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Get started on your Carnatic music journey with the 7 basic notes, and some fun note patterns to help train your voice! Instructor Divya Jayanthi gives you detailed notes on the importance of learning these note patterns, also called Sarali Swaras, and then offers a chance to.
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Carnatic music, Karnāṭaka saṃgīta, or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam, is a system of music commonly associated with southern India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as Sri Lanka.[1][2] It is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions, the other subgenre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian or Islamic influences from Northern India. The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gāyaki (singing) style.
Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of śruti (the relative musical pitch), swara (the musical sound of a single note), rāga (the mode or melodic formulæ), and tala (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music. Although improvisation plays an important role, Carnatic music is mainly sung through compositions, especially the kriti (or kirtanam) – a form developed between the 14th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the Trinity of Carnatic music. Carnatic music is also usually taught and learned through compositions.
Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer (usually a vocalist), a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam), and a tambura, which acts as a drone throughout the performance. Other typical instruments used in performances may include the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, venu flute, veena, and chitraveena. The greatest concentration of Carnatic musicians is to be found in the city of Chennai.[3] Various Carnatic music festivals are held throughout India and abroad, including the Madras Music Season, which has been considered to be one of the world's largest cultural events.[4][5]
- 3Important elements of Carnatic music
- 4Improvisation
- 5Compositions
- 7Learning Carnatic music
- 7.1Notations
- 8Performances of Carnatic music
Origins, sources and history
Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of all knowledge, music, arts and science, with her instrument, the veena.
Like all art forms in Indian culture, Indian classical music is believed to be a divine art form which originated from the Devas and Devis (Hindu Gods and Goddesses),[6][7] and is venerated as symbolic of nāda brāhman.[8] Ancient treatises also describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and man's effort to simulate these sounds through a keen sense of observation and perception. The Sama Veda, which is believed to have laid the foundation for Indian classical music, consists of hymns from the Rigveda, set to musical tunes which would be sung using three to seven musical notes during Vedic yajnas.[7] The Yajur-Veda, which mainly consists of sacrificial formulae, mentions the veena as an accompaniment to vocal recitations.[9] References to Indian classical music are made in many ancient texts, including epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Yajnavalkya Smriti mentions वीणावादन तत्त्वज्ञः श्रुतीजातिविशारदः ताळज्ञश्चाप्रयासेन मोक्षमार्गं नियच्छति ( vīṇāvādana tattvajñaḥ śrutijātiviśāradaḥ tālajñaścāprayāsena mokṣamārgaṃ niyacchati, 'The one who is well versed in veena, one who has the knowledge of srutis and one who is adept in tala, attains liberation (moksha) without doubt').[10] Carnatic music is based as it is today on musical concepts (including swara, raga, and tala) that were described in detail in several ancient works, particularly the Bharata's Natya Shastra and Silappadhikaram by Ilango Adigal.[11]
Owing to Persian and Islamic influences in North India from the 12th century onwards, Indian classical music began to diverge into two distinct styles — Hindustani music and Carnatic music.[3] Commentaries and other works, such as Sharngadeva's Sangita Ratnakara, further elaborated on the musical concepts found in Indian classical music.[12] By the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a clear demarcation between Carnatic and Hindustani music;[13] Carnatic music remained relatively unaffected by Persian and Arabic influences. It was at this time that Carnatic music flourished in Vijayanagara, while the Vijayanagar Empire reached its greatest extent.[14]Purandara Dasa, who is known as the 'father (Pitamaha) of Carnatic music', formulated the system that is commonly used for the teaching of Carnatic music.[7][15]Venkatamakhin invented and authored the formula for the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work, the Chaturdandi Prakasika (1660 AD).[13] Govindacharya is known for expanding the melakarta system into the sampoorna raga scheme – the system that is in common use today.
Carnatic music was mainly patronized by the local kings of the Kingdom of Mysore, Kingdom of Travancore, and the Maratha rulers of Tanjore[16] in the 18th through 20th centuries. Some of the royalty of the kingdoms of Mysore and Travancore were themselves noted composers and proficient in playing musical instruments, such as the veena, rudra veena, violin, ghatam, flute, mridangam, nagaswara and swarabhat.[17] Some famous court-musicians proficient in music were Veene Sheshanna (1852–1926)[18] and Veene Subbanna (1861–1939),[19] among others.
With the dissolution of the erstwhile princely states and the Indian independence movement reaching its conclusion in 1947, Carnatic music went through a radical shift in patronage into an art of the masses with ticketed performances organized by private institutions called sabhās. During the 19th century, the city of Chennai (then known as Madras) emerged as the locus for Carnatic music.[20]
Nature of Carnatic music
The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as gāyaki).[21] Like Hindustani music, Carnatic music rests on two main elements: rāga, the modes or melodic formulæ, and tāḷa, the rhythmic cycles.[21]
Today, Carnatic music is presented by musicians in concerts or recordings, either vocally or through instruments. Carnatic music itself developed around musical works or compositions of phenomenal composers (see below).
Important elements of Carnatic music
Śruti
Śruti commonly refers to musical pitch.[22] It is the approximate equivalent of a tonic (or less precisely a key) in Western music; it is the note from which all the others are derived. It is also used in the sense of graded pitches in an octave. While there are an infinite number of sounds falling within a scale (or raga) in Carnatic music, the number that can be distinguished by auditory perception is twenty-two (although over the years, several of them have converged). In this sense, while sruti is determined by auditory perception, it is also an expression in the listener's mind.[23]
Swara
Swara refers to a type of musical sound that is a single note, which defines a relative (higher or lower) position of a note, rather than a defined frequency.[22] Swaras also refer to the solfege of Carnatic music, which consist of seven notes, 'sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da-ni' (compare with the Hindustani sargam: sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni or Western do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). These names are abbreviations of the longer names shadja, rishabha, gandhara, madhyama, panchama, dhaivata and nishada. Unlike other music systems, every member of the solfege (called a swara) has three variants. The exceptions are the drone notes, shadja and panchama (also known as the tonic and the dominant), which have only one form; and madhyama (the subdominant), which has two forms. A 7th century stone inscription in Kudumiyan Malai[24] in Tamil Nadu shows vowel changes to solfege symbols with ra, ri, ru etc. to denote the higher quarter-tones. In one scale, or raga, there is usually only one variant of each note present. The exceptions exist in 'light' ragas, in which, for artistic effect, there may be two, one ascending (in the arohanam) and another descending (in the avarohanam).
Raga system
A raga in Carnatic music prescribes a set of rules for building a melody – very similar to the Western concept of mode.[25] It specifies rules for movements up (aarohanam) and down (avarohanam), the scale of which notes should figure more and which notes should be used more sparingly, which notes may be sung with gamaka (ornamentation), which phrases should be used or avoided, and so on. In effect, it is a series of obligatory musical events which must be observed, either absolutely or with a particular frequency.[26]
In Carnatic music, the sampoorna ragas (those with all seven notes in their scales) are classified into a system called the melakarta, which groups them according to the kinds of notes that they have. There are seventy-two melakarta ragas, thirty six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is shuddha (perfect fourth from the tonic), the remaining thirty-six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is prati (an augmented fourth from the tonic). The ragas are grouped into sets of six, called chakras ('wheels', though actually segments in the conventional representation) grouped according to the supertonic and mediant scale degrees. There is a system known as the katapayadi sankhya to determine the names of melakarta ragas.
Ragas may be divided into two classes: janaka ragas (i.e. melakarta or parent ragas) and janya ragas (descendant ragas of a particular janaka raga). Janya ragas are themselves subclassified into various categories.
Ninnu Koriyunnanura, in Mohanam raaga, set to Adi taala. It is sung by Ramakrishnan Murthy.
Tala system
Tala refers to a fixed time cycle or metre, set for a particular composition, which is built from groupings of beats.[citation needed]Talas have cycles of a defined number of beats and rarely change within a song. They have specific components, which in combinations can give rise to the variety to exist (over 108), allowing different compositions to have different rhythms.[27]
Carnatic music singers usually keep the beat by moving their hands up and down in specified patterns, and using their fingers simultaneously to keep time. Tala is formed with three basic parts (called angas) which are laghu, dhrtam, and anudhrtam, though complex talas may have other parts like plutam, guru, and kaakapaadam. There are seven basic tala groups which can be formed from the laghu, dhrtam, and anudhrtam:
- Ata tala
- Dhruva tala
- Eka tala
- Jhampa tala
- Matya tala[citation needed]
- Rupaka tala
- Triputa tala
A laghu has five variants (called jaathis) based on the counting pattern. Five jaathis times seven tala groups gives thirty-five basic talas, although use of other angas results in a total of 108 talas.
Improvisation
Improvisation in raga is the soul of Indian classical music[28] – an essential aspect.[29] 'Manodharma Sangeetam' or 'kalpana Sangeetam' ('music of imagination') as it is known in Carnatic music, embraces several varieties of improvisation.[29][30]
The main traditional forms of improvisation in Carnatic music consist of the following:[31][32]
- Alapana
- Niraval
- Pallavi
- Ragam
- Swarakalpana
- Tanam
- Tani Avartanam
Raga Alapana
An alapana, sometimes also called ragam,[33] is the exposition of a raga or tone – a slow improvisation with no rhythm,[34] where the raga acts as the basis of embellishment.[26] In performing alapana, performers consider each raga as an object that has beginnings and endings and consists somehow of sequences of thought.[26]
The performer will explore the ragam and touch on its various nuances,[33] singing in the lower octaves first, then gradually moving up to higher octaves, while giving a hint of the song to be performed.[34]
Theoretically, this ought to be the easiest type of improvisation, since the rules are so few, but in fact, it takes much skill to sing a pleasing, comprehensive (in the sense of giving a 'feel for the ragam') and, most importantly, original raga alapana.
Niraval
Niraval, usually performed by the more advanced performers, consists of singing one or two lines of text of a song repeatedly, but with a series of melodic improvised elaborations.[35] Although niraval consists of extempore melodic variations, generally, the original patterns of duration are maintained;[36] each word in the lines of text stay set within their original place (idam) in the tala cycle.[37] The lines are then also played at different levels of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and even sextuple speed.[38] The improvised elaborations are made with a view of outlining the raga, the tempo, and the theme of the composition.[citation needed]
Kalpanaswaram
Kalpanaswaram, also known as swarakalpana, consists of improvising melodic and rhythmic passages using swaras (solfa syllables).[39] Like niraval,[40] kalpanaswaras are sung to end on a particular swara in the raga of the melody and at a specific place (idam) in the tala cycle.[41]
Kalpanaswaras have a somewhat predictable rhythmical structure;[42] the swaras are sung to end on the samam (the first beat of the rhythmical cycle).[38] The swaras can also be sung at the same speed or double the speed of the melody that is being sung, though some artists sing triple-speed phrases too.[38]
Kalpanaswaram is the most elementary type of improvisation, usually taught before any other form of improvisation.
Tanam
Tanam is one of the most important forms of improvisation, and is integral to Ragam Tanam Pallavi.[43] Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables like tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na, etc.
Ragam Tanam Pallavi
Ragam, Tanam, and Pallavi are the principal long form in concerts,[43] and is a composite form of improvisation. As the name suggests, it consists of raga alapana, tanam, and a pallavi line. Set to a slow-paced tala, the pallavi line is often composed by the performer. Through niraval, the performer manipulates the pallavi line in complex melodic and rhythmic ways.[33] The niraval is followed by kalpanaswarams.
Tani Avartanam
Tani Avartanam refers to the extended solo that is played by the percussionists in a concert,[44] and is usually played after the main composition in a concert.[37] The percussionist displays the full range of his skills and rhythmic imagination during the solo, which may take from two to twenty minutes.[44]
Compositions
In contrast to Hindustani music of the northern part of India, Carnatic music is taught and learned through compositions, which encode many intricate musical details, also providing scope for free improvisation. Nearly every rendition of a Carnatic music composition is different and unique as it embodies elements of the composer's vision, as well as the musician's interpretation.
A Carnatic composition really has two elements, one being the musical element, the other being what is conveyed in the composition. It is probably because of this fact that most Carnatic music compositions are composed for singing. In addition to the rich musical experience, each composition brings out the knowledge and personality of the composer, and hence the words are as important as the musical element itself. This poses a special challenge for the musicians because rendering this music does not involve just playing or singing the correct musical notes; the musicians are expected to understand what was conveyed by the composer in various languages, and sing musical phrases that act to create the effect that was intended by the composer in his/her composition.
There are many types/forms of compositions.
Geethams and swarajatis (which have their own peculiar composition structures) are principally meant to serve as basic learning exercises.
Compositions more commonly associated with Indian classical dance and Indian devotional music have also been increasingly used in the Carnatic music repertoire. The performance of the Sanskritsloka, Tamilviruttam and Telugupadyamu or sisapadya forms are particularly unique. Though these forms consist of lyric-based verses, musicians improvise raga phrases in free rhythm, like an alapana,[35] so both the sound value, and the meaning of the text, guide the musician through elaborate melodic improvisations.[45] Forms such as the divya prabandham, thevaram and ugabhoga are often performed similarly, however, these forms can also have a set melody and rhythm like the devaranama, javali, padam, thillana and thiruppugazh forms.
The most common and significant forms in Carnatic music are the varnam and the kriti (or kirtanam).
Varnam
Varnams are short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features and requirements of a raga.[46] The features and rules of the raga (also known as the sanchaaraas of a raga) include how each note of the raga should be stressed, the scale of the raga, and so on.[47] All varnams consist of lyrics,[48] as well as swara passages, including a pallavi, an anupallavi, muktayi swaras, a charanam, and chittaswaras.[47]
Known for their complex structure, varnams are a fundamental form in Carnatic music.[48] Varnams are practised as vocal exercises in multiple speeds by performers of Carnatic music, to help develop voice culture, and maintain proper pitch and control of rhythm. In Carnatic music concerts, varnams are often performed by musicians as the opening item – acting as a warm up for the musicians,[49] and as a means of grabbing the attention of the audience.[47]
Kriti
Carnatic songs (kritis) are varied in structure and style, but generally consist of three units:
- Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music, with 1 or 2 lines.
- Anupallavi. This is the second verse, also as 2 lines.
- Charana. The final (and longest) verse that wraps up the song. The Charanam usually borrows patterns from the Anupallavi. There can be multiple charanas.
This kind of song is called a keerthanam or a kriti. There are other possible structures for a kriti, which may in addition include swara passages named chittaswara. A chittaswara consists only of notes, and has no words. Still others have a verse at the end of the charana, called the madhyamakāla. It is sung immediately after the charana, but at double speed.
Prominent composers
There are many composers in Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa (1484–1564) is referred to as the Pitamaha (the father or grandfather) of Carnatic music as he formulated the basic lessons in teaching Carnatic music, and in honour of his significant contribution to Carnatic music. He structured graded exercises known as Swaravalis and Alankaras, and at the same time, introduced the RagaMayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners. He also composed Gitas (simple songs) for novice students.
The contemporaries Tyagaraja (1767– 1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar, (1776–1835) and Syama Sastri, (1762–1827) are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music because of the quality of Syama Sastri's compositions, the varieties of compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Tyagaraja's prolific output in composing kritis.[50]
Prominent composers prior to the Trinity of Carnatic music include Arunachala Kavi, Annamacharya, Narayana Theertha, Vijaya Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Gopala Dasa, Bhadrachala Ramadas, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi. Other composers are Swathi Thirunal, Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Neelakanta Sivan, Patnam Subramania Iyer, Mysore Vasudevachar, Koteeswara Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, Subramania Bharathiyar, Kalyani Varadarajan, and Papanasam Sivan. The compositions of these composers are rendered frequently by artists of today.
Composers of Carnatic music were often inspired by religious devotion and were usually scholars proficient in one or more of the languages Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil, or Telugu. They usually included a signature, called a mudra, in their compositions. For example, all songs by Tyagaraja (who composed in Telugu) have the word Tyagaraja in them, all songs by Muthuswami Dikshitar (who composed in Sanskrit) have the words Guruguha in them; songs by Syama Sastri (who composed in Telugu) have the words Syama Krishna in them; all songs by Purandaradasa (who composed in Kannada) have the words Purandara Vittala; while Gopalakrishna Bharathi (who composed in Tamil) used the signature Gopalakrishnan in his compositions. Papanasam Sivan, who has been hailed as the Tamil Tyagaraja of Carnatic music,[51] composed in Tamil and Sanskrit,[51] and used the signature Ramadasan in his compositions.
Learning Carnatic music
Carnatic music is traditionally taught according to the system formulated by Purandara Dasa. This involves varisais (graded exercises), alankaras (exercises based on the seven talas), geetams or simple songs, and Swarajatis. After the student has reached a certain standard, varnams are taught and later, the student learns kritis. It typically takes several years of learning before a student is adept enough to perform at a concert.
The learning texts and exercises are more or less uniform across all the South Indian states. The learning structure is arranged in increasing order of complexity. The lessons start with the learning of the sarali varisai (solfege set to a particular raga).
Carnatic music was traditionally taught in the gurukula system, where the student lived with and learnt the art from his guru (perceptor). From the late 20th century onwards, with changes in lifestyles and need for young music aspirants to simultaneously pursue a parallel academic career, this system has found few takers.
Musicians often take great pride in letting people know about their GuruParampara, or the hierarchy of disciples from some prominent ancient musician or composer, to which they belong. People whose disciple-hierarchies are often referred to are Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri, Swathi Thirunal and Papanasam Sivan, among others.
In modern times, it is common for students to visit their gurus daily or weekly to learn music. Though new technology has made learning easier with the availability of quick-learn media such as learning exercises recorded on audio cassettes and CDs, these are discouraged by most gurus who emphasize that face-to-face learning is best for students.
Notations
Notation is not a new concept in Indian music. However, Carnatic music continued to be transmitted orally for centuries without being written down. The disadvantage with this system was that if one wanted to learn about a kriti composed, for example, by Purandara Dasa, it involved the difficult task of finding a person from Purandara Dasa's lineage of students.
Written notation of Carnatic music was revived in the late 17th century and early 18th century, which coincided with rule of Shahaji II in Tanjore. Copies of Shahaji's musical manuscripts are still available at the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjore and they give us an idea of the music and its form. They contain snippets of solfege to be used when performing the mentioned ragas.
Melody
Unlike classical Western music, Carnatic music is notated almost exclusively in tonic sol-fa notation using either a Roman or Indic script to represent the solfa names. Past attempts to use the staff notation have mostly failed. Indian music makes use of hundreds of ragas, many more than the church modes in Western music. It becomes difficult to write Carnatic music using the staff notation without the use of too many accidentals. Furthermore, the staff notation requires that the song be played in a certain key. The notions of key and absolute pitch are deeply rooted in Western music, whereas the Carnatic notation does not specify the key and prefers to use scale degrees (relative pitch) to denote notes. The singer is free to choose the actual pitch of the tonic note. In the more precise forms of Carnatic notation, there are symbols placed above the notes indicating how the notes should be played or sung; however, informally this practice is not followed.
To show the length of a note, several devices are used. If the duration of note is to be doubled, the letter is either capitalized (if using Roman script) or lengthened by a diacritic (in Indian languages). For a duration of three, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and followed by a comma. For a length of four, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and then followed by a semicolon. In this way any duration can be indicated using a series of semicolons and commas.
However, a simpler notation has evolved which does not use semicolons and capitalization, but rather indicates all extensions of notes using a corresponding number of commas. Thus, Sā quadrupled in length would be denoted as 'S,'.
Rhythm
The notation is divided into columns, depending on the structure of the tāḷaṃ. The division between a laghu and a dhrutam is indicated by a।, called a ḍaṇḍā, and so is the division between two dhrutams or a dhrutam and an anudhrutam. The end of a cycle is marked by a॥, called a double ḍaṇḍā, and looks like a caesura.
Performances of Carnatic music
Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, who sit on an elevated stage. This usually consists of, at least, a principal performer, a melodic accompaniment, a rhythm accompaniment, and a drone.[52]
Performances can be musical or musical-dramatic. Musical recitals are either vocal, or purely instrumental in nature, while musical-dramatic recitals refer to Harikatha.[52] But, irrespective of what type of recital it is, what is featured are compositions which form the core of this genre of music.
Instrumentation
The tambura is the traditional drone instrument used in concerts. However, tamburas are increasingly being replaced by śruti boxes, and now more commonly, the electronic tambura. The drone itself is an integral part of performances and furnishes stability – the equivalent of harmony in Western music.[53]
In a vocal recital, a concert team may have one or more vocalists as the principal performer(s). Instruments, such as the Saraswati veena and/or venu flute, can be occasionally found as a rhythmic accompaniment, but usually, a vocalist is supported by a violin player (who sits on his/her left). The rhythm accompanist is usually a mridangam player (who sits on the other side, facing the violin player). However, other percussion instruments such as the ghatam, kanjira and morsing frequently also accompany the main percussion instrument and play in an almost contrapuntal fashion along with the beats.
The objective of the accompanying instruments is far more than following the melody and keeping the beats. The accompaniments form an integral part of every composition presented, and they closely follow and augment the melodic phrases outlined by the lead singer. The vocalist and the violinist take turns while elaborating or while exhibiting creativity in sections like raga, niraval and kalpanaswaram.
Unlike Hindustani music concerts, where an accompanying tabla player can keep beats without following the musical phrases at times, in Carnatic music, the accompanists have to follow the intricacies of the composition since there are percussion elements such as eduppu in several compositions.
Some concerts feature a good bit of interaction with the lead musicians and accompanists exchanging notes, and accompanying musicians predicting the lead musician's musical phrases.
Contemporary concert content
A contemporary Carnatic music concert (called a kutcheri) usually lasts about three hours, and comprises a number of varied compositions. Carnatic songs are composed in a particular raga, which means that they do not deviate from the notes in the raga. Each composition is set with specific notes and beats, but performers improvise extensively. Improvisation occurs in the melody of the composition as well as in using the notes to expound the beauty of the raga.
Concerts usually begin with a varnam or an invocatory item which will act as the opening piece. The varnam is composed with an emphasis on swaras of the raga, but will also have lyrics, the saahityam. It is lively and fast to get the audience's attention. An invocatory item may usually follow the varnam.
After the varnam and/or invocatory item, the artist sings longer compositions called kirtanas (commonly referred to as kritis). Each kriti sticks to one specific raga, although some are composed with more than one raga; these are known as ragamalika (a garland of ragas).
After singing the opening kriti, usually, the performer sings the kalpanaswaram of the raga to the beat. The performer must improvise a string of swaras in any octave according to the rules of the raga and return to beginning of the cycle of beats smoothly, joining the swaras with a phrase selected from the kriti. The violin performs these alternately with the main performer. In very long strings of swara, the performers must calculate their notes accurately to ensure that they stick to the raga, have no awkward pauses or lapses in the beat of the song, and create a complex pattern of notes that a knowledgeable audience can follow.
Performers then begin the main compositions with a section called raga alapana exploring the raga. In this, they use the sounds aa, ri, na, ta, etc. instead of swaras to slowly elaborate the notes and flow of the raga. This begins slowly and builds to a crescendo, and finally establishes a complicated exposition of the raga that shows the performer's skill. All of this is done without any rhythmic accompaniment, or beat. Then the melodic accompaniment (violin or veena), expounds the raga. Experienced listeners can identify many ragas after they hear just a few notes. With the raga thus established, the song begins, usually with lyrics. In this, the accompaniment (usually violin, sometimes veena) performs along with the main performer and the percussion (such as a mridangam). In the next stage of the song, they may sing niraval or kalpanaswaram again.
In most concerts, the main item will at least have a section at the end of the item, for the percussion to perform solo (called the tani avartanam). The percussion artists perform complex patterns of rhythm and display their skill. If multiple percussion instruments are employed, they engage in a rhythmic dialogue until the main performer picks up the melody once again. Some experienced artists may follow the main piece with a ragam thanam pallavi mid-concert, if they do not use it as the main item.
Following the main composition, the concert continues with shorter and lighter songs. Some of the types of songs performed towards the end of the concerts are tillanas and thukkadas – bits of popular kritis or compositions requested by the audience. Every concert that is the last of the day ends with a mangalam, a thankful prayer and conclusion to the musical event.
Audience
The audience of a typical concert will have some understanding of Carnatic music. It is also typical to see the audience tapping out the tala in sync with the artist's performance. As and when the artist exhibits creativity, the audience acknowledge it by clapping their hands. With experienced artists, towards the middle of the concert, requests start flowing in. The artist usually sings the requests, and it helps in exhibiting the artist's broad knowledge of the several thousand kritis that are in existence.
Festivals
Various music festivals featuring Carnatic music performances are held in India, and throughout the world.
With the city of Chennai (then known as Madras) emerging as the locus for Carnatic music during the 19th century,[20] its musicians founded the Tyagaraja Aradhana festival in 1846. The Aradhana festival is an annual death-anniversary celebration of the prolific Carnatic music composer, Tyagaraja. Held in the city of Thiruvayaru, thousands of musicians attend the festival to perform his compositions. Since its inception, other festivals were started in a similar manner throughout India and abroad, such as the Chembai Sangeetholsavam in the Indian city of Guruvayur, and the Aradhana in the US city of Cleveland.
The city of Chennai also holds a six-week-long grand 'Music Season', which has been described as the world's largest cultural event.[54] The Music Season was started in 1927, to mark the opening of the Madras Music Academy. It used to be a traditional month-long Carnatic music festival, but since then it has also diversified into dance and drama, as well as non-Carnatic art forms. Some concert organisers also feature their own Carnatic music festivals during the season. Thousands of performances are held by hundreds of musicians across various venues in the city.
See also
Notes
- ^Srinivasan, Anil. 'Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora: The new force spreading Carnatic music and dance worldwide'. Scroll.in. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^'Tamil of Sri Lanka Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Tamil of Sri Lanka'. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ abCarnatic music. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 April 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
- ^The Music AcademyArchived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Written by Malathi Rangaswamy, Secretary of Music Academy
- ^Nettl (2005), p38
- ^Moorthy (2001), p17
- ^ abc'History of Music, Origins'. The Carnatica Group. Carnatica.net. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
- ^'The Hindu : Sci Tech / Speaking Of Science : The music of we primates: Nada Brahmam'. hindu.com.
- ^'Veena in Yajurveda'. Archived from the original on 31 October 2006.
- ^YjS 3.115. 'Yajnavalkya on Music'.
- ^Singer, M. (1958). 'The Great Tradition in a Metropolitan Center: Madras'. The Journal of American Folklore. American Folklore Society. 71 (281): 347–388. doi:10.2307/538567. JSTOR538567.
- ^Moorthy (2001), p18
- ^ abSubramaniam, L. (1999). 'The reinvention of a tradition: Nationalism, Carnatic music and the Madras Music Academy, 1900–1947'. Indian Economic & Social History Review. 36 (2): 131–163. doi:10.1177/001946469903600201.
- ^Ries, R. E. (1969). 'The Cultural Setting of South Indian Music'. Asian Music. University of Texas Press. 1 (2): 22–31. doi:10.2307/833909. JSTOR833909.
- ^Theory of Music, Vasanthamadhavi P.183
- ^'Royal tribute to Thanjavur rulers'. The New Indian Express.
- ^Pranesh (2003), p54-55, p92, p162-163, p225-226
- ^Pranesh (2003), p108
- ^Pranesh (2003), p128
- ^ abHughes, S. P. (2002). 'The 'Music Boom' in Tamil South India: gramophone, radio and the making of mass culture'. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 22 (4): 445–473. doi:10.1080/0143968022000012129.
- ^ abBreyer, Barbara (1972). 'Composers and Tradition in Karnatik Music'. Asian Music. University of Texas Press. 3 (2): 42–51. doi:10.2307/833958. JSTOR833958.
- ^ ab'Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms S'. karnatik.com.
- ^Sound of India
- ^S. Santhanlingam, Kudumiyan Malai, Tamil Nadu Government Archeology Department publication, 1981
- ^'Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms M'. karnatik.com.
- ^ abcNettl, Bruno (1974). 'Thoughts On Improvisation: A Comparative Approach'. Musical Quarterly. LX: 9–12. doi:10.1093/mq/LX.1.1.
- ^'Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms T'. karnatik.com.
- ^MacCarthy, M. (1912). 'Some Indian Conceptions of Music'. Proceedings of the Musical Association. 38th Sess: 41–65. doi:10.1093/jrma/38.1.41.
- ^ abKassebaum, G. R. (1987). 'Improvisation in Alapana Performance: A Comparative View of Raga Shankarabharana'. Yearbook for Traditional Music. International Council for Traditional Music. 19: 45–64. doi:10.2307/767877. JSTOR767877.
- ^Kassebaum (2000), p17
- ^Higgins, J. B. (1973). 'untitled'. Asian Music. 4 (2): 27–35.
- ^Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), pp. 219–220.
- ^ abcWolf, R. (1999). 'untitled'. Asian Music. 30 (1): 199–203.
- ^ ab'Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms R'. karnatik.com.
- ^ abHiggins, J. B. (1987). 'Performing Arts in India: Essays on Music, Dance, and Drama'. Asian Music. 18 (2): 103–118. doi:10.2307/833942.
- ^Randel (2003), p562
- ^ abViswanathan & Cormack (1998), p232
- ^ abcHenry, E. O. (2002). 'The Rationalization of Intensity in Indian Music'. Ethnomusicology. Society for Ethnomusicology. 46 (1): 33–35. doi:10.2307/852807. JSTOR852807.
- ^Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), p219
- ^Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), p232
- ^Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), p221
- ^Solis & Nettl (2009), p188
- ^ abPalackal, J. J. (1998). 'untitled'. Yearbook for Traditional Music. 30: 207–207. doi:10.2307/768616.
- ^ abKassebaum (2000), 158
- ^Higgins, J. B. (1985). 'India'. Ethnomusicology. Society for Ethnomusicology. 29 (1): 162–166. doi:10.2307/852348. JSTOR852348.
- ^Nettl (2005), p189
- ^ abc'Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms V'. karnatik.com.
- ^ abBradnock (1992), p631
- ^Gupta (2006), p68
- ^'The golden era'. The Hindu.
- ^ ab'The Hindu : Focus on veena's exalted status'. hindu.com.
- ^ abL'Armand, A. K.; L'armand, Adrian (1983). 'One Hundred Years of Music in Madras: A Case Study in Secondary Urbanization'. Ethnomusicology. Society for Ethnomusicology. 27 (3): 411–438. doi:10.2307/850653.
- ^Rosenthal, E. (1931). 'Tyagaraja: A Great South Indian Composer'. Musical Quarterly. XVII: 14–24. doi:10.1093/mq/XVII.1.14.
- ^'Musical Musings'. Chennai, India: The Hindu. 3 February 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
References
- Kassebaum, Gayatri Rajapur. ‘Karnatak raga’ (2000). In Arnold, Alison. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. New York & London: Taylor & Francis.
- Moorthy, Vijaya (2001). Romance of the Raga. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.
- Nettl, B. (2009). In Solis, Gabriel; Nettl, Bruno (2009). Musical Improvisation: Art, Education, and Society. University of Illinois Press.
- Pranesh, Meera Rajaram (2003). Musical Composers during Wodeyar Dynasty (1638–1947 A.D.). Bangalore: Vee Emm Publications.
- Randel, Don Michael (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music. United States: Harvard University Press.
- Viswanathan, T. & Cormack, Jody (1998). In Nettl, Bruno; Russell, Melinda. In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN0-226-57411-3.
Bibliography
- Charles Russel Day (1891). The Music and Musical Instruments of southern India and the Deccan. William Gibb (lllus.). Novello, Ewer & Co., London -.
- '[Carnatic music]'. Encyclopædia Britannica (15 ed.). 2005.
- Panchapakesa Iyer, A. S. (2003). Gānāmruta Varna Mālikā. Gānāmruta Prachuram.
External links
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- Carnatic music at Curlie
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A raag performance at Collège des Bernardins, France
Indian classical music |
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Concepts |
A raga or raag (IAST: rāga; also raaga or ragam ; literally 'coloring, tingeing, dyeing'[1][2]) is a melodic framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music.[3] While the rāga is a remarkable and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, it has no direct translation to concepts in the classical European music tradition.[4][5] Each rāga is an array of melodic structures with musical motifs, considered in the Indian tradition to have the ability to 'colour the mind' and affect the emotions of the audience.[1][2][5]
A rāga consists of at least five notes, and each rāga provides the musician with a musical framework within which to improvise.[3][6][7] The specific notes within a rāga can be reordered and improvised by the musician. Rāgas range from small rāgas like Bahar and Shahana that are not much more than songs to big rāgas like Malkauns, Darbari and Yaman, which have great scope for improvisation and for which performances can last over an hour. Rāgas may change over time, with an example being Marwa, the primary development of which has gone down to the lower octave compared to the traditionally middle octave.[8] Each rāga traditionally has an emotional significance and symbolic associations such as with season, time and mood.[3] The rāga is considered a means in Indian musical tradition to evoke certain feelings in an audience. Hundreds of rāga are recognized in the classical tradition, of which about 30 are common.[3][7] Each rāga, state Dorothea E. Hast and others,[clarification needed] has its 'own unique melodic personality'.[9]
There are two main classical music traditions, Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian), and the concept of rāga is shared by both.[6]Rāga are also found in Sikh traditions such as in Guru Granth Sahib, the primary scripture of Sikhism.[10] Similarly it is a part of the qawwali tradition found in Sufi Islamic communities of South Asia.[11] Some popular Indian film songs and ghazals use rāgas in their compositions.[12]
- 4Description
- 10References
Etymology[edit]
The Sanskrit word rāga (Sanskrit: राग) has Indo-European roots, as *reg- which connotes 'to dye'. It is found in Greek, Persian, Khwarezmian and other languages, in variants such as 'raxt', 'rang', 'rakt' and others. The words 'red' and 'rado' are also related.[13]
Terminology[edit]
Rāga (Sanskrit: राग), states Monier Monier-Williams, comes from a Sanskrit word for 'the act of colouring or dyeing', or simply a 'colour, hue, tint, dye'.[14] The term also connotes an emotional state referring to a 'feeling, affection, desire, interest, joy or delight', particularly related to passion, love, or sympathy for a subject or something.[15] In the context of ancient Indian music, the term refers to a harmonious note, melody, formula, building block of music available to a musician to construct a state of experience in the audience.[14]
The word appears in the ancient Principal Upanishads of Hinduism, as well as the Bhagavad Gita.[16] For example, verse 3.5 of the Maitri Upanishad and verse 2.2.9 of the Mundaka Upanishad contain the word rāga. The Mundaka Upanishad uses it in its discussion of soul (Atman-Brahman) and matter (Prakriti), with the sense that the soul does not 'color, dye, stain, tint' the matter.[17] The Maitri Upanishad uses the term in the sense of 'passion, inner quality, psychological state'.[16][18] The term rāga is also found in ancient texts of Buddhism where it connotes 'passion, sensuality, lust, desire' for pleasurable experiences as one of three impurities of a character.[19][20] Alternatively, rāga is used in Buddhist texts in the sense of 'color, dye, hue'.[19][20][21]
Raga groups are called Thaat.[22]
The term rāga in the modern connotation of a melodic format occurs in the Brihaddeshi by Matanga dated ca. 8th century,[23] or possibly 9th century.[24] The Brihaddeshi describes rāga as 'a combination of tones which, with beautiful illuminating graces, pleases the people in general'.[25]
According to Emmie Te Nijenhuis, a professor in Indian musicology, the Dattilam section of Brihaddeshi has survived into the modern times, but the details of ancient music scholars mentioned in the extant text suggest a more established tradition by the time this text was composed.[23] The same essential idea and prototypical framework is found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Naradiyasiksa and the classic Sanskrit work Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni, whose chronology has been estimated to sometime between 500 BCE and 500 CE,[26] probably between 200 BCE and 200 CE.[27]
Bharata describes a series of empirical experiments he did with the Veena, then compared what he heard, noting the relationship of fifth intervals as a function of intentionally induced change to the instrument's tuning. Bharata states that certain combination of notes are pleasant, certain not so. His methods of experimenting with the instrument triggered further work by ancient Indian scholars, leading to the development of successive permutations, as well as theories of musical note inter-relationships, interlocking scales and how this makes the listener feel.[24] Bharata discusses Bhairava, Kaushika, Hindola, Dipaka, SrI-rāga, and Megha. Bharata states that these have the ability to trigger a certain affection and the ability to 'color the emotional state' in the audience.[14][24] His encyclopedic Natyashastra links his studies on music to the performance arts, and it has been influential in Indian performance arts tradition.[28][29]
The other ancient text, Naradiyasiksa dated to be from the 1st century BCE, discusses secular and religious music, compares the respective musical notes.[30] This is earliest known text that reverentially names each musical note to be a deity, describing it in terms of varna (colors) and other motifs such as parts of fingers, an approach that is conceptually similar to the 12th century Guidonian hand in European music.[30] The study that mathematically arranges rhythms and modes (rāga) has been called prastara.(Khan 1996, p. 89, Quote: '(...) the Sanskrit word prastara, which means mathematical arrangement of rhythms and modes. In the Indian system of music there are about the 500 modes and 300 different rhythms which are used in everyday music. The modes are called Ragas.')[31]
In the ancient texts of Hinduism, the term for the technical mode part of rāga was Jati. Later, Jati evolved to mean quantitative class of scales, while rāga evolved to become a more sophisticated concept that included the experience of the audience.[32] A figurative sense of the word as 'passion, love, desire, delight' is also found in the Mahabharata. The specialized sense of 'loveliness, beauty,' especially of voice or song, emerges in classical Sanskrit, used by Kalidasa and in the Panchatantra.[33]
History and significance[edit]
Classical music has ancient roots, and it primarily developed due to the reverence for arts, for both spiritual (moksha) and entertainment (kama) purposes in Hinduism. The Buddha discouraged music aimed at low entertainment. Jatakas such as Gutila Jataka, showed how he was once born as a great musician and created music which was in tune with his own inner music and dance. As his veena broke, an orchestra and dancers from heaven continued to play and dance showing his inner purity defeating his arrogant student who only played an instrument. Listening to your inner music and 'being in tune' is encouraged by the various canonical Tipitaka texts of Buddhism, for example, state Dasha-shila or ten precepts for those following the Buddhist spiritual path. Among these is the precept recommending 'abstain from dancing, singing, music and worldly spectacles'.[34][35] Buddhism does not forbid music or dance to a Buddhist layperson, but its emphasis has been on chants, not on musical rāga.[36]
Rāga, along with performance arts such as dance and music, has been historically integral to Hinduism, with some Hindus believing that music is itself a spiritual pursuit and a means to moksha (liberation).[37][38][39]Rāgas, in the Hindu tradition, are believed to have a natural existence.[40] Artists don't invent them, they only discover them. Music appeals to human beings, according to Hinduism, because they are hidden harmonies of the ultimate creation.[40] Some of its ancient texts such as the Sama Veda (~1000 BCE) are structured entirely to melodic themes,[37][41] it is sections of Rigveda set to music.[42] The rāgas were envisioned by the Hindus as manifestation of the divine, a musical note treated as god or goddess with complex personality.[30]
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During the Bhakti movement of Hinduism, dated to about the middle of 1st millennium CE, rāga became an integral part of a musical pursuit of spirituality. Bhajan and Kirtan were composed and performed by the early South India pioneers. A Bhajan has a free form devotional composition based on melodic rāgas.[43][44] A Kirtan is a more structured team performance, typically with a call and response musical structure, similar to an intimate conversation. It includes two or more musical instruments,[45][46] and incorporates various rāgas such as those associated with Hindu gods Shiva (Bhairava) or Krishna (Hindola).[47]
The early 13th century Sanskrit text Sangitaratnakara, by Sarngadeva patronized by King Sighana of the Yadava dynasty in Maharashtra, mentions and discusses 253 rāgas. This is one of the most complete historic treatises on the structure, technique and reasoning behind rāgas that has survived.[48][49][50]
The tradition of incorporating rāga into spiritual music is also found in Jainism,[51] and in Sikhism, an Indian religion founded by Guru Nanak in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent.[52] In the Sikh scripture, the texts are attached to a rāga and are sung according to the rules of that rāga.[53][54] According to Pashaura Singh – a professor of Sikh and Punjabi studies, the rāga and tala of ancient Indian traditions were carefully selected and integrated by the Sikh Gurus into their hymns. They also picked from the 'standard instruments used in Hindu musical traditions' for singing kirtans in Sikhism.[54]
During the Islamic rule period of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in and after the 15th century, the mystical Islamic tradition of Sufism developed devotional songs and music called qawwali. It incorporated elements of rāga and tāla.[55][56]
Description[edit]
A rāga is sometimes explained as a melodic rule set that a musician works with, but according to Dorottya Fabian and others, this is now generally accepted among music scholars to be an explanation that is too simplistic. According to them, a rāga of the ancient Indian tradition is best described as 'a non-constructible set in music', just like non-constructible set in language for human communication, in a manner described by Frederik Kortlandt and George van Driem.[57]
Two Indian musicians performing a rāga duet called Jugalbandi.
The attempt to appreciate, understand and explain rāga among European scholars started in the early colonial period.[58] In 1784, Jones translated it as 'mode' of European music tradition, but Willard corrected him in 1834 with the statement that a rāga is both mode and tune. In 1933, states José Luiz Martinez – a professor of Music, Stern refined this explanation to 'the rāga is more fixed than mode, less fixed than the melody, beyond the mode and short of melody, and richer both than a given mode or a given melody; it is mode with added multiple specialities'.[58]
A rāga is a central concept of Indian music, predominant in its expression, yet the concept has no direct Western translation. According to Walter Kaufmann, though a remarkable and prominent feature of Indian music, a definition of rāga cannot be offered in one or two sentences.[4]rāga is a fusion of technical and ideational ideas found in music, and may be roughly described as a musical entity that includes note intonation, relative duration and order, in a manner similar to how words flexibly form phrases to create an atmosphere of expression.[59] In some cases, certain rules are considered obligatory, in others optional. The rāga allows flexibility, where the artist may rely on simple expression, or may add ornamentations yet express the same essential message but evoke a different intensity of mood.[59]
A rāga has a given set of notes, on a scale, ordered in melodies with musical motifs.[7] A musician playing a rāga, states Bruno Nettl, may traditionally use just these notes, but is free to emphasize or improvise certain degrees of the scale.[7] The Indian tradition suggests a certain sequencing of how the musician moves from note to note for each rāga, in order for the performance to create a rasa (mood, atmosphere, essence, inner feeling) that is unique to each rāga. A rāga can be written on a scale. Theoretically, thousands of rāga are possible given 5 or more notes, but in practical use, the classical tradition has refined and typically relies on several hundred.[7] For most artists, their basic perfected repertoire has some forty to fifty rāgas.[60]Rāga in Indian classic music is intimately related to tala or guidance about 'division of time', with each unit called a matra (beat, and duration between beats).[61]
A rāga is not a tune, because the same rāga can yield an infinite number of tunes.[62] A rāga is not a scale, because many rāgas can be based on the same scale.[62][58] A rāga, according to Bruno Nettl and other music scholars, is a concept similar to a mode, something between the domains of tune and scale, and it is best conceptualized as a 'unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener'.[62] The goal of a rāga and its artist is to create rasa (essence, feeling, atmosphere) with music, as classical Indian dance does with performance arts. In the Indian tradition, classical dances are performed with music set to various rāgas.[63]
Joep Bor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music defined rāga as a 'tonal framework for composition and improvisation.'[64]Nazir Jairazbhoy, chairman of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology, characterized rāgas as separated by scale, line of ascent and descent, transilience, emphasized notes and register, and intonation and ornaments.[65]
Rāag-Rāgini system[edit]
In the Hindu traditions, raga musical notes have personalities, and they are reverentially linked to gods and goddesses.[66] Left is Bhairava-Bharavi pair (Shiva), right is Vasanta raga-ragini (Krishna).
Rāginī (Devanagari: रागिनी) is a term for the 'feminine' counterpart of a 'masculine' rāga.[66] These are envisioned to parallel the god-goddess themes in Hinduism, and described variously by different medieval Indian music scholars. For example, the Sangita-darpana text of 15th-century Damodara Misra proposes six rāgas with thirty ragini, creating a system of thirty six, a system that became popular in Rajasthan.[67] In the north Himalayan regions such as Himachal Pradesh, the music scholars such as 16th century Mesakarna expanded this system to include eight descendants to each rāga, thereby creating a system of eighty four. After the 16th-century, the system expanded still further.[67]
In Sangita-darpana, the Bhairava rāga is associated with the following raginis: Bhairavi, Punyaki, Bilawali, Aslekhi, Bangli. In the Meskarna system, the masculine and feminine musical notes are combined to produce putra rāgas called Harakh, Pancham, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilawal.[[[Wikipedia:Citing_sources|page needed]] ]-68'>[68]
This system is no longer in use today because the 'related' rāgas had very little or no similarity and the rāga-rāginī classification did not agree with various other schemes.
Rāgas and their symbolism[edit]
The North Indian rāga system is also called Hindustani, while the South Indian system is commonly referred to as Carnatic. The North Indian system suggests a particular time of a day or a season, in the belief that the human state of psyche and mind are affected by the seasons and by daily biological cycles and nature's rhythms. The South Indian system is closer to the text, and places less emphasis on time or season.[69][70]
The symbolic role of classical music through rāga has been both aesthetic indulgence and the spiritual purifying of one's mind (yoga). The former is encouraged in Kama literature (such as Kamasutra), while the latter appears in Yoga literature with concepts such as 'Nada-Brahman' (metaphysical Brahman of sound).[71][72][73]Hindola rāga, for example, is considered a manifestation of Kama (god of love), typically through Krishna. Hindola is also linked to the festival of dola,[71] which is more commonly known as 'spring festival of colors' or Holi. This idea of aesthetic symbolism has also been expressed in Hindu temple reliefs and carvings, as well as painting collections such as the ragamala.[72]
In ancient and medieval Indian literature, the rāga are described as manifestation and symbolism for gods and goddesses. Music is discussed as equivalent to the ritual yajna sacrifice, with pentatonic and hexatonic notes such as 'ni-dha-pa-ma-ga-ri' as Agnistoma, 'ri-ni-dha-pa-ma-ga as Asvamedha, and so on.[71]
In the Middle Ages, music scholars of India began associating each rāga with seasons. The 11th century Nanyadeva, for example, recommends that Hindola rāga is best in spring, Pancama in summer, Sadjagrama and Takka during the monsoons, Bhinnasadja is best in early winter, and Kaisika in late winter.[74] In the 13th century, Sarngadeva went further and associated rāga with rhythms of each day and night. He associated pure and simple rāgas to early morning, mixed and more complex rāgas to late morning, skillful rāgas to noon, love-themed and passionate rāgas to evening, and universal rāgas to night.[75]
Rāga and mathematics[edit]
According to Cris Forster, mathematical studies on systematizing and analyzing South Indian rāga began in the 16th century.[76] Computational studies of rāgas is an active area of musicology.[77][78]
Notations[edit]
Although notes are an important part of rāga practice, they alone do not make the rāga. A rāga is more than a scale, and many rāgas share the same scale. The underlying scale may have four, five, six or seven tones, called swaras (sometimes spelled as svara). The svara concept is found in the ancient Natya Shastra in Chapter 28. It calls the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit as Śruti,[79] with verse 28.21 introducing the musical scale as follows,[80]
तत्र स्वराः –
षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा ।
पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥
षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा ।
पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥
These seven degrees are shared by both major rāga system, that is the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic).[83] The solfege (sargam) is learnt in abbreviated form: sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. Of these, the first that is 'sa', and the fifth that is 'pa', are considered anchors that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavors that differs between the two major systems.[83]
Svara (Long) | Sadja (षड्ज) | Rsabha (ऋषभ) | Gandhara (गान्धार) | Madhyama (मध्यम) | Pañcama (पञ्चम) | Dhaivata (धैवत) | Nisada (निषाद) |
Svara (Short) | Sa (सा) | Re (रे) | Ga (ग) | Ma (म) | Pa (प) | Dha (ध) | Ni (नि) |
12 Varieties (names) | C (sadja) | D♭ (komal re), D (suddha re) | E♭ (komal ga), E (suddha ga) | F (suddha ma), F♯ (tivra ma) | G (pancama) | A♭ (komal dha), A (suddha dha) | B♭ (komal ni), B (suddha ni) |
Svara (Long) | Shadjam (षड्ज) | Rsabham (ऋषभ) | Gandharam (गान्धार) | Madhyamam (मध्यम) | Pañcamam (पञ्चम) | Dhaivatam (धैवत) | Nishadam (निषाद) |
Svara (Short) | Sa (सा) | Ri (री) | Ga (ग) | Ma (म) | Pa (प) | Dha (ध) | Ni (नि) |
16 Varieties (names) | C (sadja) | D♭ (suddha ri), D♯ (satsruti ri), D♮ (catussruti ri) | E♭ (sadarana ga), E (suddha ga), E♮ (antara ga) | F♯ (prati ma), F♮ (suddha ma) | G (pancama) | A♭ (suddha dha), A♯ (satsruti dha), A♮ (catussruti dha) | B♭ (kaisiki ni), B (suddha ni), B♮ (kakali ni) |
The music theory in the Natyashastra, states Maurice Winternitz, centers around three themes – sound, rhythm and prosody applied to musical texts.[86] The text asserts that the octave has 22 srutis or microintervals of musical tones or 1200 cents.[79] Ancient Greek system is also very close to it, states Emmie Te Nijenhuis, with the difference that each sruti computes to 54.5 cents, while the Greek enharmonic quartertone system computes to 55 cents.[79] The text discusses gramas (scales) and murchanas (modes), mentioning three scales of seven modes (21 total), some Greek modes are also like them .[87] However, the Gandhara-grama is just mentioned in Natyashastra, while its discussion largely focuses on two scales, fourteen modes and eight four tanas (notes).[88][89][90] The text also discusses which scales are best for different forms of performance arts.[87]
These musical elements are organized into scales (mela), and the South Indian system of rāga works with 72 scales, as first discussed by Caturdandi prakashika.[85] They are divided into two groups, purvanga and uttaranga, depending on the nature of the lower tetrachord. The anga itself has six cycles (cakra), where the purvanga or lower tetrachord is anchored, while there are six permutations of uttaranga suggested to the artist.[85] After this system was developed, the Indian classical music scholars have developed additional rāgas for all the scales. The North Indian style is closer to the Western diatonic modes, and built upon the foundation developed by Bhatkhande using ten Thaat: kalyan, bilaval, khamaj, kafi, asavari, bhairavi, bhairav, purvi, marva and todi.[91] Some rāgas are common to both systems and have same names, such as kalyan performed by either is recognizably the same.[92] Some rāgas are common to both systems but have different names, such as malkos of Hindustani system is recognizably the same as hindolam of Carnatic system. However, some rāgas are named the same in the two systems, but they are different, such as todi.[92]
Rāgas that have four swaras are called surtara (सुरतर) rāgas; those with five swaras are called audava (औडव) rāgas; those with six, shaadava (षाडव); and with seven, sampurna (संपूर्ण, Sanskrit for 'complete'). The number of swaras may differ in the ascending and descending like rāga Bhimpalasi which has five notes in the ascending and seven notes in descending or Khamaj with six notes in the ascending and seven in the descending. Rāgas differ in their ascending or descending movements. Those that do not follow the strict ascending or descending order of swaras are called vakra (वक्र) ('crooked') rāgas.[citation needed]
Carnatic rāga[edit]
In Carnatic music, the principal rāgas are called Melakarthas, which literally means 'lord of the scale'. It is also called Asraya rāga meaning 'shelter giving rāga', or Janaka rāga meaning 'father rāga'.[93]
A Thaata in the South Indian tradition are groups of derivative rāgas, which are called Janya rāgas meaning 'begotten rāgas' or Asrita rāgas meaning 'sheltered rāgas'.[93] However, these terms are approximate and interim phrases during learning, as the relationships between the two layers are neither fixed nor has unique parent-child relationship.[93]
Janaka rāgas are grouped together using a scheme called Katapayadi sutra and are organised as Melakarta rāgas. A Melakarta rāga is one which has all seven notes in both the ārōhanam (ascending scale) and avarōhanam (descending scale). Some Melakarta rāgas are Harikambhoji, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Mayamalavagowla, Sankarabharanam and Todi.[94][95]Janya rāgas are derived from the Janaka rāgas using a combination of the swarams (usually a subset of swarams) from the parent rāga. Some janya rāgas are Abheri, Abhogi, Bhairavi, Hindolam, Mohanam and Kambhoji.[94][95]
Training[edit]
Classical music has been transmitted through music schools or through Guru-Shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition) through an oral tradition and practice. Some are known as gharana (houses), and their performances are staged through sabhas (music organizations).[96][97] Each gharana has freely improvised over time, and differences in the rendering of each rāga is discernible. In the Indian musical schooling tradition, the small group of students lived near or with the teacher, the teacher treated them as family members providing food and boarding, and a student learnt various aspects of music thereby continuing the musical knowledge of his guru.[98] The tradition survives in parts of India, and many musicians can trace their guru lineage.[99]
Persian Rāk[edit]
The music concept of Rāk in Persian is probably a pronunciation of rāga. According to Hormoz Farhat, it is unclear how this term came to Persia, it has no meaning in modern Persian language, and the concept of rāga is unknown in Persia.[100]
See also[edit]
- Carnatic raga
- Rāga, a documentary about the life and music of Ravi Shankar
References[edit]
- ^ abTiton et al. 2008, p. 284.
- ^ abWilke & Moebus 2011, pp. 222 with footnote 463.
- ^ abcdLochtefeld 2002, p. 545.
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- ^ abcdeNettl 2010.
- ^Raja & unknown, p. unknown, Quote: 'Due to the influence of Amir Khan'.
- ^Hast, James R. Cowdery & Stanley Arnold Scott 1999, p. 137.
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- ^Mathur, Avantika; Vijayakumar, Suhas; Chakravarti, Bhismadev; Singh, Nandini (2015). 'Emotional responses to Hindustani raga music: the role of musical structure'. Frontiers in Psychology. 6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00513. PMC4415143. PMID25983702.
- ^ abA Concordance to the Principal Upanishads and Bhagavadgita, GA Jacob, Motilal Banarsidass, page 787
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- ^Maitri Upanishad, Max Muller, Oxford University Press, page 299
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- ^ abTe Nijenhuis 1974, p. 3.
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- ^Soubhik Chakraborty; Guerino Mazzola; Swarima Tewari; et al. (2014). Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music. Springer. pp. v–vi. ISBN978-3-319-11472-9.;
Amiya Nath Sanyal (1959). Ragas and Raginis. Orient Longmans. pp. 18–20. - ^Caudhurī 2000, pp. 48–50, 81.
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- ^ abWilliam Forde Thompson (2014). Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. pp. 1693–1694. ISBN978-1-4833-6558-9.; Quote: 'Some Hindus believe that music is one path to achieving moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth', (...) 'The principles underlying this music are found in the Samaveda, (...)'.
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- ^Fabian, Renee Timmers & Emery Schubert 2014, pp. 173–74.
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- ^ abvan der Meer 2012, pp. 3–5.
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- ^van der Meer 2012, pp. 6–8.
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- ^Mehta 1995, pp. xxix, 248.
- ^Bor, Joep; Rao, Suvarnalata; Van der Meer, Wim; Harvey, Jane (1999). The Raga Guide. Nimbus Records. p. 181. ISBN978-0-9543976-0-9.
- ^Jairazbhoy 1995, p. 45.
- ^ abDehejia 2013, pp. 191–97.
- ^ abDehejia 2013, pp. 168–69.
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page needed ]]]_68-0'>^Jairazbhoy 1995, p. [page needed]. - ^Lavezzoli 2006, pp. 17–23.
- ^Randel 2003, pp. 813–21.
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- ^Sastri 1943, p. xxii, Quote: '[In ancient Indian culture], the musical notes are the physical manifestations of the Highest Reality termed Nada-Brahman. Music is not a mere accompaniment in religious worship, it is religious worship itself'..
- ^Te Nijenhuis 1974, p. 36.
- ^Te Nijenhuis 1974, pp. 36–38.
- ^Forster 2010, pp. 564–565; Quote: 'In the next five sections, we will examine the evolution of South Indian ragas in the writings of Ramamatya (fl. c. 1550), Venkatamakhi (fl. c. 1620), and Govinda (c. 1800). These three writers focused on a theme common to all organizational systems, namely, the principle of abstraction. Ramamatya was the first Indian theorist to formulate a system based on a mathematically determined tuning. He defined (1) a theoretical 14-tone scale, (2) a practical 12-tone tuning, and (3) a distinction between abstract mela ragas and musical janya ragas. He then combined these three concepts to identify 20 mela ragas, under which he classified more than 60 janya ragas. Venkatamakhi extended (...).'.
- ^Rao, Suvarnalata; Rao, Preeti (2014). 'An Overview of Hindustani Music in the Context of Computational Musicology'. Journal of New Music Research. 43 (1): 31–33. CiteSeerX10.1.1.645.9188. doi:10.1080/09298215.2013.831109.
- ^Soubhik Chakraborty; Guerino Mazzola; Swarima Tewari; et al. (2014). Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music. Springer. pp. 15–16, 20, 53–54, 65–66, 81–82. ISBN978-3-319-11472-9.
- ^ abcTe Nijenhuis 1974, p. 14.
- ^Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy (1985), Harmonic Implications of Consonance and Dissonance in Ancient Indian Music, Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology 2:28–51. Citation on pp. 28–31.
- ^Sanskrit: Natyasastra Chapter 28, नाट्यशास्त्रम् अध्याय २८, ॥ २१॥
- ^Te Nijenhuis 1974, pp. 21–25.
- ^ abRandel 2003, pp. 814–815.
- ^Te Nijenhuis 1974, pp. 13–14, 21–25.
- ^ abcdRandel 2003, p. 815.
- ^Winternitz 2008, p. 654.
- ^ abTe Nijenhuis 1974, p. 32-34.
- ^Te Nijenhuis 1974, pp. 14–25.
- ^Reginald Massey; Jamila Massey (1996). The Music of India. Abhinav Publications. pp. 22–25. ISBN978-81-7017-332-8.
- ^Richa Jain (2002). Song of the Rainbow: A Work on Depiction of Music Through the Medium of Paintings in the Indian Tradition. Kanishka. pp. 26, 39–44. ISBN978-81-7391-496-6.
- ^Randel 2003, pp. 815–816.
- ^ abRandel 2003, p. 816.
- ^ abcCaudhurī 2000, pp. 150–151.
- ^ abRaganidhi by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras
- ^ abRagas in Carnatic music by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications
- ^Tenzer 2006, pp. 303–309.
- ^Sanyukta Kashalkar-Karve (2013), 'Comparative Study of Ancient Gurukul System and the New Trends of Guru-Shishya Parampara,' American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Volume 2, Number 1, pages 81–84
- ^Nettl et al. 1998, pp. 457–467.
- ^Ries 1969, p. 22.
- ^Hormoz Farhat (2004). The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–99. ISBN978-0-521-54206-7.
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External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raga. |
- Hindustani raag Sangeet Online A rare collection of more than 800 audio & video archives from 1902. Radio programs dedicated to famous raags.
- Online quick reference of rāgams in Carnatic music.
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