Agra Gharana (vocal)

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The Agra gharana was founded by a Rajput family of Dhrupad singers, Shamrang and Sasrang. Settled in Agra in the XVIth century, they converted to Islam and were allowed to sing in the court of Akbar, through marriage they associated with Mian Tansen, a famous court singer from Gwalior.

The gharana started singing khyal at the end of the XVIIIth century by Ghagge Khuda Baksh. He was trained by Nathan Peer Baksh of the Gwalior gharana. The emphasis on layakari in the Agra gharana is a result of these beginnings. Faiyaz Khan (1886-1950), widely regarded as the founder of this gharana, trained under both his maternal grandfather Ghulam Abbas and Natthan Khan of the Agra school. His paternal great-grandfather was Ustad Ramzan Khan 'Rangile' and Faiyaz Khan's singing is often considered the 'Rangile' style rather than the Agra style.

The Ustad himself had a powerful voice and sang in a low register. Through voice modulation as well as stress on alap and the rhythmic patterns in the bandish, he was able to evolve a distinctive style. The nom-tom alap remains popular with this gharana as does the use of ekar rather than akar. He employed a clear style in the enunciation of words which were sung (many believe they were spoken) according to the mood of the section. To add drama, he would often allow for a break in the rendition - a stylistic device is known as phut.

It was Faiyaz Khan's belief that a raga should commence with the note shadja and that the note be accorded a focal position. While classical texts accepted the shadja as the first note, in practice the opening note (graha swara) was not necessarily the shadja. The current practice of commencing the alap with Sa began with Ustad Faiyaz Khan.

The concert is generally divided in three parts : the "great" khyal which contains a short alap presenting rapidly the notes of the raga and then a poem sung and developed with improvised phrases; the "small" khyal following on a rapid tempo; a thumri which closes the concert.

This gharana begins a raga with an extended alap replete with ornamentation, and the mukhda and other phrases are sung with equal emphasis. The bandish in medium tempo follows. The words of the text are accompanied by close attention to rhythm and in vilambit laya. The words of the sthayi may be repeated, if the section is deemed too short. Bol tans are next, sung at double or even treble the past tempo, followed by other tans in madhya laya. The ladant (duel with the tabla) is occasionally included, and at the close, a khayal sung in drut laya.

Like the Jaipur gharana, the Agra school emphasizes the melodic aspect of the raga, while the importance of the bandish is a legacy of the Gwalior style. Again, the sam (the most emphatic beat of the tabla) and the arrival at it by musician and singer is an interesting and much anticipated feature.

Renowned singers of this school include Sharafat Hussain Khan (believed to have a style very close to Faiyaz Khan's), Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan 'Agrawale', Latafat Hussain Khan, Yunus Hussain, Vijay Kitchlu, Jyotsna Bhole, Deepali Nag, Sumuti Mutatkar. A famous independent singer taught by Faiyaz Khan was Kanhaiya Lal Sehgal. Besides, the Agra gharana had a profound influence on luminaries such as Pandit Bhatkhande.

Artists

Major artists in alphabetical order

• Anjani Bai Jamulikar
• Dinkar Kaikini
• Dutta Bua Ichalkaranjikar
• Faiyaz Khan
• Indrabai Badkar
• Jagannath Bua Purohit
• Lalith Rao
• Latafat Hussain Khan
• Vilayat Hussain Khan
• Yunus Hussain Khan

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