Call of the Valley – LP record and painting
The popular music album Call of the Valley album has haunting light classical music from Kashmir valley with a beautiful painting of a shepherd boy and a Kashmiri girl. We had this LP (long playing record) at our place. Growing up, I must have listened to this LP so many times. When I met Singapore based artist Anuradha Kabra for the first time, I was delighted to learn that she is the daughter of Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra who along with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia created this wonderful music album.
A Gift much appreciated
I mentioned to Anuradha that this LP record along with our entire collection of LP records got lost during our house shifting. She graciously offered to send me a copy of this LP. I suggested to her that she should recreate this painting on the jacket of the LP. I could not believe when I received the LP and a canvas painting which has beautifully recreated not only the artwork on the LP jacket but also the mood from the Kashmir valley. Thank you so much Anuradha for this wonderful gesture.
Call of the Valley, painting by Anuradha Kabra of the shepherd and Kashmiri girl
Message from Pandit Shivkumar Sharma
This is an iconic album which was recorded by Hariji, Brijbhushan and Myself in 1967. It is still very popular around the globe and it was first released in LP form with the cover showing the valley of Kashmir and this painting by Anuradha is a beautiful recreation of that iconic album where fond memories of the yore come flooding back.
Anuradha Kabra
Read blog post on Anuradha Kabra
Call of the Valley – Limited Edition Print
Indiaart will soon offer limited edition prints of this fabulous painting which has so beautifully captured the ambience and life from Kashmir valley.
Limited Edition Prints available with Indiaart
About Call of the Valley
Call of the Valley is a 1967 light-classical album by Hariprasad Chaurasia, Brij Bhushan Kabra, and Shivkumar Sharma. It was recorded for the label EMI.
The instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir. It is one of the most successful Indian albums and one that became popular with an international audience. It was very important in introducing Indian music to Western ears and internationally the best selling Indian music record. George Harrison, David Crosby, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn are fans of the album.
The atmospheric music is traditional, but the innovative use of guitar and flute make the sound more acceptable for Western audiences. Kabra plays slide guitar, Sharma santoor, Chaurasia bansuri and Tabla was played by Manikrao Popatkar. The artists became well known musicians as a result of this album. Today Call of the Valley is considered a classic and a milestone in world music.
Shivkumar Sharma, the guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra, and flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia were all aged about 30 when they made Call of the Valley. Conceived as a suite, they used their instruments to tell the story of a day in the life of a shepherd in Kashmir using ragas associated with various times of the day to advance the dramatic narrative. Allmusic advises: “If the newcomer buys only one Indian classical recording, it should be “Call of the Valley”.”
The remastered edition on hEMIsphere has three bonus tracks.
It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery and Michael Lydon.
(source : Wikipedia)
