''Chants of India'' is an album by Indian musician

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

released in 1997 on

Angel Records Angel Records was a record label founded by EMI in 1953. It specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score. and one Peter Sellers comedy disc. The famous Recording Angel trademark was used by the Gramophon ...

. Produced by his friend and sometime collaborator

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, the album consists of

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

and other

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

sacred prayers set to music, marking a departure from Shankar's more familiar work in the field of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. The lyrical themes of the recorded chants are peace and harmony among nature and all creatures. Sessions for the album took place in the Indian city of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and at Harrison's home in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, Oxfordshire, following his work on '' The Beatles' Anthology'' (1995).

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

John Barham John Barham is an English classical pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He is best known for his orchestration of George Harrison albums such as ''All Things Must Pass'' (1970) and for his association with Indian sitar maestro R ...

Bikram Ghosh Bickram Ghosh is an Indian classical tabla player. Early life He started learning tabla from his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, who had played with Ali Akbar Khan. Career Ghosh has performed with Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ghos ...

, Tarun Bhatacharaya and

Ronu Majumdar Ronu Majumdar is an Indian flautist in the Hindustani classical music tradition. Awards, nominations, and music collaborations In 1981, Ronu Majumdar won the first prize at the All India Radio competition, and the President's Gold Medal. He ...

are among the many musicians who contributed to the recording. ''Chants of India'' was well received by reviewers; author Peter Lavezzoli describes it as "a quiet masterpiece" and "the most fully realized collaboration" by Shankar and Harrison. Shankar considered it to be among the best works of his 60-year career. In 2010, the album was reissued as part of the

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...

box set '' Collaborations'', which combined various projects undertaken by the two artists, beginning in 1973. ''Chants of India'' was the last formal collaboration between Shankar and Harrison, who was diagnosed with cancer shortly after its release. At the

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arrange ...

in November 2002, Shankar incorporated some of the selections from ''Chants of India'', including the album-closing "Sarve Shaam", in a set performed by daughter Anoushka as a tribute to Harrison.

Background and content

Having maintained a close friendship in the decades since their last official collaboration in 1974,Tillery, p. 141.

and

began working together in 1995 on projects to celebrate Shankar's 75th birthday. Harrison first produced a four-disc career retrospective issued on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, '' Ravi Shankar: In Celebration'' (1996), which also included unreleased recordings made by the pair,Clayson, p. 436. before serving as editor on Shankar's second autobiography, '' Raga Mala''.Lavezzoli, p. 197. When compiling ''In Celebration'', Shankar and Harrison discussed with Angel Records the possibility of making an album of

chants and other

Hindu sacred texts Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

set to music. According to Shankar, the record company were hoping to repeat the commercial success of a recording by "those Spanish monks" – ''Chant'', an album of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

s by the Benodictine monks of the

Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey ( es, Abadía del Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos) is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Santo Domingo de Silos in the southern part of Burgos Province in northern Spain. The monastery is named after the ...

, featuring a contemporary

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

. Author Simon Leng describes the ''Chants of India'' project as a "back to the roots" exercise for Harrison, after his production of

Radha Krishna Temple This article discusses the London Radha Krishna Temple (also Radha Krsna Temple), which has been the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. It was founded in Bu ...

and his own releases such as "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the ...

" and "

It Is 'He' (Jai Sri Krishna) "It Is 'He' (Jai Sri Krishna)" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the final track of his 1974 album '' Dark Horse''. Harrison was inspired to write the song while in the Hindu holy city of Vrindavan, in northern India, wi ...

" in the 1970s.Leng, p. 281. Shankar had grown up in the Hindu holy city of

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

,Ken Hunt
"Ravi Shankar"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

(retrieved 24 November 2013). where the public chanting of Vedic hymns " wakenedhis passion for music", author Reginald Massey writes, and as a young man during the 1940s he had embraced the concept of Nada

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

(meaning "Sound is God"), under the strict tutelage of music

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

Allauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

. In his liner notes to ''Chants of India'', Shankar nevertheless describes the undertaking as "one of the most difficult challenges in my life, as a composer and arranger".Ravi Shankar's liner notes, ''Chants of India'' CD (Angel Records, 1997; produced by George Harrison). Shankar noted the precedents for such a venture: "

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

chants from the Vedas,

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

and other scriptures have been recorded by many in India and elsewhere, either in its original form by the Traditional Scholars ... or sung within

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

forms by eminent musicians with accompanying instruments. Some have even attempted to make them more popular by using a semi-classical and commercial approach. I wanted to make a version different from all these, but still maintain the tremendous spiritual force, and purity of the

Sukta The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one S ...

Shloka Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...

s and

Mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

s, and at the same time make it universally appealing." Shankar consulted a Dr Nandakumara of the

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

in London, regarding the interpretation of the Sanskrit texts. Aside from adapting these ancient texts, Shankar composed new selections for the album – "Prabhujee", "Mangalam", "Svara Mantra" and "Hari Om" – and, as he put it, "tuned them in the same spirit". Peter Lavezzoli, author of ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', writes of the album's themes: "The record begins with the traditional invocation to

Lord Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...

, continuing through a series of traditional Hindu prayers and chants from the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

, Upanishads, and ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

''." Harrison biographer

Gary Tillery Gary Tillery is an American writer and artist known for his biographies focusing on the spiritual lives of famous figures, and for his public sculptures. His 2009 book, ''The Cynical Idealist'', was named the official book of the 2010 John Lennon ...

describes the songs' focus, following the opening invocations, as "peace, love, ecology, and social harmony". ''Chants of India'' reunited Shankar and Harrison with English musician and arranger

. Barham provided Western annotation of Shankar's melodies,Album credits, ''Chants of India'' CD (Angel Records, 1997; produced by George Harrison). a role he had first supplied for Shankar at the Bath Music Festival in 1966, when the Indian

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

virtuoso had duetted with

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

conducted the musicians at the sessions, having made her European performance debut in July 1995 at an official concert to celebrate her father's 75th birthday, held at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

in London.

Recording

The first recording sessions were held in the south Indian city of

in January 1996, at Sruthilaya Media Artists Studio. After a second set of dates there, in April,Badman, p. 554. Shankar and Harrison decided to move the project to Harrison's recording facility at

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...

, his home in

, Oxfordshire. According to Tillery, Madras had been chosen in order to "cultivate authenticity", being a music capital of the South Asian region, yet the atmosphere at Sruthilaya "seemed too secular for the aura of spirituality they wanted to create". A large cast of local musicians contributed to the recording in Madras, on instruments such as

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

, violin, flute, cello,

tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

and

mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

, while the chorus singers (divided into "Indian" and "Western" groups on the sleeve credits) numbered 21. While in India in April, Harrison visited the holy city of

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

with his Radha Krishna Temple friends

Mukunda Goswami Mukunda Goswami ( sa, मुकुन्द गोस्वामी; born Michael Grant, April 10, 1942) is a spiritual leader (guru) within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as ISKCON or the ''Hare Krishnas ...

and Shyamasundar Das. The pilgrimage inspired him in his current work with Shankar, author Joshua Greene writes,Greene, p. 257. just as a 1974 visit to Vrindavan had been the catalyst for staging Shankar's Music Festival from India revue and their joint North American tour that year. In July 1996, Shankar and Harrison reconvened at Friar Park, after Harrison had recorded a contribution for

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

' '' Go Cat Go!'' album.Madinger & Easter, p. 487. The Friar Park sessions for ''Chants of India'' took place in the house's drawing room, with cables fed through from the studio area aboveTillery, p. 142. – the same arrangement under which Harrison had produced the '' Music Festival from India'' studio album, in summer 1974. From 7 July, sessions ran intermittently through to late August. Shankar later told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine that he wrote "Mangalam" at this time: "'Mangalam' came to me while I was walking in Friar Park, George's place, where we were recording. I was looking at the trees and the sky, and feeling very elated all of a sudden, wishing everything should be good for everyone, and it just came to me."Al Weisel
"Ravi Shankar on his pal George Harrison and 'Chants of India'"
''

'', 15 May 1997 (retrieved 26 November 2013). Among the participating musicians at Friar Park were Shankar's occasional

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player

, along with Tarun Bhatacharaya (

santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is a ...

), Ronu Mazumdar (

bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the ''Ri ...

flute) and Jane LIster (harp). While operating mainly in the role of producer, Harrison responded to Shankar's requests to perform on the recordings; Harrison contributed on acoustic guitar, bass,

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

and percussion, as well as supplying backing vocals. Shankar's wife Sukanya, a trained singer in the Karnatak tradition,Lavezzoli, p. 199. was also among the vocalists during what the album sleeve lists as the "London sessions". The recording and remix engineer was John Etchells. Tillery describes the making of ''Chants of India'' as a "labor of love" for Harrison following his participation in

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' project, and Barham similarly recalls it as having been "a pleasure working on this beautiful record". In Shankar's recollection, following a playback of some of the tracks, Harrison was so moved that he "embraced me with tears in his eyes and simply said, 'Thank you, Ravi, for this music.'" According to Lavezzoli, the album was one of Shankar's "personal favorite works".

Release

Angel Records issued ''Chants of India'' on 6 May 1997 in America, with a UK release following on 1 September. The album was marketed as a collaborative work, and Harrison joined Shankar in promoting the release. These activities included television appearances in New York and Paris, one of which, for America's VH1 network, aired on 24 July as ''George & Ravi – Yin & Yang''. In what would turn out to be Harrison's final performance on a TV show, he and Shankar discussed the album and their shared experiences, such as

the Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...

(1971). Harrison then accepted an acoustic guitar from host

John Fugelsang John Joseph Fugelsang (born September 3, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, writer, television host, political commentator and television personality. Early life and education Fugelsang was born on Long Island, New York. Of Danish, German, a ...

and performed songs including the just-released "Prabhujee", sung with Ravi and Sukanya Shankar.

Reception

''Chants of India'' was critically well-received, while commercially it peaked at number 3 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's Top World Music Albums chart. On release, Josef Woodard of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' labelled the album "enchanting" and added: "Unlike Shankar's classical raga recordings, Chants of India is a set of short, colorfully arranged pieces, enjoyable for neophytes and devotees alike. Another jewel from a humble world-music superstar."Josef Woodard
"''Chants of India'', Ravi Shankar"
''

'', 1 August 1997 (retrieved 18 November 2014). ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' described it as "a surprisingly colorful and accessible set of 16 pieces". Product description">"Ravi Shankar – Mantram: Chants Of India CD Album" > Product description

CD Universe CD Universe.com is an e-commerce site that sells music CDs, mp3 downloads, movies, and video games worldwide. CD Universe also offers a wide selection of miscellaneous items such as stuffed animals, jigsaw puzzles, board games, etc. History CD ...

Muze Founded in 1991, Muze, Inc. was a business-to-business provider of media information, metadata, and digital preview samples that enable search, discovery, and purchase of digital entertainment content. "Muze was founded by Zullo and Trev Huzley i ...

(retrieved 8 August 2014). In his review for ''Billboard'', Paul Verna commented that "the project possesses a hypnotic quality reminiscent of the label's enormously popular Gregorian chant recordings" and concluded: "'Chants of India' represents a creative milestone in the life of a veteran artist whose contributions to traditional Indian music cannot be overestimated."Paul Verna
Albums">"Reviews & Previews" > Albums
''

'', 7 June 1997, p. 77 (retrieved 11 August 2014). Peter Lavezzoli writes of the album: "''Chants of India'' is a quiet masterpiece, one of the most uplifting and musically engaging recordings of sacred music ... Harrison's production created the ideal setting for each chant, all of which are exquisitely sung, and the album remains the most fully realized collaboration between both artists."Lavezzoli, p. 198. Jim Brenholts of

similarly praises the work, writing: "Shankar's style and diversity allow him to open doors that are closed to other musicians ... Shankar's compositional and sound-design styles add atmosphere. Harrison's deft touch allows the music to develop and maintain its own integrity. Among records of this nature, this one is special."Jim Brenholts
"Ravi Shankar ''Mantram: Chants of India''"

(retrieved 8 August 2014). Author and former ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' editor

Mat Snow Mat Snow (born 20 October 1958) is an English music journalist, magazine editor, and author. From 1995 to 1999, he was the editor of ''Mojo'' magazine; he subsequently served in the same role on the football magazine ''FourFourTwo''. During the ...

considers it to be "perhaps the very best introduction to the enduring creative friendship between the Bengali classical master and the scruff from Liverpool's back streets". Harrison biographer

Alan Clayson Alan Clayson (born 3 May 1951, Dover, Kent) is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. He gained popularity in the late 1970s as leader of the band Clayson and the Argonauts. In addition to contributing to publications such as ...

describes ''Chants of India'' as a "thoroughly diverting production" that " alancessung lyrics as succinct as ''

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

'' and instrumental passages of a quirky complexity vaguely reminiscent of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

". Writing in '' Goldmine'' magazine in 2010, Gillian Gaar described the album as "a sound that's akin to '

Within You, Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical music, Ind ...

'", and "especially soothing and relaxing" due to the devotional nature of the words.Gillian G. Gaar
"Shankar/Harrison set succeeded on crossover appeal"
'' Goldmine'', 31 January 2011 (retrieved 4 August 2015). Anastasia Tsioulcas of

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

includes ''Chants of India'' in her list of Shankar's five "essential" works, and writes: "Shankar took Hindu prayers, mantras and scriptural texts and framed them within larger musical settings, incorporating both Indian and European instruments along with voices. The results are transporting – and very beautiful."

Legacy and reissue

''Chants of India'' was the last formal musical collaboration between Shankar and Harrison. During promotion for the album in summer 1997, Harrison was diagnosed with cancer, a condition he was then thought to have beaten until a near-fatal stabbing by a deranged fan, on 30 December 1999, encouraged its return. On 29 November 2002, a year after his death at the age of 58, Shankar included selections from ''Chants of India'' in the opening, Indian music portion of the

, held at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London. Anoushka Shankar performed the set, as sitarist and conductor, backed by some of the musicians and singers who had contributed to the Friar Park sessions in 1996, including Sukanya Shankar, Chandrashekhar, M. Balachandar and Lister.Booklet with ''Concert for George''. The album-closing "Sarve Shaam" appears at the start of

David Leland David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...

's ''

'' documentary film (2003), played as Harrison's widow

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...

lights commemorative candles on stage. As part of Ravi Shankar's 90th birthday celebrations in 2010,

reissued ''Chants of India'' in a four-disc box set titled '' Collaborations''. A project overseen and produced by Olivia Harrison,"Foreword by Philip Glass", in ''Collaborations'', p. 1. the box set also included the albums '' Shankar Family & Friends'' (1974) and ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' (1976), together with previously unreleased film of the Music Festival's debut performance in September 1974, directed by

Stuart Cooper Stuart W. Cooper (born 1942) is an American filmmaker, actor and writer. Career Cooper was a resident in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s where his most notable film appearance was as one of ''The Dirty Dozen'', Roscoe Lever, in 1967. ...

.Badman, p. 133.

Track listing

All songs are traditional, adapted by Ravi Shankar, except where noted.

Personnel

–

, direction, arrangements *

– vocals, acoustic guitar,

, bass,

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

– conductor and assistant * Ronu Mazumdar – flute Madras sessions * Kalyan – violin and assistant * Subramaniam, Devi –

s * Murali –

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

* Seenu –

* Balasai, Kamalaskar – flutes * Shekar, Biswas, John – cellos * Mirali, Rex, Balu, Sasi, Girijan – violins * Narayanan, Rebecca Goodsell, Sririam, Venkataraman, Gowri Shankar –

s * Babu Parameshwaran, Natesan, Ramchandran Suresh, Sashidran, Babu, Mani, Mani Kiran, Shanta Dhananjayan, Suhasini, Latha, Rashmi – vocals ("Indian chorus") * Sarada, Martha, Vimala, Pearl, Adela, Dr Grub, Billy, Tony, Arul, Ranjith – vocals ("Western chorus") London sessions * Chandrashekhar – violin and assistant * M. Balachandar – mridangam,

morsing The morsing (also mukharshanku, mourching, morching or morchang; Sanskrit: दंत वाद्यन्तरात्मसत्रस्य, Telugu: మోర్సింగ్, Kannada: ಮೋರ್ಸಿಂಗ್, Rajasthani: मोर� ...

–

* Tarun Bhatacharaya –

* Jane Lister – harp * Antonia Paget – violin * Michael Paget, Stella Page – violas * Isabel Dunn – cello * Terry Emery – tuned percussion * Deepa Singh, Hari Sivanesan, Sivashakti Sivanesan, Gaurav Mazumdar, Shyamali Basu, Chandrashekhar, Sukanya Shankar – vocals

Notes

References

Sources

* Dale C. Allison Jr., ''The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). * ''Collaborations'', book accompanying ''Ravi Shankar–George Harrison Collaborations'' box set (Dark Horse Records, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; package design by Drew Lorimer & Olivia Harrison). * ''

'' DVD (Warner Vision, 2003; directed by David Leland; produced by Ray Cooper, Olivia Harrison, Jon Kamen & Brian Roylance). * The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ). * Joshua M. Greene, ''Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison'', John Wiley & Sons (Hoboken, NJ, 2006; ). * George Harrison, ''I Me Mine'', Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002; ). * Olivia Harrison, ''George Harrison: Living in the Material World'', Abrams (New York, NY, 2011; ). * Elliot J. Huntley, ''Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles'', Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ). * Colin Larkin, ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' (5th edn), Omnibus Press (London, 2011; ). * Peter Lavezzoli, ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). * Ravi Shankar, ''My Music, My Life'', Mandala Publishing (San Rafael, CA, 2007; ). * Ravi Shankar, ''Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar'', Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; ). * Mat Snow, ''The Beatles Solo: The Illustrated Chronicles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo After The Beatles'' (Volume 3: ''George''), Race Point Publishing (New York, NY, 2013; ). * Gary Tillery, ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ). {{Authority control 1997 albums Ravi Shankar albums Angel Records albums Albums produced by George Harrison Albums recorded at FPSHOT Religious music albums by Indian artists Indian mythology in music