Music of Benares - Indian Classical Music in Music Department Concerts,The Meeting House
Music Department in School of Media Film & Music is delighted to welcome, for the first time, Music of Benares to the UK. This intimate show will be the Mishras' second ever show in the UK. Sitar maestro Pandit Shivnath Mishra is joined by his sitar playing son Deobrat Mishra and his great nephew tabla player Prashant Mishra. He is one of the few musicians in Contemporary India who 'sing inside' while playing the instrument. This Benares singing style is mainly Thumri and so highly ornamental, emotional and expressive.
With two sitarists on stage this is a 'jugalbandi' presentation of classical and folk that appeals to audiences everywhere. This is also collaboration between Guru and Shishya (disciple) and also father and son. Deobrat has learned sitar from his father since the age of 6 and since 1995 has toured extensively Europe and America, promoting classical sitar and fusion.
Thankyou to the Arts Council England and to University of Sussex for their generous support for this event, and to Chris Cook, the organiser.
Pandit Shivnath Mishra:
Pandit Shivnath Mishra was born on the 12th of October 1943, in Varanasi (North India). Also known as “Legend of the Sitar”, he is the 10th generation of the prominent Benares Gharana lineage of top class singers including Pandit Bade Ramdas Mishra and Panditji Great Grand Father. Since childhood, his highly musical family could see signs of a masterful musician in him. When Panditji was five years old, he began studying vocal music with his father, Badri Prashad Mishra, and his uncle-guru, Pandit Mahadev Prashad Mishra. However, when he was eight his musical inclination led him to study the sitar. In a family of great classical Indian vocalists, he was the first one who mastered the sitar.
Due to the vocal influence from his family as well as the Benares Gharana tradition, he is one among few artists in Contemporary India who ‘sing inside’ while playing a musical instrument. His lively, powerful and unique style has praised him with numerous titles by the most representative authorities and institutions of music in and outside India. In 1966, when he was only twenty-three, he received a gold medal in the All India Music Conference, in Calcutta.
The year 1979 marks the beginning of his performances abroad. Since then, he has been constantly on tour Europe and America. During his tours, he has performed with several international jazz artists such as John Handy, Paul Horn, David Freezen, Ben Conrad, Berred Kworrase, George Figgler Aimester among others. Moreover, he participated in many conferences and recitals including the Condolence Metal of Late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in Germany. He also took part in programs broadcast by the BBC Television and the German Radio.
Being one of India’s premiere sitar artists of all times, Pandit Shivnath Mishra was the Head of the Music Department at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University of Benares, in Varanasi, for 36 years. At this time, in 1994, he formed the “Music of Benares” which consists of a group of North Indian (Hindustani) classical musicians whose aim is to familiarize audiences all over the world with Hindustani music in general and the Benares Gharana in particular. What is characteristic of the Benares Gharana is exactly the singing of the Thumri, a light Indian classical music that is highly ornamental and thus very emotional and expressive. At a time when many different Gharanas mix with each other, the “Music of Benares” group keeps this ancient tradition alive.
Incorporation of this style with the “Jugalbandi” presentation, in which there are two solo artists sharing the stage, has created a unique synthesis of classical and folk that appeals to audiences everywhere. But this is not just Jugalbandi, this is a duet between a Guru and his Shishya (disciple) and, in this case, between father and son. Seeing this special interaction on stage is no doubt an unforgettable and mesmerizing experience.
Deobrat Mishra:
Deobrat Mishra is no doubt one of the most energetic and innovative sitar artists of India. Selectivity, melody and rhythmic complexity are typical features in his lively playing style.
Born in 1976, he represents the 11th generation of the Benares Gharana tradition. As a young child he studied tabla with his mother, Pramila Mishra, who is the grand
daughter of the well-known tabla player Pandit Baiju Mishra. He started by studying vocal music with his father at the age of five and began his sitar lessons a year later. That same year, after only six months of studying the sitar, he gave his first public performance on stage.
Five years later, he performed for the first time on the All India Radio.
Since 1994 he has been touring throughout Europe with his father. In the same year he was chosen to receive the award of the best young sitar player of India. In 2000 he received the “Jewels of Sound Award” in Mumbai. His many projects include music workshops, solo performances for radio and television as well as world music programs with Indian and European artists. Moreover, he is the one in charge of cultural events and music lessons provided by the Academy of Indian Classical Music, the school he founded along with his father, Pandit Shivnath Mishra, in 2006.
Recently, he received a Masters degree in sitar from the Prayag Sangit Samiti in Allahabad. Among many other projects, the Mishras performed and recorded their music with the Western Symphony Orchestra of Italy in 2005. Nowadays, they fully dedicate their art to similar projects including annual tours around the world.
Above all, the Mishras (father and son) serve as two of India’s leading cultural ambassadors of our times.