Indian Classical: Shiv Kumar Sharma - Santoor (8 Albums)

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (born January 13, 1938) in Jammu, is an Indian classical musician, working in the Hindustani classical music tradition. He is a master of the santoor, a folk instrument from the valley of Kashmir. It is a type of hammered dulcimer whose strings are struck with a pair of light carved wooden mallets. 

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the santoor or shata-tantri veena as it was called in earlier times, was used as an accompaniment to a specific type of singing called sufiana mausiqi. When Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, a renowned vocalist from Jammu and a disciple of Pandit Bade Ramdasji of Benares gharana discovered the instrument, he became interested by its possibilities. After extensive research on the instrument he passed on to his only son Shivkumar the responsibility of establishing it on the concert platform. 

Shivkumar Sharma is the master instrumentalist of the santoor, after some years as a student of the tabla and as a vocalist. He is credited with single-handedly making the santoor a popular classical instrument, to the extent that the santoor and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma are synonymous. Sharma modified the Kashmiri folk instrument to make it more suitable for his classical technique, increasing the range of the instrument to three full octaves and making it capable of a smoother meend (the glissando or gliding between notes required in Hindustani classical music to emulate the human voice). Besides, he also created a new technique of playing with which he could sustain notes and maintain sound continuity. [Wikipedia] 

Listing: 

Maestro's Choice
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Series One
01. Raga Bhoopal Todi
02. Raga Kirvani

Series Two
01. Raga Charukeshi


Sangeet Sartaj
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Vol 1
01. Raga Antardhwani
02. Raga Basant

Vol 2
01. Raga Durga
02. Raga Megh


Scintillating Sounds Of The Santoor
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01. Raga Puria-Kalyan - Alap, Jor, Jhala
02. Raga Puria-Kalyan - Gat in Rupak Tal & Teen Tal
03. Raga Puria-Kalyan - Dhun


Sound Scapes -  Music Of The Mountains
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01. Himalayan Dawn
02. Sunrise On The Peaks
03. Spirit Of Kashmir
04. Echoes From The Valley
05. Mountain Love Song
06. Evening Prayer
07. Ballad
08. Twilight Shadows
09. Springtime
10. Shikara By Moonlight


The Elements - Water
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01. Ganga, Sangam
02. Stillness Of The Lake
03. Dewdrops
04. Walking In The Rain
05. Samudra Manthan


The Flow Of Time
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01. Raga Marwa - Alap
02. Raga Marwa - Jod
03. Raga Marwa - Jhalla
04. Raga Hameer - Gat in Teen Taal
05. Raga Kamod - Gat in Jhap Taal
06. Raga Kedar - Gat in Ek Taal
07. Raga Kaushik Dhwani - Alap
08. Raga Kaushik Dhawani - Gat in Matta Taal
09. Raga Kaushik Dhawani - Gat in Teen Taal


Varsha
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01. Varsha Avahan
02. Varsha Stuti
03. Varsha Naman


When Time Stood Still
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01. Kausni Kanhara
02. Malkauns, Darbari Kanhara
03. Mishra Kafi
04. Jod
05. Roopak


Misc
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Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje 1
Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje 2
Monsoon Magic
Raga Mishra Mand Dhun - Taal Khemta


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