World Music Oct 25, 2016 Learning Outcomes identify the main instruments and musical features of Karnatic (South Indian Classical) music differentiate between Hindustani and Karnatic music summarize the parts of a kriti describe 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 drone: tambura śruti/shruti box melody: venu veena percussion: mridangam ghatam 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 Karnatic drone tanpura/tamboura tambura stringed instrument sitar veena percussion tabla mridangam melodic mode raga raga solfege system solfege system rhythmic cycle tala“do” = sa tala“do” = sa free introduction alaap alapana beat matra aksara group of beats vibhag ariga groups of syllables theka solkattu teacher guru guru school gharana gurukula Manasu Visaya drone: tambura melody: venu violin percussion: mridangam ghatam 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 Reading 1. 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?.