Inde Vol. 15 [ESP 8413]
A. Raga Bhimpalasi - Alap, Jor [I]
B. Raga Bhimpalasi - Jor [II], Jhala, Bandish [Chautal]
'Zia Fariduddin Dagar is an Indian classical vocalist in the Dhrupad tradition, the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music & part of the Dagar dynasty of musicians. He was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan in India on 15 June 1932, where his father, the great Ustad Ziauddin Khansahib was the court musician of Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur. He was taught dhrupad vocal & vina by his father. After his father’s demise, he continued learning under his elder brother, Late Ustad Z M Dagar, the foremost rudra vina player of 20th century. He taught at the Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal, along with his elder brother, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar for 25 years.
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar represents the 19th generation of the musical tradition of the Dagar family that is believed to have preserved and nurtured Dhrupad for 20 generations. He has done much for popularizing dhrupad music by his numerous concerts and workshops & performed widely in India and abroad, receiving the Tansen Samman from the Madhya Pradesh government & for Hindustani Music-Vocal, the 1994 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 2005, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the North American Dhrupad Association.
He has a remarkable command over microtones [swara-bheda] and various gamakas, and is noted for his gradual development of alap through vilambit, madhya and drut laya (slow, medium and fast tempo). He is probably the only person alive to be able to demonstrate all the five geetis mentioned in the Sangita Ratnakara namely, Shuddha, Bhinna, Gaudi, Sadharani(which is dagarwani of today) & Vegasura(which is popular in south India). He is the most influential dhrupad vocalist in India after the senior Dagar Brothers [Ustads N. Moinuddin & N. Aminuddin Dagar]
Nowadays, he stays & teaches at the Dhrupad Gurukul near Panvel, which was built by his elder brother Ustad Z. M. Dagar. He continues to perform widely in India and abroad. His students include the acclaimed Ritwik Sanyal, Pt.Pushparaj Koshti, Pt.Nirmalya Dey, Gundecha Brothers, Pt.Uday Bhawalkar & his nephew Baha'ud'din Mohiuddin Dagar.' ~ wiki
totally noodle-baking rendition of rag bhimpalasi from this stalwart of dhrupad on the superb Disques Espérance imprint out of France. i can't comprehend why so many folks' interest in hindustani vocal musique begins & ends with Pandit Pran Nath, when the rabbit-hole goes sooo much deeper. if you suffer similarly from this myopia, i highly recommend you try the links in the text of this post & this one too. the fidelity is fantastique. highest imaginable recomendation. 320 heartfelt धन्यवाद to dmatlb ji
