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Born into a family of 9 generations of sarangi masters belonging to the
Sikar Gharana of music Ustad Sultan Khan today holds a unique position of
having achieved International acclaim as the foremost practitioner of this
most difficult of all instruments. Ustad Sultan Khan was initially being
tutored from childhood by his father, Ustad Gulab Khan, to become a
vocalist since his father felt that the instrument of the sarangi had
little future owing to the very sophisticated way of tuning and playing the
instrument. Furthermore, the emergence of the harmonium to accompany
singers was replacing the sarangi which appeared to becoming discarded by
practitioners who wanted to become singers in their own right. The
foremost examples of this switch were India's most accomplished classical
vocalists of the century, which included Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, Ustad Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan, and Ustad Amir Khan. The fact that all three were
initially trained as sarangi players gives credence to the assertion that
the sarangi is the closest instrument to the human voice. Despite the
efforts of trying to persuade his son into becoming a classical vocalist,
Ustad Gulab Khan found that the instrument of the sarangi had great appeal
for his son and thereafter, from early childhood the tutelage began for
Ustad Sultan Khan into becoming another sarangi master. Little was known
at that time, the 1940's, that this prodigy would rescue the declining
instrument and launch it into the sophisticated audiences of the world.
Sultan Khan Sahib relates the years of grooming which he received in his
humble family home in the desert regions of Rajasthan and recalls that his
practice sessions would last for up to twelve hours a day which continued
for almost two decades. On completion of his formal training, Khan Sahib
worked for All India Radio at Rajkot and left for Bombay in the early
1960's where he was accepted as a student by Ustad Amir Khan, the foremost
classical vocalist of India and who belonged to the Indore gharana. The
accociation between the two became synonymous and Ustad Amir Khan
thereafter permitted Khan Sahib to become a member of the Indore gharana,
leading to the name of Sikar gharana not becoming famous. These were the
years of great public adoration for Ustad Amir Khan and the accompaniment
by Khan Sahib on the sarangi during the recitals and recordings called his
name to be noted amongst the maestros of the classical world who were
declining in numbers.
The name of Lata Mangeshkar has significance in Indian music and this queen
of film music had always, through the traditions of her family, kept in
close contact with classical musicians. A rare genius as Khan Sahib came to
the keen notice of Lata Mangeshkar who in 1967 asked Sultan Khan Sahib to
accompany her with his sarangi on her vocal recording of the poetry of
India finest Urdu Poet Mirza Ghalib (d.1869). The musical compositions for
this album were composed by Khayyam who had by the late 1960's become
established as an authentic composer for both film tunes and other tributes
to Ghalib sung by other artistes such as Mohammed Rafi. In 1968, Lata Ji
brought Sultan Khan Sahib to Bombay and looked after him in her own house
for 3 months. Through this introduction into the film industry Sultan Khan
Sahib began to play as a session musician in the film industry in Bombay
and also continued to accompany classical singers too. With the emergence
of Bombay as a musical centre of India, due to the film industry, it has
been expected that musicians are versatile enough to be able to adapt their
art to varying genres of Indian music. This modern day requirement has
suited Sultan Khan Sahib, who has accompanied Begum Akhtar in her rendition
of the ghazal and also accompanied Mohammad Rafi in his re-release of
Naushad Ali's greatest hits in a TV concert of 1969
(Doordarshan). Furthermore, the choice of Sultan Khan Sahib by India's
leading film actress Meena Kumari to accompany her on the album singing her
own poetry, "I wrote, I recite", in 1971, exhibited that Sultan Khan Sahib
was now emerging as the foremost and most versatile sarangi artiste. The
fact that Khayyam again composed the tunes for the recordings underlined
the affinity of Sultan Khan Sahib with fine music and would later culminate
in a collaboration between the two on the blockbuster soundtrack of the
film "Umrao Jaan" (1986).
However, despite these great successes, Sultan Khan Sahib always remained a
classical soloist and aspired to bring the sarangi to an international
audience at a time when Indian classical music was gaining immense
popularity amongst western audiences through the efforts of such musicians
as Ravi Shankar. For Sultan Khan Sahib, there was no struggle to become
accepted as a master musician to the audiences and in 1974, he was invited
to perform at the Royal Albert Hall together with India's other luminaries
from the classical world. His years of immense work culminated in this
concert and where the national press in England hailed him as an
exceptional musician amongst masters. Shortly after this followed the
"Dark Horse" tour with George Harrison and following this there was his
performance at the "All Night Proms." Sultan Khan Sahib was now able to
combine his role as a soloist, accompanist and a session musician in
numerous parts of the world.
Ustad Sultan Khan's artistry is excellent as he performs systematic and
lyrical notes with precision and clarity. His bowing technique is beautiful
and the note production never fails to arouse the appreciation of his
listeners. His command over his instrument is simply breathtaking. His
collaborations with western musicians is immense. He has worked with
Ornette Coleman, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Washington Symphony
Orchestra and countless other Classical, jazz and pop musicians. He
continues to play a leading role in melody and compositional work.
Sultan Khan Sahib is at the zenith of his performing career. Today he is in
much demand for concerts, film music composing and as an artistic advisor
on numerous projects. He has collaborated with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir
Hussain on many projects and indeed the two have been playing in concerts
together around the world for more than 20 years. Most notable being Heat &
Dust, In custody, Gandhi. Today he is contributing his earthy voice in
films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and others. He has also made an album
called Piya Basanti which has taken Indian pop music by storm and is
another shining example of his ability to adapt his voice to any style of
music. His most recent project is a tribute to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
in which he has sung and played sarangi to complement the late
maestro. This album called Pukar The Echo will be released on Navras
Records on 19th September 2001 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Ustad
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was immensely fond of Ustad Sultan Khan and Ustad
Sultan Khan Sahib was one of the last musicians to see Ustad Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan before he died here in London in 1997 and as such pays a
magnificent tribute on this album.
Sarangi
The sarangi is the most important bowed stringed instrument of North Indian
classical music. It originated from an instrument originally produced by
Lord Ravana called "Ravan Hatha". The ravan hatha is still played today in
parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat in India. The sarangi was originally called
"Sau Rangi" which means "hundred colours". This name reflects its unique
ability to produce a wide range of musical styles and nuances. This makes
the sarangi a highly adaptable instrument which can play a wide range of
music be it classical, folk or even Western music. Sarangi maestro Ustad
Sultan Khan has proven this on many occasions with his recordings and
concerts with some of the top musicians of Western music.
The sarangi is one of the most difficult instruments to play. The
difficulty lies with the playing technique itself, which involves stopping
the gut strings with the cuticles of the fingers or just below the
cuticles. This is probably the most sensitive part of the hand and is
unique in it's . It is beautifully sonorous and is regarded as the closest
instrument to the human voice. It is hallowed from a piece of wood with
skin cover on the resonator. Its most remarkable feature is the number of
strings: three gut strings and no less than 36 sympathetic strings which
give life to the sound. In the words of the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin: "The
sarangi remains not only the authentic and original Indian bowed stringed
instrument but the one which... expresses the very soul of Indian feeling
and thought."
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