Pran Nath (musician)
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| Pran Nath पंडित प्राणनाथ) |
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|---|---|
| Born | 3 November 1918 Lahore, Pakistan |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Berkeley, California, US |
| Genres | Hindustani classical |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Associated acts | |
Pandit Pran Nath (Devanagari: पंडित प्राणनाथ) (3 November 1918 – 13 June 1996) was a Hindustani classical singer and teacher of the Kirana Gharana (school).
Contents
Early life
Pran Nath was born into a wealthy family in Lahore in present-day Pakistan. While avid devotees of music (inviting musicians into the house to perform nightly), the family did not approve of his desire to become a musician, so he left home at the age of 13 and took up residence with legendary (but reclusive) singer Abdul Wahid Khan of the Kirana gharana, cousin of the more widely known Abdul Karim Khan. Pran Nath served Khan for 7 years before he was accepted as a student, and stayed with Khan for nearly two decades. Both guru and disciple were much attracted to mysticism: Abdul Wahid Khan, a Muslim, to Sufism, and Nath, a Hindu, to a Shaivite sect in Dehra Dun. It is said that Nath lived in a cave near the Tapkeswhar temple to Shiva for five years,[1] serving his guru intermittently. He eventually married and reentered the world at the request (guru dakshana) of his guru, in order to ensure the preservation of the Kirana style. In 1937, he became a staff artist with All India Radio.
However, Nath stuck to a very austere singing style – heavy emphasis on alap, and very slow tempi – which suited his voice well, but was not very popular to the modern Indian taste. Like his teacher Abdul Wahid Khan, Pran Nath's singing emphasized precise intonation and the gradual exposition of tone and mood in the alap section of the music.[2] Nath supported himself as a music teacher, and worked at the University of Delhi from 1960 to 1970. He was also a visiting professor of music at Mills College.[3]
Life in the United States
In 1970, Pran Nath travelled to New York to visit the American composer La Monte Young and visual artist Marian Zazeela, who heard his first issued recording, Earth Groove: The Voice of Cosmic India. In 1972, he established his Kirana Center for Indian Classical Music in New York City and stayed in the U.S. for the rest of his life. He taught at several universities and attracted a strong following among the American minimalist composers.[4]
Notable Students
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Discography
- Earth Groove (1968), Ragas Bhupali and Asavari
- India's Master Vocalist (1972), Ragas Yaman Kalyan and Punjabi Berva
- Ragas of Morning and Night (1986), Ragas Miya ki Todi and Darbari Kanada, two ragas for which Pran Nath was particularly noted
- Midnight (2003), Raga Malkauns, two separate recordings made in 1971 and 1976
- The Raga Cycle (2006), Ragas Shudh Sarang and Kut Todi, recorded in 1972
Unreleased recordings
Like his teacher, Abdul Wahid Khan, Pran Nath did not emphasize recording or the releasing of records, preferring live performance. As such, little recorded documentation of the Kirana Gharana style is available. While only three recordings of Pran Nath were released during his lifetime, a large number of recordings exist under the care of La Monte Young. In Pran Nath's will Young, as executor of his estate, was instructed to begin releasing recordings.[5]
Films
- 1986 – In Between the Notes: A Portrait Of Pandit Pran Nath. Produced by Other Minds. Directed by William Farley.
- 1995 – Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy - Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and Terry Riley. Directed by Michael Blackwood.
References
- ↑ terryriley.net/india/PranNath.htm
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Alexander Keefe, Lord of the Drone: Pandit Pran Nath and the American Underground
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- MELA Foundation: Pandit Pran Nath
- 1986 - In Between the Notes: A Portrait Of Pandit Pran Nath. Directed by William Farley.
- On Pandit Pran Nath by Henry Flynt
- Other Minds: Pran Nath
- Pandit Pran Nath: Infinity’s Pathfinder By Marcus Boon
- Pandit Pran Nath: A Short Biography By Joan Allekotte
- Lord of the Drone: Pandit Pran Nath and the American Underground By Alexander Keefe
