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// Kaushiki Chakrabarty

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Kaushiki Chakrabarty
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Kaushiki


Kaushiki The soothing and potent voice of one of India’s most promising hopes is beautifully captured in this triple-CD released by the British-based Sense World Music label. The first part was recorded by the company in its purpose-built studios in North India; the two others are live takes recorded at this year’s Saptak Festival in Gujarat. Together, they reflect the astonishing maturity and range of an artist who, at only 26-years-old, has reached a remarkable height of musical prowess. This is thanks not only to her regular releases (this is her fourth so far), but also her total investment in live performances.

What further distinguishes Kaushiki is her ability to interpret the Raga and Tala of both the North and South India. Few artists can boast such a total command of these complex and varied repertoires. The young singer does not shirk such challenges and opens with one of the most rigid ragas in Indian classical music, the “Dhrupad”. “Double, triple and other multiplied rhythmic variations are a key feature of Dhrupad,” explains in the sleeve-notes the British musicologist John Ball. Kaushiki interprets them with gracious ease.

The Raga Bageshree that follows are composed by her father Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, who has guided his daughter throughout her career. This 24-year-old complicity explains the ease with which Kaushiki tackles a raga that demands an utmost control of breathing, as the slow initial tempo gives way to a rich and lively climax. Her mellifluous voice tackles a rich assortment of Indian styles, from the lively “Tarana” style of the North to its southern counterpart called “Thillana”. The emotional dimension of this music is thrillingly captured by the singer who has hugely benefited from the guru-shishya system of teaching she has enjoyed from an earliest age. This, according to Ball, involves “the complete emotional, intellectual and spiritual surrender of the ardent shishya (trainee) to the guru.” When well executed, it reflects the full gamut of human emotion and a high degree of maturity from the vocalist.

In the live performances at the Saptak Festival that make up two-thirds of this release, Kaushiki is ably shouldered by the renowned tabla player Yogesh Samsi. Since the late Nineties he has established himself as one of the best tabla accompanists in India. This is thanks to the precision of Samsi’s time-keeping, his ability to pick up on the musical nuances of the music and the tonal clarity of his playing. The overall result is a wonderful package of soothing and inspiring music that can only enhance Kaushiki’s reputation as this prodigious artist. The triple-album arrives two years after her award-winning CD Pure, and it could bring further recompense to an already-rich career.

July 2007

Daniel Brown



  

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