Gundecha Brothers
Night Prayer (CD)

FY8188

Dhrupad is the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music that has survived until today in its original form. The Dhrupad tradition is a major tradition of Indian culture. GUNDECHA BROTHERS are today best interpreters of the genre.
Recorded in 2011 in Night Prayer GUNDECHA BROTHERS present a very important night raga: Malkauns. Raga Malkauns one of the most beautiful, popular and ancient of the ragas in Hindustani Classical music.
Though a simple pentatonic raga in structure, it requires great skills to convey and evoke the mood of Malkauns. Malkauns is a serious, meditative raga, and is developed mostly in the lower octave and in a slow tempo.
In their rendering of the raga GUNDECHA BROTHERS fully display their ability to control the slow evolution of the raga. A long, ecstatic alap (introduction without a set tempo) open the recording. In this part the two voices on the drone of the tampuras build a majestic architecture, paint an abstract picture calling each other, sometimes with simple notes, sometimes meeting in short, unison phrases. In a miraculous way they are able to keep our attention without recurring to easy beats or tempo.
This long, hypnotic part leads to two compositions with the accompaniment of the pakhawaj (percussion) and to the end of this dreamy, Night Prayer.
UMAKANT and RAMAKANT GUNDECHA are one of India’s leading exponents of the Dhrupad style of music. They are among the most active performers of Dhrupad in Indian and international circuits.
Born in Ujjain in Central India, both were initiated into music by their parents. GUNDECHA BROTHERS received conventional university education and learned the Dhrupad vocal art under the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and also with Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra Veena) in Dhrupad Kendra Bhopal.
The Gundecha Brothers have sung great Hindi poetry by Tulsidas, Kabir, Padmakar, Nirala in Dhrupad style . They have recorded about 25 cassettes and CDs. They have also sung for many television channels in India, the Brothers have also performed at many important international music festivals.
AKHILESH GUNDECHA has learned pakhawaj playing from Pandit Shrikant Mishra and Raja Chhatrapati Singh JuDeo. He is post graduate in music and graduate in law. He has played solo recitals and has toured Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong , USA and Canada.