Hindustani classical music (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत), (Bengali: হিন্দুস্তানি শাস্ত্রীয় সংগীত), (Urdu: ہندوستانی کلاسیکی موسیقی) is theHindustani or North
Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian
subcontinent. The style is sometimes calledNorth Indian classical
music or Shāstriya Sangīt. It is a tradition that originated in Vedic ritual chants and has been evolving since the
12th century CE, primarily in what is now North India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and to some extent in Nepal and Afghanistan.
Today, it is one of the two subgenres of Indian classical music, the other being Carnatic music, the
classical tradition of South India.
Characteristics
The tradition was born out of a cultural
synthesis of several musical traditions: the Vedic chant tradition, dating back to more than
three thousand years ago, the ancient Persian tradition of Musiqi-e assil, and
various folk traditions prevalent in the region.
It is traditional for performers who have
reached a distinguished level of achievement to be awarded titles of respect; Hindus are usually referred to as pandit and Muslims as ustad. An aspect of Hindustani music going back to Sufi times is the tradition of religious
neutrality: Muslim ustads may sing compositions in praise of Hindu deities, and
vice versa.
Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical
music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic classical music. The central notion in both
these systems is that of a melodic mode or raga, sung to a
rhythmic cycle or tala. The tradition
dates back to the ancient Samaveda, (sāma meaning "song"), which deals with
the norms for chanting of srutis or hymns such as the Rig Veda. These principles were refined in the musical
treatises Natya Shastra, by Bharata (2nd–3rd century CE), and Dattilam (probably 3rd–4th century CE).
In medieval times, the melodic systems were
fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of Sufi composers like Amir
Khusro, and later in the Moghul courts. Noted composers such as Tansen flourished, along with religious groups like
theVaishnavites. After
the 16th century, the singing styles diversified into different gharanas patronized in different princely courts.
Around 1900, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande consolidated the musical structures of
Hindustani classical music, called ragas, into a number
of thaats.
Indian classical music has seven basic notes with five interspersed half-notes,
resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the
base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps (temperament) may
also vary; however, with the gradual replacement of the sarangi by the harmonium,
an equal tempered scale is increasingly used. The performance is
set to a melodic pattern called a raga characterized in part by specific ascent (aroha) and descent (avaroha) sequences,
which may not be identical. Other characteristics include "king" (vadi) and "queen" (samavadi) notes and
characteristic phrases (pakad).
In addition each raga has its natural register (ambit) and portamento (meend)
rules. Performances are usually marked by considerable improvisation within
these norms.
History
Music was first formalized in India in
connection with preserving the sruti texts, primarily the four vedas, which are
seen asapaurasheya (meaning "not
created by man"). Not only was the text important, but also the manner in
which they had been enunciated by the immortals. Prosody and chanting were thus
of great importance, and were enshrined in the two vedangas (bodies of knowledge) called shiksha (pronunciation, chants) and chhandas (prosody); these remained a key part of the
brahmanic educational system till modern times.
The formal aspects of the chant are delineated
in the Samaveda, with certain aspects, e.g. the relation of
chanting to meditation, elaborated in the Chandogya
Upanishad (ca. 8th century BC).
Priests involved in these ritual chants were called samans and a number of ancient musical instruments such as the conch (shankh), lute (veena),
flute (bansuri), trumpets
and horns were associated with this and later practices of ritual singing.
Sanskritic tradition
The Samaveda outlined the ritual chants for singing the
verses of the Rigveda, particularly for offerings of Soma.
It proposed a tonal structure consisting of seven notes, which were named, in
descending order, krusht, pratham, dwitiya, tritiya, chaturth, mandra andatiswār. These refer to the notes of a flute, which
was the only fixed-frequency instrument. This is why the second note is calledpratham (meaning "first", i.e., produced
when only the first hole is closed).
Music is dealt with extensively in the Valmiki Ramayana. Narada is an accomplished musician, as is Ravana; Saraswati with her veenais
the goddess of music. Gandharvas are presented as spirits who are musical
masters, and the gandharva style looks to music primarily for pleasure,
accompanied by the soma rasa. In the Vishnudharmottara Purana, the Naga king Ashvatara asks to know thesvaras from Saraswati.
The most important text on music in the
ancient canon is Bharata's Natya Shastra, composed around the 3rd century CE. The Natya Shastra deals with the different modes of music,
dance, and drama, and also the emotional responses (rasa) they are
expected to evoke. The scale is described in terms of 22 micro-tones, which can
be combined in clusters of four, three, or two to form an octave.
While the term raga is articulated in the Natya Shastra (where its meaning is more literal, meaning
"colour" or "mood"), it finds a clearer expression in what
is called jati in the Dattilam, a text composed shortly after or around the
same time as Natya Shastra. The Dattilam is focused on gandharva music
and discusses scales (swara), defining a
tonal framework called grama in terms of 22 micro-tonal intervals (sruti)
comprising one octave. It also discusses various arrangements of the notes (murchhana),
the permutations and combinations of note-sequences (tanas), and alankara or elaboration. Dattilam categorizes melodic structure into 18
groups called jati, which are the fundamental melodic structures
similar to the raga. The names of the jatis reflect regional
origins, for example andhri and oudichya.
Music also finds mention in a number of texts
from the Gupta period; Kalidasa mentions several kinds of veena (Parivadini,
Vipanchi), as well as percussion instruments (mridang), the flute
(vamshi) and conch (shankha). Music also finds mention in Buddhist and Jaintexts from the
earliest periods of the Christian era.
Narada's Sangita
Makarandha treatise, from about
1100 CE, is the earliest text where rules similar to those of current
Hindustani classical music can be found. Narada actually names and classifies
the system in its earlier form before the Persian influences introduced changes
in the system. Jayadeva's Gita Govinda from the 12th century was perhaps the earliest
musical composition sung in the classical tradition called Ashtapadi music.
In the 13th century, Sharngadeva composed the Sangita
Ratnakara, which has names such
as the turushka todi ("Turkish todi"),
revealing an influx of ideas from Islamic culture. This text is the last to be
mentioned by both the Carnatic and the Hindustani traditions and is often
thought to date the divergence between the two.
Medieval period: Persian influence
The advent of Islamic rule under the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal
Empire over northern India
caused considerable cultural interchange. Increasingly, musicians received
patronage in the courts of the new rulers, who in their turn, started taking
increasing interest in local music forms. While the initial generations may
have been rooted in cultural traditions outside India, they gradually adopted
many aspects from their kingdoms which retained the traditional Hindu culture. This helped spur the fusion of Hindu
and Muslim ideas to bring forth new forms of musical synthesis like qawwali and khyal.
The most influential musician of the Delhi Sultanate period was Amir
Khusrau (1253–1325), sometimes
called the father of modern Hindustani classical music. A composer in Persian, Turkish, Arabic,
as well as Braj Bhasha, he is
credited with systematizing many aspects of Hindustani music, and also
introducing several ragas such as Yaman
Kalyan, Zeelaf and Sarpada. He created
the qawwaligenre,
which fuses Persian melody and beat on a dhrupad like structure. A number of
instruments (such as the sitar and tabla) were also introduced in his time.
Amir Khusrau is sometimes credited with the
origins of the khyal form, but the record of his compositions do not appear to
support this. The compositions by the court musician Sadarang in the court of Muhammad
Shah bear a closer affinity
to the modern khyal. They suggest that while khyal already existed in some
form, Sadarang may have been the father of modern khyal.
Much of the musical forms innovated by these
pioneers merged with the Hindu tradition, composed in the popular language of
the people (as opposed to Sanskrit) in the work of composers like Kabir or Nanak. This can be
seen as part of a larger Bhakti tradition, (strongly related to the Vaishnavite movement) which remained influential across
several centuries; notable figures include Jayadeva(11th
century), Vidyapati (fl. 1375 CE), Chandidas (14th–15th century), and Meerabai (1555–1603 CE).
As the Mughal Empire came into closer contact
with Hindus, especially under Jalal ud-Din Akbar, music and
dance also flourished. In particular, the musician Tansen introduced a number of innovations, including
ragas and particular compositions. Legend has it that upon his rendition of a
night-time raga in the morning, the entire city fell under a hush and clouds
gathered in the sky, and that he could light fires by singing the raga
"Deepak", which is supposed to be composed of notes in high octaves.
At the royal house of Gwalior, Raja Mansingh Tomar (1486–1516 CE) also participated in the shift
from Sanskrit to the local idiom (Hindi)
as the language for classical songs. He himself penned several volumes of
compositions on religious and secular themes, and was also responsible for the
major compilation, the Mankutuhal ("Book of Curiosity"), which
outlined the major forms of music prevalent at the time. In particular, the
musical form known as dhrupad saw considerable development in his court and
remained a strong point of the Gwalior gharana for many centuries.
After the dissolution of the Mughal empire,
the patronage of music continued in smaller princely kingdoms like Lucknow, Patiala,
andBanaras, giving rise
to the diversity of styles that is today known as gharanas. Many
musician families obtained large grants of land which made them
self-sufficient, at least for a few generations (e.g. the Sham Chaurasia gharana). Meanwhile the Bhakti and Sufitraditions
continued to develop and interact with the different gharanas and groups.
Modern era
Until the late 19th century, Hindustani
classical music was imparted on a one-on-one basis through the guru-shishya
("mentor-protégé") tradition. This system had many benefits, but also
several drawbacks; in many cases, the shishya had to spend most of his time
serving his guru with a hope that the guru might teach him a "cheez" (piece
or nuance) or two. In addition, the system forced the music to be limited to a
small subsection of the Indian community. To a large extent it was limited to
the palaces and dance halls. It was shunned by the intellectuals, avoided by
the educated middle class, and in general looked down upon as a frivolous
practice.
Then a fortunate turn of events started the
renaissance of Hindustani classical music.
First, as the power of the maharajahs and nawabs declined in early 20th century, so did their
patronage. With the expulsion of Wajid
Ali Shah to Calcutta after 1857, the Lucknavi musical tradition
came to influence the music of renaissance in Bengal, giving rise
to the tradition of Ragpradhan gan around the turn of the century. Raja Chakradhar Singh of
Raigarh was the last of the
modern era Maharahas to patronize Hindustani classical musicians, singers and
dancers.
Also, at the turn of the century, two great
stars emerged on the horizon: Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. Independent of each other,
they spread Hindustani classical music to the masses in general, and the Marathi middle class in particular. These two
gentlemen brought classical music to the masses by organizing music
conferences, starting schools, teaching music in class-rooms, and devising a
standardized grading and testing system, and by standardizing the notation
system.
Vishnu Digambar Paluskar emerged as a talented musician and organizer
despite having been blinded at age 12. His books on music, as well as the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya music school that he opened in Lahore in 1901, helped foster a movement away from
the closed gharana system.
Paluskar's contemporary (and occasional rival) Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande recognized the many rifts that had appeared in
the structure of Indian classical music. He undertook extensive research visits
to a large number of gharanas, Hindustani as well as Carnatic, collecting and
comparing compositions. Between 1909 and 1932, he produced the monumental
four-volume workHindustani Sangeetha Padhathi, which suggested a transcription for Indian
music, and described the many traditions in this notation. Finally, it
consolidated the many musical forms of Hindustani classical music into a number
of thaats (modes), subsequent to the Melakarta system that reorganized Carnatic tradition in
the 17th century. The ragas as they exist today were consolidated in this
landmark work, although there are some inconsistencies and ambiguities in
Bhatkande's system.
In modern times, the government-run All India Radio, Bangladesh Betar and Radio Pakistan helped to bring the artists to public attention, countering the loss of the patronage system. The first star was Gauhar Jan, whose career was born out of Fred Gaisberg's first recordings of Indian music in 1902. With the advance of films and other public media, musicians started to make their living through public performances. As India was exposed to Western music, some Western melodies started merging with classical forms, especially in popular music. A number of Gurukuls, such as that of Alauddin Khan at Maihar, flourished. In more modern times, corporate support has also been forthcoming, as at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. Meanwhile, Hindustani classical music has become popular across the world through the influence of artists such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan.
Principles of Hindustani
music
The rhythmic organization is based on rhythmic
patterns called tala. The melodic
foundations are called ragas. One possible classification of ragas is into
"melodic modes" or "parent scales", known as thaats,
under which most ragas can be classified based on the notes they use.
Thaats may consist of up to seven scale
degrees, or swara. Hindustani musicians name these pitches
using a system called Sargam, the equivalent of the Western movable
dosolfege:
·
Sa (Shadja) = Do
·
Re (Rishabh) = Re
·
Ga (Gandhar) = Mi
·
Ma (Madhyam) = Fa
·
Pa (Pancham) = Sol
·
Dha (Dhaivat) = La
·
Ni (Nishad) = Ti
·
Sa (Shadja) = Do
Both systems repeat at the octave. The
difference between sargam and solfege is that re, ga, ma, dha, and ni can refer
to either "Natural" (shuddha) or altered "Flat" (komal)
or "Sharp" (tivra) versions of their respective scale degrees.
As with movable do solfege, the notes are heard relative to an arbitrary tonic
that varies from performance to performance, rather than to fixed frequencies,
as on a xylophone. The fine intonational differences between different
instances of the same swara are called srutis.
The three primary registers of Indian classical music are mandra (lower),
madhya (middle) and taar (upper). Since the octave location is not fixed, it is
also possible to use provenances in mid-register (such as mandra-madhya or
madhya-taar) for certain ragas. A typical rendition of Hindustani raga involves
two stages:
·
Alap: a rhythmically
free improvisation on the rules for the raga in order to give life to the raga
and flesh out its characteristics. The alap is followed by a long slow-tempo
improvisation in vocal music, or by the jod and jhala in instrumental music.
·
Bandish or Gat: a fixed, melodic composition set in a
specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj. There are different ways of
systematizing the parts of a composition. For example:
·
Antara: The first
body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition.
·
Sanchaari: The third body phrase or line of a fixed,
melodic composition, seen more typically in dhrupad bandishes
·
Aabhog: The fourth and concluding body phrase
or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more typically in Dhrupad
bandishes.
·
There are three
variations of bandish, regarding tempo:
·
Madhyalaya bandish: A medium tempo melodic competition, usually set in andante to
allegretto speeds.
Hindustani classical music is primarily
vocal-centric, insofar as the musical forms were designed primarily for vocal
performance, and many instruments were designed and evaluated as to how well
they emulate the human voice.
Types of compositions
The major vocal forms or styles associated
with Hindustani classical music are dhrupad, khyal,
and tarana.
Other forms include dhamar, trivat, chaiti, kajari, tappa, tap-khyal,ashtapadis, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan; these are
folk or semi-classical or light classical styles, as they often do not adhere
to the rigorous rules of classical music.
Dhrupad
Dhrupad is an old style of singing,
traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with a tambura and a pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics,
some of which were written in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently often sung
in brajbhasha, a
medieval form of North and East Indian languages that was spoken in Eastern
India. Therudra veena, an
ancient string instrument, is used in instrumental music in dhrupad.
Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme
and content. It contains recitals in praise of particular deities. Dhrupad
compositions begin with a relatively long and acyclic alap, where the syllables
of the following mantra is recited:
"Om Anant tam Taran Tarini Twam Hari
Om Narayan, Anant Hari Om Narayan".
The alap gradually unfolds into more rhythmic
jod and jhala sections. These sections are followed by a rendition of bandish,
with the pakhawaj as an accompaniment. The great Indian musician Tansen sang in the dhrupad style. A lighter form of
dhrupad, called dhamar, is sung
primarily during the festival of Holi.
Dhrupad was the main form of northern Indian
classical music until two centuries ago, when it gave way to the somewhat less
austere khyal, a more free-form style of singing. Since losing its main patrons
among the royalty in Indian princely states, dhrupad risked becoming extinct in
the first half of the twentieth century. However, the efforts by a few
proponents from the Dagar family have led to its revival and eventual popularization in
India and in the West.
Some of the best known vocalists who sing in
the Dhrupad style are the members of the Dagar lineage, including the senior
Dagar brothers, Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar; the junior Dagar brothers, Nasir Zahiruddin and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar; andWasifuddin, Fariduddin, and Sayeeduddin Dagar. Other leading exponents
include Pandit Ritwik Sanyal, the Gundecha
Brothers, who have received training from some of the Dagars.
Leading vocalists outside the Dagar lineage include the Mallik family of
Darbhanga tradition of musicians; some of the leading exponents of this
tradition were Ram Chatur Mallick, Siyaram Tiwari, and Vidur Mallick.
A section of dhrupad singers of Delhi Gharana from Mughal emperor Shah
Jahan’s court migrated to Bettiah under the patronage of the Bettiah Raj, giving
rise to the Bettiah Gharana.[10] Bishnupur Gharana,
based in West Bengal, is a
key school that has been propagating this style of singing since Mughal times.
Khyal
Khyal is a Hindustani form of vocal music, adopted
from medieval Persian music and based on Dhrupad. Khyal,
literally meaning "thought" or "imagination" in Hindustani,
is unusual as it is based on improvising and expressing emotion. A Khyal is a
two- to eight-line lyric set to a melody. The lyric is of an emotional account
possibly from poetic observation. Khyals are also popular for depicting the emotions between two
lovers, situations of ethological significance in Hinduism and Islam, or other
situations evoking intense feelings. Khyal contains a greater variety embellishments and
ornamentations compared to dhrupad. Khyal's
romanticism has led to it becoming to most popular genre of Hindustani
classical music.
The importance of the Khyal's content is for
the singer to depict, through music in the set raga, the emotional
significance of the Khyal. The singer improvises and finds inspiration within
the raga to depict the Khyal.
The origination of Khyal is controversial,
although it is accepted that this style was based on Dhrupad and influenced by
Persian music. Many argue that Amir Khusrau created the style in the late 16th century.
This form was popularized by Mughal Emperor Mohammad
Shah, through his court musicians. Some well-known composers of this
period wereSabarang, Sadarang, Adarang, and Manrang.
Tarana
Another vocal form, taranas are medium- to
fast-paced songs that are used to convey a mood of elation and are usually
performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of poetry
with soft syllables or bols set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines
as a basis for fast improvisation. The tillana of Carnatic music is based on the tarana,
although the former is primarily associated with dance.
Tappa
Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal
music whose specialty is its rolling pace based on fast, subtle, knotty
construction. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab
and was developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian, a court singer for Asaf-Ud-Dowlah,
the Nawab of Awadh.
"Nidhubabur Tappa", or tappas sung by Nidhu
Babu were very popular in
18th and 19th-century Bengal. Among the living performers of this style are
Laxmanrao Pandit, Shanno Khurana, Manvalkar, Girija
Devi, Ishwarchandra Karkare, and Jayant Khot.
Thumri
Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to
have begun in Uttar Pradesh with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, (r.
1847–1856). There are three types of thumri: poorab ang, Lucknavi and Punjabi
thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Brij Bhasha and are usually romantic.
Some recent performers of this genre are Abdul Karim Khan,
the brothers Barkat Ali Khan and Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar, Girija Devi, Beauty
Sharma Barua, Nazakat-Salamat Ali Khan, Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty, Prabha Atre, Siddheshwari Devi,
and Shobha Gurtu.
Ghazal
Ghazal is an originally Persian form of poetry. In
the Indian sub-continent, Ghazal became the most common form of poetry in the
Urdu language and was popularized by classical poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Daagh, Zauq and Sauda amongst the North Indian literary elite. Vocal
music set to this mode of poetry is popular with multiple variations acrossIran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ghazal
exists in multiple variations, including semi-classical, folk and pop forms.
Instrumental music
Although Hindustani music clearly is focused
on the vocal performance, instrumental forms have existed since ancient times.
In fact, in recent decades, especially outside South Asia, instrumental
Hindustani music is more popular than vocal music, partly due to a somewhat
different style and faster tempo, and partly because of a language barrier for
the lyrics in vocal music.
A number of musical instruments are associated
with Hindustani classical music. The veena,
a string instrument, was traditionally regarded as the most important, but few
play it today and it has largely been superseded by its cousins the sitar and the sarod, both of which
owe their origin to Persian influences. Other plucked or struck string
instruments include the surbahar, sursringar, santoor, and various versions of the slide guitar. Among
bowed instruments, the sarangi, esraj and violin are popular. The bansuri, shehnai and harmonium are important wind instruments. In the
percussion ensemble, the tabla and the pakhavaj are the most popular. Various other instruments
have also been used in varying degrees.
Source:
Wikipedia
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