Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar & Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma

With: Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar (vocals), Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma (pakhawaj), Gilles Monfort (tanpura) and Sang Wang (tanpura).

The master of Dhrupad, a form of sacred vocal music from Northern India, Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar sets up a music salon against the backdrop of the Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai exhibition, establishing a resonance with his musicians and the public for an experience that borders on meditation.

“Music is ‘pitch, pulse, and pause’: the notes, rhythm, silence.”
Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar

An ancestral and devotional classical Indian music, Dhrupad requires a demanding vibratory vocal technique. The syllables become a mantra, the rhythm and range of the voice oscillate, the micro tonal nuances align their frequency to the rhythm of the percussion. Dhrupad also relies heavily on improvisation, inspired by the resonance with the audience. Heir to a long tradition of musicians spanning twenty generations and invited to perform all over the world, Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar is the expert in singing in one with his audience, leading them to vibrate in unison with his song. He is known for his gentle and subtle interpretations, as well as his powerful and sonorous gamaks (vibrating oscillations of a single note), while maintaining the purity of the raga (melodic framework).

For this Nomadic Night, accompanied by the esteemed pakhawaj (two-headed drum) player Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma, Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar shares his refined art of innovation and improvisation in a music salon over the course of one unique evening, against the setting of the exhibition Breath of an Architect by Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai. The event offers the public a remarkable opportunity to enter into a deep form of musical meditation with him and his musicians.

Biographies

Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar is the leading dhrupad exponent representing the twentieth generation of the Dagar family and the nephew and son of Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin and Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar (the Junior Dagar Brothers). His elders entrusted him with the responsibility of carrying on the dhrupad tradition in its pristine form. He is known for his tender and subtle rendition as well as powerful and sonorous gamaks while always maintaining the purity and aesthetical appeal of the raga. He has been performing, touring and recording worldwide, as well as teaching students from all over the world. Dagar is also dedicated to the furtherance and transmission of dhrupad in its entirety and purity and is the President of the Dhrupad Society. In 2010, the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri, the highest of his many awards.

Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma is one of India’s leading pakhawaj players and a much sought-after accompanist for all the eminent exponents of instrumental and vocal dhrupad. He started his career accompanying the renowned kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj at just 17 years old, and then played with famous leading stars of dhrupad or classical Indian music as the Dagar Brothers or Pandit Ravi Shankar. His signature lies in his unique handling of the techniques of accompaniment, and his excellent clarity of tone. It is marked by his imaginative playing, anticipating the singer’s variations while keeping up the required coordination and respecting the mood of the raga. He is credited on many recordings both in India, Europe, England, and the USA, and has released two solo CDs.