In this video clip, Ustad Rashid Khan, an Indian classical musician in the North Indian Hindustani music tradition, performs Raag Basant, which is a holy song about the pastimes of Sri Krishna (whom I believe is considered a deity in Hindu culture) in Vrindavan.
This particular performance of the homophonic song consists of five musicians, including the vocal soloist (playing a chordophone on his lap simultaneously), two tambura players, a tabla player, and a harmonium player. For the first two and a half minutes, the music is quasi-pulsatile with no participation by the drummer. The melodic improvisation by the soloist seems to be based on raga and the tonal foundation provided by the drone of the tamburas. When the drummer joins in on the accompaniment, a cyclic conception of meter, or tala, could be recognized. Although, for me personally, it was not so easy to distinguish the meter at first since the rhythm itself was rather unfamiliar. The accompaniment is consistent throughout with repetitive familiar strums of scales and arpeggios made by the chordophones. The main melody sung by the vocalist is in conjunct motion with occasional bursts of vibrato-filled improvisation. It seems to reach its climax towards the end of the video clip, which lasts for about ten minutes. The song itself may have been well over this, but I would never know since the video is cut off at this point.
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