| Call of the Valley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1967 |
| Genre | Hindustani classical music |
| Length | 70:55 |
| Label | EMI |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  |
Call of the Valley is a 1967 light-classical album by Hariprasad Chaurasia, Brij Bhushan Kabra, and Shivkumar Sharma. It was recorded for the label EMI.
Hindustani classical music is the traditional music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or Shastriya Sangeet. Its origins date from the 12th century CE, when it diverged from Carnatic music, the classical tradition of southern regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Hariprasad Chaurasia is an Indian music director and classical flutist, who plays the bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute, in the Hindustani classical tradition.
Brij Bhushan Kabra was an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music.
Contents
The instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir. It is one of the most successful Indian albums and one that became popular with an international audience. It was very important in introducing Indian music to Western ears and internationally the best selling Indian music record. George Harrison, David Crosby, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn are fans of the album. [2]
Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, it denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.
George Harrison was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work. Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group included "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something".
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
The atmospheric music is traditional, but the innovative use of guitar and flute make the sound more acceptable for Western audiences. Kabra plays slide guitar, Sharma santoor, Chaurasia bansuri and Tabla was played by Manikrao Popatkar. The artists became well known musicians as a result of this album. Today Call of the Valley is considered a classic and a milestone in world music.
Slide guitar is a particular technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues-style music. The technique involves placing an object against the strings while playing to create glissando effects and deep vibratos. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a tubular "slide" fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube like the neck of a bottle. The term "bottleneck" was historically used to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may also be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar and is then referred to as "lap slide guitar" or "lap steel guitar".
The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian Santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is a traditional instrument in Jammu and Kashmir, and dates back to ancient times. It was called Shatha Tantri Veena in ancient Sanskrit texts.
A bansuri is a side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo. It is one of the most common instruments in North Indian or Hindustani classical music. A similar flute is called venu in the South Indian or Carnatic classical tradition. It is referred to as nadi and tunava in the Rigveda and other Vedic texts of Hinduism. Its importance and operation is discussed in the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.
Shivkumar Sharma, the guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra, and flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia were all aged about 30 when they made Call of the Valley. Conceived as a suite, they used their instruments to tell the story of a day in the life of a shepherd in Kashmir using ragas associated with various times of the day to advance the dramatic narrative. Allmusic advises: "If the newcomer buys only one Indian classical recording, it should be "Call of the Valley"." [1]
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is an Indian music composer and santoor player from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The santoor is a folk instrument.
The remastered edition on hEMIsphere has three bonus tracks.
It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery and Michael Lydon.
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the 1001 Before You Die series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important, influential, and best in popular music between the 1950s and the 2010s. The book is edited by Robert Dimery, an English writer and editor who had previously worked for magazines such as Time Out and Vogue.
