Tarun Bhattacharya
Encyclopedia
Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya is an Indian classical music
ian who plays the santoor
, a type of hammered dulcimer
. He has studied with Ravi Shankar
and played with other Indian classical musicians such as Ronu Majumdar
and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
.
and bansuri
. His versatility has also grown with his role in the first ever santoor
-vocal jugalbandi with Anurag Harsh. Although he plays primarily in the Hindustani
tradition, he has been known to perform Carnatic
ragas as well.
Stylistically, Bhattacharya differs from many other santoor players in his varying uses of tones and timbres. He has a developed technique, including the sliding/glissando technique pioneered by Shivkumar Sharma, but also uses his fingernails in picking patterns by hammering with one hand and plucking with the other. An additional technique involves palm mutes during dramatic sections such as a tihai to produce a staccato melodic conclusion. Perhaps his most unusual and stirring contribution is a modified string at the bottom of the instrument, tuned to a very low pitch, which he presses on and bends during compositions to provide a meend
-like robust underlayer or phrase ending.
Bhattacharya has also modified his santoor to include small blocks beneath each string which facilitate "fine tuning" during performances, because the santoor, with its 90-plus strings, goes out of tune frequently.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ian who plays the santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
, a type of hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
. He has studied with Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
and played with other Indian classical musicians such as Ronu Majumdar
Ronu Majumdar
Ronu Majumdar is a noted Indian flautist in the Hindustani Classical Music tradition.-Early life and training:Born in Varanasi on June 22, 1963, Ranendranath Majumdar, popularly known as Ronu was trained under his father, Dr. Bhanu Majumdar, and later learned vocal music with the late Pt. Laxman...
and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt also known as V. M. Bhatt is an Indian slide guitar player. Bhatt is the creator of the Mohan Veena...
.
Career
Bhattacharya has recorded and played both solo compositions and jugalbandis with instruments like shehnaiShehnai
The shehnai, shahnai, shenai or mangal vadya, is an aerophonic instrument, a double reed conical oboe, common in North India, West India and Pakistan, made out of wood, with a metal flare bell at the end...
and bansuri
Bansuri
The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is...
. His versatility has also grown with his role in the first ever santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
-vocal jugalbandi with Anurag Harsh. Although he plays primarily in the Hindustani
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
tradition, he has been known to perform Carnatic
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
ragas as well.
Stylistically, Bhattacharya differs from many other santoor players in his varying uses of tones and timbres. He has a developed technique, including the sliding/glissando technique pioneered by Shivkumar Sharma, but also uses his fingernails in picking patterns by hammering with one hand and plucking with the other. An additional technique involves palm mutes during dramatic sections such as a tihai to produce a staccato melodic conclusion. Perhaps his most unusual and stirring contribution is a modified string at the bottom of the instrument, tuned to a very low pitch, which he presses on and bends during compositions to provide a meend
Meend
In Hindustani music, meend refers to a glide from one note to another. It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the veena, sitar, and other plucked stringed instruments, it is usually done by pushing the strings across the frets to vary their...
-like robust underlayer or phrase ending.
Bhattacharya has also modified his santoor to include small blocks beneath each string which facilitate "fine tuning" during performances, because the santoor, with its 90-plus strings, goes out of tune frequently.
Discography
- Song of Nature, Flame of the Forest (1992) with Vishwa Mohan BhattVishwa Mohan BhattVishwa Mohan Bhatt also known as V. M. Bhatt is an Indian slide guitar player. Bhatt is the creator of the Mohan Veena...
on mohan veenaMohan veenaThe Mohan veena is a stringed musical instrument used in Indian classical music. It derives its name from its inventor Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt...
and Ronu MajumdarRonu MajumdarRonu Majumdar is a noted Indian flautist in the Hindustani Classical Music tradition.-Early life and training:Born in Varanasi on June 22, 1963, Ranendranath Majumdar, popularly known as Ronu was trained under his father, Dr. Bhanu Majumdar, and later learned vocal music with the late Pt. Laxman...
on bansuriBansuriThe bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is... - Essence of Jugalbandi (1993) with Ronu Majumdar
- Sargam (1995)
- Kirvani (1996), featuring an original ragaRagaA raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
and three shorter pieces - Mental Bliss (1998), Bikram Ghosh, tabla
- Santoor (2000)
- Hypnotic Santoor (2001)
- Transcendence (2005)
- Aahir Bhairav & Gurjari Todi (2009) - Label: Questz World
- The Exotic Santoor (Reissued 2010)- Label: Aimrec - Available from Amazon.com