Review 1

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Vedas
  Arrives with the Aryans from Central Asia ca. 1500 BCE
  Traditional responsibility of bhraman males who memorize and recite the verses
  Three core "books": Rg, Yajur, and Sama Vedas
 
Rg core verses
Yajur ceremonial organization of verses from the Rg Veda (Krsna and Sukla)
Sama sung version of the verses for ritual purposes sometimes using a heptatonic scale
  Atharva Veda: myths and ritual material of a separate tradition from the Rg, Yajur, and Sama Vedas.
  Forms of presentation: samhita patha and pada patha
  Pada patha includes vikriti presentation in which the order of the words changes in order to preserve the identity of the words.
  The Vedas are in the Vedic language, which is accented. Thus, the verses of the Rg Veda had three "Pitches": anudatta (unaccented), udatta (accented), and svarita (raised)
 
Natyasastra
  original portions written by Bharata (B.C. 200 - 400 C.E.)
  treatise on the varied aspects of drama, including sections on dance and on music
  jati, murcchana, sadjagrama, madhyamagrama, sruti
Naradiya Siksa
  Written by Narada ca. 5th century CE
  Connects musical scales with the notes of Vedic recitation
  Svara and sruti different: Svara = note; sruti = intonation (change from NS)
Brhaddesi
  Matanga (c. 8th to 9th century C.E. probably in southern India)
  terms, raga and bhasa are introduced and defined
  marga and desi traditions distinguished
Sangitaratnakara
  Sarngadeva (first half of the 13th century C.E.; 1210-47)
  discussions of raga and tala written before arrival of Muslims
After the 16th century theoretical treatises reflect a split in the classical traditions (paddhati):
  Hindustani (Indo-Aryan) and Karnatak/Carnatic (Dravidian)

KARNATAK SANGIT PADDHATI

kacceri: a concert of south Indian classical music.
Svara-mela-kalanidhi
  Ramamatya (1550)
  treatise shows relatively little influence from Islamic north
  description and grouping of ragas according to scale types
  ragas in practice at that time
Ragavibodha
  Somanatha (1609)
  has some Muslim raga names
Caturdandi-prakasika
  Venkatamakhi (1660)
  classification of ragas according to 72 basic scales (melas)
  melakarta system still prevails in south India

Karnatak "Trinity"
Tyagaraja (1767-1847), Muttusvami Diksitar (1762-1827) and Syama Sastri (1775-1835)


SCALE, PITCH, AND MELODY

raga: abstract musical parameter involving scale and melody
svara: musical pitch, note
  sadja, risabha, gandhara, madhyama, pancama, dhaivata, & nisada
mela: scale
svarasthana: note placement
sampurna raga: complete
sadava raga: hexatonic
audava raga: pentatonic
janya raga: derivative
arohana: ascending scalar movement.
avarohana: descending scalar movement
vakra: crooked scalar movement
jiva-svara: most important note
pitippu: characteristic melodic phrase
raga-chaya-sañcara: characteristic melodic phrase

RHYTHM AND METER

tala: time cycle
  cyclic and additive (i.e., not linear and divisive) measure of musical time
avarta/avarttanam: the time-span of one cycle of the tala
anga: a subsection of one avarta of a tala
matra: a subsection of an anga, the unit of measure of tala
  gati/natai: single count pulse division
  tisra natai: triple submetric pulse division
  caturasra gati/caturasra natai: quadratic submetric pulse division
  khanda natai: quintuplet submetric pulse division
  misra natai: septuplet submetric pulse division
laya: tempo
  vilambita-laya: slow tempo
  madhyama-laya: medium tempo
  druta-laya: fast tempo
gati/gata: rhythmic movement
  also described as vilambita, madhyama, and druta
tattu: "beat" "clap"
viccu: "wave"
drutam: a two-matra anga marked by a clap (tattu) and a wave (viccu) and symbolically indicated as a circle (O).
anudrutam: a one-matra anga marked by a clap (tattu) and symbolically indicated as an upwardly opening circle (U).
laghu: a multiple-matra anga marked by a clap (tattu) and an additional number of silent beats to complete an anga and is symbolically indicated by a vertical bar and a number indicating its duration (|n)
  tisra: a laghu of 3 matras
  caturasra: a laghu of 4 matras
  misra: a laghu of 7 matras
  khanda: a laghu of 5 matras
  sankirna: a laghu of 9 matras
suladi talas: A set of seven formal talas established by the devotional singer Purandara Dasa (1480-1564) and used in the most formal compositions.
  created by combining the laghu, drutam, and anudrutam
  caturasra triputa tala = adi tala
capu talas: most often rendered in fast laya
  divided into two parts
  the second part one beat longer than the first part
  misra capu (3 + 4; sometimes known only as "capu")
  khanda capu (2 + 3)
  tisra capu (1 + 2)
  sankirna capu (4 + 5)

KIRTANAM /KRITI

kirtana: devotional song in both north and south India sung by soloists and groups.
kirtanam
  composed for group devotional singing
  consists of a refrain (pallavi) | sung by the group | alternating with a number of stanzas (caranam) | sung by a soloist
  pallavi and caranam commonly in contrasting registers with the former lower than the latter
kriti
  kirtanam when performed in a kacceri is called kriti
  pallavi: refrain, purvanga
  anupallavi: uttaranga and rhyming with the pallavi
  caranam: begins in the purvanga and moves into the uttaranga

RAGAM-TANAM-PALLAVI

ragam/alapana
  indicates an extensive development of the melodic materials of the raga in free time
  ragavardhani
  sthayi / makarini / vartani
tanam
  distinguished by a pulsing sensation achieved through the rhythmic use of non-lexical syllables
pallavi
  that part of the performance governed by tala
  theme drawn from a kriti
  accompanied by several pre-composed variations (sangati)
  the basis of two types of improvisation
niraval
1. improvisatory-elaborative technique in which the original text of the pallavi or a portion of it and much of its rhythmic structure remain the same while the melody is changed.
2 a section of the pallavi in which the original pallavi theme is performed at double, quadruple, and (sometimes) triple speed
svara kalpana
1. focus on the melodic expansion of the raga using the pallavi theme as its starting point.
2. gradual increases in the length of the phrases with gradual diminishment of the rhythmic subdivision of the beat
3. etuppu/graha: the consistent prescribed point in a pallavi theme to which svara kalpana phrases arrive.
 
mora: a three-fold cadential sequence often closing particularly important sections
tani avartam (also known as tani): a mrdangam solo or a percussion ensemble improvisation which often concludes a performance of ragam-tanam-pallavi
 

BHARATA-NATYAM

natya: dance-drama
nrtya: sentiment and mood (mime)
  abhinaya is the set of gestures used by the dancer to symbolize story elements
nrtta: pure dance, abstract patterns of movement
  adavu: rhythmic feet patterns
devadasi ("god-servants"): bharata-natyam dancers traditionally associated with temples and courts
alarippu: a short dance-invocation to the deity and audience which emphasizes basic dance positions (nrtta)
  little or no melodic accompaniment
jatisvaram: a musical composition without text which becomes progressively more rhythmically dense and which emphasizes rhythm and interaction between drummer and dancer.
sabda: a short repeated four-line text which is treated with niraval improvisations.
  begins with a tirmanam: a rhythmically dense piece of pure dance (nrtta)
  continues with an interpretation of the literary content (nrtya)
(pada) varnam: an advanced study piece characterized by alternations between nrtta and nrtya
  the most complex item in the performance.
padam: devotional texts in the madhurya ("erotic") ras sung in a slow tempo to allow the dancer time for elaborate abhinaya
  presented as a slow contrast to the varnam
  deals with love from the perspective of the nayika (the female) who yearns for the nayaka (the male beloved).
tillana: a rhythmic exhibition of svara and drum mnemonics to which the dancer presents a series of poses combining movements of the waist, shoulders, fingers, hands, feet, neck, and eyes
sloka: a short Sanskrit verse rendered in free time with an emphasis on abhinaya which sometimes concludes a performance

INSTRUMENTAL AND VOCAL MUSIC

ragamala: raga modulation
pañcaragam / ghana raga pañcakam 
  "five ragas" / "group of five serious ragas"
  instrumental ragamala improvisations in the five ghana ragas
(tana) varnam
  a set study piece with which instrumentalists commonly begin a program.
javali 
  a "small-scale and lightly erotic genre"
  derived from bharata-natyam
  traditionally sung in a rakti raga at a very fast tempo
tillana
  derived from the bharata-natyam repertoire and includes drum and pitch syllables
  one of the last pieces on a program

Return to Outline
14-Feb-2011