World Music Oct 25, 2016

Learning Outcomes

identify the main instruments and musical features of Karnatic (South Indian Classical) musicdifferentiate between Hindustani and Karnatic musicsummarize the parts of a kritidescribe the significant musical features of two assigned pieces

South Indian Classical Music

• Karnatic/Carnatic/Karnatak

• source: Natya Shastra (ca. 200 BCE to 200 CE)

• treatise on theatre, dance, and music

venu

veena

tambura śruti/shruti box

mridangam ghatam

drone:

melody:

percussion:

kanjira

Karnatik Music

• raga and tala

• raga: collection of tones/svaras

• solfege system

• introduced in alapana

• ornamentation:

• shakes = kampita

• slides =  jaru

• stresses = janta

Karnatik Music

• steady pulse

• jatis: syllables to create rhythmic patterns

Karnatik Music

• similar to bhajan

• kriti: sacred Hindu song

• Pallavi

• Adupallavi

• Charanam

• language: Sanskrit and Telugu; Tamil

English Hindustani Karnaticdrone tanpura/tamboura tamburastringed instrument sitar veenapercussion tabla mridangammelodic mode raga raga

solfege system “do” = sa

solfege system “do” = sarhythmic cycle tala tala

free introduction alaap alapanabeat matra aksaragroup of beats vibhag arigagroups of syllables theka solkattuteacher guru guruschool gharana gurukula

venu

tambura

mridangamghatam

violin

drone:

melody:

percussion:

Manasu Visaya

Manasu Visaya

• composed by Tyagaraja (or Thyagaraja) (ca. 1767-1847)

• raga: Natakuranji

• tala: Adi Tala

• kriti

• Pallavi (2:33)

• Adupallavi (3:38)

• Charanam(4:30)

• opens with Alapana (0:00): improvised and rhythmically free

• heterophony: violin and flute

“Siddhi Vinayakam Raga”

• composer: Muthuswami Dikshithar (1775-1835)

• raga: shanmukhapriya

• tala: rupakam

• Siddhi Vinayakam = Lord Ganesha: elephant head

• kriti

• pallavi (0:00)

• anupallavi (1:15)

• charanam (2:53)

Weidman Reading1.  For female musicians of South India, it was expected that their husbands act as their managers, which often led to jealousy and paranoia. Would you say there is a direct correlation between being married and having a successful (but unhappy) music career? And given the culture at the time, what were the advantages and disadvantages of having their spouse control their profession?

2.  Regarding the double standards of infidelity, vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi says “the essential difference between men and women [are that] women were a special birth (vastiana janmam); there was so much power, honor, and dignity (guaravam) in a woman’s body that it was important to control it; otherwise, it would be too dangerous. ‘Men?...Who cares? Let them go have ten wives; it doesn’t make a difference’” (Weidman, 199). How would you argue that this is (or is not) considered “respect” for a woman’s body if she is just one of many partners for a man?

3.  A.) Considering that many female performers were labeled as prostitutes up until 1947, what parallels can be drawn between selling your music or art form and selling your body?

B.) Do you think it is fair that women were banned from their castes for bringing dishonor to them by following a non-traditional life path in music?

4.  A.) To what extent did tradition and women from “respectable” (i.e. Brahmin) families play a role in preserving and “rescuing” South Indian dance and classical music from degenerate devadasis?

B.)  Would you say this shift in how the public viewed performers was a change in interpretation and resources (such as the gramophone), or a change in the performer herself?