| Variant title |
Ethnomusicological study of music, art, and culture in Mughal India |
| Series |
Chicago studies in ethnomusicology
Chicago studies in ethnomusicology. ^A261178
|
| Contents |
Part one. The political agenda: the early Mughal era. Mughal exercise of power in the creation of texts: communication and political synthesis. Visible and audible presence of power: the Naubat ; Books and the exercise of power -- Music-making in Mughal family history and life. The Mongol and Timurid ancestors of the Mughal family ; Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty -- The interface of Harem and court. Festivities patronized from the Harem ; Celebrations on the birth of an heir ; Women dancers: crossing gender boundaries ; Accompaniment for dance: crossing the culture boundaries ; Political machinations from the Harem and the ruler's response -- Part two. The cultural agenda: the "Great Mughals," from Akbar to Aurangzeb. Music in Akbar's court and paintings. The addition of sound to visual image ; Akbar's aural and musical interests ; Meaningful instruments in Akbari paintings ; A symbol of power: the Naqqara ; The suggestion of historical time ; The depiction of levity ; Persian and other models for music in paintings ; Artists' choices -- Synthesis with a musical text. The historical precedent ; Evidence of pre-Mughal synthesis ; A venue for musical synthesis: Sufism ; A European contribution to Indian musical synthesis: the organ ; A rich potential for musical synthesis ; Plucked lutes ; Explicitly Indian music in Akbar's Darbar -- Transformations: the Indianization of Mughal musical culture. Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the patrons ; Transformations in scene types ; Imperial marriage celebrations ; Imperial birthdays and New Year's celebrations ; Aurangzeb, or 'Alamgir I ; Transformations in instrumentarium ; Stability within transformation ; Link to the present -- Appendix. List of Illustrated manuscripts and albums. |
| Abstract |
The rulers of the Mughal Empire of India, who reigned from 1526 to 1858, spared no expense as patrons of the arts, particularly painting and music. They left as their legacy an extraordinarily rich body of commissioned artistic projects including illustrated manuscripts and miniature paintings that represent musical instruments, portraits of musicians, and the compositions of ensembles. These images form the basis of the author's study of how musicians of Hindustan encountered and Indianized music from the Persian cultural sphere. This book is a contribution to many fields in its unique combination of sources and methods: it is the study of musical change; of image-making in the past and the methodological use of images as "texts" in the present; of the role of patronage in the Mughal Empire; and of the development of South Asian culture. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-264) and indexes. |
| LCCN | 97014033 |
| ISBN | 0226868400 |
| ISBN | 0226868419 (pbk.) |
