https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2021/04/recording-of-the-week-an-interview-with-ravi-shankar.html Skip to main content * Catalogues & Collections * Discover & Learn * What's on * Visit * Business Support * Shop * Join THE BRITISH LIBRARY Sound and vision blog * All our blogs * Latest posts * About this blog Main Previous post | Next post 05 April 2021 Recording of the week: An interview with Ravi Shankar This week's selection comes from Sarah Coggrave, Rights Clearance Officer for Unlocking our Sound Heritage. In 2017, the Mike Sparrow Collection (C1248) was the first audio collection to be preserved as part of the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project. Mike Sparrow (1948 - 2005) was a radio producer and presenter for BBC Radio London (UK) in the 1970s and 1980s, and his collection includes music, reviews, current affairs features and interviews from shows he worked on. One of my favourite recordings is of Mike Sparrow interviewing Indian sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar (1920 - 2012), in the 1970s. Based on the details accompanying the collection and from clues within the audio, it is likely this recording was made in early 1978, shortly before Ravi Shankar's performance on 20 January at the Royal Albert Hall (London, U.K.), in the same year. In this blog I will share some short excerpts from the recording. Ravi Shankar playing sitar Ravi Shankar performing at Woodstock Festival in 1969, image sourced via Wikimedia Commons and licensed by CC-SA 4.0. Ravi Shankar is known across the world for his teaching and performance work, and for sharing North Indian classical music with a range of audiences. In the interview he gives fascinating glimpses into this work, his well-documented association with other famous musicians (including George Harrison and Yehudi Menuhin) as well as discussing how best to define and appreciate different types of classical music. In this first excerpt from the interview, Ravi Shankar explains what a raga is. Ravi Shankar defines raga (excerpt 1) The sitar (a stringed instrument used Indian classical music) presents particular physical challenges due to the length of the fretboard and the method of playing, which, as Ravi Shankar mentions in the interview, results in cut fingers and callouses. In the second excerpt he describes the years of study required to develop the necessary technical and improvisational skills for performances. Ravi Shankar describes his musical training (excerpt 2) Throughout the interview Ravi Shankar talks about his desire to bring Indian classical music to new audiences, and reflects on the positive effects of his association with the rock and roll world, including performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 (California, U.S.A.) and Woodstock in 1969 (New York, U.S.A.), where the image in this blog was taken. While performances such as these made it possible to reach younger listeners, he also expressed concern about the drinking, smoking and drug taking that took place at such festivals, activities that he thought might undermine the appreciation and enjoyment of the music. This partially accounts for Ravi Shankar's subsequent move away from the rock and roll music scene and when Mike Sparrow asks for further clarification, the discussion moves on to what is meant by the term 'classical music'. Their conversation can be heard in the following excerpt from the interview: Ravi Shankar discusses types of classical music (excerpt 3) Interview transcript Later in the interview this theme is explored further in terms of how Western audiences react to their first encounters with classical Indian music and vice versa. Ravi Shankar talks specifically about the greater emphasis on melody and rhythm in Indian classical music, and how this can be disconcerting for listeners who are accustomed to harmony, modulation and dynamics being more central. Mike Sparrow's final question concerns Ravi Shankar's (then) upcoming performance at the Royal Albert Hall (London, U.K.). What might audiences expect? He responds by explaining that he often does not decide on the ragas until shortly before the performance, although avoids starting with a long one in case of latecomers, who might otherwise face waiting outside for up to 45 minutes! It would not have been possible to share this interview without the kind assistance of Ravi Shankar's estate, Mike Sparrow's executor and the BBC. Many recordings of Ravi Shankar's performances can be accessed at the British Library, as well as his autobiography and other publications describing his life and work. More details on all of this can be found searching British Library catalogues. UOSH_Footer_2019_Magenta (004) Follow @BLSoundHeritage and @soundarchive for all the latest news. Posted by Andrea Zarza Canova at 7:00 AM Tags Arts, literature & performance, BBC, Contemporary Britain, Interviews , Radio, Recording of the week, Save our Sounds, Sound and vision, South Asia, World & traditional music Voices of art Sound and vision blog recent posts * Recording of the week: how to avoid being puked on by a fulmar * Recording of the week: An interview with Ravi Shankar * Guy Brett: Ideas in Motion * True Echoes: Daniels Ethnographical Expedition to New Guinea, 1904 * Recording of the week: Women's lives in pre-war Leeds * Recording of the week: A different kind of national anthem * A Covid-19 radio archive * Recording of the week: Mohamed Choukri at the ICA * Alan Bowness and Artists' Lives * Recording of the week: Friction drum song from Botswana Tweets by soundarchive Archives * April 2021 * March 2021 * February 2021 * January 2021 * December 2020 * November 2020 * October 2020 * September 2020 * August 2020 * July 2020 More... 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