Hindustani classical music Essay Example for Free

Hindoostani unsullied symphony EssayThe custom was born out of a cultural synthesis of several(prenominal) symphonyal customs the Vedic cantil recently tradition, dating back to more than three curtilage years ago,the ancient Persian tradition of Musiqi-e assil, and various folk traditions customary in the region. It is traditional for performers who suck in reached a distinguished level of achievement to be awarded titles of respect Hindus be usually referred to as pandit and Muslims as ustad. An aspect of Hindustani music going back to Sufi successions is the tradition of religious disinterest Muslim ustads may sing compositions in praise of Hindu deities, and vice versa. approximately the 12th ampere- hour, Hindustani innocent music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic true music. The central nonion in both these dodges is that of a terminologyal mode or raga, sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala. The tradition dates back to the a ncient Samaveda, (sma meaning ritual chant), which deals with the norms for chanting of srutis or hymns such as the Rig Veda.These principles were refined in the musical treatises Natya Shastra, by Bharata (2nd3rd coke CE), and Dattilam (probably 3rd4th century CE). In gallant times, the mellifluous systems were fused with ideas from Persian music, let outicularly through and through the form of Sufi composers equivalent Amir Khusro, and ulterior in the Moghul begs. Noted composers such as Tansen flourished, along with religious groups handle the Vaishnavites. After the 16th century, the singing expressive airs diversified into diametrical gharanas patronized in different princely courts. Around 1900, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande consolidated the musical structures of Hindustani classic music, called ragas, into a number of thaats. Indian authorized music has cardinal basic notes with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale.Un corresponding the 12-note scale in Western music, the base oftenness of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps (temperament) may overly vary however, with the gradual replacement of the sarangi by the harmonium, an equal toughened scale is increasingly used. The performance is set to a melodic pattern called a raga characterized in part by specific ascent (aroha) and descent (avaroha) sequences, which may not be identical. early(a) characteristics allow in powerfulness (vadi) and queen (samavadi) notes and characteristic excogitates (pakad). In addition each raga has its natural register (ambit) and portamento (meend) rules. Performances argon usually pronounced by considerable improvisation within these norms.HistoryMusic was first formalized in India in connection with preserving the sruti textual matters, primarily the four vedas, which be seen as apaurasheya (meaning not created by man). Not only was the text important, but alike the manner in which they had been enunciated by the immorta ls. Prosody and chanting were thus of great importance, and were enshrined in the ii vedangas (bodies of knowledge) called shiksha (pronunciation, chants) and chhandas (prosody) these re primary(prenominal)ed a key part of the brahmanic educational system till modern times. The formal aspects of the chant atomic number 18 delineated in the Samaveda, with certain aspects, e.g. the relation of chanting to meditation, elaborated in the Chandogya Upanishad (ca. 8th century BC). Priests involved in these ritual chants were called samans and a number of ancient musical instruments such as the conch (shankh), luting (veena), flute (bansuri), trumpets and horns were associated with this and later practices of ritual singing.Sanskritic traditionThe Samaveda outlined the ritual chants for singing the verses of the Rigveda, particularly for offerings of Soma. It proposed a tonal structure consisting of seven-spot notes, which were named, in descending order, krusht, pratham, dwitiya, tritiy a, chaturth, mandra and atiswr. These refer to the notes of a flute, which was the only fixed-frequency instrument. This is why the second note is called pratham (meaning first, i.e., produced when only the first hole is closed). Music is dealt with extensively in the Valmiki Ramayana. Narada is an accomplished musician, as is Ravana Saraswati with her veena is the goddess of music. Gandharvas ar presented as spirits who be musical masters, and the gandharva style looks to music primarily for pleasure, accompanied by the pulp rasa. In the Vishnudharmottara Purana, the Naga king Ashvatara asks to know the svaras from Saraswati. The most important text on music in the ancient canon is Bharatas Natya Shastra, composed around the 3rd century CE.The Natya Shastra deals with the different modes of music, dance, and drama, and also the emotional responses (rasa) they are evaluate to evoke. The scale is described in terms of 22 micro-tones, which can be combined in clusters of four, thr ee, or two to form an octave. While the term raga is articulated in the Natya Shastra (where its meaning is more literal, meaning discolour or mood), it finds a clearer expression in what is called jati in the Dattilam, a text composed shortly later on or around the aforesaid(prenominal) time as Natya Shastra. The Dattilam is focused on gandharva music and discusses scales (swara), defining a tonal framework called grama in terms of 22 micro-tonal intervals (sruti3) comprising one octave. It also discusses various arrangements of the notes (murchhana), the permutations and combinations of note-sequences (tanas), and alankara or elaboration. Dattilam categorizes melodic structure into 18 groups called jati, which are the fundamental melodic structures similar to the raga.The names of the jatis reflect regional origins, for example andhri and oudichya. Music also finds mention in a number of texts from the Gupta period Kalidasa mentions several kinds of veena (Parivadini, Vipanchi) , as well as percussion instruments (mridang), the flute (vamshi) and conch (shankha). Music also finds mention in Buddhist and Jain texts from the earliest periods of the Christian era. Naradas Sangita Makarandha treatise, from about 1100 CE, is the earliest text where rules similar to those of current Hindustani immaculate music can be found.Narada actually names and classifies the system in its earlier form before the Persian influences introduced changes in the system. Jayadevas Gita Govinda from the 12th century was perhaps the earliest musical composition sung in the classical tradition called Ashtapadi music. In the 13th century, Sharngadeva composed the Sangita Ratnakara, which has names such as the turushka todi (Turkish todi), revealing an influx of ideas from Moslem culture. This text is the last to be mentioned by both the Carnatic and the Hindustani traditions and is often thought to date the discrimination between the two.Medieval period Persian influenceThe advent of Islamic rule low the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire over northern India caused considerable cultural interchange. Increasingly, musicians received financial support in the courts of the new rulers, who in their turn, started taking increasing interest in local music forms. While the initial generations may have a bun in the oven been rooted in cultural traditions outside India, they gradually adopted galore(postnominal) aspects from their kingdoms which retained the traditional Hindu culture. This helped spur the fusion of Hindu and Muslim ideas to bring forth new forms of musical synthesis uniform qawwali and khyal. The most influential musician of the Delhi Sultanate period was Amir Khusrau (12531325), sometimes called the father of modern Hindustani classical music.4 A composer in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, as well as Braj Bhasha, he is credited with systematizing many aspects of Hindustani music, and also introducing several ragas such as Yaman Kalyan, Zeela f and Sarpada.He created the qawwali genre, which fuses Persian melody and beat on a dhrupad like structure. A number of instruments (such as the sitar and tabla) were also introduced in his time. Amir Khusrau is sometimes credited with the origins of the khyal form, but the ledger of his compositions do not appear to support this. The compositions by the court musician Sadarang in the court of Muhammad Shah exculpate a closer affinity to the modern khyal. They suggest that while khyal already existed in some form, Sadarang may have been the father of modern khyal. Much of the musical forms innovated by these pioneers merged with the Hindu tradition, composed in the fashionable language of the people (as opposed to Sanskrit) in the work of composers like Kabir or Nanak. This can be seen as part of a medium- hulkingr Bhakti tradition, (strongly related to the Vaishnavite movement) which remained influential crossways several centuries notable figures entangle Jayadeva (11th cen tury), Vidyapati (fl. 1375 CE), Chandidas (14th15th century), and Meerabai (15551603 CE).As the Mughal Empire came into closer contact with Hindus, especially under Jalal ud-Din Akbar, music and dance also flourished. In particular, the musician Tansen introduced a number of innovations, including ragas and particular compositions. Legend has it that upon his interpreting of a night-time raga in the morning, the total city fell under a hush and clouds gathered in the sky, and that he could light fires by singing the raga Deepak, which is supposed to be composed of notes in high octaves. At the royal house of Gwalior, genus Raja Mansingh Tomar (14861516 CE) also participated in the shift from Sanskrit to the local idiom (Hindi) as the language for classical songs.He himself penned several volumes of compositions on religious and secular themes, and was also responsible for the major compilation, the Mankutuhal (Book of Curiosity), which outlined the major forms of music prevalent a t the time. In particular, the musical form known as dhrupad saw considerable development in his court and remained a strong point of the Gwalior gharana for many centuries. After the dissolution of the Mughal empire, the patronage of music continue in smaller princely kingdoms like Lucknow, Patiala, and Banaras, giving rise to the diversity of styles that is today known as gharanas. Many musician families obtained large grants of land which made them self sufficient, at least for a fewerer generations (e.g. the Sham Chaurasia gharana). Meanwhile the Bhakti and Sufi traditions continued to develop and interact with the different gharanas and groups.Modern eraUntil the late 19th century, Hindustani classical music was imparted on a one-on-one ass through the guru-shishya (mentor-protg) tradition. This system had many benefits, but also several drawbacks in many cases, the shishya had to spend most of his time serving his guru with a hope that the guru might teach him a cheez (piec e or nuance) or two. In addition, the system forced the music to be limited to a small subsection of the Indian community. To a large extent it was limited to the palaces and dance halls. It was shunned by the intellectuals, avoided by the educated middle class, and in general looked agglomerate upon as a frivolous practice.5 Then a fortunate turn of events started the renaissance of Hindustani classical music. First, as the power of the maharajahs and nawabs declined in early 20th century, so did their patronage. With the expulsion of Wajid Ali Shah to Calcutta after 1857, the Lucknavi musical tradition came to influence the music of renaissance in Bengal, giving rise to the tradition of Ragpradhan gan around the turn of the century. Also, at the turn of the century, two great stars emerged on the horizon Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. Independent of each other, they spread Hindustani classical music to the hatful in general, and the Marathi middle class in particular.These two gentlemen brought classical music to the masses by organizing music conferences, starting drills, teaching music in class-rooms, and devising a standardized rate and testing system, and by standardizing the notation system.6 Vishnu Digambar Paluskar emerged as a talented musician and organizer despite having been blind at age 12. His books on music, as well as the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya music school that he open(a) in Lahore in 1901, helped foster a movement away from the closed gharana system. Paluskars contemporary (and occasional rival) Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande know the many rifts that had appeared in the structure of Indian classical music. He undertook extensive research visits to a large number of gharanas, Hindustani as well as Carnatic, collecting and comparing compositions. Between 1909 and 1932, he produced the massive four-volume work Hindustani Sangeetha Padhathi,7 which suggested a transcription for Indian music, and described the many tra ditions in this notation.Finally,mit consolidated the many musical forms of Hindustani classical music into a number of thaats (modes), subsequent to the Melakarta system that reorganized Carnatic tradition in the 17th century. The ragas as they exist today were consolidated in this landmark work, although there are some inconsistencies and ambiguities in Bhatkandes system. In modern times, the government-run All India Radio, Bangladesh Betar and Radio Pakistan helped to bring the artists to public attention, countering the loss of the patronage system.The first star was Gauhar Jan, whose career was born out of Fred Gaisbergs first recordings of Indian music in 1902. With the procession of films and other public media, musicians started to make their living through public performances. As India was exposed to Western music, some Western melodies started merging with classical forms, especially in popular music. A number of Gurukuls, such as that of Alauddin caravanserai at Maihar, flourished. In more modern times, corporate support has also been forthcoming, as at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. Meanwhile, Hindustani classical music has become popular across the world through the influence of artists such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan.Principles of Hindustani musicThe rhythmic organization is found on rhythmic patterns called tala. The melodic foundations are called ragas. One possible classification of ragas is into melodic modes or parent scales, known as thaats, under which most ragas can be classified based on the notes they use. Thaats may consist of up to seven scale degrees, or swara. Hindustani musicians name these pitches using a system called Sargam, the equivalent of the Western transferable do solmisation Sa (Shadaj) = DoRe (Rishab) = ReGa (Gandhar) = MiMa (Madhyam) = FaPa (Pancham) = SoDha (Dhaivat) = LaNi (Nishad) = TiSa (Shadaj) = DoBoth systems repeat at the octave. The difference between sargam and solfege is that re, ga, ma, dha, and ni can refer to either Natural (shuddha) or altered Flat (komal) or shrewdly (tivra) versions of their respective scale degrees. As with movable do solfege, the notes are heard relative to an arbitrary impertinent that varies from performance to performance, rather than to fixed frequencies, as on a xylophone. The fine intonational differences between different instances of the same swara are called srutis. The three primary registers of Indian classical music are mandra (lower), madhya (middle) and taar (upper). Since the octave location is not fixed, it is also possible to use provenances in mid-register (such as mandra-madhya or madhya-taar) for certain ragas. A typical rendition of Hindustani raga involves two stages Alap a rhythmically free improvisation on the rules for the raga in order to apportion life to the raga and flesh out its characteristics.The alap is followed by a long slow-tempo improvisation in blunt music, or by the jod and jhala in instrumental music. B andish or Gat a fixed, melodic composition set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj. There are different ways of systematizing the parts of a composition. For example Sthaayi The initial, rondo phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition. Antara The first consistency phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition. Sanchaari The third body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more typically in dhrupad bandishes Aabhog The fourth and concluding body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more typically in Dhrupad bandishes. There are three variations of bandish, regarding tempoVilambit bandish A slow and steady melodic composition, usually in largo to adagio speeds. Madhyalaya bandish A medium tempo melodic competition, usually set in andante to allegretto speeds. Drut bandish A fast tempo melodic composition, usually set to allegretto speed or faster. Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric, i nsofar as the musical forms were intentional primarily for vocal performance, and many instruments were designed and evaluated as to how well they emulate the human voice.Types of compositionsThe major vocal forms or styles associated with Hindustani classical music are dhrupad, khyal, and tarana. Other forms include dhamar, trivat, chaiti,kajari, tappa, tap-khyal, ashtapadis, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan these are folk or semi-classical or light classical styles, as they often do not adhere to the rigorous rules of classical music.DhrupadMain article DhrupadDhrupad is an old style of singing, traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with a tambura and a pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics, some of which were written in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently often sung in brajbhasha, a medieval form of pairing and atomic number 99 Indian languages that was spoken in Eastern India. The rudra veena, an ancient disembowel instrument, is used in in strumental music in dhrupad. Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme and content. It contains recitals in praise of particular deities. Dhrupad compositions father with a relatively long and acyclic alap, where the syllables of the following mantra is recited Om Anant tam Taran Tarini Twam Hari Om Narayan, Anant Hari Om Narayan. The alap gradually unfolds into more rhythmic jod and jhala sections. These sections are followed by a rendition of bandish, with the pakhawaj as an accompaniment.The great Indian musician Tansen sang in the dhrupad style. A lighter form of dhrupad, called dhamar, is sung primarily during the festival of Holi. Dhrupad was the main form of northern Indian classical music until two centuries ago, when it gave way to the somewhat less austere khyal, a more free-form style of singing. Since losing its main patrons among the royalty in Indian princely states, dhrupad risked becoming extinct in the first half of the 20th century. However, the efforts by a few proponents from the Dagar family have led to its revival and eventual popularization in India and in the West.Some of the best known vocalists who sing in the Dhrupad style are the members of the Dagar lineage, including the senior Dagar brothers, Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar the junior Dagar brothers, Nasir Zahiruddin and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Wasifuddin, Fariduddin, and Sayeeduddin Dagar. Other leading exponents include the Gundecha Brothers, who have received training from some of the Dagars. Leading vocalists outside the Dagar lineage include the Mallik family of Darbhanga tradition of musicians some of the leading exponents of this tradition were Ram Chatur Mallick, Siyaram Tiwari, and Vidur Mallick. A section of dhrupad singers of Delhi Gharana from Mughal emperor Shah Jahans court migrated to Bettiah under the patronage of the Bettiah Raj, giving rise to the Bettiah Gharana.8 Bishnupur Gharana, based in West Bengal, is a key school that has been propag ating this style of singing since Mughal times.KhyalMain article KhyalKhyal is a Hindustani form of vocal music, adopted from medieval Persian music and based on Dhrupad. Khyal, literally meaning thought or imagination in Hindustani, is unusual as it is based on improvising and expressing emotion. A Khyal is a two- to eight-line lyric set to a melody. The lyric is of an emotional account possibly from poetic observation.clarification needed Khyals are also popular for depicting the emotions between two lovers, situations of ethological significance in Hinduism and Islam, or other situations evoking intense feelings.Th importance of the Khyals content is for the singer to depict, through music in the set raga, the emotional significance of the Khyal. The singer improvises and finds inspiration within the raga to depict the Khyal. The foot of Khyal is controversial, although it is accepted that this style was based on Dhrupad and influenced by Persian music. Many argue that Amir Khus rau created the style in the late 16th century. This form was popularized by Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah, through his court musicians. Some known composers of this period were Sadarang, Adarang, and Manrang. editTaranaMain article TaranaAnother vocal form, taranas are medium- to fast-paced songs that are used to set about a mood of elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of poetry with soft syllables or bols set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines as a basis for fast improvisation. The tillana of Carnatic music is based on the tarana, although the former is primarily associated with dance. tappa barkMain article TappaTappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music whose specialty is its rolling pace based on fast, subtle, knotty construction. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab and was developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian, a court singer for Asaf-U d-Dowlah, the Nawab of Awadh. Nidhubabur Tappa, or tappas sung by Nidhu Babu were really popular in 18th and 19th-century Bengal. Among the living performers of this style are Laxmanrao Pandit, Shamma Khurana, Manvalkar, Girija Devi, Ishwarchandra Karkare, and Jayant Khot.ThumriMain article ThumriThumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to have begun in Uttar Pradesh with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, (r. 18471856). There are three types of thumri poorab ang, Lucknavi and Punjabi thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Brij Bhasha and are usually romantic. Some recent performers of this genre are Abdul Karim Khan, the brothers Barkat Ali Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar, Girija Devi, Beauty Sharma Barua, Nazakat-Salamat Ali Khan, Prabha Atre, Siddheshwari Devi, and Shobha Gurtu.GhazalMain article GhazalGhazal is an originally Persian form of poetry. In the Indian sub-continent, Ghazal became the most common form of poetry in the Urdu lang uage and was popularized by classical poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Daagh, Zauq and Sauda amongst the North Indian literary elite. Vocal music set to this mode of poetry is popular with multiple variations across Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ghazal exists in multiple variations, including semi-classical, folk and pop forms.Instrumental musicThe Royal Musicians of Hindustan circa 1910 Ali Khan, Inayat Khan, Musheraff Khan and Maheboob Khan Although Hindustani music clearly is focused on the vocal performance, instrumental forms have existed since ancient times. In fact, in recent decades, especially outside South Asia, instrumental Hindustani music is more popular than vocal music, partly due to a somewhat different style and faster tempo, and partly because of a language barrier for the lyrics in vocal music. A number of musical instruments are associated with Hindustani classical music.The veena, a string instrument, was traditionally regarded as the most important, but few play it today and it has more often than not been superseded by its cousins the sitar and the sarod, both of which owe their origin to Persian influences. Other plucked or struck string instruments include the surbahar, sursringar, santoor, and various versions of the slide guitar. Among bowed instruments, the sarangi, esraj and violin are popular. The bansuri, shehnai and harmonium are important swerve instruments. In the percussion ensemble, the tabla and the pakhavaj are the most popular. Various other instruments have also been used in varying degrees.