Lunchtime Listen: Afghan threads in Hindustani music

This sitar recital by Pete Yelding is presented in collaboration with the SOAS Gallery's Embroidery Traditions of Afghanistan, a new exhibition revealing the rich diversity, skill, and beauty of embroidery from across Afghanistan

The Lucknow-Shahjahanpur Gharana is a lineage of instrumentalists of Afghan origin who contributed significantly to Hindustani music in India and internationally since the 18th century. Luminaries lay claim to being the first to fashion the sarod out of the Afghan rubab, removing the frets, then attaching a metal plate and metal strings, as well as giving the earliest sarod performances in Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The threads of rubab playing can be heard woven through the gharana's expansive repertoire of unique compositions, even when performed on other instruments. 

This will be demonstrated in the sitar playing of Dr Pete Yelding, who will present repertoire from this gharana in afternoon ragas, accompanied by Junaid Ali on tabla. 

Image credit: Nic Kane