Of all north Indian musical instruments, the sarangi comes nearest to reproducing the human voice and is therefore the ideal accompaniment to a vocal recital. It was originally used largely for this purpose, but thanks to outstanding exponents such as Sultan Khan, who has died aged 71, it is now accepted as a solo instrument in its own right.
Born in Sikhar, near Jodhpur, into a family of traditional Muslim musicians of Rajasthan who performed at the courts of the Hindu Rajput princes, Khan was taught vocal and instrumental music by his father, Ustad Gulab Khan (the honorific "ustad" meaning "master" or "maestro"). At the age of 11 Khan played before the All India Music Conference and impressed the assembled company. The technique of sarangi playing is unusual for, while the right hand wields the bow, it is the fingernails of the left that push against and slide along the main strings. The aficionados were impressed by the boy's dexterity.
Later, Khan developed a personal style of raga exposition, embellishing and decorating each phrase with many-hued coloratura. However, when accompanying a well known vocalist, he made sure that he was just that, an accompanist.
He began his professional career at All India Radio's station at Rajkot, Gujarat, and worked there for eight years. His break came unexpectedly when Lata Mangeshkar, known as the "queen of melody", visited Rajkot and asked him to play the sarangi while she sang. He then went to Bombay (now Mumbai), and played in film soundtracks.
He also appeared in the classical concerts under the mentoring of the sitarist Ravi Shankar and the tabla player Alla Rakha. In 1974 he accompanied them and the former Beatle George Harrison on the highly successful Dark Horse world tour. When Shankar composed the background music for Richard Attenborough's epic film Gandhi (1982), Khan played the doleful and plaintive sarangi music during the most sorrowful scenes of Gandhi's assassination and funeral.
Khan's rich baritone timbre when rendering passages with mainly Hindu and folk themes brought the house down. His reputation as a vocalist was such that many thought he was a classical singer who happened to be an exceptional sarangi player. His vocal album Sabras (1994) is an all-time favourite. He established a worldwide reputation with several tours as a member of the group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hussain, son of Alla Rakha, and Bill Laswell, among others. His belief in world music was proved when he accompanied his student Deeyah, the Norwegian singer, on her debut album I Alt Slags Lys in 1992.
At Buckingham Palace in 1997, he played at a select party in honour of the Prince of Wales's birthday. In 1998 he performed at the White House at a Sufi music festival. In the same year he contributed vocals and sarangi to Gavin Harrison's album Sanity & Gravity.
In India he was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi award twice, a rarity, as well as a Padma Bhushan award from the Indian government in 2010. For Khan, music had no boundaries, cultural, national or religious. Bach, Beethoven and Mozart were the blood brothers of Tansen, Thayagaraja and Ravi Shankar.
Khan is survived by his wife, two daughters and his son, Sabir, an accomplished sarangi artist.
Sultan Khan, musician and composer, born 15 April 1940; died 27 November 2011
Born in Sikhar, near Jodhpur, into a family of traditional Muslim musicians of Rajasthan who performed at the courts of the Hindu Rajput princes, Khan was taught vocal and instrumental music by his father, Ustad Gulab Khan (the honorific "ustad" meaning "master" or "maestro"). At the age of 11 Khan played before the All India Music Conference and impressed the assembled company. The technique of sarangi playing is unusual for, while the right hand wields the bow, it is the fingernails of the left that push against and slide along the main strings. The aficionados were impressed by the boy's dexterity.
Later, Khan developed a personal style of raga exposition, embellishing and decorating each phrase with many-hued coloratura. However, when accompanying a well known vocalist, he made sure that he was just that, an accompanist.
He began his professional career at All India Radio's station at Rajkot, Gujarat, and worked there for eight years. His break came unexpectedly when Lata Mangeshkar, known as the "queen of melody", visited Rajkot and asked him to play the sarangi while she sang. He then went to Bombay (now Mumbai), and played in film soundtracks.
He also appeared in the classical concerts under the mentoring of the sitarist Ravi Shankar and the tabla player Alla Rakha. In 1974 he accompanied them and the former Beatle George Harrison on the highly successful Dark Horse world tour. When Shankar composed the background music for Richard Attenborough's epic film Gandhi (1982), Khan played the doleful and plaintive sarangi music during the most sorrowful scenes of Gandhi's assassination and funeral.
Khan's rich baritone timbre when rendering passages with mainly Hindu and folk themes brought the house down. His reputation as a vocalist was such that many thought he was a classical singer who happened to be an exceptional sarangi player. His vocal album Sabras (1994) is an all-time favourite. He established a worldwide reputation with several tours as a member of the group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hussain, son of Alla Rakha, and Bill Laswell, among others. His belief in world music was proved when he accompanied his student Deeyah, the Norwegian singer, on her debut album I Alt Slags Lys in 1992.
At Buckingham Palace in 1997, he played at a select party in honour of the Prince of Wales's birthday. In 1998 he performed at the White House at a Sufi music festival. In the same year he contributed vocals and sarangi to Gavin Harrison's album Sanity & Gravity.
In India he was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi award twice, a rarity, as well as a Padma Bhushan award from the Indian government in 2010. For Khan, music had no boundaries, cultural, national or religious. Bach, Beethoven and Mozart were the blood brothers of Tansen, Thayagaraja and Ravi Shankar.
Khan is survived by his wife, two daughters and his son, Sabir, an accomplished sarangi artist.
Sultan Khan, musician and composer, born 15 April 1940; died 27 November 2011
