Pandit Pran Nath
MAJOR COMPOSITIONS
I composed many of these compositions over the last forty years. During this time they have been performed numerous times by myself and other Indian classical artists. As it is not in the tradition of this music to notate compositions, but rather to transmit them directly to one's students by rote, and as it is not the practice of musicians to record the exact dates of their compositions and performances, I have only begun to keep a record of these dates since I came to the West in 1970.
Dira dira ta na (sthayi), Ya la li ya la li lu (antara); khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga 12-note Bhairavi. Composed 1978-79 under a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Premiere Performance by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 8 April 1979, Concert of Morning Ragas, Student Union, Mills College, Oakland, California. Recorded live and released on Music from Mills, Mills College Center for Contemporary Music, 1986.
Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 17 June 1979, Concert of Morning Ragas, Dia Art Foundation, 6 Harrison Street Performance Space, New York, N. Y. Recorded for The Kirana Archives.
Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 18 August 1979, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Hoosick, N. Y.
Jaga maga jyota jarey mandir meyn (sthayi), Tana mandira me mana (antara); khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga Dipak. Composed 1977 under commission from the Pellizzi Foundation, Inc.
Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble and recorded for The Kirana Archives, 31 March 1977.
Raga Dipak: Revival. 1976-77 under commission from the Pellizzi Foundation, Inc.
Despite the fact that Raga Dipak is listed as one of the six major ragas by all scholars, there is no written or oral evidence of anyone having sung or performed this raga after the time of Akbar's legendary court musician, Mian Tansen. The accurate knowledge and art of performing this raga has been literally lost since that time. The commission by the Pellizzi Foundation to perform and record an archive of the Kirana style of Indian classical music, including the six major ragas, provided me with the challenging opportunity to make a presentation of this lost raga. My teacher, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Sahib of Kirana, without doubt had the greatest knowledge of raga of any musician during his and my lifetimes. As it was his feeling that Dipak was actually Raga Yaman, I had the option of realizing Dipak in this way, even though the scale given for Dipak in all of the old texts is not at all similar to the scale for Raga Yaman. I started work on the project considering these two scales in the light of my 52 years of practical experience with ragas. However, not too long after the death of my revered Swamiji, the late Sri Mahent Swami Narayan Giriji, I received a very powerful inspiration for the raga in the setting of the old scale. This inspiration came all at once in the middle of the night and included a finished composition complete with sthayi and antara. The composition includes the name of Sri Narayan which is both one of the names of God and my Swamiji's name. Inasmuch as I could not be with him in India at the time of his passing, I feel that this is his special blessing to me, and in turn I offer this revival of Raga Dipak as a tribute to him.
Hey Giradhara Gopala Lal; khayal (ek-tal,vilambit): Raga Asavari Todi. Composed 1976 under a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 17 June 1979, Concert of Morning Ragas, Dia Art Foundation Performance Space, 6 Harrison Street, New York, N.Y. Recorded for The Kirana Archives.
He dekho (sthayi), Mora jia ki janata naheen (antara); khayal (tin-tal, madhya- laya): Raga Bhairavi.
Adanta gopati pragat (antara); khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga Anant Bhairavi. Completed 1974.
Hari tero nam (sthayi); khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga Anant Bhairavi. Completed 1973.
Sthayi and Antara performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 19 May 1974, and recorded and broadcast live at WBAI-FM Free Music Store, 359 E. 62 Street, New York, N.Y. Pandit Pran Nath
Sthayi performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, July 1973, and video- taped for the Archives of The Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas.
Raga Anant Bhairavi: Raga Bhairavi has many forms such and Sindh Bhairavi, Ananda Bhairavi, 12-note Bhairavi, etc. Anant Bhairavi is my own creation of a unique and special form of Raga Bhairavi which I developed and perfected over many years.
Nada Brahma; khayal (ek-tal, vilambit): Raga Yaman Kalyan.
Released by Shandar Disques, Paris France, SR 10007, 1972. Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble.
Prabhu ko sumara (sthayi), Juti maya juti kaya (antara); khayal (tin-tal, drut): Raga Yaman Kalyan.
Sthayi released by Shandar Disques, Paris, France, SR 10007, 1972. Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble.
Jala rasa bundana barase (sthayi), Jun jun awate gore badaria (antara); khayal (tin-tal, drut): Raga Mian ki Mulhar.
Performed and recorded by Ustad Salamit Ali Khan for Satyajit Ray's film The Music Room (Jalsaghar), 1958.
Gadi pala china dina nahin chen (sthayi), Dekhata takata hun (antara), khayal (tin- tal, drut): Raga Madhuwanti.
Performed by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, 22 May 1983, Concert of Afternoon Ragas, Dia Art Foundation Performance Space, 6 Harrison Street, New York, N.Y., and recorded for The Kirana Archives.
Nita uta (sthayi), Yeh jeh nama nayi (antara); khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga Bhibhas.
Hara bina tero kon sahai (sthayi), Dhana dharani aura (antara); khayal (jhumra, vilambit): Raga Todi.
Recorded by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, New Delhi, India, 1968. Released by Gramavision Records, New York, 18-7018-1, 1986.
Heri! Aba guna de (sthayi), Mahishasura mardani Devi (antara); khayal (ek-tal, drut): Raga Todi.
Recorded by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, New Delhi, India, 1968. Released by Gramavision Records, New York, 18-7018-1, 1986.
Hazrat Turkaman (sthayi), Shamsula arafin (antara); khayal (ek-tal, vilambit): Raga Darbari.
Recorded by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, New Delhi, India, 1968. Released by Gramavision Records, New York, 18-7018-1, 1986.
Nain so nain milaye (sthayi), Mohmaddah Shah pia (antara); khayal (ek-tal, drut): Raga Darbari.
Sthayi recorded by Pandit Pran Nath and ensemble, New Delhi, India, 1968. Released by Gramavision Records, New York, 18-7018-1, 1986.
Bhaja mora janj man dil ra; khayal: Raga Suldasi Mulhar.
Dira jare sari rat; khayal (tin-tal, madhya-laya): Raga Bhairavi.
Ab laga raho man to san; khayal: Raga Gurjari Todi.
Jago jago (sthayi), Sabbha pakshi bole (antara); khayal (tin-tal, drut): Raga Bhairava.
He meri (sthayi); khayal (tin-tal, madha-laya): Raga Virati Todi.