Gopeshwar Banerjee, also Gopeshwar Bandopadhyay (1880–1963), was an Indian classical singer and musicologist, belonging to Bishnupur gharana of

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

, which originated in Bishnupur in West Bengal. He was known for his

khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

and

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

renditions, besides

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' (; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengalis, Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the ...

. He also sang

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dram ...

, and most notably the thumri, ''Kon Gali Gayo Shyam'', in Raga Mishra Khamaj, which he popularised. As a musicologist, he published several books of rare compositions with

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

s, including ''dhrupad'' and Rabindra Sangeet. He started his career as a court musician of the Maharaja of Burdwan in 1895, and worked there for 29 years till 1924. Thereafter he shifted to Kolkata. Towards the end of his career, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1962, the highest honour conferred by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Early life and background

Born in 1880, in Bishnupur, Bankura in Bengal He was the second son of his father Anantalal Banerjee (anglicised version of Bandopadhyay), who was court musician in of Ramkrishna Singha Dev of Bishnupur . He was disciple of Ram Shankar Bhattacharya, later became the first teacher of the residential music school of Bishnupur, Bishnupur Sangeet Vidhyalaya, later renamed Ram Saran Music College. All his three sons, Ramprasanna Banerjee, Gopeswar Banerjee and Surendranath Banerjee were all singers and also musicologists. They did valuable documentation and music notation work in the field of Indian classical music. The eldest, Ramprasanna Banerjee wrote, ''Sangeet Manjari'' (1935), which contained theoretical treatise on musical concepts, besides favoured practices in vocal recitals, and notations of various genres, like dhrupad, khyal, thumri, and

tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly ...

. His younger brother Surendranath Banerjee was also a noted musicians and one of the pioneers of the Bishnupur gharana. Later remained Principal of the Ramsharan College of Music in Bishnupur. He died on 28 July 1963 in Bishnupur. He received his music training from musicians of Betiya gharana of Bihar, as did another contemporary singer of the Bishnupur gharana, Radhika Prasad Goswami.

Career

Early in his career, in 1895 he was appointed a court singer, by the Maharaja of Burdwan, here he worked here for the next 29 years, till 1924. This turned out to be most fruitful period of his career. He devoted his time in the research of the theory and history of Indian music. He travelled across India with the Maharaja and became acquainted with several noted musicians of the time, which expanded his knowledge of various musical traditions and genres. Sangeet Natak, p. 68 He also learnt to play ''

surbahar ''Surbahar'' (; ) sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to the sitar, but has a lower pitch. Depending on the instrument's size, i ...

'' from Sayed Mohammed working at the court of Maharaja Jatindramohan Tagore, thereafter he also learnt

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

from

Imdad Khan Ustad Imdad Khan (1848 – 1920) was a sitar and surbahar player. He was the first sitar player ever to be recorded. While still in Burdwan, he published ''Sangita Chandrika'' in two volumes, an early and important study of musicology in India. It also included a collection of Bengali and Hindi songs set to music. His other books on musicology include ''Geet-Darpan'', ''Geet-Praveshika'' and ''Sangeet-Lahari'', all in Bengali language. Once his term as Burdwan came to end, he shifted to Calcutta, where he spent his next 20 years, till 1943. By now from singing, in time, he had become an eminent musicologist. He along with his cousin Surendranath Banerjee, compiled a large number of

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

compositions, complete with their

s. Later, he not just sang, but also reproduced some of the well known

songs, that is songs composed by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, especially those in the ''Dhrupadanga''. Prior to 1917, Banerjee had published the first volume of ''Sangeet Chandrika'', which included the notations for Tagore's composition, ''Patha ekhan kela alasita anga''. Ghosh, p. 222 Today, he is amongst the few singers from Bengal of the period, who performed the dhrupad-genre of singing, besides Radhika Prasad Goswami, Gopal Babu and Aghor Chakravarti. His son Ramesh Banerjee also became a singer, while his notable disciples include Rita Ganguly. In 1962, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Discography

* ''Tarana – Adana Kewali'' (1908) – Gramophone Company, Calcutta (Hindustani) * ''Langar Deet Mohe Gheri – Behag Kawali'' (1908) – Gramophone Company, Calcutta (Hindustani) * ''Brahomomoyee Parashtopara'' (1908) (Bengali)

Works

* ''Sangita-chandrika: A Treatise on Hindu music'', Vol. I., 2nd Ed. Pub. Vijay Chand Mahtab Bahadur, Burdhwan. 1925. * ''Sangita-chandrika: A Treatise on Hindu music'', Vol. II. Pub. Vijay Chand Mahtab Bahadur, Burdhwan. 1925. * *

In popular culture

Film

* Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, brings you the Fourth Documentary from 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹. The video is a presentation on the dhrupad gharana of Bishnupur kingdom.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Gopeshwar 1880 births 1963 deaths Musicologists from British India 19th-century Indian male classical singers Singers from West Bengal Hindustani singers Hindustani instrumentalists Indian musicologists Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship 20th-century Indian male classical singers People from Bankura district Rabindra Sangeet exponents Indian music educators 20th-century Indian musicologists Musicians from British India Court musicians Bishnupur gharana