Darbari kanada

Darbari kanada (Kanada of Darbar -the “court”) is the most important rag of the Kanada group. The main features of this family are the oscillating flat Ga which occurs between Re and Ma in the characteristic phrase g~MRS.

It has been suggested that Miyan Tansen, the legendary dhrupad singer and principal court musician of Emperor Akbar, modified an older variety of Kanada to create this serious and majestic rag (Kauffmann [The Ragas of North India] 1993: 48).

Tone material: S R g m P d n

In Darbari kanada the characteristic oscillation on Ga and Dha is slow and subtle, and generally musicians believe that the intonation of Ga is very flat (Shah [Kanada Ke Prakar] 1972: 21). The actual melodic graphs of the the recording discussed here however point to the intonation of this note as progressive series of movements that occur between Re and Ga,

Another typical descending movement movement is n \P omitting d, which happens in phrases like S’\d~n\P or gmP`dn\P.

S R g~ m \ r and m P d~ n \ P are symmetrical movements.

The ascent can be direct but the descent is oblique with movements like S d n P, g M R S.  The expansion of this rag takes place mainly in the low and middle registers. All the movements are slow and dignified.

Some characteristic phrases:
S \d~ n \P
mg ~ m \ R- S

Rag-s Kaunsi kanada and Adana have the same tone material as Darbari kanada, but a different melodic progression and character. Adana with mainly faster movements centering around the high Sa, can be considered as a sprightly counterpart of Darbari. It is not uncommon to perform Adana after Darbari.

Time: midnight (Bhatkhande [KPM IV] 1976: 652)

Further listening:
Dagar brothers STCS 850231/32 (HMV)
Recording by Bhimsen Joshi with Rashid Khan
Recording by Vilayat Khan
Parrikar on Darbari

Performance by Uday Bhawalkar

Composition: dhrupad

षडज रिषभ गंधार (गन्धार)
मध्यम पंचम धैवत
निषाद ये है सप्तसूर
सुध निके बुलाये गाये
ध्रुवपद मद सुनियो
गायन गुनी

अारोही अवरोही
जाकी उलत पुलत होवे
निषाद धैवत पंचम
मध्यम गंधार रिषभ

This unique composition (dhruvapad) has the text comprising note names like Shadj, Rishabh, Gandhar etc. and these words are intoned on the corresponding note positions. The composition describes the ascending and especially the descending movement with the notes Ni, Dha, Pa, Ma, Ga & Re placed in an oblique order.

Tal: Chautal (slow tempo)

Performance:
4-11: The opening phrase with shake on the flat Dha is characteristic of Darbari kanada
53-61: Similar intonation recurs taking the melody further into lower octaves, which is typical for this rag
87-97 &146-152: Note the intonation of the flat Dha between Pa & Dha
226-236, 261-271 & 286-294: Similar pattern is seen for the flat Ga, making it quite low
226-236: Upward oscillations from Re to Ga, then (262-271) the movement ends on Ga and drops down to lower octave
305: Pa, the fifth note is introduced
319-324: Oscillations around Ga almost circle the note
348-353: A typical return from Pa to the oscillating flat Ga via a fleeting touch of flat Ni
359-374: A long gliding movement connecting the lower and middle octave Pa, merges in to the oscillating flat Dha, finally returning to Pa via the flat Ni
405-409: The movement first descends down from Ga to Re, then oscillates upward beyond the flat Ga
476: After a long melodic exposition (alap), which is typical for dhrupad performance, composition is introduced
620: The second part of the composition going in the higher octave
730: The composition is improvised with slightly faster phrases

Check out a deeper analysis of this rendering at XYZ (under construction)

Performance by Ram Deshpande

Composition: bada khayal

दुलहन तेरी अच्छी बनी हैं
छब की चलेना सलोने
रंग भिनी ये बनरी

सोने सा मुख देखो रिझाये री
नू महमदशा कब अावे
हो जाने देहला मलेना सलोने रंग भिनी बनरी

The song describes a beautiful bride with a charming face.

Tal: Tilvada (slow tempo)

Performance:
4-11:The opening phrase with shake (andol) on the flat Dha is characteristic of Darbari kanada. The descent from Re to Dha is also typical for this rag
12-19: n \P, another characteristic movement which recurs many times
26-31: Again the oscillating Dha. Note the intonation of the flat Dha between Pa & Dha
49-56: Re held with a touch of flat Ga above
62-66: S /m R S \d, a movement typical to this rag
67-71: Again n \P
92-103: Note the intonation of flat Ga, first meandering between Re and Ga and later slowly rising, finally ending with a typical phrase g ~ m \R- S. Mark the slight touch of Sa between the two Re, which is typical for the concluding movement
116-119: Similar movement of Ga
121-124: Ga approached from Pa (upper end)
132: Composition has refrain with duration of two and half beats and the accentuated beat (sam) coincides with the oscillating Ga (142-143)
160-162: Ornamentation (murki) including the lower flat Ni and Re
171-181: Second line of the composition. Note the oscillations on Dha, phrase ending on Pa with typical movement – n \P
210-271: First part of the composition (sthayi) repeated with slight variations
280-330: Elaborations using the words of the composition (bol alap). Note the movements replete with ornaments & descent from Pa to Ga (290-294)
334: Second part of the composition (antara)
361-403: The concluding section of the composition
367: A gliding movement (mind) between the lower and the middle flat Dha, which is oscillating
370-375: Again n \P
416-468: The second part of the composition is repeated
476: Elaborations using the words of the composition (bol alap).
imilar intonation recurs taking the melody further into lower octaves, which is typical for this rag
483-487: Oscillating Dha, meandering between Pa and flat Dha and ending with n \P
488: Approaching the high Sa from Pa with a glide (mind)
504-537: Elaborations (bolalap) continue, include the high Sa and Re (520-522)
538-566: The phrases become a bit faster but keeping in mind the sombre nature of this rag, the performance concludes without the fast melodic runs (tan-s) that are customary sung at the end of a khayal composition