Indian%20Music:%20South%20India

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Chapter 6

• Indian Music South India
• ( some North?)

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Brief History

• 2500-1700 BCEIndus Valley cities
• 3rd century BCEcountless kingdoms and emperors
  such as the Buddhist Asoka
• c. 1400-1800 CEMoguls
• c. 1600-1947 CEthree centuries of British
  colonialism

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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.

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Islam

• Moslems
• belief in Allah as the sole deity and in
  Muhammad as his prophet.
• About 10

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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
  . . .

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History, Culture, Politics

• one billion peoplea fifth of the worlds
  population
• an area one-third the size of the United States
• Fifteen major languages
• More than Five Thousand years of history

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Regions

• Hindustani -- North
• Moslem concentration
• Hindus Valley
• Carnatic -- South
• Hindu concentration
• Carnatic Plains

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The Taj Mahal
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English Influence

• railways
• democratic systems of government
• bureaucracy
• universities
• European musical instruments

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European musical instruments

• While Indians adapted European musical
  instruments to their musical styles, they did not
  adopt European musical styles.

• violin
• clarinet
• piano
• saxophone
• Guitar
• Mandolin

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Traditional literature

• two Sanskrit epics between 400 B.C.E. and 400
  C.E.
• Ramayana
• Mahabharata
• In Carnatic music many song texts refer to events
  in these epics.

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Important religious works

• The four Vedas
• Upanishads
• Puranas

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Music of India

• Pop music
• Devotional song
• Classical music

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Cine Music

• Indian popular music
• A blend of East and West
• Sometimes reminiscent of early rock and roll
• Anything goes

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Hindustani and Carnatic Music

• Similarities
• ragas
• talas
• Differences
• The Hindustani north -- expansive improvisations
• Carnatic south -- pre-composed devotional songs

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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)

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Tala

• regularly recurring metric cycles consisting of
  groups of beats.
• Beat groupings are usually uneven (i.e., 322
  43 12)

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veena

• plucked string instrument with seven strings
• three drone strings and four playing strings (for
  playing melodies).

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Mridangam

• double-headed, barrel-shaped drum.

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Sruti-box and tambura
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The Carnatic texture

• Melody Layer
• vocalist(s)/instrumentalist (veena)
• Drone Layer
• sustained (continuously sounding) central tone
• tambura or sruti box
• Rhythm Layer (percussion)
• mridangammulti-timbral, double-headed
• tala

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bhajan

• devotional song
• sung by a soloist with accompanying instruments
• or by a vocal group in a call-andresponse manner
  

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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.

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Chinna Melam instruments

• nagasvaram double-reed pipes,
• tavil drums and
• sruti-box drone

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Karnataka Sangeeta

• Classical Music of South India
• in English simply Carnatic music.
• It is named after the Carnatic plateau

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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

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CD 22 Sarasiruha (To the Goddess Saraswati)

• Kriti in Natai raga and Adi tala.
• Performed by veena and mridangam.

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Sarasiruha

• 000-315 Alapana? free-flowing exposition and
  exploration of the raga
• absence of meter
• drone sustains tonal center and the tone a fifth
  above tonal center
• 320-815 Tanam
• strong sense of beat.
• improvised melody continues

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Sarasiruha

• 825-1545 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.

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Sarasiruha

• 1545-1805 Kalpana Svaras
• mridangam continues to accompany
• melody played on the veena
• 1806-2220 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
• 2204

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Susheela Raman
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Mamavatuby Susheela Raman

• (English)
• Mamavatu
• Saraswati
• You who reside in the temple of Kamakoti
• Rescue me
• Bearing lotus and veena
• In your beautiful hands
• You give truth to speech

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• Your feet are worshipped by Emperors and Kings
• Your eyes are as wild as Rajiva flowers
• And your beauty bewitches
• Garlanded with gems
• You fulfill the desires of the good
• Indra himself bowed down before you
• I, Vasudeva, am your servant
• For you are the divine word in its essence

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(Mamavatu)

• Sanskrit Mamavatu Sri Sarasvati
• Kamakoti peta Vasini
• Komalakara Saroja Drita Veena
• Seemadita Vara Vak
• Vibhushani
• Rajadiraja Poojita Charane
• Rajiva Nayane
• Ramaniya Vadane
• Sujana Manorata poorana Chature
• Vasudeva
• Charanapita Sakala Veda Sara

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North India

• Tabla drum
• Sitar descendent of veena

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Tabla

• Zakir Hussain, master tabla player

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Ravi Shankar

• virtuoso sitar player
• 1960s concerts brought him superstar status in
  Europe, the United States and India.

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Indian Influences

• The Beatles (George Harrison) The Inner Light
• Minimalism (Philip Glass et al)
• Pieces of East

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Modern Bhajan

• Bhajan devotional song
• Ensembles include tabla or other drums,
  harmonium, percussion, and voice.
• Bhajan session (puja, or worhip service)
  chanting of Om invocations in honor of guru or
  deity sequences of bhajan songs often reflecting
  unique religious outlook of the group sermons or
  meditative recitations of Sanskrit verses from
  scriputres concludes with Arati cermony with
  food, flowers, incense, lamps and blowing of
  conches. Distribution of more food, flowers and
  holy water ends the service.

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Summary

• Musics purpose in India
• -
• Instruments
• -
• Organization and levels of music
• -

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HOMEWORK Due Wednesday, March 29

• Online Quiz for Chapter 6 India
• Questions 7, 8, 9a page 225
• Begin Reading Chapter 7 Indonesia, up to p. 244,
  and listen to Bubaran Kembang Pacar (CD 23)

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Upcoming Events

• Friday, 3/31 Review Session
• Monday, 4/3 Test II