Maestro of the Indian Flute

• Artist: Hariprasad Chaurasia
• Rating:
• Release Date: April 26, 2006
• Genre: World

Review

The two-CD Maestro of the Indian Flute compilation has more than two hours of recordings by Hariprasad Chaurasia spanning 1967-1994. Most of the pieces are ragas, and most are lengthy, with none shorter than five minutes, and one, "Raga Latangi," lasting almost half an hour. Divided into thematic "Innovations" and "Traditions" CDs, the tracks put the flute virtuoso in a pleasing variety of settings, though usually the mood is serene. Too, the instrumental setup usually sticks to flute, tabla, and tanpura, though guitar is also heard on all the selections on the "Innovations" disc; a santoor is used on "Raga Jinjhoti"; and zither graces a few of the ragas on the "Traditions" part of the program. While Chaurasia's career has been so extensive that even such a relatively lengthy disc can only offer a small slice of his recorded repertoire, this collection does well to provide a satisfying sampling of his work within its space limitations. Liner notes in English and French provide some very basic details of his career and commentary on each track. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Raga Pahadi		Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Manikrao Popatkar	(6:48)
Anand: Based on Raga Bhairavi		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(8:22)
Exuberance: Based on Raga Shivranjani		Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vijay Ghate, Jayantilal Gosher	(17:52)
Raga Jhinjhoti		Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma	(21:06)
Dhun Sindhi Bhairavin		Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain	(11:04)

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Raga Bageshwari in Ektaal		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(10:49)
Raga Mishra Pilu in Addha Taal		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(9:37)
Raga Gujri Todi, Vilambit in Matta Taal, Drut in Tritaal		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(20:46)
Raga Latangi, Vilambit in Ektaal, Madhyalaya in Teentaal		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(29:46)
Dhun 'Vaishnava Jan to Tene Kahiye'		Hariprasad Chaurasia	(5:39)

Credits

Zakir Hussain (Tabla), Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute), Vijay Ghate (Tabla), Manikrao Popatkar (Tabla), Iain Scott (Concept), Gautam Rajadhyaksha (Photography), Iain Scott (Management), Jayantilal Gosher (Guitar), Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor)