VIEWS:
“ Subhra Guha is a talented and versatile singer of the younger
generation having received sound grooming in the Agra tradition. Gifted
with a rich, melodious voice, she is equally proficient both in khayal,
thumri and dadra. In addition, she has a vast repertoire of bandishes”.
Padmabhushan Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
“ I know Subhra since 1982 and I have had a hundred occasions
to hear her and undoubtedly she is a singer of the highest order in
both Classical and Light Classical Music”.
Padmabhushan Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh.
“ She has developed proficiency in both classical and light classical
vocal music. I pray to the Almighty for her all round success in life
with music”.
Padmabhushan Smt Girija Devi.
“ Her command over ‘sur’ and ‘laya’ is
of high order and she has a very classical approach to music making.
Her performance bear the testimony of proper ‘talim’ and
good ‘riyaz’ and deep perception”.
Padmabhushan Pandit V.G.Jog.
REVIEWS:
“ Her repertoire of the monsoon melody was characterized by a
sound grasp of the aesthetics as well as the musical semantics of the
raga… Her 45 minute ‘Miyan Ki Malhar’ emerged as a
shining example of her dedication to the art”.
INDIAN EXPRESS, BOMBAY 5.9.91.
“ (In Subhra’s singing) the swing and dance of the ‘Agra
Gharana’ come through with weird power and appeal”.
TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI, 9.5.93
“ Gifted with a clear and forceful voice, with slight huskiness
to it, she regaled the audience with her unencumbered movement in all
the octaves in the Raga Jaijawanti. Precision in the notes, command
over the rhythm and an excellent rapport with the accompanists were
the impressive feature of her presentation”.
TIMES OF INDIA, PUNE PLUS, 25.12.93
“ Her voice after years of diligent practice, can develop a
raga into a blooming spectacle. Among musicians of her generation, her
grasp over classical ragas is undoubtedly uncontroversial…”
AJKER KAGAJ, BANGLADESH
“ Dem Zauber der indischen Musik konnen sich wohl die wenigsten
ihrer Zuhorer entziehen. Das mag an den exotischen Klangen leigen, fur
das Ohreines Mitteleuropaers ungewohnt. Die indischen Kunstler Sajal
Karmakar und Subhra Guha sind zu ei-nem Sonderkonzert am 23. October
in der Auerbacher Nikolaikirche zu erleben”.
AUERBACH (RED), GERMANY, 1998
“ Subhra created magic with her powerful, full throated gayaki
… her tonal quality, … range and maturity of style were
truly magnificent. Her elaboration of the raga and the variety in ‘bol
upaj’ and ‘layakari’ were superb. Her rendition of
the thumri was particularly pleasing as result of the clarity of words
and musicality. She is a finished product of excellent technique and
aesthetic appeal”.
THE TRIBUNE, CHANDIGARH, 8.4.94
“ Two beauty spots came off extremely well in Subhra’s
rendition. The hairline accuracy of her notes, saturated with rich sensibility,
conduced to the realization of a deep impact. Her grip over Tilak Kamod
could be ascertained by just two phrases, ‘RI PA MA GA’
and ‘PA PA SA, PA DHA MA GA’.”
THE HINDU, NEW DELHI, 24.1.03
“ Gifted with deepest grainy timbre that completed the onset
of winter, Guha’s tone acquired an enticing beauty as she delved
within an elaborate filigree of ‘meend’, making the most
of her natural malleability to carve out poised gratifying music. Her
excellent ‘tappakari’ rippled across the Khayal in Raag
Kedar”.
THE TELEGRAPH, KOLKATA, 8.11.02
“ Sun peeps from Subhra’s voice. She is born to rule. Her
voice reverberated from every nook and corner of the auditorium. An
undoubted asset”.
THE HINDU, NEW DELHI, 7.12.90
"Among the vocal recitals, Subhra Guha's vilambit and drut khayals
in the rare raga Hem Nat impressed the most. Positioned just before
the Shiv Kumar Sharma-Zakir Hussain piece de resistance, the singer
not only developed the vilambit in the best possible manner but, following
the Agra gharana vilambit format expertly, also delivered a khayal that
was at once traditional, tidy and appealing. This included typically
Agra style swingy phrase development, rhythmic elaboration and taankari.
The drut teentaal khayal in this raag had all the virtues of the vilambit.
Here the singer delivered absolutely contextual rhythmic elaboratation
and taankari impressively. equally impressive were the Khamaj Thumri
and the Hori Dadra sung at the end."
THE TELEGRAPH JANUARY 23 2004