Call of the Valley
| Call of the Valley | |
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| Studio album by Hariprasad Chaurasia, Brij Bhushan Kabra, and Shivkumar Sharma | |
| Released | 1967 |
| Genre | Hindustani classical music |
| Label | EMI |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  |
Call of the Valley is a 1967 Hindustani classical music 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 and the instruments they used became acceptable in traditional Indian music. 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. Shivkumar Sharma, who had made his first solo album in 1960, was responsible for establishing and popularizing the instrument in Hindustani classical circles. Kabra was also having to prove himself because of the guitar's Western and Indian popular music associations Chaurasia's problem was the wide popularity of the bansuri -- a bamboo transverse flute -- and his need to establish himself with the instrument. In 1967, the concept behind this album was as revolutionary as it was traditional. 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"."
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