0:00:02 > 0:00:05Tonight, we're bringing you some of the finest classical music from India and Pakistan,
0:00:05 > 0:00:10with sitar music from North India, Carnatic music from South India,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13and Sufi qawwali from Pakistan.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Welcome to the Proms 2017.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Welcome to tonight's late-night prom
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and we have a very special concert ahead.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45To mark the 70th anniversary of independence
0:00:45 > 0:00:46on the Indian subcontinent,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49we bring you the three main classical traditions of India and
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Pakistan, in a concert beautifully curated by the Darbar Festival.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04SINGING QAWWALI
0:01:09 > 0:01:13In August 1947, 200 years of British rule in India came to
0:01:13 > 0:01:16an abrupt end and there's rightly been much focus
0:01:16 > 0:01:20in public commemoration this year on the horror of partition after
0:01:20 > 0:01:24the British decision to divide the subcontinent into two
0:01:24 > 0:01:27independent dominions - India and Pakistan.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But tonight, we want to celebrate their shared musical heritage,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33which I grew up with, like millions of people of Indian
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and Pakistani descent, often played late into the night,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39like our concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Tonight's audience will see musicians from India
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and Pakistan come together to celebrate the enduring
0:01:46 > 0:01:51power of traditional music and its power to heal and to unify.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We'll be hearing three distinct sessions,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57each lasting about 45 minutes.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59We begin with a recital on the sitar,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02probably the best-known of Indian classical instruments
0:02:02 > 0:02:06since it was popularised in the West by Ravi Shankar in the '60s.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It features music from the Hindustani classical
0:02:09 > 0:02:13tradition of North India, and the soloist in tonight's concert,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15in collaboration with the Darbar Festival,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18is one of India's finest and most famous players.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Here to introduce the sitar himself is pundit Budhaditya Mukherjee.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27SITAR MUSIC PLAYS
0:02:41 > 0:02:47This is the ascending and descending order of notes in Raag Bihag,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52which I have chosen for playing in the festival's concert.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I think the concert starts around 10 o'clock or 10:15 in the night,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and this is a typical time.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02The aesthetics of this raag are very much in harmony of the...
0:03:04 > 0:03:07..oncoming late night.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17A raag is a set of notes in a particular ascending order
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and descending order.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Raags have aesthetics for the daytime, night-time,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25all the hours of the 24-hour cycle.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32When the artist feels the soul of the raag dissolving within
0:03:32 > 0:03:35the consciousness, we as human beings,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37we experience the different feelings.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40But there are so many things we see but we do not understand
0:03:40 > 0:03:43the intricacies, but we feel that, "Oh, wow - look at that.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46"That's so beautiful." What did we understand about it?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49We felt the beauty.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52That's how we go on with our music.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55APPLAUSE
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Well, on stage with the Budhaditya is tabla player
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Soumen Nandy, who adds his rhythmic ingredient later in the performance.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Here at the BBC Proms 2017,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Budhaditya Mukherjee plays Raga Bihag.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44APPLAUSE
0:25:10 > 0:25:13APPLAUSE
0:46:00 > 0:46:04APPLAUSE
0:46:17 > 0:46:21An amazing set to the music of the sitar, coiling like smoke
0:46:21 > 0:46:24and spreading its magic across the hall.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Budhaditya Mukherjee there taking a bow,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30he was on the sitar along with tabla player Soumen Nandy.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33The piece we heard them perform was the Raga Bihag.
0:46:44 > 0:46:49Next tonight, we have what is known as Carnatic music from the south of India.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52Its roots go back much further
0:46:52 > 0:46:55than music in the Muslim-influenced north.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Indeed, its roots are said to be divine in origin
0:46:58 > 0:47:00in Hindu culture, and we're going to hear two
0:47:00 > 0:47:07of South India's most important melodic instruments - the Saraswati veena and the Carnatic violin,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10very obviously introduced from the West,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14but entirely and delightfully Indianised since then.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16The veena is played by Jayanthi Kumaresh,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and the violin by her husband, Kumaresh Rajagopalan.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23What you see here is called the Saraswati veena,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25it's the national instrument of India.
0:47:26 > 0:47:32And it has very holy tradition, both mystically and mythologically.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36The goddess, Saraswati, is the goddess of learning.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40She is personified with a veena in her hands.
0:47:40 > 0:47:47This veena is created in the shape of a human body, with the head...
0:47:48 > 0:47:52..the spinal cord, and the lower part of the body.
0:47:52 > 0:47:57The human spinal cord, we have 24 vertebrae.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00And the veena has 24 frets.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05The fretboard is made out of honey bees' wax
0:48:05 > 0:48:10and we have scalloped frets, like a guitar,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14so that we can give what is known as "gamak", which is
0:48:14 > 0:48:18an embellishment which is very characteristic of Indian music.
0:48:23 > 0:48:29So this is how we pull strings and create a continuity between notes.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48When you play the Indian violin, we sit and we use the leg
0:48:48 > 0:48:52and shoulder to support, because there is something
0:48:52 > 0:48:54called a "gamakam"...
0:48:54 > 0:48:57gliding between notes.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01To do that, when you have two support systems,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04the leg and the shoulders, it is easy to do that.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Tonight, we are going to be doing two interesting,
0:49:07 > 0:49:09very different pieces.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13The second one will be Raag Charukeshi.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17This is special because both the Carnatic system of Indian music
0:49:17 > 0:49:21and the Hindustani system of Indian music play this raga
0:49:21 > 0:49:28and it's a beautiful evening raga, with a very, very soulful mood.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33And the first raga we are going to play today in the evening is Nattai.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36It is a very traditional South Indian raga,
0:49:36 > 0:49:38so we just thought that it will be a very appropriate to
0:49:38 > 0:49:42present that raga in the beginning for the Western audience.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49Onstage with Jayanthi and Kumaresh is Anantha R Krishnan,
0:49:49 > 0:49:53playing the two-headed south Indian drum, the mridangam,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55which he started learning aged just five.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59They're going to play two ragas, starting with Raga Nattai.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18APPLAUSE
0:58:02 > 0:58:06APPLAUSE
1:00:33 > 1:00:35APPLAUSE
1:00:48 > 1:00:52VIOLIN PLAYS
1:16:34 > 1:16:37APPLAUSE
1:19:39 > 1:19:43APPLAUSE
1:21:37 > 1:21:40APPLAUSE
1:24:30 > 1:24:34APPLAUSE
1:28:23 > 1:28:26APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
1:32:09 > 1:32:13CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:32:20 > 1:32:21Joyous applause.
1:32:21 > 1:32:24That exquisite combination of melody
1:32:24 > 1:32:29and mystery in the Carnatic music we just heard, of South India.
1:32:29 > 1:32:31That combination of the ancient veena
1:32:31 > 1:32:32performed there by Jayanthi Kumaresh
1:32:32 > 1:32:40and the modern but thoroughly transformed violin by her husband, Kumaresh Rajagopalan.
1:32:41 > 1:32:47And the double-headed drum, the beautiful energy of the mridangam.
1:32:47 > 1:32:50You heard it performed by Anantha R Krishnan.
1:32:55 > 1:32:58Our final session is a very special treat, because we are
1:32:58 > 1:33:03joined by Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers from Pakistan.
1:33:03 > 1:33:07They sing qawwali, which is a form of Sufi devotional
1:33:07 > 1:33:10music in South Asia, with mystical Islamic poetry.
1:33:10 > 1:33:14Though its roots are Islamic, it's enjoyed for its beauty
1:33:14 > 1:33:17and its spiritual richness all over the world, in the same way
1:33:17 > 1:33:20that you don't need to be Christian to enjoy Handel's Messiah.
1:33:20 > 1:33:24It was popularised in the West by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,
1:33:24 > 1:33:27and its essence is in live performance.
1:33:27 > 1:33:31Indeed, qawwali is performed at shrines every week, all over
1:33:31 > 1:33:33Pakistan and India.
1:33:33 > 1:33:36Here they are, warming up backstage, ahead of the concert.
1:33:40 > 1:33:43Qawwali is spiritual music.
1:33:43 > 1:33:47It's a sort of spiritual entertainment.
1:33:49 > 1:33:52But qawwali is not show business.
1:33:52 > 1:33:56Qawwali is not singing. Qawwali is praying.
1:33:56 > 1:34:00Qawwali is an exercise to improve your soul.
1:34:04 > 1:34:09In Pakistan, qawwali is very popular, VERY popular.
1:34:09 > 1:34:14A part of Pakistan, India, England and London, I...
1:34:14 > 1:34:17I am travelling since last 40 years!
1:34:19 > 1:34:20So qawwali is very popular.
1:34:26 > 1:34:32Where we are performing, it's a very good hall and very renowned.
1:34:32 > 1:34:35And it's proud of me that I am singing, I'm praying there, qawwali.
1:34:45 > 1:34:47If a person tries to understand the music
1:34:47 > 1:34:51and tries to understand the wording and tries to understand all
1:34:51 > 1:34:58the thing about that particular music, the men become entranced.
1:35:03 > 1:35:05Just like...
1:35:05 > 1:35:07Round into the sky.
1:35:07 > 1:35:11But not the sky, beyond the sky!
1:35:17 > 1:35:22Around the world, all the public are very...disturbed.
1:35:23 > 1:35:26There is no peace in... in their heart.
1:35:26 > 1:35:32I think if they come to this sort of music,
1:35:32 > 1:35:35they take peace.
1:35:35 > 1:35:38Sorry my English is... But we are trying to give you the message.
1:35:40 > 1:35:45Peace, love for all the people. All the humans.
1:35:45 > 1:35:48APPLAUSE
1:35:48 > 1:35:52So, here is Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers,
1:35:52 > 1:35:58performing a number of pieces of devotional qawwali music for the first time at the BBC Proms.
1:41:26 > 1:41:29THEY SING VERY GENTLY
1:41:29 > 1:41:32HE SINGS WITH EMPHASIS
1:49:30 > 1:49:33APPLAUSE
1:49:50 > 1:49:52Ladies and gentlemen...
1:49:52 > 1:49:54now we are singing Kangna of Malkauns.
1:57:52 > 1:57:54APPLAUSE
1:57:54 > 1:57:57Thank you! Thank you very much!
1:58:02 > 1:58:06Thank you so much. Thank you very much.
1:58:12 > 1:58:14HE SAYS THANK YOU IN URDU AND DIFFERENT INDIAN LANGUAGES
2:06:47 > 2:06:52APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
2:06:52 > 2:06:55HE SPEAKS IN URDU
2:07:02 > 2:07:07This is the time, the second last item of this evening.
2:07:08 > 2:07:14Most powerful item, Baba Bulleh Shah's Mera Piya Ghar Aaya.
2:07:14 > 2:07:15AUDIENCE CHEERS
2:13:16 > 2:13:20CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:13:25 > 2:13:26In the last...
2:13:28 > 2:13:31I hope...we have to dance.
2:16:19 > 2:16:21Come on!
2:16:21 > 2:16:22This is the time...
2:16:23 > 2:16:24..of dhamaal.
2:18:32 > 2:18:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
2:18:40 > 2:18:45APPLAUSE CONTINUES
2:18:52 > 2:18:56Unique sound of qawwali, Sufi mystical poetry
2:18:56 > 2:18:59and music brought to life, here at the BBC Proms.
2:18:59 > 2:19:02The crowd showing their enthusiastic appreciation for
2:19:02 > 2:19:08Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers, from Karachi in Pakistan.
2:19:12 > 2:19:15Well, that brings our night of classical music from India
2:19:15 > 2:19:17and Pakistan to a close.
2:19:17 > 2:19:20Whether it's music you grew up with in your family, like mine,
2:19:20 > 2:19:25or it's a new world to you, I really hope you enjoyed the experience.
2:19:25 > 2:19:29Do tune in again this Thursday on BBC Four at 10pm for another
2:19:29 > 2:19:33late-night intimate prom, this time Sir Andras Schiff will be
2:19:33 > 2:19:38performing the entire first book of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier.
2:19:38 > 2:19:45That's 24 preludes and fuges, one in every key - definitely an event.
2:19:45 > 2:19:51But from all of us here at the Royal Albert Hall, goodnight.