Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India was an

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

revue led by

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 ...

ist and composer

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 In ...

intended for Western concert audiences and performed in 1974. Its presentation was the first project undertaken by the Material World Charitable Foundation, set up the previous year by ex-

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...

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 ...

. Long a champion of Indian music, Harrison also produced an eponymous studio album by the Music Festival orchestra, which was released in 1976 on his

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

record label. Both the CD format of the ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' album and a DVD of their performance 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 were issued for the first time on the 2010 Shankar–Harrison box set '' Collaborations''. The sixteen members of Shankar's Music Festival from India included Hariprasad Chaurasia,

Shivkumar Sharma Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (13 January 1938 – 10 May 2022) was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. As a music composer, he collaborated with Indian flautist Ha ...

Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and ...

, T.V. Gopalkrishnan,

L. Subramaniam Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. Early years Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, Brit ...

, Sultan Khan and

Lakshmi Shankar Lakshmi Shankar (née Sastri, 16 June 1926 – 30 December 2013) was an Indian singer and a noted Hindustani classical. Born into a south Indian Brahmin family, she became an outstanding Hindustani vocalist of the Patiala Gharana and married R ...

. Several of the musicians began successful international careers as a result of their participation, and all are recognised as being among the late twentieth century's finest exponents of Indian classical music. The ensemble played in Europe in September and October 1974 before touring North America with Harrison and his band during the final two months of the year.

Background and concept

Although he had composed and performed orchestral works in India, as

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

's music director between 1949 and 1956,

's only similar project for Western audiences had been when he toured America with his Festival from India orchestra in 1968. The tour featured musicians such as

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe, better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished himself i ...

and Palghat Raghu, with Shankar's regular

jugalbandi A jugalbandi or jugalbandhi is a performance in Indian classical music, especially in Hindustani classical music but also in Carnatic, that features a duet of two solo musicians. The word jugalbandi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet ca ...

partner,

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the swe ...

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he a ...

, joining the ensemble for their concerts in California.Stephen M.H. Braitman, "Pop Sounds from India Rock Greek: Ravi Shankar, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles", '' Van Nuys News'', 30 June 1968; available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). The plan for the larger Music Festival from India took shape in January 1974, when his friend

visited Shankar in his home town 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 tra ...

. Harrison attended a religious ceremony in honour of Shankar's new home, Hemangana, beside the

River Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

at Benares, after which he suggested that Shankar assemble an orchestra for concert tours of Europe and the United States. According to Harrison, the Music Festival was something that he himself had been wanting to stage "since about '67".''Collaborations'', p. 15. He was particularly inspired after hearing Shankar's orchestral piece ''Nava Rasa Ranga'' while in Bombay, where Harrison had recorded part of his 1968 solo album '' Wonderwall Music''.Olivia Harrison, p. 302. Unlike the Harrison-produced '' Shankar Family & Friends'', a cross-cultural project recorded in 1973, the focus behind the new collaboration was to celebrate the traditional aspects of

, both in concerts performed by the sixteen-piece Music Festival orchestra and in the studio.Lavezzoli, p. 195. Shankar would act as composer and conductor, rather than musician, and only play sitar on his famed

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

during the live performances. The presentation of the Music Festival was the first project undertaken by Harrison under the auspices of his Material World Charitable Foundation, one of the aims of which was to "sponsor diverse forms of artistic expression and to encourage the exploration of alternative life views and philosophies".

Musicians

Shankar gathered an impressive array of contributors for the project, whom he would describe decades later as "these wonderful musicians who are now superstars". Many of the players he had a musical history with already. Almost all of them are among the finest exponents of Indian classical music – flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia,

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� ...

legend

, the multi-talented T.V. Gopalkrishnan on

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 th ...

and vocals, South Indian violin virtuoso

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

master Sultan Khan,

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 ...

pioneer

, and Gopal Krishan, credited with the emergence of the

vichitra veena The ''vichitra veena'' ( sa, विचित्र वीणा) is a stick zither, a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. Similar to the Carnatic ''gottuvadhyam'' (chitra vina) it has no frets and is played with a slide. The str ...

in that musical genre. A sitarist and percussion player, Harihar Rao had been a student of Shankar's during the 1950s before winning a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and taking a position in the

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

department of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

(UCLA).Lavezzoli, pp. 294–95. The featured singer was once more

, Shankar's sister-in-law and a noted Hindustani vocalist. Like Sharma, Rakha and Lakshmi had been among the members of Shankar's 1968 revue. For the first time in one of his projects, Shankar invited his niece

Viji Viji was an Indian actress, who appeared in Tamil films. She made her debut in '' Kozhi Koovuthu'' and acted in over 40 films. Biography Viji made her debut in Gangai Amaren's '' Kozhi Koovuthu''. It went on to become a super hit and she was o ...

(Lakshmi's daughter), who joined her aunt,

Kamala Chakravarty Kamala Chakravarty (born Saraswati Kamala Shastri, 1928) is an Indian classical musician and former dancer, known for her association with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. From 1967 until the late 1970s, she accompanied Shankar, in the role of tambu ...

, as second vocalists to Lakshmi.

Rehearsals and recording

Shankar and Harrison met again during the summer of 1974, in England, where Harrison arranged a house in London's

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a danger ...

area for Shankar and the latter's partner, Chakravarty, while the other musicians were accommodated at the Imperial Hotel 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 Buckin ...

, west of London. Harrison had the orchestra personnel picked up from the hotel each day in a Mercedes

stretch limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

previously owned by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

.Shankar, p. 224. He later recalled the amusing sight of Rakha and the other traditionally dressed Indian musicians as they exited the vehicle on arrival at his Henley home,

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. ...

. Shankar composed new material specifically for the Music Festival and recorded it using Harrison's 16-track home studio facility, FPSHOT. Describing himself as "an improviser by nature", every day for three weeks Shankar would leave London and head west on the M4, during which he would write the music to be run through with the musicians that day in Friar Park's grand drawing room. Harrison remarked of the process: "It was amazing, because he'd sit there and say to one person, 'This is where you play,' and the next one, 'And you do this,' and 'You do that,' and they're all going, What? 'OK, one, two, three ...' And you'd think, 'This is going to be a catastrophe' – and it would be the most amazing thing." The principal sound engineer on the sessions, and Harrison's regular engineer at FPSHOT during this period, was Shankar's nephew Kumar, with Phil McDonald assisting on "Raga Jait" and "Naderdani".Sleeve credits, ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' LP (

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former 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' projects whil ...

, 1976; produced by George Harrison). Kumar Shankar joined the cast for publicity photos taken by

Clive Arrowsmith Clive Arrowsmith is a London-based photographer. Works He has worked for many fashion publications and is one of only a few photographers, including Brian Duffy who have twice been given the commission to shoot the Pirelli Calendar. He cur ...

in the house and grounds. The orchestra rehearsed for their upcoming live performances at Friar Park also.Madinger & Easter, p. 442. Midway through the proceedings, on 6 September, Harrison held a press conference in London and announced plans for the Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India tour of Europe, lasting through into October. A co-headlining North American tour would follow, for which Harrison, as the main attraction, was growing increasingly unprepared, such was his dedication to this project, and after having already lavished months of his time on '' The Place I Love'' by

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

, another Dark Horse act.

Performance history

Plucked string instruments (5) Indian string instruments, Sarod, Sitar, Iktara - Soinuenea

The programme for the concert performances was divided into two distinct parts. Shankar explained at the time:

The first part is in the form of a panorama, depicting major stages in the evolution of classical and traditional Indian music, starting with the Vedic hymns and the music of the medieval period, and ending with the present day, touching briefly on all the intermediate forms such as
alap The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompan ...
,
dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South I ...
, dhamar,
khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfo ...
,
tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly by ...
,
tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...
and
chaturanga Chaturanga ( sa, चतुरङ्ग; ') is an ancient Indian strategy game. While there is some uncertainty, the prevailing view among chess historians is that it is the common ancestor of the board games chess (European), xiangqi (Chines ...
... The second part begins with the semi-classical forms such as the devotional
bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam ( Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
and the romantic and erotic
thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...
,
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
, dadra, etc. and ends with the very lively and earthy folk style.''Collaborations'', p. 25.

True to the festival's title, the folk traditions of all the various regions of India were represented, in what was the first appearance by an Indian orchestra in Europe.Leng, p. 148. Similarly all-encompassing and educational were Naseem Khan's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

for the ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' studio album, serving as an introductory guide to the wide variety of

Indian musical instruments Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified according to the Hornbostel–Sachs system into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones (wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion in ...

on display. The album would be issued long after the European tour, however, due to the release of ''Shankar Family & Friends'' in September 1974. The

performance on 23 September was the Music Festival's opening night,Terry Staunton
"Ravi Shankar & George Harrison – Collaborations"
''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', December 2010, p. 82 (retrieved 16 August 2014). after which the tour moved on to Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Munich and Copenhagen. Harrison took to the stage in London and admitted to "feeling very nervous ... we're behind schedule", before introducing Shankar to the audience. The Royal Albert Hall concert was filmed by Stuart Cooper,Pieper, p. 171. who had recently directed Harrison's

Apple Films Apple Corps Limited (informally known as Apple) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a Conglomerate (company), cong ...

production ''

Little Malcolm ''Little Malcolm'' is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stuart Cooper. It was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear. The film is based on the stage play '' Little Malcolm and His Strug ...

''. The brief European tour ended in October. The orchestra was then pared down to a sixteen-piece – omitting

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Anant Lal and Kamala Chakravarty – for Shankar and Harrison's high-profile tour of the United States and Canada, which began at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

Pacific Coliseum Pacific Coliseum, known to locals as "The Coliseum" or the "Rink on Renfrew," is an indoor arena located at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its main use has been for ice hockey and the arena has been the home for several ice hock ...

on 2 November. Four days later, the tour played in San Francisco, where some of the Indian musicians were also invited to perform at the Stone House, a historic building in Fairfax in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

.Liner notes, ''Sarangi: The Music of India'' CD (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

, 1988; produced by Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain). Individual performances from this informal concert, by Sultan Khan and Hariprasad Chaurasia, were released on the albums ''Sarangi: The Music of India'' (1988) and ''Venu'' (1989). Shankar's ensemble faced some hostile audiences in North America, who were more interested in hearing Harrison's music during what was, in 1974, the first tour there by a former Beatle since the band's 1966 visit. Author Peter Lavezzoli views this outcome as "unfortunate", since Shankar "had assembled an outstanding group of musicians".Lavezzoli, p. 196. Harrison biographer Simon Leng describes the orchestra as "the greatest collection of Indian musicians ever to tour America". Although the focus of Shankar's set on this tour was to promote ''Shankar Family & Friends'', selections from the Music Festival programme such as "Naderdani" were adapted for American and Canadian audiences. Commenting on the lack of appreciation for the orchestra at some of the concerts, drummer

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

later said: "Those people saw something very special."

Album release

Dark Horse Records issued the album ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' in February 1976 (March in the UK), a year and a half after the recording sessions. The cover features a group photo of all the participants taken by Arrowsmith under a large cedar tree in the grounds of Friar Park. The back cover included a reproduction of the Music Festival tour poster designed by Jan Steward, who had created the cover for the 1968 ''Festival from India'' double album, among other works by Shankar. Dark Horse produced a promotional film for the album. The film included footage of Harrison with a voiceover by Shankar discussing his role, and a spinning LP sleeve accompanied by portions of music from the album. The release coincided with a concert by Shankar at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York – a dawn-to-dusk recital celebrating twenty years of performances in the West by the artist. Also in March 1976, the Californian television station

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE ...

broadcast a 30-minute programme titled ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival with George Harrison & Don Ellis''. Produced by

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to direct ...

and filmed in Los Angeles in 1975, the show was hosted by

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his li ...

, a pioneer in

Indo jazz Indo jazz is a musical genre consisting of jazz, classical and Indian influences. Its structure and patterns are based on Indian music with typical jazz improvisation overlaid. While the term itself may be comparatively recent, the concept dates ...

who had studied Indian music under Harihar Rao at UCLA. During the programme, Harrison discussed the Music Festival project and introduced film clips from the orchestra's Royal Albert Hall performance. Having already watched the film from the London concert in its entirety, Ellis described it as "one of the most extraordinary musical experiences that I've ever heard". Writing about the 1974-recorded album in his book ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Lavezzoli recognises the ten-minute "Raga Jait" as being among the highlights of the set. Speaking to ''

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

'' magazine in 1979, Harrison named the album and ''Shankar Family & Friends'' among his favourites of all the releases on Dark Horse.

Reissue and legacy

With the album long out of print, selections from ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' appeared on the Harrison-compiled box set '' Ravi Shankar: In Celebration'' (1996),Heidi Waleson
"Angel set celebrates Ravi Shankar: Sitarist called 'Godfather of World Music'"
''

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 adverti ...

'', 23 December 1995, pp. 17, 63 (retrieved 19 August 2014). issued by Dark Horse and

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 ...

. The box set also featured the previously unreleased "Ta Na Tom", another piece recorded with the Music Festival personnel at Friar Park. Alan Kozlowski, who helped compile the box set, viewed the inclusion of tracks from ''Music Festival from India'' among the "prizes" offered by the compilation. In his review of ''In Celebration'', Bruce Eder of

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

reserved especial praise for the fourth disc, which contains several of Shankar's collaborations with Harrison, writing: "From the opening 'Vandana', it draws us into a realm of music that is so sublimely beautiful that it makes everything that has come before it, in all its bejeweled splendor, seem almost plain and pale by comparison."Bruce Eder
"Ravi Shankar ''Ravi Shankar: In Celebration''"

(retrieved 19 August 2014). In 2010, ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'' was reissued on CD as part of the Shankar–Harrison box set '' Collaborations'', coinciding with celebrations for Shankar's 90th birthday.Evan Schlansky
"George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's Relationship Explored on ''Collaborations''"
''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'', 12 August 2010 (retrieved 15 August 2014).Sean Michaels
"George Harrison and Ravi Shankar collaborations to be reissued"

guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

, 18 August 2010 (retrieved 19 August 2014). Writing for AllMusic,

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

considers ''Collaborations'' to be a "bountiful gathering of some of Shankar's more accessible recordings" that has "value not just for Beatles completists hrough Harrison's involvement but also for more general appreciators of traditional Indian music". Unterberger describes the Music Festival from India studio album as offering "a more diverse group of arrangements than is heard on many Indian recordings" and " mood

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

is largely one of devout humility interspersed with some low-key, joyful boisterousness".Richie Unterberger
"George Harrison/Ravi Shankar ''Collaborations''"

(retrieved 18 August 2014). ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...

'' contributing editor Sachyn Mital considers the album to be "lively and instrument focused", and writes of its music content: "'Bhajan' is a joyful chant to Krishna, Gopal and Govind, while 'Naderdani' has ... sitar evoking playfulness with masterful precision. 'Dehati' is a percussion showcase as the tabla players create two minutes of call and response near the end."Sachyn Mital
"Ravi Shankar and George Harrison: Collaborations"
''

'', 19 October 2010 (retrieved 19 August 2014). While noting the "great integrity" behind the 2010 box set, Joe Marchese of ''The Second Disc'' writes of ''Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India'': "The album's sounds are exotic, but immediately transporting. Much of the music is joyful, such as 'Naderdani,' described as 'a contemporary composition for voice and instruments.'"Joe Marchese
"Review: Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, 'Collaborations'"
''The Second Disc'', 8 November 2010 (retrieved 19 August 2014). Writing in '' Goldmine'' magazine, Gillian Gaar finds the album "mesmerizing", with "the female vocals having an uncanny ability to imitate the sitar (or vice versa)".Gillian G. Gaar
"Shankar/Harrison set succeeded on crossover appeal"
'' Goldmine'', 31 January 2011 (retrieved 4 August 2015). Music journalist Graham Reid describes Shankar's two Dark Horse albums as "projects that were close to arrison'sspiritual heart, if not exactly commercial propositions" but also "absolute delights of immaculately produced, beautifully played Indian music". ''Nari'', a 2015 multimedia project by singer and violinist Gingger Shankar (the daughter of Viji and L. Subramanium, and granddaughter of Lakshmi),Deepali Dhingra
"My mother helped bring Indian music to the West: Gingger Shankar"
''

Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions wer ...

'', 22 February 2015 (retrieved 6 August 2016). was partly inspired by the 1974 Music Festival and the North American tour with Harrison. She said she created the project out of the belief that Lakshmi and Viji deserved more recognition for their respective roles in helping to popularise Indian music in the West.Katie Booth
"You've heard of George Harrison and Ravi Shankar. Now hear the little known story of Lakshmi Shankar and her daughter, Viji"

Women in the World Women in the World is a live journalism platform founded by Tina Brown to 'discover and amplify the unheard voices of global women on the front lines of change'. Women in the World Annual Summit Women in the World is an annual summit launched ...

nytimes.com ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, 20 May 2016 (retrieved 6 August 2016).

''Music Festival from India – Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' DVD

''Collaborations'' marked the first release for Stuart Cooper's concert film of the Music Festival from India, issued on DVD as disc four of the box set. The film was shot at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, 23 September 1974.Back cover, '' Collaborations'' box set (

, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison). Text at the start of the DVD's "concert film" section explains that much restoration was needed on both footage and audio,Concert Film, introductory text, ''Music Festival from India – Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' DVD (

, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; directed by Stuart Cooper). the latter being overseen by producer Paul Hicks and by Shankar's daughter

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 ...

. Album credits">"Collaborations Box Set" > Album credits
georgeharrison.com (retrieved 18 August 2014). With some of Cooper's 35-year-old footage having been destroyed or mislaid, the remainder of the concert's sound is included in a separate, "concert audio" section.Olivia Harrison, , ''

Spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

'', 18 October 2010 (archived version retrieved 19 August 2014). In her review for ''Goldmine'', Gaar writes that, together with the Music Festival's studio album, the concert DVD features both "the most traditional Indian music" and "the most powerful performances" on ''Collaborations''.

Film synopsis

The film opens with an image of a large red Om symbol on a yellow sheet, which provides a backdrop to the Albert Hall stage. George Harrison then walks on and gives a brief, warm introduction to Ravi Shankar, after which the Music Festival from India performance begins. The stage is set with two large risers; the first in the shape of a square, the second, slightly more raised than the first one, is curved around behind it like a half-moon. On the square riser, from left to right, sit singers Viji Shankar, Lakshmi Shankar and Kamala Chakravarty, with percussionist Harihar Rao and

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 ...

player Hariprasad Chaurasia just behind them. Spread out along the crescent-shaped platform (from left to right) are three bowed string players, L. Subramaniam, Satyadev Pawar and Sultan Khan; Anant Lal, on shehnai; then the four drummers, T.V. Gopalkrishnan, Alla Rakha, Rijram Desad and

Kamalesh Maitra Kamalesh Maitra (28 April 1928 – 22 April 2005), often referred to by the title Pandit, was an Indian classical musician, composer and teacher. He is recognised as the last master of the tabla tarang – a melodic percussion instrument co ...

, the last two partly surrounded by their ''tarangs'' (circles) of hand drums. Completing the ring of musicians along this curved riser is sitarist Kartick Kumar; Gopal Krishan, behind a raised vichitra veena; and finally Shivkumar Sharma, behind the large, harpsichord-like santoor. Shankar conducts the orchestra from just in front of the first riser, his back to the audience. Midway through the film, the stage is cleared of all musicians except for four members of the orchestra and Shankar, who now plays sitar on the ensuing raga. After the customary slow

alap The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompan ...

section, Shankar's sitar trades musical phrases with Rakha's tabla, supported by Kumar and Rao, both on sitar, and Viji Shankar, playing the tambura. The whole ensemble then returns for further vocal and orchestral pieces, conducted by Shankar as before.

Bonus feature

The DVD's bonus feature, directed by David Kew,Bonus Feature, credits, ''Music Festival from India – Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' DVD (

, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; directed by Stuart Cooper). shows Hicks and Anoushka Shankar at work on the mix for pieces released in this concert film section. They are joined there at StudioWest, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, by Shankar himself and Harrison's widow, Olivia, allowing the 90-year-old Shankar to offer his input.Dan Forte
"Ravi Shankar and George Harrison ''Collaborations''"
''

Vintage Guitar A vintage guitar is an older guitar usually sought after and maintained by avid collectors or musicians. The term may indicate either that an instrument is merely old, or that is sought after for its tonal quality, cosmetic appearance, or histo ...

'', February 2011 (retrieved 16 August 2014). At one point Anoushka covers her father's eyes playfully – in response, it seems, to his reaction at seeing himself on screen, performing some four decades before.

Track listing

Studio album

All songs by Ravi Shankar. Side one # "Vandana" – 2:44 # "Dhamar" – 5:23 # "Tarana / Chaturang" – 5:33 # "Raga Jait" – 9:48 Side two #

"Kajri" – 4:51 # "Bhajan" – 3:56 # "Naderdani" – 4:43 # "Dehati" – 10:09

DVD "Concert film"

# "Introduction by George Harrison" # "Hymns From the Vedas" # "Tappa (Raga Khamaj)" # "Tarana (Raga Kirwani)" # "Raga Jait" # "Vilambit Gat, Drut Gat and Jhala (Raga Yaman Kalyan)" # "Naderdani" # "Krishna Krishna Bhajan (based on Raga Pancham-se-gara)" # "Dehati"

DVD "Concert audio"

# "Musicians Introduction" # "Vandana" # "Alap / Noom / Toom Jor (Raga Abhogi)" # "Dhamar (Raga Vasanta in Tala Dhamar)" # "Khyal (Raga Kedara in Tala Teental)" # "Tarana (Raga Kirwani in Tala Ektal)" # "Chaturang (Raga Yaman Kalyan in Tala Teental)" # "Kajri" # "Pallavi (Thani Avarthanam / Raga Bilahari in Tala Aditala)" # "Thumri (Mishra Piloo in Tala Jat)" # "Raga Mala (Garland of Ragas, based on Raga Khamaj in Tala Teental)"

Personnel

– direction, arrangements;

(DVD only) *

– vocals, swarmandal *

–

* T.V. Gopalkrishnan – vocals,

, khanjira * Hariprasad Chaurasia –

* Kartick Kumar – sitar * Sultan Khan –

–

, kanoon, backing vocals * Gopal Krishan –

, backing vocals *

– South Indian violin * Satyadev Pawar – North Indian violin * Rijram Desad – pakavaj, madal-tarang,

dholki The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', ''kirtan'', ''lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differen ...

, nagada, huduk, duff *

– tabla-tarang, duggi-tarang,

madal The madal ( ne, मादल) or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a s ...

ektara Ektara ( bn, একতারা, hi, एकतारा, ur, اِک تارا, ne, एकतारे, pa, ਇਕ ਤਾਰਾ, ta, எக்டரா; literally 'one-string', also called actara, iktar, ektar, yaktaro, gopichand, gopichant, ...

* Anant Lal –

kartal Kartal is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. Despite being far from the city centre, Kartal is heavily populated (total population of 541,209) (2008 ...

manjira The taal, manjira (also spelled manjīrā or manjeera), jalra, karatala, kartal or gini is a pair of clash cymbals, originating in the Indian subcontinent, which make high-pitched percussion sounds. In its simplest form, it consists of a pai ...

dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in '' qawwali'', '' kirtan'', ''lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

, gubgubbi, backing vocals; sitar (DVD only) *

– tambura, backing vocals * Viji Shankar – tambura, backing vocals

Notes

References

Sources

* Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * ''Collaborations'', book accompanying ''Collaborations'' box set (

, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; package design by Drew Lorimer & Olivia Harrison). * The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ). * 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; ). * 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; ). * Jörg Pieper, ''The Solo Beatles Film & TV Chronicle 1971–1980'', Premium Förlag (Stockholm, 2012; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). * Ravi Shankar, ''Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar'', Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; ). * Oliver Trager, ''The American Book of the Dead: The Definitive Grateful Dead Encyclopedia'', Fireside (New York, NY, 1997; ). * ''World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific)'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2000; ). {{Authority control 1974 concert tours 1976 albums Ravi Shankar albums Dark Horse Records albums Albums produced by George Harrison Albums recorded at FPSHOT Indian classical music Indian mythology in music