Gangubai
Hangal, who passed away on 21 July 2009,
in Hubballi, Karnataka, India, aged 96, was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani (North Indian) classical
tradition and doyenne of the Kirana gharana (community of
performers who share a distinctive musical style). She was especially admired
for her performances of songs of the khayal genre over the course
of a career that spanned nearly seven decades.
Hangal’s reputation as a virtuoso started to rise in
the mid-1930s, when she began to make recordings and perform more frequently
outside her immediate community.
By the early 1940s, she had become a well-known
figure in Hindustani music as a result of her broadcasts on All India
Radio and her busy schedule of concert appearances across the country.
Initially, she sang bhajans, or Hindu devotional songs,
light Marathi-language songs, and semiclassical songs known as thumris,
as well as khayal classical songs. By the mid-1940s, however, she
had shifted her focus almost fully to khayal.
Hangal’s vocal quality, sensitivity to pitch and
melody, and technical proficiency were among the most remarkable features of
her style. She sang with a distinctively bold, almost masculine, tone. She
typically introduced the melodic framework—the raga—of each piece
gradually, so that the audience could savour and recognize the importance of
each pitch. Impeccably intoned and ornamented passages of improvisation using
solmization syllables also figured prominently in her performances.
For her contribution to Indian classical music, Hangal received
several honours. In 1973 she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi (India’s
national academy of music, dance, and drama) award. Hangal was also awarded the
Padma Bhushan (1971) and the Padma Vibhushan (2002), two of
India’s highest civilian honours.
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