Description

The performing arts in India have traditionally enjoyed a composite existence and have drawn from each other generously. The presence of music in theatre was therefore not a new phenomenon, as was experienced in the case of Marathi theatre. The role of music in Marathi theatre grew in the nineteenth century and gave rise to a new theatrical form called Sangeet Natak (lit. music-drama). This form of theatre in turn gave birth to a new musical form that became popular as Natya Sangeet or theatre/stage music.

Starting with the Kirloskar Natak Mandali, Marathi theatre music went through several phases that witnessed a host of influences acting upon stage songs. The collaboration between music and theatre in Western India continued in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, combining features of prose and poetry, dialogue and song. Songs punctuated the narrative to highlight a specific moment in the story, or acted as an aesthetic relief to the prose element, and at times even took predominance over the narrative.

This album features the voice of Madhavrao Walawalkar, an actor-singer, as had been captured in the many songs that he recorded for the Young India, Twin and Ramagraph labels. The Ramagraph recordings of Madhavrao Walawalkar are particularly important to record collectors and lovers of Marathi theatre music, as his were perhaps the few recordings that Ramagraph made of actor-singers. Interestingly, even the iconic figures from Marathi theatre music like Bal Gandharva were not recorded by this label.

These recordings have been generously shared with music lovers by the Society of Indian Record Collectors and this album is the result of yet another fruitful collaboration between the Society and Underscore Records Pvt. Ltd.

The original 78 rpm recordings have been digitally restored only to a certain extent, so as to retain the nature of the recorded music. The listening pleasure may have been further enhanced with the help of more experimentation with the modern software available to us, but this would have changed the complexion of the music. A detailed note on the restoration process is included in this booklet. The booklet also contains rare photographs and a complete discography of the artiste with comments from his son and octogenarian harmonium player Purshottam Walawalkar.

Tracks 21 through 24 could not be restored to our satisfaction and have therefore not been included in this album. We offer these tracks as free downloads for music lovers who may be interested in the complete discography of Madhavrao Walawalkar.