Calcutta winters are incomplete without music. A recent concert by Amaan Ali Khan at The Bengal Club embodied the musicality of the season perfectly. He commenced his solo sarod recital with Behag, an appropriate evening raga which is enriched with a sense of joyful calmness. Amaan’s alaap was a beautiful manifestation of the inner connection between the art and the artist. He began the rendition by basing it on the movements at the keynotes in the lower octaves. He chose an unconventional way to evoke the mood of the raga, giving it adequate time and space. In the elongated alaap, Amaan broke the usual pattern of the raga and, as always, proved his skill in showcasing a different structure of the familiar raga. The raga flourished with a melody akin to gayaki from the lower to the middle octave, with proper pauses on some notes. The movements in the lower octave, the escalation to the middle octave, and the chemistry of madhyams and nishads made the presentation exceptional.

In the jor, the artist picked up the pace and used three octaves intelligently. The alaap and the jor were followed by a madhyalay composition set to jhamptaal. Amaan was supported by Anindo Chatterjee and his son, Anubrata Chatterjee, on the tabla in this concert. The percussion by the two experts from two generations added to the electrifying atmosphere of the programme. While the veteran artist, Anindo Chatterjee, made his accompaniment enjoyable with his smoothness and spontaneity, Anubrata Chatterjee’s skill lies in his ability to play vibrantly and with cohesion. The intricacies of the tabla merging with those of the sarod made the performance an overwhelming and surprising experience. The madhyalay gat in Behag created a spark. Amaan continued with taans, both short and long, as well as vistaars in an unpredictable manner. The raga bloomed in the drut gats in teentaal where Amaan’s speed, spontaneity and smooth, yet complicated, movements enthralled the audience. Amaan played creations by his father, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and grandfather, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan. The whole presentation was ornamented with soulfulness and imaginative clarity, especially in the tihais on both the sarod and the tabla.

Amaan also played Raga Saraswati — one of his favourites. He portrayed the essence of the raga in a wonderful aochaar, followed by an ektaal gat. The stream of rhythmic vistaars and taans in the 12-beat cycle was magical. The short and glowing movements along with the tabla were the most attractive parts of the performance. Amaan concluded his performance with Raga Desh. His rendition was mellifluous and innovative. He chose a vilambit composition in dhamar to demonstrate his prowess in spontaneous renditions. The unusual ‘chalan’ of the gat was a product of his fertile mind.

Anindo and Anubrata Chatterjee’s tabla kept pace with Amaan’s thoughts, which is no mean feat. Compositions in drut teentaal, which were creations of Amaan’s great-grandfather, made up the gorgeous climax, leaving the audience yearning for more glimpses into Amaan’s artistic soul. Amaan is always able to evoke such longing with his dedication and depth.