Ustad Shahid Parvez and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee Live In Concert DVD (www.northindianmusic.com) It is a sad state of affairs that such musical highlights as the concert in 2002 of Ustad Shahid Parvez and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee across Australia and the South Pacific passed by without the deserved attention of the mainstream media.

If these figures had been western opera or classical musicians of a similar calibre they may have been afforded some column space, but alas, the omission of the “world music concert of the year” demonstrated an alarming ignorance in Australia of events of cultural significance on its doorstep. It is a good thing then that entrepreneurial adventurers such as the founders of North Indian Music take the initiative and help rescue Australians from existing within a cultural void and not only organise these events but record them as well. The result of this outstanding concert series can now be purchased and enjoyed on this DVD release. The liner notes say it all… Ustad Shahid Parvez and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee have earned international reputations for being perhaps the finest exponents of their chosen instrumentation, the sitar and tabla. Together their performances are explosive and on a constant level, absolutely magical. I went to this concert in Sydney and was mesmerised by a music that transcended the theatre space and transported the audience into the ether... MORE

The repertoire of classical Indian music follows two main currents, the Hindustani of North India and the Carnatic of South India.

In both the general structural form is the raga, the performance of which may extend to the better part of an hour. Ragas are usually introduced by a ruminative free-metred section of variable length known as the alap. Its role is to map out as it were the notes and modes to be used in the composition, which is underpinned by complex rhythmic cycles known as talas and characterised by melodic and rhythmic improvisations from the musicians. Although there are points of overlap between the two currents between which instruments and repertoire may be shared, each does bear distinguishing characteristics that can be appreciated by the novice even after a few listens.

To the unaccustomed Western ear initially it may simply be the sounds produced by the various instruments. Southern carnatic music can often display a denser rhythmic sound than its northern counterpart simply because of the greater variety of drums and percussion employed. In addition the sliding effects prevalent in Indian music are more pronounced in the South with such stringed instruments as the vina and chitravina. Latisphere (distributed by MRA) has released some outstanding compilations of world music over the last couple of years including the wonderful Inner Spirit Of India reviewed in issue#10 of DIASPORA...

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