RAVI SHANKAR at Coventry Cathedral 1967

 

RAVI SHANKAR at Coventry Cathedral 1967

by Pete Clemons

Photo by Richard Sadler @1967 via Coventry Cathedral Facebook Page.

Below is an account of how Ravi Shankar was introduced to the Coventry public in preparation for a concert held at the Cathedral during 1967.

If your experience of the sitar is confined to George Harrison and the Yardbirds, on Saturday, May 6th 1967. at 7.45 p.m. in Coventry Cathedral you have one of the all too chances to hear it played by Ravi Shankar, possibly the greatest virtuoso of the instrument ever to have lived.

In India he has the position of a national hero, draws crowds of up to 20,000 and is sometimes mobbed in the streets.

Ravi Shankar was born in Benares, and joined his brother's touring company as an apprentice on his tour of Europe when he was only nine.

He showed great talent in all the jobs he turned to. In 1935 India's foremost musician , Ustad Allaudin Khan , joined the company and Ravi asked if he could study with him. In a burst of rage Ustad Khan said that Ravi's talent made him think he could turn to anything he wanted, but if he wanted to be a musician he would have to devote his life to it.

Surprised, Ravi accepted the challenge, studied for a year and in 1938 returned to India to Ustad Khan to study intensively for six and a half years In 1949 he formed the Indian National Orchestra and worked as musical director with All-India Radio until 1957.

Since then he has toured and written film scores, among which was one for Jonathan Miller's version of 'Alice'. Indian music, which at its best generates at once both a depth and intensity of excitement not found in any Western music, is, for all its apparent spontaneity , highly formal.

Basically it consists of two elements, the raga, a scale-like series of notes similar in many respects to the modes of Ancient Greek music, and the tala, a rhythmic pattern that forms the basis of the improvisation .

Before each piece the twenty-five frets of the sitar are adjusted to the raga and the music usually begins with an exposition of it. The tamboura, a four or five stringed bass instrument is also tuned to the notes of the raga and produces a curious droning accompaniment to the sitar. Finally the tabla, a pair of drums of similar quality to bongos but with a more flexible tone and timbre, enter in the Gat as the music builds to its climax in the Jhala.

The climax is achieved by multiplying the time, by cross rhythms by increasingly rich ornamentation in the raga and, in the Hindustani style , by increasing the speed, until a state of near orgasm is reached. If you have never heard Indian music before you will probably never get such a good opportunity again. It is an experience you should not deny yourself.

Tickets are available from the Cathedral Bookshop.

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Coventry Cathedral are "Currently looking for stories from people who were at the performances of Ravi Shankar and Duke Ellington in the late 60s.
If you were there or know anyone who went to them get in touch with researcher Nirmal Puwar who is currently gathering peoples memories! Email: N.Puwar@gold.ac.uk

Neol Davies (later of The Selecter) with sitar and long hair in Coventry very early 70's from his former website

Below is Ravi Shankar a month later at the Monterey festival June 1967.