Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: Classical 'Indian' Music v Classical 'Hindu' Music [Re: julie] #13047 - 03/06/02 07:04 PM Edit Reply Quote

Hindustani Music is more Hindu than you would expect. Most traditional Khyal text compositions are around Krishna Bhakti or the Bhakti period in general. The most recognized vocal as wel as ritmical traditions have a Hindu patriarch, mostly Brahmin, sometimes Kshatriya. The most respected musician is TanSen (Tannu Mishra as some say) from Gvalior. But TanSen himself paid respect to an even greater musician, Svami Haridas. The Khyal way of singing became a court and principle genre after the rule of Aurangzeb. It was before a folk tradition and very much used by women. The older Dhruvapad was becoming less dominant, because the great masters, especially of the Seniya tradition went from Delhi to different courts, mostly eastern, and mainly Lakhnau and Kashi. Bahadur Shah "Rangile" , the son of Aurangzeb was a patron of arts. We can see Dhruvapad, Pakhavaj-Mrdanga and Vina losing their dominance, and Khyal, Tabla and Sitar-Sarangi coming up. Dhruvapad has predomiantly Hindu themes. Khyal is supposed to be the invention of Amir Khushrau. He is not the inventor. Moinuddin Chishti used a type of Qawwal very much in use in Rajasthan. Amir Khushrau who paid homage to this Sufi leader named this type of music mixed with the system of Nayak Gopal, who. Khushrau tried to copy, as "Khyal". The "Chiz" part of the later Khyal composition is actually the translation and copy of the "Vastu" composition of the Dhruva Giti. Nayaka gopala was an imporant innovator of the Dhruva Giti.Every part of the modern Khyal was already present in the Dhruva and other forms of that period. Khyal got more weight during Hussain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur. This patron invited many Dhruvapadiyas. Out of the Dhruva Giti evolved a Dhruvapada which was systematised during those days and adopted by te Sharqi Sultans. The next innovator was Nayak Baiju, who was from the Dakkhin. He was also present at conferences to systematize Dhruvapad. He was in Gvalior during ManSingh Tomara, the author of the ManKutuhal. When his son was attacked by the Sultan of Delhi (pre-Mughal), he fled to Gujarat. The next two great luminaries of Dhruvapad are TanSen and Svami Haridas, during Akbar's reign. here we meet another ManSingh, the raja of Jaipur. (he's almost everytime confused with the Tomara raja) The change from Dhruvapad to Khyal comes during the Seniyas Sadarang and Adarang. Though they made Khyal composition, they never performed them. These two gave more status to the Khyal. Their cousin Amir Khushrau was famous for his sitar play, the first time the sitar is mentioned in court. All this period the compositions are predominantly around Hindu Bhakti themes. The musical notes are based on the older traditions, with adaptations in some musical compositions to "foreign" scales. The Persian music was especially during Sasanian Aryan rule (pre-Islam) heavily influenced by Indian music: many thousands were invited by Shah Khushrau Anoshirvan, I think. (the name Khu-shrava is related to Sanskrit su-shrava, as Shah comes from an older Khshathra= Sanskrit Kshatra or power). I think that the Indian musician absorbed foreign notes and instruments and adapted them to their own taste in their own traditional way. (Just as nowadays modern Indian music is an adaptation of western music and instruments, but stil has that typical Indian flavour, which is hard to copy by others) The Gharanas or styles evolved in the Khyal period. The Dhruvapads are classed as Vanis in the courts. Outside the courts we have the different Sampradayas, like the one of Mathura. Now classical music is going through a critical period. I heard that there's some revival. But I see many classical performers going to the fusion scene. That is a in a way very pitiful, in another way understandable from the point of view of the performer.