Debashish is at the top of game here. Amazing technical skill and cool rising and falling phrasing ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUBlWbEzluE
Debashsish Bhattacharya - Raag Desh
Moderator: Brad Bechtel
Debashsish Bhattacharya - Raag Desh
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com
-
Nic Neufeld
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: 25 Sep 2017 8:10 am
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Desh is lovely as is his rendition!
It's actually quite a normal raag to Western ears, similar to both mixolydian and ionian modes (though classed as khammaj thaat). You are right about the rising/falling being different, the arohana (ascent) skips the 3rd (ga) and 6th (dha) notes: 1-2-4-5-7-1 The avarohana (descent) has some trickier patterns but the simple version is it adds back in the 3rd and 6th but the 7th is flattened. That flavor of desh where you hear the prominent major 7th (kind of hopeful sounding) on the way up, then descending to the flattened 7th...I know there are raags that have a similar pattern but for me that's the part that makes it so distinctively "Desh".
Some nice tihai in there in the gat! Vah Panditji!
It's actually quite a normal raag to Western ears, similar to both mixolydian and ionian modes (though classed as khammaj thaat). You are right about the rising/falling being different, the arohana (ascent) skips the 3rd (ga) and 6th (dha) notes: 1-2-4-5-7-1 The avarohana (descent) has some trickier patterns but the simple version is it adds back in the 3rd and 6th but the 7th is flattened. That flavor of desh where you hear the prominent major 7th (kind of hopeful sounding) on the way up, then descending to the flattened 7th...I know there are raags that have a similar pattern but for me that's the part that makes it so distinctively "Desh".
Some nice tihai in there in the gat! Vah Panditji!
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
-
Mike Babyak
- Posts: 19
- Joined: 22 May 2013 9:01 am
- Location: North Carolina, USA
- Contact:
I’ve always assumed Desh was the most familiar raag in India. It literally means “country” —the popular patriotic anthem Vande Mataram is based in Desh. Debashish had us do a video of it a few years ago for their Independence Day. (I’m the lefty in one of the tiny student squares.
https://youtu.be/GalMAmn4c58
https://youtu.be/GalMAmn4c58
-
Mike Babyak
- Posts: 19
- Joined: 22 May 2013 9:01 am
- Location: North Carolina, USA
- Contact:
Re: Debashsish Bhattacharya - Raag Desh
Maybe the craziest part of his technique? All those fast runs that a flat picker might do with alternate picking — he does alternating thumb and forefinger.Andy Volk wrote:Debashish is at the top of game here. Amazing technical skill and cool rising and falling phrasing ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUBlWbEzluE
-
Nic Neufeld
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: 25 Sep 2017 8:10 am
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Very nice...it is so hard to get raag music in a group setting to sound good, outside of jughalbandhi, it ends up sounding like a crazy mush sometimes but this one is really well mixed and the group sounds great as one voice.Mike Babyak wrote:I’m the lefty in one of the tiny student squares.
Hoping to get my hands on a similar slide veena this year, myself!
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me
-
Mike A Holland
- Posts: 487
- Joined: 26 Sep 2017 8:14 am
- Location: United Kingdom
Nice call Andy. I was fortunate to see Debashish play in York(UK) just before the pandemic. He brought his daughter on in the 2nd half to sing. A great musical night and inspiring music and musicians. If anybody has the opportunity to see Debashish then I highly recommend you go. Its great to see musicians play at the top of their game.