#microtone

 The forbidding Raga Cycle, Palace Theater, Paris 1972, Volume 2, does little to dispel these notions. Arriving ten years after the first, this volume presents two somber late afternoon ragas, both of which are meant to evoke solemnity and devotion, making this a demanding listen even by Nath’s own standards. The first raga, “Raagini Bheempalasi,” begins at the lowest possible end of Nath’s vocal range with glacial melodic development. So slow, low and subtle are the first ten minutes of this performance that, played in the car, on laptop speakers, or at moderate volume while you’re cooking dinner, it effectively disappears. Terry Riley admirably and amateurishly accompanies on tabla, sounding like he’s straining keep time, not because, as is common in Indian Classical percussion, he’s expected to play at breakneck speeds, but because he’s expected to play so slowly. The second performance, the sunset raga “Puriyaa Dhanaashree,” is more accessible, opening with more immediate tonal and melodic development at a less tectonic pace. While both ragas end with pyrotechnic verbal workouts, the path there is both beautiful and arduous. 

For die-hard droners, minimalist true-believers and hardcore Hindustani rasikas, this recording will be a treasure. For the rest of us, Nath’s legendarily pure intonation and remarkable ability to create melodies of great emotional depth by sliding precisely from microtone to microtone can, if you’re willing to give it, greatly repay your strict attention with trips into profoundly strange emotional territory marked by chill-inducing, gut-churning beauty. 

Still, if you’re new to classical Indian vocal, there are far more accessible places to start, even within Pran Nath’s discography. Nath’s music is deeply austere; it was unfashionably so in his native India, and became even more so after he moved in with LaMonte Young and Marian Zazeela. For all but the truly devoted, listening to this record can be, like meditation, just as challenging as it is enlightening. Enlightening it is though, and in our attention impaired culture, there’s great value in a record that reminds of the value of sitting down, turning up and tuning in.