Indian Music and the West: an Exploration Anil Srinivasan
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WINDOW TO THE WORLD Indian music and the West: An exploration Anil Srinivasan rom the 17th century, Indian spirit of India’s influence on the West mythology and ideals have the most. This essay explores some of Fexerted an indefinable these composers in detail. influence on Western thought and artistic practice. The use of certain Debussy and the French School types of note intervals, experiments When a strange, exotic Indian man in transilience (equivalent of the with a flowing beard and equally gamaka), as well as atonal/functional flowing garments presented harmonies have found their place himself at No. 80, Avenue periodically in themes that were du Bois de Bologne in Paris, generally classified as mystical or the concierge armed himself with an exotic. umbrella. Shouting to his colleagues to rush to his rescue, the concierge was English literature on the topic Claude Debussy played down the role Indian music about to charge when the `eccentric played on the West, in concordance musician’ who owned the apartment younger brother Musharaff Khan with the imperialistic nature of the above came rushing in to take charge. and their accompanist. Inayat Khan discourse. However this cannot Admonishing his staff, this small- was a Sufi scholar, sitar player and detract from the influence Indian made Frenchman with a broad, flat musicologist and the founder of the classical music has played on notable head (brachycephalic, to give it its composers and indeed, its contribution accurate description) quickly took the Sufi movement in the West. Apart from to large tracts of Western classical guests upstairs. They were carrying all of these distinctions, he was the repertoire in the last 200 years: long stringed instruments of a kind direct descendant of Tipu Sultan. His Specifically, composers from the that the staff had never seen before, daughter would go on to become one French ‘orientalist’ school including and indeed, took to be weapons. It of Britain’s most acclaimed espionage Leon Delibes (notably in the opera turned out that the guests were none agents and among the world’s first Lakme), Georges Bizet (in the opera other than Hazrat Inayat Khan, his women radio operators. Pearl Fishers), Claude Debussy (several piano reductions post his Hazrat Inayat Khan and group meeting with Inayat Khan, and also sections of various operatic works); latter day minor composers including Maurice Delage, and his experiments with prepared pianos to reproduce Indian classical sound, notably Carnatic music-influenced motifs following his visit to south India in the early 20th century, and his Ragamalika composition that followed. The English composer Gustav Holst was deeply inspired and indeed influenced by Indian classical ideas and musical specifics in composing Savitri, his one-act opera based on the story of Satyavan and Savitri. Holst perhaps embodies the 42 l SRUTI September 2018 But this essay is about the little man Contrasting this with what went who rushed his Indian guests upstairs. through the mind of someone as prolific The year was 1913. And this man as Debussy, I find that the stamp of the would be famous throughout the raga system at its core makes itself world as Claude Debussy, one of known through a far more internalised, the pioneers of the `impressionistic’ innate fashion. For instance, in his schools of Western music. His salon piece for two pianos (En Blanc Et pieces and orchestral pieces were Noir, 1913), the left hand is playing already the rage of the day. Having a repeated `drone’ structure of the heard and become seduced by both tonic and dominant (C and lower Javanese gamelan music and Indian G), in the Pa-Sa-Sa-lower Sa pattern music at the International Expositions throughout several sections. The held in Paris in the late 1890s and harmonic frame of this tanpura- early 1900s, Debussy was excited at based piano lends the entire suite a being introduced to Indian musicians character unlike many other Western directly. A contemporary anecdote compositions. In his piece Pas De of the first encounter mentions L’Elefant (The Elephant Melody) how Debussy followed his guests’ the melody itself roughly follows Maurice Delage performance of the evening by the C–Db-F-G-Bb-C structure, immediately mimicking the notes roughly reminiscent of the raga Revati. on the piano, calling out to know suited to his beloved instrument—the the names of the ragas being played. In pieces such as Jardines Suis La piano. Incidentally, they were the ragas Pluie (Gardens in the Rain), one Later French composers such as Durga and Yaman, with traces of can distinctly make out the patterns Maurice Delage (1879-1961) had Shyam Kalyan. of Malhar in the rising and falling the opportunity to travel to India semiquavers in the right hand melodic This started a love affair with as part of entourages of merchant line, especially in the later sections of Hindustani classical music that was bankers. Delage’s Ragamalika the piece. True to the `impressionistic’ to be found in both direct and indirect (1922) and compositions such as ways in Debussy’s music over the spirit, the raga presents itself as a Quattre Poeme Hindous (including next five years, before his passing at composite of a series of fast-played the ethereal Madras composed the age of 56 in 1918. In particular, I note sequences in silhouette as in 1912) take in the influences of examined the wonderful idea of what opposed to being obviously replicated. Carnatic music. The raga patterns `influence’ actually means. He has used the influence of India, of several ragas including Saveri, and the idea of the raga itself. But he Varali and Latangi are reflected in the In today’s context of Indo-Western has not compromised on his style of compositional graphs of the pieces in `fusion’ experiments, we often composition or the sensibility most these suites. find the mimicking of raga-like passages and phrases, or rhythmic cycles with episodic adherence to the spirit and essence of the original UBSCRIBERS LEASE OTE raga structure. In simple terms, the S , P N raga `comes and goes’. In the more v If you do not receive Sruti by the 25th of every month, lazy experiment, an Indian melody is played while a bass line or other inform us immediately by email at accompanying line follows rules of [email protected] its own and either plays consonantly so that we can send you a replacement copy. or not, depending on the mood of v the player. It is heady and electric For complaints received within the next month, the at times, or deceptively minimalist, replacement copy will be sent after deducting postage. as if to convey to the listener that the v composers of the arrangement are Please note that postage and the cost of issue trying to arrive at something profound will be deducted and innovative that has not been if complaint is received after two months. attempted before. 43 l SRUTI September 2018 Holst and India Crystal gazing History would record Gustav Holst At a time when the world is debating (1874-1934) as a shy, retiring man whether it is indeed one planet or it given to academic pursuits and a quiet should cave in to polarised debates life. Indeed, until the later part of on race and gender, I found this th the 20 century, his music was exploration significant. largely unknown. The success of his orchestral suite The Planets (which One, men and women freely worked itself he was to admit was influenced with one another and exchanged by his strong interest in astrology, ideas. Both Debussy and Holst (and including Vedic precepts) was not composers thence) studied with to be replicated for any of his other learned women and were influenced works until recently. He was a teacher by their ideologies and vision. for a large part of his life, and quite a reluctant entrant to the international Most important, the Indian classical world of fame and glamour system exerted a deep influence that followed the release of The on not just these major composers Planets. Today, he is regarded as one Gustav Holst but several other musicians and of the most influential composers of composers of the past two centuries. He was to teach himself more his era, and one who ushered in a new As mentioned in the initial section, advanced Sanskrit, and set about sensibility towards the development the imperialist discourse saw to it translating and setting to music of Western classical music. that these early revolutions in music the immortal Meghadootam of were not highlighted in the annals of Holst seems to have taken to India Kalidasa. The Cloud Messenger music history. when quite young. In fact, successive (1910-12) is best characterised as visits to the Expositions in London in a free-flowing symphonic poem, Ex Oriente Lux (From the East came the 1880s to Indian ideas and concepts with sweeping passages that imitate the Light) is an oft-repeated adage. seem to have taken over this young, the drone and the transilient note These explorations only bear it out. slightly nervous and highly intelligent (gamaka) and taking contours of musician. He taught himself Sanskrit, several classical ragas. This is based on a lecture-demonstration by the author at the Annual Conference of studying with the famous Indologist While these works in themselves the Music Academy on 31 December 2017. Mabel Bode. Further lessons with achieved little success during his Ethel Coomaraswamy and Maud (The author is a well-known pianist and time, the influence of India on this McCarthy, early exponents of Indian music educator based in Chennai who heads important composer is unmistakable.