chapter 6 indian music: south india (& some north?)
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 6Indian Music: South India
(& some North?)
Brief History
2500-1700 BCE—Indus Valley cities3rd century BCE—countless kingdoms and emperors such as the Buddhist Asokac. 1400-1800 CE—Mogulsc. 1600-1947 CE—three centuries of British colonialism
Hinduism
“the dominant religion of India.” Caste: “one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members of other castes.”
Islam
Moslems “belief in Allah as the sole deity and in Muhammad as his prophet.”About 10%
Palimpsest
“a manuscript parchment written on again and again in which everything written before is never fully erased. Everything written before is somehow still there, visible and readable . . .”Similarly in Indian culture old traditions persist and “coexist with the new and innovative . . .” (compare with China and Japan)
History, Culture, Politicsone billion people—a fifth of the world’s populationan area one-third the size of the United StatesFifteen major languagesMore than Five Thousand years of history
Regions
Hindustani -- NorthMoslem concentrationHindus Valley
Carnatic -- SouthHindu concentrationCarnatic Plains
The Taj Mahal
English Influence
railwaysdemocratic systems of governmentbureaucracyuniversitiesEuropean musical instruments
European musical instruments
“While Indians adapted European musical instruments to their musical styles, they did not adopt European musical styles.”
violinclarinetpianosaxophone GuitarMandolin
Traditional literature
two Sanskrit epics between 400 B.C.E. and 400 C.E.”
RamayanaMahabharata
In Carnatic music many song texts refer to events in these epics.
Important religious worksThe four Vedas UpanishadsPuranas
Music of India
Pop musicDevotional songClassical music
Cine Music
Indian popular musicA blend of East and West Sometimes reminiscent of early rock and roll “Anything goes”“Engal Kalyanam (CD II:20)
Hindustani and Carnatic MusicSimilarities ragas talas
DifferencesThe Hindustani north -- expansive improvisations Carnatic south -- pre-composed devotional songs
Raga
“that which colors the mind and the heart” a collection of notes, a scale, intonation, ornaments, pillar tones a precise melody form sa ri ga ma pa da ni (sa)
Talaregularly recurring metric cycles consisting of groups of beats.Beat groupings are usually uneven (i.e., 3+2+2; 4+3; 1+2)
veena
plucked string instrument with seven stringsthree drone strings and four playing strings (for playing melodies).
Mridangam
double-headed, barrel-shaped drum.
Sruti-box and tambura
The Carnatic texture
Melody Layervocalist(s)/instrumentalist (veena)
Drone Layersustained (continuously sounding) central tonetambura or sruti box
Rhythm Layer (percussion)mridangam—multi-timbral, double-headedtala
bhajan
devotional songsung by a soloist with accompanying instruments
or by a vocal group in a call-and–response manner “Devi Niye Tunai” (CD II:21)Tala accents p. 255
chinna melan
“small band,” an ensemble of two or more A chinna melam is likely to be performed at any auspicious occasion, for example, at temple worship, weddings, the opening a new store, and so on.
Chinna Melam instruments
nagasvaram double-reed pipes,tavil drums and sruti-box drone
Karnataka Sangeeta
Classical Music of South India
in English simply Carnatic music. It is named after the Carnatic plateau
Transmission
oral tradition passed down by memory. The music is to nudge the memory.no definitive version of the music exists. musical renditions may become highly variable
CD III:1 “Sarasiruha” (“To the Goddess Saraswati”)
Kriti in Natai raga and Adi tala. Performed by veena and mridangam.
Sarasiruha
0:00-3:15 Alapana “free-flowing exposition and exploration of the raga
absence of meterdrone sustains tonal center and the tone a fifth above tonal center
3:20-8:15 Tanam“strong sense of beat.”improvised melody continues
Sarasiruha
8:25-15:45 Kriti “Sarasiruha”“centerpiece” of the performance
Pallavi: “O Mother who loves the lotus seat,”Anupallavi: “Save me who have taken refuge in you!”Charanam: “Complete Being, who holds a book in her hand which bestows all dominion.”
Sarasiruha
15:45-18:05 Kalpana Svaras mridangam continues to accompanymelody played on the veena
18:06-22:20 The Drum Solo: Tani Avartanam
A long and complex improvised drum solo played on the mridangam accompanied only by the drone being played on the drone strings of the veena
22:04
North India
Tabla = drumSitar = descendent of veena
Tabla
Zakir Hussain, master tabla player
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Ravi Shankar
virtuoso sitar player1960s concerts brought him superstar status in Europe, the United States and India.
Indian Influences
The BeatlesMinimalism (Philip Glass et al)Pieces of EastDavid Amram Ballet (Chakra)
Chakra, David Amram
Jhaptal Tala (2+3+2+3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
X X X X X X
Combined Result
(Raga transposed to G in Oboe Part)
Pieces of East