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Review

This CD by Begum Parveen Sultana presents a live recording made at the Saptak Festival 2004. Parveen Sultana is one of the most accomplished and popular vocalists of her generation, well known for her unparalleled three and a half octave range.

The CD starts with a short alaap in Raag Rageshri, a late night romantic raaga. The second track is the Bhada Khayal in Vilambit EkTaal - Sagun Bicharo Ab More. The methodic exploration of the raaga is well supported by sensitive Tabla accompaniment of Mukulraj Dev. Parveen Sultana keeps hitting higher and higher notes with consumate ease, which is her hallmark and usually gets the most listener applause. Raag Rageshri continues in the next track with a fast khayal in TeenTaal where Parveen Sultana entertains listeners with some fast taans.

The second raaga, Mishra Mand, presented in this CD is a light hearted raaga inspired by Rajasthani folk music. After a short fastish alaap Sultana eases into a slow Bandish set to Jhaptaal. Longtime harmonium accompanist Mehmood Dhaulpuri plays with usual efficiency and remains in the background through out the concert, thanks to good recording and mixing. The tarana which forms the last track starts without a break and is set to fast TeenTaal. Sultana sings some fast sargams and taans to wind up the concert, which would appeal to people looking for vocal acrobatics.

Overall this is a great buy whether you are a Parveen Sultana fan or want to get introduced to her music. 4.0 stars for the music and 4.0 stars for the recording.

CD Information

Title	Parveen
Label	Sense World Music
Artists	Vocal : Parveen Sultana
	Harmonium : Mehmood Dhaulpuri
	Tabla : Mukulraj Dev
Catalog #	046
Year	Released 2004
Made In	UK
SPARS	N.A.

Tracks

Nu.	Title	Time	Music
1	Alaap - Raag Rageshri	3:03
2	Composition - Raag Rageshri - Vilambit Ektaal	32:17
3	Composition - Raag Rageshri - Teentaal	10:35
4	Composition - Raag Mishra Mand - Jhaptaal	15:02
5	Tarana - Raag Mishra Mand - Teentaal	12:07

Liner Notes

Good liner notes with profile of the artists and the music.