A Discography of Hindustani and Karnatic Music (Discographies) [Hardcover]

Michael S. Kinnear (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0313244790 | ISBN-13: 978-0313244797

This exhaustive and complete discography of Indian music issued on microgroove discs and cassettes provides information on over 2,700 recordings of classical and semiclassical music of the Indian subcontinent. It covers the period from the early 1950s to the end of 1983 and also contains information on recordings from the early 1930s onward that were originally issued at 78 RPM and have been reissued on microgroove discs. The main text of the discography is divided into five sections: Hindustani Instrumental, Hindustani Vocal, Karnatic Instrumental, Karnatic Vocal, and Anthologies. Artists are listed alphabetically and brief biographical information is provided when possible. The recordings are indexed by Raga and Tala (the melody and the rhythm), thus allowing comparison between different recordings of the same piece. An instrumental index is included as are indexes to several styles of vocal performance.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 594 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (September 25, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313244790
• ISBN-13: 978-0313244797
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,600,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Indian music discography but hardly "complete", January 21, 2011

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marcabru - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Discography of Hindustani and Karnatic Music (Discographies) (Hardcover)

This is an indispensable resource for those interested in the large number of LP and 7 inch (45s) records containing music from India. This discography includes both instrumental and vocal music and Hindustan and Carnatic styles. The material is arranged by the above categories and the artists who performed in the respective categories of Indian music between 1955 and 1983. The compiler has made a great effort to list cross referenced recordings. Quite a few of the major artists had specific selections appear on multiple lps. In some cases lps were concurrently issued in the US and India or Europe. Unfortunately there is no alternate index by record series so one must know the artist rather than the record number to look up a recording. Somewhat confusingly the lists are arranged by artist first name rather than last; e.g. Ravi not Shankar.

It is however necessary to dispute the product description of this book as in any way "complete". The discography is probably more complete for US and European pressings of Indian music than Indian pressings. Even I have a number of Indian music lps of the 60s and 70s not listed here issued by EMI India (the largest record company in India - not at all obscure).