Instrumental Artistry of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt VHS

Pandit Vishwesh Mohan Bhatt gives a nice introduction to the way in which he created the instrument, MOHAN VEENA that he plays with deceptive ease and impressive artistry.He presents raga Yaman with full elaboration of all the canonical 'movements'.Although I enjoyed the performance, I felt that excessive use of higher notes makes the performance sort of lopsided.Any one who listens to this performance should find its precision awesome. At times the speed of the complex taans is breath taking.Yaman is often considered a 'majestic' raga. i felt the slower movements in lower saptaks are better suited to bring out this mood of majesty and serenity. The greater emphasis placed on speed and higher notes dazzle but tends to wipe out the initial mood of Yaman. This could only be my personal opinion.I recommend this Video to every one interested in Indian classical music. This Video is also important because the musician himself who has created a new instruments talks about its creation and the purpose for which it was created is then demonstrated with unparalleled artistry. This is a rare event.The Video must be seen, heard, discussed and studied in all ethno music departments for its tutorial content.I want to add that Sukhvinder Singh-ji's presence on the stage is very pleasing. The obvious happiness he feels in the music that is being created is wonderful. His tabla accompaniment enhances the guitar. On the other hand the beautiful lady with nice long fingers who plays the taanpura appears thoroughly bored with what is going on. It is not her fault that she is seen that way on the video. It is the fault of the director who made this video to allow such a thing to happen even if she plays the taanpura perfactly well.

Excellent video. If you're at all interested in Hindustani slide this is definitely a good place to start.