Nine Decades could easily be the most exciting new series of albums in Indian music for some time: sitar king Ravi Shankar has handpicked some of his previously unreleased work. Featuring a combination of live and studio recordings, these discs offer illuminating insights into Shankar’s musical prowess well before he became one of the biggest international musical figures of our time. The first volume covers the period from 1967 to 1968 and the first track, ‘Raga Gangeshwari’, is a live early-morning performance on the banks of the Ganges near Allahabad, He is accompanied by the late tabla maestro Alla Rakha, who was a favourite and frequent accompanist of Shankar’s, and whose expertise on the tabla evokes the restlessness of romance as well as the tranquility one associates with this holiest of rivers. The second track, ‘West Meets East’, has no music whatsoever and features only a number of unnamed voices reacting to their first experience of listening to Indian classical music after an early US concert. They’re particularly interesting for anyone who recalls the 1960s mood of the US – superpower belligerence, the Cold War, Vietnam and the hippy movement, which was quick to align itself with Indian music, finding therein a message of peace and love. (Although more than one voice complains that ‘all the ragas sound the same’)

The second volume in the series, Reminiscence of North Vista, features highlights from a private party, again accompanied by Rakha. One cannot fail to feel the intimate atmosphere around the recitals of ragas ‘Kaunsi Kannada’ and ‘Bihag’, in what must have been a memorable musical gathering at the maestro’s home. It gets even better on Volume 3, Orchestral Experimentations, a set of nine studio tracks featuring Shankar’s earliest compositional work. Recorded between 1949 and 1954 with what was dubbed his National Orchestra, they feature musicians drawn from both the North and South Indian classical traditions, playing a variety of instruments. These are shorter – and sprightlier – pieces, highlighting Shankar’s unbeatable in-depth knowledge of both North and South Indian as well as Western musical techniques. The arrangements may sound modern but there’s no mistaking the actual ragas, which come through with stunning clarity. There’s a beautiful arrangement of ‘Raga Basant’, appropriately entitled ‘Spring’, whilst ‘Burning Heart’ is an intriguing variation on ‘Raga Bihag’ that segues into its most typical phrase when you least expect it. Shankar’s mood of carefree joy filters through clearly in these shorter pieces, as though he were having great fun consciously bending some of the rules. A very clear reminder – just in case anyone had forgotten – why the master ended up a maestro.