As a khayal gharana,the Agra
gharana took shape during the course of the 19th century, through the
grand-disciples and descendants of Shyamrang. Of all the known khayal styles,
it is the Agra singers who proudly parade their dhrupadic roots and influences most
in their renditions. There are some rather outstanding features of this gayaki
most of which are typical to the Agra gharana. The gharana adopts a kind of
voice production which relies on a flatter version of the vowel sound
"a"', which makes its music agreeable to rhythmic variations and is
best suited for a deep masculine voice. Emphasis is laid on bold, full-throated
and robust voice production, and singing in the lower register (mandra) is
favoured. Keeping in tune with its dhrupadic origins, the singers use broad and
powerful ornamentations (gamaks), extensive glides (meends), and resonant
articulations of notes. As with the Gwalior gharana, the Agra singers accentuate the importance of the bandish and its methodical exposition. Singers following Faiyaz
Khan's style resort to the dhrupadic nom tom alaap before singing the bandish.
The singers of this gharana are also great masters over laya-kari or the
rhythmic component. In fact, laya-kari is the lasting foundation on which the
singers build the edifice of the bandish. In the hands of the best exponents,
the dialogue between the singer and the tabla player often turns a dramatic event. Their tihais are
eagerly awaited, as are their nifty ways of arriving at the same, by building
up anticipation within the listener.
As a khayal gharana,the Agra
gharana took shape during the course of the 19th century, through the
grand-disciples and descendants of Shyamrang. Of all the known khayal styles,
it is the Agra singers who proudly parade their dhrupadic roots and influences
most in their renditions. There are some rather outstanding features of this
gayaki most of which are typical to the Agra gharana. The gharana adopts a kind
of voice production which relies on a flatter version of the vowel sound
"a"', which makes its music agreeable to rhythmic variations and is
best suited for a deep masculine voice. Emphasis is laid on bold, full-throated
and robust voice production, and singing in the lower register (mandra) is
favoured. Keeping in tune with its dhrupadic origins, the singers use broad and
powerful ornamentations (gamaks), extensive glides (meends), and resonant
articulations of notes. As with the Gwalior gharana, the Agra singers accentuate the importance of the bandish and its methodical exposition. Singers following Faiyaz
Khan's style resort to the dhrupadic nom tom alaap before singing the bandish.
The singers of this gharana are also great masters over laya-kari or the
rhythmic component. In fact, laya-kari is the lasting foundation on which the
singers build the edifice of the bandish. In the hands of the best exponents,
the dialogue between the singer and the tabla player often turns a dramatic event. Their tihais are
eagerly awaited, as are their nifty ways of arriving at the same, by building
up anticipation within the listener. To
know more read:
