Raga Patdeep

Raga Patdeep is a khayal-based performance recorded by Ustad Sultan Khan for the 2003 album Maestro’s Choice: Sarangi. Released on January 1, 2003, by Music Today, the album features Khan on the sarangi, accompanied by unspecified tabla and tanpura artists. The recording format is a commercial compact disc (CD).

The track appears as the second composition on the album and spans 20 minutes and 27 seconds. Khan renders Raga Patdeep in the traditional vilambit (slow) and drut (fast) sections, adhering to the structural conventions of North Indian classical music. The performance emphasizes the sarangi’s expressive capabilities, with Khan employing meend (glissando) and gamak (ornamentation) techniques characteristic of the instrument. The accompanying artists provide rhythmic support, though their identities remain undocumented in the album credits.

Maestro’s Choice: Sarangi compiles Khan’s interpretations of selected ragas, targeting audiences of Hindustani classical music. The album’s production aligns with Music Today’s catalog of Indian classical releases, which often feature live studio recordings with minimal post-production alteration. No additional details about the recording session, such as location or production personnel, are publicly available.

Khan’s rendition of Raga Patdeep exemplifies his mastery of the sarangi, an instrument historically central to vocal accompaniment in the Dhrupad and Khayal traditions. The raga belongs to the Kafi thaat and typically evokes a late evening or early night mood (sandhi prakash raga). The album does not include lyrical content or thematic variations beyond the instrumental exploration of the raga’s melodic framework.