INDIA – INDE Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Morgonraga – MNW 2F

INDIA – INDE

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Morgonraga – MNW 2F, recorded in 1967, released in 1974 (LP)

Born in Rajasthan, where his father Ziauddin Khan Dagar was a court musician for the Maharaja of Udaipur, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, aka Z.M. Dagar, (1932-1990) was a formidable master of the seldom-played Rudra veena (or bin). 

All the vocalists of the illustrious Dagar family played the Rudra veena as an accompaniment to their singing. But Z.M. was the only Dagar to play the Rudra veena as a Dhrupad performance instrument instead of focusing on singing. In order to render the subtleties and nuances of Dhrupad with greater depth and versatility, he would later enlarge the instrument’s gourds and hollow neck to add bass and resonance for enhanced stage presence and longer sustain times of notes and harmonics. 

 

This precious 1967 Mumbai recording, published on the Swedish label MNW, is the only recording of Dagar’s sitar playing that I know of. The music exemplifies the maestro’s signature deep, slow, spiritual musings, which create a meditative space and an inspired tension. This is truly a timeless recording of universal value.

Né au Rajasthan, où son père Ziauddin Khan Dagar officiait en tant que musicien à la cour du maharaja d'Udaipur, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, alias Z.M. Dagar, (1932-1990) fut le plus grand maître de la rudra vina (ou bin) de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle.

 

Tous les chanteurs de l'illustre famille Dagar jouaient de la rudra vina pour s’accompagner au chant. Mais Z.M. était le seul Dagar de sa génération à adopter la rudra-vina comme instrument de concert Dhrupad plutôt que le chant. Afin de rendre les subtilités et les nuances du Dhrupad avec plus de profondeur et de fluidité, Z.M. Dagar transformera même la rudra vina en élargissant la taille des gourdes et du manche creux de l’instrument afin d’ajouter des basses et de la résonance pour une plus grande présence scénique et pour allonger la durée du sustain des notes et des harmoniques.

 

Ce disque précieux enregistré en 1967 à Mumbai sur le label suédois MNW est le seul enregistrement de Z. M. Dagar jouant du sitar que je connaisse. Ces musique avec les envolées lentes, délicates et méditatives du maestro créent un espace contemplatif et des tensions inspirées d’une valeur universelle.

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Our other Dhrupad music posts:

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – HMV - 7 EPE 1312 here

Chandrashekhar Naringrekar – HMV - 7 EPE 1590 here

Nasir Aminuddin Dagar – HMV EASD 1420 here

Photographs below are from Yoga Art by Ajit Mookerjee, published by New York Graphic Society, 1975:

"Shri-yantra. The interpenetrating triangles symbolize the perfectly balanced interaction of active and receptive principles, contained by the never-ending circle. It is the fusion of knower and known — a symbol of the shakti or female power as she is in her own form (svarupa) and as she is in the form of the universe (visvarupa)." 

Gouache on paper, Rajasthan, c. 1700:

"The phases of evolution and dissolution of Cosmic Form." 

Rajasthan, c. 19th century:

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