A
select gathering of music connoisseurs were in
attendance to hear an exciting tabla duet arranged by Sadarang Archives
in London on 13th August 2005. The artistes gracing the stage were the
illustrious tabla maestro Ustad Faiyyaz Khan and his talented disciple
Shahbaz Hussain.
Considered
amongst the world’s leading tabla players, Ustad Faiyyaz Khan’s art
has been steeped in the tradition of the Delhi gharana.
Born in Sikkar, Rajasthan in 1934 to a family of musicians
renowned for being sarangi and tabla players, Faiyyaz Khan’s initial
training came from his father, Ustad Nazir Khan. Having grasped the
basic elements of tabla playing, Faiyyaz Khan went on to become the
disciple of Delhi gharana’s Khalifa Inaam Ali Khan and furthered his
knowledge under his cousin Ustad Hidayat Khan and South Indian mridingam
exponent Pandit Ramnad Ishwaran.
The maestro has had a glorious career spanning
over six decades. He has to his credit the prestige of being associated
with All India Radio since 1955, conducting foreign tours on an
extensive basis, featuring in countless recordings as well as having the
honour of representing his country in numerous cultural delegations. Apart from his prowess over the solo
repertoire, Faiyyaz Khan’s forte is his measured accompaniment for
which he is considered a benchmark to the younger generation of tabla
players. The list of the illustrious musicians he has accompanied is
endless and includes legendary names such as Pandit Omkarnath Thakur,
Ustad Amir Khan, Krishanrao Shankar Pandit, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee,
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustads Nazakat Ali Khan Salamat Ali Khan and Roshan
Ara Begum.
Despite
maintaining a hectic performance schedule, Ustad Faiyyaz Khan is devoted
to propagating his art to the next generation of musicians in India as
well as abroad. He has been teaching at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory
in Holland on an annual basis since 1992. One of the highlights of the
concert was to see the effort he had put into grooming his disciple,
Shahbaz Hussain, whose performance was greatly admired by the audience.
Shahbaz Hussain
Khan is fast emerging as one of the most talented tabla players based in
the United Kingdom. Having received extensive training from Ustad
Faiyyaz Khan, he has also benefited from tutelage under Punjab
gharana’s Ustad Allah Rakha and Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan. Thus, his
tabla playing is a beautiful blend of the Delhi and Punjab traditions.
Despite being aged in his mid 20s, Shahbaz’s performances are marked
by a great sense of maturity and hold great promise both as a soloist
and accompanist. He has had the privilege of accompanying Ustad Imrat
Khan, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Ustad Rais Khan, Ustad Hussain Bukhsh
Khan and ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali.
The evening
proceedings began with an interview conducted by London based music
critic Ayub Aulia. Faiyyaz Khan unfolded many unknown facets of his
career including his close association with Ustad Amir Khan and an
anecdote of Roshan Ara Begum who had specifically requested for his
accompaniment when she toured India in 1978. The maestro also provided
extensive details on the unique features of the Delhi style of tabla
playing and lamented the fact that the sanctity of a definitive style of
tabla playing was slowly being lost.
Following the
interview, the audience were treated to a tabla duet in the sixteen beat
rhythmic cycle known as Teen Taal. The first half of the solo was
devoted to exploring the repertoire of the Delhi gharana. The maestro
began by performing the opening movement of a tabla solo known as
Peshkaar, this was followed by a number of hallmark Qaidas from the
Delhi school.
Regarded as the
oldest of the tabla solo stylistic traditions dating back to the 18th
century, Delhi gharana is also referred to as “Kinaar Ka Baaj”, the
style is defined for its emphasis on sweet and clear tonal reproduction,
particularly the usage of two fingers, index and middle of each hand to
strike both drums. The style is renowned for its fixed theme and
variation compositional genre known as the Qaida. Delhi gharana players
in particular employ a unique methodology in improvising upon the Qaida.
Ustad Faiyyaz Khan and Shahbaz Hussain, too, carefully demonstrated this
skill and created numerous variations of the main theme through the
systematic approach.
Following the
presentation of the Qaidas, fixed compositions known as Gats were
performed. Gats are considered as prized possessions of a tabla
player’s repertoire and very often the success of a solo performance
is judged at the complexity and uniqueness of each composition and the
manner in which a tabla player is able to perform them. As per the
tradition of solo tabla performance, both musicians recited each gat
prior to being played in order to emphasise its quality. A number of
these gats were extremely rare and not commonly performed in public,
highlighting the open heartedness of the maestro in sharing his
knowledge. The performers concluded the solo with a Rela, a composition
similar to a drum roll like cadenza. Accompanying both musicians on the
sarangi was Ilyas Khan, who played the naghma (melodic base line) based
on raag Charukeshi.
The knowledgeable
audience lauded the musicians during the course of the performance
lasting over ninety minutes. Shahbaz, in particular, displayed great
restraint and respect for his teacher by adopting a supporting role
during the course of the solo. A traditionalist at heart, Faiyyaz
Khan’s tabla playing took the audience to a bygone era of where
stylistic purity was given strict priority. This was a performance where
the tabla repertory was given prominence rather than emphasizing
showmanship or musical acrobatics, sadly, two features commonly found in
many of the tabla players of today.
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