has initiated hundreds of thousands of young people in India into the Classical music - even if just as a listener. As you learn more about the classical music your pleasure turns into respect for the music that you know took more evolved individuals than an average person or an average musician to create!

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Namaste India, May 14, 2002

By 

C. B. Newman "moodindigo2" (Brisbane, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Call of the Valley (Audio CD)

From the other reviews, you will notice a consensus regarding this recording. All are Indian music fans of one sort or another, but each expresses a distinction regarding this recording that elevates Call Of The Valley above other Indian music albums available in the West.

I've been experimenting with Indian music for a decade now, my first exposure being with Jai Uttal, a student of Ali Ahkbar Khan. No one is unexposed to Ravi Shankar who is interested in Indian music. It just goes with the territory when searching through the genre, and to be fair he is an excellent artist. Yet, I always knew there was something pure in Indian music that I was missing when I purchased or listened to these other artists who have been thrust upon the West as the flag bearers of the Raga, sitar, and tabla. Even those inexpensive off-brand traditional Indian music albums seem too conservative and lack the heart and soul that India's spirituality is known for and offered a more conservative recording.

It was not until I came across this album that I found what I had been searching for all this time, perhaps without truly knowing it. This is the first item on Amazon I am granting a 5 star rating. Call Of The Valley ...... how does one describe it? There is something to this album that is unique and magical. Many of the albums that I've listened to, such as The Best Of Shakti are artistic in their own merits, but do not have the ability to transport me to another place, whether it is the fertile valleys of India or an astral voyage of my own making. Call Of The Valley has this power. It is not just a musical summoning (from its title), it is an enchantment for the listener.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Indian classical music, February 9, 2003

By 

H. P. Ramesh "HPR" (Cupertino, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Call of the Valley (Audio CD)

If you are a newbie and planning to explore Indian classical music, then start with this album!

This recording, released in 1968, is the best selling Indian classical music album ever released in India. The choice of Ragas - which represent a shepherd's journey from morning to evening - is just excellent. The three instruments - the hundred-stringed Santoor that gives sounds of water flow, the soul-stirring Flute, and the innocent Hawaian Guitar - blend seamlessly and each artist gets equal 'musical space'. Indian classical music is steeped in spirituality and this album gives a quick but very effective introduction to the ocean of Indian music, especially to the uninitiated.

In addition to the five original tracks, this CD also has three more bonus solo tracks, one for each of the three musicians, as follows:
Mishra Kirwani Dhun - Shivkumar Sharma
Bageshree - Hariprasad Chaurasia
Gara Dhun - Brijbhushan Kabra

The most interesting thing about "Call Of The Valley" is that it marked the beginning of extremely successful musical journeys for three of India's greatest instrumentalists. And each of these musicians is a pioneer in his own instrument to the extent that their names have become synonymous with the respective instruments. Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia (Shiv-Hari) have produced major Santoor-Flute duets like "Jugalbandi", "The Valley Recalls (I & II)", "Rasadhara (I & II)", as well as more than 100 solo albums each!

HPR