About Morning and Evening Ragas
Morning and Evening Ragas is a studio album by Indian sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan. The album was released on January 1, 1966. It features two extended instrumental performances in the Hindustani classical tradition.
Ali Akbar Khan performs both tracks on the sarod, accompanied by tabla. The album presents ragas associated with specific times of day, a defining characteristic of Hindustani classical music. The first track, Goojjari Todi, is a morning raga. Goojjari Todi follows the traditional structure of alap, jor, and jhala before transitioning into a gat composition. The second track, Misra Mand, is an evening raga. Misra Mand incorporates a blend of melodic phrases from multiple ragas, a practice known as misra.
The album was recorded in a live studio setting without overdubs. The label for the original release is not documented in available sources. The total runtime of the album is not specified. The album is recognized for its demonstration of Khan’s technical precision and expressive depth on the sarod.
Ali Akbar Khan, born in 1922 in Shibpur, Bangladesh, was a prominent exponent of the Maihar gharana. He received training from his father, Allauddin Khan, and became a leading figure in the propagation of Hindustani classical music internationally. Khan founded the Ali Akbar College of Music in California in 1967.