Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass - Passages (1990)

Pandit Ravi shankar, whose mastery over the sitar helped rejuvenate the classical instrumental tradition in India and popularize Indian music in the West through concerts and collaborations with well known artists. In “Passages,” however, the recording project in which Shankar collaborated with Philip Glass, the collaborators exchanged compositions, themes and melodies they had written.

"A brief examination of two of the tracks from the album will lend the listener an idea of the processes involved in the making of the album. The opening “Offering,” written by Shankar, is treated by Glass in a manner that steers it away from any immediately audible raag roots. In some ways it seems more like a Philip Glass piece, touched by his minimalist approach.“Sadhanipa” the four note theme written by Glass, loses it minimalism in the arrangement scored for it by Shankar. Within a minute of the statement of the theme at the beginning of the track, the arrangement moves towards Panditji’s trademark lush linear orchestration, marked by a virtual absence of harmony and counterpoint, but replete with sitar, sarod, tabla, mridangam and a host of other instruments, often in the call and response format. The use of paltaas or melodic patterns used in Hindustani classical music are recognizable, as are tabla and mridangam patterns over which corresponding melodic parts are placed. The music of the album is undoubtedly born of a commitment to collaboration".