this record is one of my favorite acquisitions from a trip to crocodisc while visiting Paris a few months back. i believe rao opened his own school in paris and taught veena there, but he passed away after a short battle with cancer.
the playing is simply sublime. i am an avid sitar player, but this record made me very curious about playing the veena. there is such a different expressive capacity with this instrument than the sitar possesses.
rao gently coaxes this raga into form, occasionally piercing its skin like a knife in water. one can hear his ample devotion and beautiful intentions in this recording. check out other barclay records recordings also, most of those that i’ve found are pretty top notch. thanks also to the amazing crocodisc employee who greatly aided my digging!