Introduction to Concert performance of Amjad Ali Khan

Ukrainian National Opera Hall, Kyiv, December 8, 2009

This evening's performance by the Master of the Sarod, Amjad Ali Khan, promises to be a rare and wonderful musical experience. For those new to Indian classical music, a brief introduction:

Indian classical music has a history going back over two millennia. While its origin can be traced to the Vedic period, it has been enriched, inevitably, by diverse influences over the ages. Not surprisingly, it is every bit as fascinating as the country itself.

Indian classical music exerts great influence on the lives of people across India, for whom it is a means of cultural expression, a source of religious inspiration, and a form of pure artistic enjoyment.

It is mainly melodic rather than harmonic. It consists of a basic melodic line sung or played against a complex rhythmic pattern. The melody is usually based on a Raga, while the rhythm is called Tala.

A raga is a series of five or more musical notes. Ragas are supposed to evoke various moods in the listener. Certain ragas are specific to certain seasons, or to times of the day. Ragas are, strictly speaking, not "composed" by any composer, but created through a lengthy evolutionary process over centuries. Tala roughly corresponds to the 'metre' in western music, but is different from it.

The Sarod is a prominent Indian string instrument used to play ragas. It is derived from the word 'Sarood' meaning 'melody' in Persian. A modification of the Rabab - a folk instrument from Central Asia - by Ghulam Bandegi Khan Bangash, an ancestor of Amjad Ali Khan, it is a relatively young instrument compared to other Indian musical instruments.

Amjad Ali Khan is the sixth-generation Sarod player in a family rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music. He has developed a unique style of playing, and his contribution to the field of Indian classical music is immense. He has traveled widely and performed at such famous halls as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Mozart Hall in Frankfurt and the Opera House in Sydney.

Amjad Ali Khan's sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, like him, have been playing the sarod from a tender age, and have carved out a special niche for themselves. Tanmoy Bose and Mithilesh Kumar Jha, who would be accompanying the sarods, are leading Tabla players in the world of rhythm.

The programme today would be approximately an hour and a half long, consisting of three segments. There would be no intermission.

Ladies and gentlemen: Please welcome Amjad Ali Khan and his group of eminent musicians.