Leading UK sitarist, Roopa Panesar, presents Subha, a celebration of morning ragas. Translating from the Hindi as 'Morning', Subha offers a unique start to the day. Time does not have to be a hurried affair, the start of a new day on Subha is a slow, peaceful awakening lending itself as a time of mindful reflection that beautifully builds in tempo and vigour as the album progresses through morning. On Subha, Roopa performs sitar alongside master tabla player, Ramdas Palsule. Subha totals just over an hour in playing time. 'Ahir Bhairav', 'Gujri Todi' and 'Bhairavi' are all morning ragas which evoking feelings or 'rasas' of peace and reflection. The opening raga, 'Ahir Bhairav Vilambat Gat' is performed in a slow or 'vilambat' tempo lasting just over thirty minutes. Subha moves gently from morning to the day with an increase in tempo during the second raga, 'Gujri Todi' which is split into two sections: 'Gujri Todi Madhya Laya Gat' followed by the faster 'Gujri Todi Drut Gat'. The album ends with a lighter rendition of Rag Bhairavi in the form of a Punjabi Dhun. Roopa Panesar proudly joins a modest number of Indian women worldwide who have learnt, mastered and launched careers as full-time professional teaching and touring sitarists. Roopa performs in a wide range of styles from Hindustani classical music, western classical, jazz and world music. With multiple BBC performances, Roopa has collaborated with Mercury Prize winner Talvin Singh and the Belgian Symphony Orchestra recording the soundtrack for the film ‘West is West’ as directed by Andy De Emmony. Roopa has toured extensively in the UK, Europe, India and USA performing at prestigious venues and festivals including London’s Darbar Festival and Womad UK. Ramdas Palsule is an esteemed tabla player, accompanying doyen vocalists, sitarists and dancers at a national and international level. Based in Pune, India, Ramdas plays an important role as the tabla guru at The Lalit Kala Kendra (Center for Performing Arts) of University of Pune and the Bharti Vidyapeeth School of Performing Arts. Ramdas Palsule is a passionate teacher, an intellectual academic, zealous entrepreneur and most importantly a modern ambassador for Indian classical music.
