Customer Reviews

Sampradaya

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3 star:		(2)
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I have to admit that I was a little doubtful when I purchased this CD. I have long admired the work of Shivkumar Sharma. His recording (with Zakir Hussain) of Rag Madhuvanti and Rag Misra Tilang (on the Nimbus label) remains one of my favorite CDs in my whole library, period. But I was afraid that the sound of two santoors would be too muddy. I underestimated the abilities of father and son to mesh fully on this extended composition. It is encouraging that the next generation shows such promise. This is truly wonderful music.

I had the privelege to see Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son, Rahul Sharma, in jugalbhandi last evening at the University of Maryland, College Park. After listening to their music for the past four years, I can say that the experience of seeing them live in concert was extraordinary. For anyone who has not seen Indian classical music live in concert, the experience is one of almost pure joy in that the artists play together and 'feed' off of one another to enhance their performance. They almost seem to push one another to come up with more and more creative variations on all the raags they play.

This album was the first santoor album I purchased. I had never before heard the instrument before nor had I listened to anything but Ravi and Anoushka Shankar. This album was an eye-opener and it quickly became one of my favorites. The raag, Janasamohini, is an evening composition that is best listened to during the evening hours (though you can listen to it as and when you please). With two santoors, the tune can often become a mish mash if the artists aren't in sync but in the case of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Rahul Sharma, they are always in sync and always having a wonderful time playing together. You can see it in their expressions.

The raag on the album is broken into the three parts that a traditional raag is broken into. Each part is linked by the basic notes of the raag. The first part introduces the tune and helps establish the mood. The second part adds the tabla and rhythm and the final part is the conclusion of the piece which is often played at rapid speed. The flow of music in this piece is so good that one can hardly tell where father ends and son begins. I highly recommend this CD to anyone looking to get into Indian classical music. You can't do much better than the santoor stylings of two generations.

I have never before heard hammered dulcimers used in Indian music, but after hearing this disc, I'm not sure why -- it works so well. The music has a distinctly Indian feel despite the odd instrumentation, and carries with it an extraordinary, exotic sound. Beautiful.

i have this recording on right now
it's after midnight...the windows are open facing total darkness
the sound of this sampradaya fills the room like a fragrance

the word sampradaya means tradition...i think
but with a deeper hint to it...esoteric tradition...not handed out to all
and since this features father and son...shivkumar and rahul...one gets the impression that something unspeakable is being transferred

the santoor is a beautiful instrument and one can distinguish shivkumars santoor from others very quickly...his modifications and style

his disciples carry the same feel but i like to think that something deeper was passed from father to son

can you imagine the love permeating the air around them while they played?
such a deep connection must be made and known!

the beauty is that these are not strictly structured pieces...each musician has to be attuned to every other musician...these are not pieces which can be performed while the musicians mind is elsewhere

shivkumar said somewhere that his favorite performance was when...at the end...the collective audience was in too perfect a state to break it by clapping...and he himself entered into a deep meditative thoughtless state

clearly there is a deep spiritual thread running through this music

this is music that takes you higher
into higher realms of emotion and thinking
into subtle depths of joy

it's perfectly recorded too
nothing is out of balance
the ambiance of the room is wonderful
the tabla feels very close

The combination of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son is phenomenol. This is nice mix of classical indian music played by a santoor. This is great music. His son is the next Shiv Kumar Sharma and that is proved in this album. This is a damn good album. A definite collector's item.

Indian folk? The exquisite classical raga janasammohini is here played on santoors (hammered dulcimers), by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, India's premier santoor player, and his younger son Rahul. An incredibly intricate woven tapestry of sound. One of the most beautiful and unique specimins of Indian music available in the U.S.

The Kashmiri santoor (Indian hammered dulcimer) pioneer Shiv Kumar Sharma, at 61, stands at the peak of a brilliant musical career and one need no further proof than this incredulous performance of a new raga, "Janasammohini". Sampradaya refers to disciplic succession and for this three-part, hour plus journey Sharma illustrates the process with his son Rahul and chosen tabla accompanist Shafaat Ahmed Khan. The three of them proceed to weave an experience that is exceptional even among the famously demanding ranks of Indian classical music and its makers. Each movement spans 20+ minutes, developing from simple, succinct musical language and rises stealthily toward a climactic plateau of harmonic density, accelerated speed, and finally both. Not one but two Sharma santoors and the blistering, full-bodied hand drumming of Khan accomplish this to dazzling, mind-soaring effect. The first movement profiles a percussionless duet, suitably relaxing and initiatory yet ecstatic in itself. In the trio-ed second and third, moments of three separate rhythmic voices, differingly paced yet still in step, are not uncommon, and build to delicious complexity. The santoors of the Sharma family are easy to listen to, especially in this lively presentation, where the resonant finish of the instruments tones shine as nakedly as their tactile leading edge. Ambience is perfect as the performers are -right there- but crucially leave a warm round shadow in Realworld's medium-sized room, averting sterility or deadness. The variety of ornamentation, rhythmic attack, and phrasing here is vast; the technical and artistic requirements of the musicians unimaginable from the perspective of this mere listener. For the rightly prepared mind, capable of a deep undistracted 66 minutes of inner quiet, a volume-boosted audition of this will predictably yield a flash glimpse of mortal perfection and ...pure bliss.

I have been a fan of Sharma's since the 1970's. Still listen mostly to ragas on cassettes and an LP from India. I was VERY disappointed in the "Sampradaya" album: I don't think the father and son integrate very well, and I never felt the release of streams of melodic invention I expect from Shivkumar Sharma: he seems to always hold himself back in order to let his son keep up.... If you buy it now & disagree, let me know. Get "Rag Madhuvanti & Rag Misra Tilang" instead

the sound of the santoor is that of angels (or Hindu deities) singing - it's that good. And so is this album.

I bought this disc after hearing Shiv Kumar Sharma play on Shakti-Saturday night in Bombay with John Mclaughlin,which I highly reccomend.This is a fine disc but I have to say that on the second Raga the tabla player loses it as far as I can hear.
He is neither playing in sympathy with or even in time with the santoors.I find he really spoils the Raga for me and I am suprised that the track made it on to the disc.Apart from that I really enjoy this disc and would have rated it higher but for some wayward percussion.