Indian Classical music recommendations [Top 10]

Top 10 Indian classical CDs... ....even I am a newbie into this genre but I did buy some CDs purely based on intution and one of them that I was really happy with was Anoushka Shankar: Live at Carnegie Hall......good recording as well as good content.

particleman schrieb:

Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia,

these two folks are masters of the Santoor and the Flute and any album by them is bound to be relaxing

I am also not too much into Hindustani/carnatic but the below is amazing and a decent recording to boot. it produced by george harrison and inspired by vedas and the upanishads


http://www.amazon.co...rrison/dp/B000002SMC

abhi.pani:
Thanks, I will check it out. The Amazon reviewers seem rather tough on her though.

Arj:
Thanks. What a strange co-incidence! You won't believe it but I have that "Chants of India" CD (1 of only 2 Indian music CDs I have) and it is the very thing that inspired me to start this thread. I would like to hear more like it (but more music than chants) and perhaps could at the same time get my parents listening. It is definitely a very good recording - the chorus parts sound brilliant.

You are very right about Pt.s Shivkumar Sharma & Chaurasia - they have the midas touch. One of my first introductions to Indian music was "Call of the Valley" - the only Indian cassette I would listen to again and again. Now before I give the wrong impression and come across as a Western music snob, I should say that my reason for not listening to Indian Classical is that I don't understand it and fear it is very complex to get into -- all this understanding of raagas and gharanas is a bit intimidating. But of course I would love to cultivate the taste. I have a very fond memory from my (long-gone) college days of attending a concert featuring the aforementioned maestros (the JanFest at St. Xavier's College) it was an all-night concert and they were playing their music as the sun came up. Yes, I should definitely start with them. Thanks very much for reminding me!

Buy any Hindustani CD from Chhanda-dara, Sense Music or Audiorec lables....they will definetly be good. Excellent recording and content. I have a lot of them ...and they are all excellent.

Unfortunately none of them are available in India these days. You might still find some old stock of Chhanda-dhara. I believe Chhanda Dhara's new distrbutor will again distribute the CDs in India from Jan 08. Its a shame that we have to import good Indian music

Hindustani (unlike Jazz) is NOT acquired taste in my opinion...atleast for us Indians. Go to a live concert with a decent microphone/amplification setup...you will come back a changed man/women !!

The recently released Sony/NAD series of albums are also very decent. I bought a few of them...including an album by Hariprasad and Shivshankar (return of the valley).

Another good "old" stock would be the India Music Archive (The Rashid Khan album from this series is the best); You still get these...

If you like chants...try the "Gundhecca brothers" from sense music...they are the best available currently...absolutely intoxicating.


Regards
Siva.

Particleman,could you plz list out the Hindustani Classical Music cassettes that you parents have(Artist & Raaga) ?
That would give an idea ot their taste and also avoid repititive purchases.
In the meantime, plz go thru the threads Now Playing & Your latest CD purchases where some members incl me have given details of their purchases ib this genren

I concur with what Siva has to say;

Some music recommendations :-

Moment Records

Water Lilly Acoustics

Real World Records

AMMP Records - only has 6 cd's all are a must have. Not the indian pressed copies - please.....

India Music Archives

Navras Records - UK - not the indian pressing.

These lables have great recordings;

I happen to have a few.
If you are from Mumbai & want to hear them - to borrow & burn etc, please do pm me. I may be in a position to share.

All the Best !!!

There is some really nice ICM [Indian Classical Music] out there. The recordings are poor - 90 + % of the time. But if you are lucky, you will find a great performance with lovely acoustics.

P.S. Some of the Audiorec's are average at best [sorry Siva] !!!!

bhagwan69 schrieb:

P.S. Some of the Audiorec's are average at best [sorry Siva] !!!!

I'll agree. Recording is not great (get a feeling that high's are slightly distored in all thier albums....but still far better than any Indian pressed ones)...but some of thier album's are simply outstading with thier content.

Tribute to Bade Ghulam Ali (by his son and grandson) from Audiorec...is a must have. I got this from Landmark.....which was lying unsold for 2 years in thier Mumbai branch :-)

Recently got another Audiorec album with the south indian "Naddaswaram" and "Ghatam". I think it is only recording on which - you can actually get to hear the real timber of this wonderful instrument...all though still not a perfect recording. Definetly a demo CD for my use..

Regards
Siva.

It would be good if you all give some recommendation about the Indian recoding labels too. Which records are more compromising on recording quality? Some of the new Saregama CDs of old music I have heard recently sound quite lifeless.

Out of these labels:
1. Saregama - http://www.saregama.com/
2. Music Today - http://www.music-today.com/
3. Times Music - http://www.timesmusic.com/

(add others)

Which ones have been more consistent in their audio quality? Any particular album series which you liked?

Hi,

I read in local daily that All India Radio (AIR) is releasing CD's of live recordings from their archives. They might be having a good collection of rare recordings, hope the quality is also good.

I have no idea about the sales channels of AIR. It would be nice if someone connected to AIR find out where one can buy these CD's.
Regards
Ani

sandipb schrieb:

It would be good if you all give some recommendation about the Indian recoding labels too. Which records are more compromising on recording quality? Some of the new Saregama CDs of old music I have heard recently sound quite lifeless. Out of these labels: 1. Saregama - http://www.saregama.com/ 2. Music Today - http://www.music-today.com/ 3. Times Music - http://www.timesmusic.com/ (add others) Which ones have been more consistent in their audio quality? Any particular album series which you liked?

None are good;

Sorry Sir !!!

2 & 3 are both very bad.

got the info from web

http://allindiaradio.org/Akashvanisangeet/releases1.html

Ani, I picked 2-3 of the AIR releases.
I'm sorry but the sonic quality is pretty awful; it just does not do justice to the magic of the Masters-you'll have to pick them up purely for the content.

Bhagwan, you're quite right about the sonic quality of the labels mentoned-it's very iffy-sometimes it's quite nice, at other times quite awful.
I recently picked up a CD of Ustad Vilayat Khan Saheb released by SAREGAMA, supposedly ADD as per the label.
I felt like kicking whoever was responsible for mastering & pressing the CD.
I know that the recording was OK bec I had bought the cassette many years back & it was far better in comparison.
With the CD I have to make a lot of adjustments with the equalisiser before the music is listenable but I'll have to do it-how else can I enjoy the music making of a once- in- a- century master?
Thats the problem with Indian releases-you have to put up with them or else forego the pleasure of listening to Masters of Music.

Thank you for the information Kamalji, There goes another hope

REgarding SareGama ..i get the feeling they are storing all their music in some MP3 kind of format and then creating the CDs. treble is noticably tinny and really bright.

Festival of Indian Classical Music - Romantic Ragas - a 2 CD album released by Chhanda Dhara Records has amazing collection of music from all the celeb artists and an excellent recording quality. Some of the Chhanda Dhara titles are available in Delhi at Music World, Ansal Plaza.

So all the best.

To all who have been so kind to reply to my queries and for your kind offers I am especially grateful. I am sincerely apologetic for "abandoning" this thread - I have been foolishly putting off the effort to add a comprehensive update. I should manage my time better.

With your kind permission I would like to turn this thread into a list for "Recommendations for Indian Classical Music" -- what I mean by this is I will edit my first post with a comprehensive compilation of all recommendations made so it can stand as a reference post for future.

Sorry again for this lapse, hope to do the right thing soon. Thanks all, again.