Beethoven & Ravi Shankar

For the purposes of this study, the most spiritual segment of Beethoven's oeuvre, namely the Last Quartets are juxtaposed with a similar segment of Ravi Shankar's recordings, namely where only Alap, Jod & Jhala are performed.

Beethoven's Quartets Op.127 in E flat major, Op.130 in B flat major, Op.131 in C sharp minor, Op.132 in A minor, Op.133 "Grosse Fuge" in B flat major & Op.135 in F major, form the so-called Late Quartets. Of these, the central movement of Op.132, "Heiliger Dankegesang" (Thanksgiving on recovery of an illness) is justly celebrated. These works are celebrated as the crown jewels of Beethoven's works by the cognoscenti.

Similarly, among the numerous recordings of Ravi Shankar, the ones containing only the Alap, Jod & Jhala explorations of a Raga are the connoisseur's delight. These are in Ragas Lalit, Malkauns & Bhimpalasi. The similar portions of his self-created Ragas like Parameshwari & Jogeshwari also fall into this category. These provide a deeply contemplative mood in the listener, without the intrusion of the tala provided by the tabla.