The Harmonium in North Indian Music by Dr. Birgit Abels (Professor of Cultural Musicology, Georg August University Göttingen, Germany); ISBN-13: 978-8178223094.

This meticulously researched monograph is far more informative than its title might suggest; particularly to readers for whom the harmonium seems a mere substitute for the “real item” – whatever that be in the musical and social history of modern India (i.e. any bowed accompanying instrument in view of its capacity to emulate the human voice).

Although this may neither be intentional nor explicit, it is worth pointing out here that the author challenges vague prejudices that have been lingering for too long as regards India and Indian music; some obviously being solicited by the very instrument under scrutiny. Her writing is marked by an appreciation of the creative outlook found among modern Indians, for whom music has long been more than a sentimental pastime or a link with a “golden past”. Long before electronics became ubiquitous in studios and on concert stages, Indians were keen students of acoustic sound and its application. The very concept of personal transmission, musical and otherwise, long set India apart in this regard, and to some extent (though decreasing) still does in the face of institutionalized learning whereby an  internationally recognized degree is most highly prized.

The author provides a context that is bound to reverse many misconceptions about the way music has been made, felt and used in India; namely the deliberate effort among educated Indians to participate in the modern world on eye-level rather than as subordinates and colonial subjects. As a case in point, Sourindro Mohan Tagore (1840-1914) started this process in several pioneering projects. He wrote and published books on research relating to musical instruments. Being in touch with leading scholars and museum curators in several countries he sent them specimens of Indian musical instruments – the beneficiaries included Göttingen’s collection (still to be seen in the author’s own university department).

This vibrant past comes alive through a wealth of quotations and references not commonly accessible to most readers. Much of these are worth probing further for their wider implications beyond the Indian performance practice we now take for granted:

In addition to the musically inherent requirements of the accompaniment, the fact that the venues that had to be filled with sound grew larger (due to social changes and new technology, such as the microphone, especially) plays a role that should not be underestimated. In terms of sound volume the harmonium clearly has an advantage over the sarangi when compared directly. Other reasons for the sarangi’s “demise” have been described in detail by Joep Bor, who also relates these reasons to the harmonium: the sarangi had the “disadvantage” of being firmly connected with a strong stigmatization. (p. 23)

It is interesting here to contemplate how for Rabindranath Tagore, an unconventional (rather than nostalgic) outlook, eclectic compositional style just as his integrative educational approach were better served by another bowed instrument – one that seems less burdened by stigmatization: the esraj which, although identified with Bengali culture, has never become as popular even in Bengal as the harmonium which some would rather have seen banned from All India Radio (“Tagore is said to have nodded approval in a letter”); but when this ban did indeed come into force temporarily in 1940 it merely “prompted different reactions” while on the whole, “no negative effects can be diagnosed.” (pp. 56-58)

The quest for innovative music practice and listening experiences has been “on” for a far longer period than most Indian music aficionados would have suspected until now. What distinguishes this book from others on related subjects is that it demonstrates how the harmonium itself became a catalyst of change in its own right, not merely an end in itself (e.g. status symbol among amateurs just as a means of emancipation from prevailing hierarchies among professional musicians); most unexpectedly, it now survives in an age when the effective manipulation of musical sound no longer requires bulky, fragile and costly instruments such as the harmonium. (Here one could argue that the line between live performance and recordings has become blurred in India, and more so than in western “classical” or “traditional” music; but this is another story yet to be probed into!)

In short, this affordable book is a joy to read and can safely be recommended to any lover and student of Indian culture for more than the main reason implied by its title.

Ludwig Pesch

Conveners

Source: ECSAS 2012
Address : http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easas/ecsas2012/panels.php5?PanelID=1022
Date Visited: Mon May 07 2012 21:35:00 GMT+0200 (CEST)

Practicing Bharatanatyam in India today means negotiating a dance form with a sensitive past and a problematic present. It means living with appropriations and dealing with notions – inherited, construed, and sometimes fallacious. [...]

Read this informative article here >>

Justin McCarthy is a musician, dancer, and choreographer. He has headed the department of Bharatanatyam at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi for the past two decades. Email: justin.mccarthy13@gmail.com

Source: Beneath Our Dancing Feet: A Dilemma of Conscience in Practicing the Art of Bharatanatyam | Center for the Advanced Study of India
Address : http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/iit/jmccarthy
Date Visited: Mon May 07 2012 21:23:52 GMT+0200 (CEST)

Mridangam maestro Trichy Sankaran – Photo: courtesy The Hindu

The Hindu, 31 Dec. 2011

Tiruvarur to Texas, Carnatic musicians have transcended global cultures, echoing the seven notes to the West. Trichy Sankaran,to be honoured with the Sangita Kalanidhi today, summarises Carnatic music’s history in America in a chat with critic Veejay Sai

While everyone is aware of how Hindustani music became popular in the West, especially America, with maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s early overseas concert tours, how and when was Carnatic music an active part of the American culture? “It was Tanjore Viswanathan, the brother of Bharatanatyam legend Balasaraswati, who went on a Fulbright fellowship in 1958 to study Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Veena Balachander went in 1962 with Umayalpuram Sivaraman (mridangam) and Vellore Ramabhadran (kanjira, for this tour),” says mridangam maestro Trichy Sankaran. Balachander and flautist Ramani along with the aforementioned percussionists ideated a project called ‘Sangeetam Madras’ and extensively toured North America. By 1963, mridangam vidwan Palghat Raghu travelled as a member of Ravi Shankar’s ensemble. By then a slow process of institutional interest seeped in amongst the American academia. “It was ethnomusicologist Robert Brown of Wesleyan University who showed great interest in bringing Carnatic music to America. He was a student of T. Ranganathan, the other brother (and a senior student of my guru Palani Subramnia Pillai) of Balasaraswati They were invited as artistes in residence at Wesleyan University and that was the first ever such occasion for Carnatic musicians to go there,” adds Sankaran, in fond remembrance of his guru-bhai. Brown’s interest in Indian music grew from strength to strength and he would think up newer methods of spreading it to American music lovers. “Bob, as we called Robert, started an experimental project called ‘Curry Concerts’ which he would organise. These were a combination of a sumptuous Indian dinner followed by a concert and gained popularity in no time. He was one of the few ethnomusicologists who believed that the study of the art is important with its performing element. He put an emphasis on the performing artistes as well,” recollects Sankaran.

Brown later invited several other musicians like K.V. Narayanaswamy (KVN) and Palghat Raghu to Wesleyan. KVN, as an artiste in residency at the university, went on a coast-to-coast concert tour along with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan and earned fame at the Hollywood Bowl music festival by 1967. Several vidwans left for American shores to take part in festivals like the Monterey pop festival and Woodstock festival. “Brown went ahead to invite Ramnad Krishnan and Ramnad Raghavan. But Krishnan didn’t stay around for too long as he was very homesick and wanted to return to his family in India. But while in America, he was recorded by a music company with T. Thyagarajan (violin) and T. Ranganathan (mridangam),” says Sankaran, with a chuckle in his voice. “The Western students were also not acquainted with our Indian manners. I had an initial culture shock with students addressing me with a “Hey”, but I slowly got used to it and we taught them Indian manners! Here, we were used to people calling us ‘sir”, “vidwan”, and so on. Ramnad Krishnan was in disbelief when students would walk up to him asking, “Hey Krishna, when is my next lesson man?” and he wasn’t used to being addressed in such a tone!” laughs Sankaran heartily, recollecting how many musicians took the effort to culture Western audiences to guru-shishya traditions. [...]

Today, Carnatic musicians rub shoulders with world music greats and collaborate with music practitioners from every other genre. The seductive swaras have showed their triumph once again, reminding how great the power of Indian music is.

Source: The Hindu : Arts / Music : A brief history of star-spangled swaras and raga music
Address : http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article2764012.ece?homepage=true
Date Visited: Tue May 01 2012 10:04:11 GMT+0200 (CEST)

Sannidi Academy – Chennai festival programme 27-29 >>
Photos supplied by T.R. Sundaresan © The respective photographers

• The spring course 2012 is reserved for seminar groups
• Early Bird registration for the fall course starting in October is open
• The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music has been reprinted by Oxford University Press for the same price
• Course participants the book will therefore receive the companion again as textbook (included in course contributions for new participants)

Please send a message with details such as size and backgroup of students and any specific learning goals; these should be defined by your institution’s own tutor(s).

Please check the Enrollment page and recent posts for details.

 

Recorded and edited in staff notation by Emmie te Nijenhuis

At the beginning of the nineteenth century South Indian composers were still influenced by traditional religious concepts such as: temple rituals, pilgrimage and personal devotion. Tyāgarāja, Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar and Śyāma Śāstri, the three prominent composers from the Tanjore district, used the kīrtana, a congregational song in praise of a deity, as a standard musical form. The compositions selected from the works of these composers show the various aspects of Hindu devotionalism. The detailed Western music notation of the editor, based on actual performances, will help the musicstudent to understand the characteristic ornate South Indian melodic style. The introductory chapters contain general cultural information, biographical details as well as the original song texts with an English translation.
With a unique MP3-CD containing all the kīrtanacompositions.

ISBN13: 9789004209336

Price: €110.00 / $151.00

Source: Kīrtana: Traditional South Indian Devotional Songs | BRILL
Address : http://www.hotei-publishing.com/kirtana-traditional-south-indian-devotional-songs
Date Visited: Mon Dec 05 2011 00:14:22 GMT+0100 (CET)

 Live Online & On-Demand During the December Season

For the first time ever, you can watch T.M. Krishna’s December Season concerts online live! 3 full concerts will be available to watch through high quality webcast.

• 23rd Dec. Mylapore Fine Arts at 6:00 PM
  with Embar Kannan, B. Ganapathiraman & Vaikom Gopalakrishnan

• 27th Dec. Krishna Gana Sabha at 4:30 PM
  with Mysore Srikanth, Guru Karaikudi Mani & V. Suresh

• 8th Jan. Kalarasana at 5:00 PM **4 Hour Concert
  with R.K. Shriramkumar, Trichy Sankaran, B.S. Purushotham & N. Guruprasad

All concerts will also be available on-demand for 24 hours from 12PM IST on the following day to accommodate viewers around the world.

Pricing

Source: Live & On-Demand Webcast This Season
Address : http://tmkrishna.com/webcast/streaming.php
Date Visited: Mon Nov 28 2011 10:38:56 GMT+0100 (CET)