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Zia Fariduddin Dagar

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Zia Fariduddin Dagar was an Indian singer from the dhrupad tradition, the oldest surviving form of North Indian classical music. He was born in 1932 in Udaipur in Rajasthan, where his father Ziauddin Khan was court musician to the maharana. His father taught him dhrupad singing and veena. After his father's death he continued his studies with his elder brother, the veena player Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. Both belong to the Dagar family, a famous dynasty of dhrupad musicians.

Music and breakthrough

From about 1980 he lived mainly in Austria, where he taught dhrupad at the Innsbruck conservatory, and also in France. His pupil, the filmmaker Mani Kaul, asked him to make the music for the film The Cloud Door (1994). He then returned to India, where he taught for 25 years at the Dhrupad Kendra in Bhopal. His pupils included the Gundecha Brothers, Uday Bhawalkar, Nirmalya Dey and Marianne Svasek. Later he lived in his brother's gurukul near Panvel, near Mumbai, and performed until shortly before his death in 2013. He received, among other honours, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1994 and the Tansen Samman in 1993. Recordings can be heard on albums such as Le chant Dhrupad de Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (1985) and Raag Malkauns: Bombay 1968, made together with his brother.

Influence

Dhrupad is a solemn, meditative form of singing. The singer builds up a raga slowly, first without rhythm and without text, accompanied by tanpura. Through his work as a singer and teacher, Zia Fariduddin Dagar helped keep this ancient art alive in India and Europe.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Raag Malkauns: Bombay 1968 and notice the slow beginning, the alap, in which the voice builds up the raga without rhythm. Try to hear how the note is first held for a long time before the movement increases.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists