Music Of The Ancients

Music of the Ancients presents one of India’s rarest classical instruments, the vichitra veena, played by Ajit Singh with Enayet Hossain on tabla.

The vichitra veena is a fretless stringed instrument played with a sliding glass ball, giving it a deep, gliding voice close to singing. Ajit Singh devotes almost an hour to Raga Rageshree, a night raga: an alap, jor and jhala of nearly half an hour, then gats in vilambit and drut teental. Two shorter pieces follow, in Raga Piloo and Raga Desh.

Ajit Singh is widely recognised as one of the pioneers who have kept the vichitra veena alive, touring the world with concerts, lectures and demonstrations of the instrument. For anyone curious about the rare instruments of Indian classical music, this album is a remarkable listen. Released by Aimrec in 2020 (AIMCDIM413).