The Rhythm Divine

There's much more to Ravi Shankar than mastery of the sitar. George Harrison called him the 'godfather of world music' for his efforts in popularising Hindustani classical music in the West, and his daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones have forged brilliant musical careers themselves. But Ravi Shankar has also been an important spiritual ambassador, arranging and recording Sanskrit chants from Hindu scriptures like the Vedas and the Upanishads. This week we feature his album Chants of India in which Hindu prayers and mantras have been set to music. And we hear from his famous daughters.

First broadcast 3 August 2007.

Further Information

Chants of India
'Sanskrit chants from the Vedas, Upanishads, and other texts have been handed down through the centuries by Traditional Scholars in India. In these renditions, Ravi Shankar reconfigured existing forms and composed new numbers to convey the spiritual force of these Sanskrit mantras and chants.'

Music

CD title: Chants of India
Track title: Vandanaa Trayee/ Veenaa Murali/ Mahaa Mrityunjaya
Artist: Ravi Shankar
Composer: trad.
CD details: Angel 7243 8 55948 2
URL: http://www.ravishankar.org/index.html
'Vandanaa Trayee' combines traditional prayers to the Hindu gods Ganesha, Vishnu, and the goddess Sarasvati, recited in Sanskrit. 'Veenaa Murali' is an instrumental work, and 'Mahaa Mrityunjaya' is a verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad in praise of Lord Shiva, recited in Sanskrit.

CD title: The Concert for Bangladesh
Track title: Introduction
Artist: Ravi Shankar
CD details: Epic 468835 2
URL: http://www.theconcertforbangladesh.com/

CD title: Come Away With Me
Track title: Cold Cold Heart
Artist: Norah Jones
Composer: Hank Williams
CD details: Blue Note 7243 32088 2 0
URL: http://www.bluenote.ca/norah_jones/

CD title: Rise
Track title: Prayer in Passing
Artist: Anoushka Shankar
Composer: Anoushka Shankar
CD details: Angel 0946 3 54950
URL: http://www.anoushkashankar.com/

Presenter

Geoff Wood

Producer

Geoff Wood