Music in South India : the Karṇāṭak concert tradition and beyond : experiencing music, expressing culture / T. Viswanathan, Matthew Harp Allen.
| Author/creator | Viswanathan, T. |
| Other author | Allen, Matthew Harp. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | New York : Oxford University Press, 2004. |
| Description | xxv, 150 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm + 1 audio disc (4 3/4 in.) |
| Subjects |
| Series | Global music series Global music series. ^A563337 |
| Contents | Song in South India. Bhajan (devotional song). Songs and singing ; Meaning of the text: devotion, love, and praise ; Celebrating Tyagaraja in the United States and in South India ; Languages of the region -- Kriti. Evolution of Kriti ; Text and context - a continuum of performance from devotion to virtuosity ; Music, language, and politics ; The Tamil music movement ; Muttuttandavar (seventeenth century) ; The text of "I trusted you/Unnai Nambinen" (CD track 3) ; The musical setting of "I trusted you/Unnai Nambinen" (CD track 3) ; The group's progress through the Kriti ; The ensemble ; The instruments. Violin (Chordophone) ; Mridarigam (membranophone) ; Tambura (chordophone) and its Sruti, drone, function -- Key concepts in Karnatak music. Tala: meter and rhythm in Karnatak music. The five "families" of rhythm and drummers' thinking ; Hand gestures and vocalized syllable sequences for commonly used talas ; Tala exercises in three speeds -- Raga: melody in Karnatak music. Scale ; Note (svara) and solfege syllable names. Kiravani and Kapi ragas: raga as a "vast ocean" -- Ornamentation (gamaka) ; Phrase (sancara or prayoga). Phrases in Kiravani and Kapi ragas -- Functional notes - svaras holding particular functions -- Integrated melodic-rhythmic training -- The Karnatak concert today. Presentation and discussion of the "main piece" of a concert. The setting ; Tuning up ; Beginning. Kriti as an orally transmitted composed case of a performance -- Brief guide to the performance. Composition and improvisation: fixity and fluidity ; Kiravani raga alapana. Aesthetics and dynamics of accompaniment -- Kriti: the core component. The Pallavi ; The Anupallavi and Pallavi reprise ; The Caranam and Pallavi reprise -- Niraval ; Svara Kalpana. Different ways to improvise: a comparison of Niraval and svara kalpana -- Tani avarttanam - drum solo -- Contextualizing south Indian performance, socially and historically. Women and music: the Devaddasi and her community. Women's public performance circa 1900 ; Loss and recovery of a woman's work ; "Now we women have a platform to commence singing" - Bangalore Nagarathnammal and the Tyagaraja festival -- Bangalore Nagarathnammal as a performer. Sringara Bhakti: being in love with God ; Listening through the static: the rise of audio recording -- Men and music: from temple and court to public and state patronage. Men's performance in precolonial South India ; The hereditary male temple service musician ; The "Emperor of Nagasvaram": T. N. Rajarattinam Pillai. "The audience would not be satisfied if he did not play this raga" ; Alapana in Todi raga -- A new world of performance: concert halls, media, and audiences in the urban environment. The development of radio ; The recording industry: commodification and resistance ; "The effect of the performance should be such as to keep the listeners spell-bound". Men scripting and singing women's inner feelings -- A hereditary music family. A dual musical enculturation and education ; "I am going to snub these male chauvinists" ; Music and gender today -- An ancient and modern tradition of musical-social behavior -- Regional and modern traditions: contemporary music making in South India and beyond. Music in Kerala. Idakka, a pressure drum from Kerala ; Kathakali dance drama. Character types, costume, and make up ; Changes in the twentieth century -- The Kathakali music ensemble ; Kathakali songs: Slokam and Padam ; Performance of Padam from Nala Caritam -- Music of the cinema in South India. The "Company drama" and the silent cinema ; Early sound films: the "mythological" ; The "social" ; The playback singer ; The cinema and Karnatak music: a parting of ways ; "When I say come/Ba Ennalu" -- Cross cultural composition and collaboration. "Can there be release/Moksamu Galada?" -- Tatva, a regional performance tradition in Karnataka state. The deccan plateau: meeting of north and south India ; The Kannada Tatva composer Sharif Saheb ; Hindu-Muslim relations in Karnataka state ; Katha performers of the Kinnari Jogi community ; "Why do you worry/Yake cinti?" ; A circle completed. |
| Abstract | This book provides a vivid and focused introduction to the musical landscape of South India, discussing historical and contemporary performance, cultural history and geography, and the social organization of performance traditions. The book centers on Karnatak concert music, a unique performance practice that juxtaposes gorgeous musical compositions with many different types of improvisation. The authors first compare two types of song--bhajan, a structurally simple devotional genre, and kriti, the primary concert genre--and also analyze raga and tala, the basic elements underlying Karnatak music. They go on to examine the evolution of Karnatak music during the twentieth century, paying special attention to gender and caste and illuminating these issues through case studies and historical recordings (on the accompanying CD) of a small group of enormously influential musicians. In the final chapter, the authors move beyond Karnatak music to address other aspects of South India's rich musical environment, such as its thriving popular music scene (based on cinema music); regional traditions ranging from the sacred to the secular, many of which integrate elements from dance and drama; and contemporary composition. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-142) and index. |
| LCCN | 2003053091 |
| ISBN | 0195145909 |
| ISBN | 0195145917 (pbk.) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Media - Ask at Circulation Desk | CD-7390 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |
| Music | Music Stacks | ML338 .V57 2004 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |