Raga Rageshree

Raga Rageshree is a live recording of a solo sitar performance by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, featured as the opening track on the album The Genius Of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee – Vol. 3. The album released in 1996 under the Chhanda Dhara label in CD format.

The composition spans 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 41 seconds, presenting an extended alaap-jor-jhala followed by a gat in vilambit (slow) and drut (fast) ektaal, a 12-beat rhythmic cycle. Banerjee performs on a custom gandhar-pancham sitar, accompanied by an unidentified tanpura drone. The recording captures his signature gayaki ang (vocal-style phrasing) and intricate taans (melodic runs), characteristic of the Senia-Maihar gharana tradition.

The album forms part of a posthumous series compiling Banerjee’s unreleased concert recordings and studio sessions. Chhanda Dhara sourced the material from archival tapes, though the exact performance date and venue remain undocumented. The liner notes credit Swaraj Banerjee (the artist’s son) for curation and mastering oversight.

Notable aspects of this rendition include Banerjee’s exploration of komal re (flattened second) and shuddha ma (pure fourth) in the alaap, aligning with the Rageshree raga’s structural constraints. The jor section introduces rhythmic improvisation, while the jhala culminates in rapid chikari strokes. No additional artists or percussion accompaniment appear on this track.

The album’s production quality reflects early digital remastering standards of the 1990s, with audible tape hiss in quieter passages. Chhanda Dhara released the series to preserve Banerjee’s legacy following his death in 1986. This volume specifically highlights his later-period interpretations of rare and semi-classical ragas.