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Coming to the point, the term classical is something of antiquity that has gained importance and respect in time thereby remaining popular and appreciated by multiple generations of people. On that note, it is very important to note how one defines the term classical to different subjects. They are many entities that can achieve a classical status over time like music, language and philosophy. Let's discuss each one of them briefly before touching on music.
Language
Language is one of the earliest subjects attempted by man to communicate with another. It is a medium that can be expressed in written and spoken forms with mild variations in each. The development of phonetics in the human race when mankind saw the need for verbal communication before writing. In the past, languages like Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and Tamil were languages spoken by communities in large but isolated regions. Greek for instance, was a language that laid the foundation for the alphabetical system of the Latin language, which became the language of the Roman empire. Sanskrit an off-shoot of Prakrit (the earliest Indo-Aryan language) gave birth to many modern Indian languages as well as influencing Asian languages like Malay, Thai, Cambodian in Southeast Asia. Tamil, a language that pre-dates Sanskrit, influenced many regional languages in South East Asia and is the only ancient Indian classical language written and spoken today. These languages have achieved classical status not merely because of their reach in influencing regional or world languages, but because of the significantly evolved phonetics and grammar they possess.
From the work of Panini, the revered Sanskrit grammarian and linguist, it is universally recognised that Sanskrit has the most developed phonetics in the world and it has been dubbed by Forbes that it is the perfect language for computers. Panini's work on Sanskrit morphology was so systematic and mathematically modelled that it was even compared to the degree of the Turing machine several millennias before Western civilisation started to learn the basics of linguistics. The sophistication and complexity of the language that demands absolute perfection in both speech and writing made it the mainstay of scholarly and liturgical communication. Over the centuries, with the need for advanced language skills for mass communication, the rigour of Sanskrit fell pray for newer and simpler languages like Malayalam, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, which are off-shoots. On the other hand, Tamil has no doubt a fairly advanced phonetics and grammar system which can be used easily as compared to Sanskrit and has survived as a spoken language because of its linguistic simplicity and adaptability to times. Coming to English, one cannot say that it will achieve a classical status very quickly as it is a language that is fused with myriad languages like Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Chinese, Spanish, French and so on and does not follow the rigours of pure languages like Greek, Latin or Sanskrit. It is the language for the globalised world. It will take a significant amount of time before it can be called a classical language. One can argue that Old English is a classical language, but again many Old English words are Germanic in origin. The advantage of the English language to survive as a language is because of its ease of adaptability with words from foreign origins that well suits a time-tested alphabetical system derived from Latin, which itself is a cosmopolitan language in the Roman empire.
Philosophy
Philosophy is arguably the first scientific and mathematical subject pursued by man to understand the phenomena around him, his existence, life and death, the relationship between mind and body, soul and matter. The Greeks were the first Europeans to probe these questions and philosophers like Pythagoras, Aristotle, Euclid, Plato, Socrates paved the way for the Hellenistic Civilization in the time of Alexander and until the dawn of the Roman empire. While academic pursuits took a back seat in the Roman empire, the foundations of Greek philosophy took shape in the European Renaissance after the Crusades propelling a fast paced growth in intellectual achievements in almost of all fields of human knowledge including the arts and sciences.
At this juncture of the Renaissance movement, spearheaded by the Medici family dynasty in Florence, Greek philosophy was declared as a classical subject worthy of study and investigation as it spawned many new modern subjects that we learn in school today. The succeeding Enlightenment Movement modernised the Renaissance wisdom to what it is today. Thinkers like Da Vinci, Newton and Leibniz contributed more to the intellectual pursuits of humanity than most other thinkers of the time.
With the dawn of the modern era in the 20th century, with newer theories refuting the ones from the Renaissance and Enlightenment movements, the older ones are still not left out in schools. For instance, even though Einstein's theory of relativity displaced more than 200 years of Newtonian thought, elementary students of science are still taught the basics of Newtonian science before embarking on advanced physical science concepts like quantum theory and quantum mechanics in college. Needless to say, Newtonian science is aptly named "Classical Mechanics".
Music
Music is probably the most easily experienced phenomenon in the universe as it is a universal language and its evolution from natural sounds, to concert music or chamber music and finally to different forms of modern music is notably understood regardless of one's culture or language. Keeping time as a reference, for instance a thousand years back from today, a music like Carnatic music is in its time modern music and is popular throughout India, that is in an era before the arrival of the Moguls. When the art-loving Moguls established in the 16th century, Hindustani music was established somewhere around the same time as the late-Baroque period in Europe.
The term Carnatic music was established then to differentiate the divide and remained predominantly untouched by Mogul influence. At this point, one can say Carnatic music is in the process of achieving a classical status, while it is still popular among people at that time. However, it is important to note here that the arrival of Hindustani music which was a popular music of its time has become a classical form today. When newer forms of music are compared with older forms of music, the status of a classical tradition is given to a form which richness in quality, technique and aesthetics are still loved and respected despite newer versions of music. To put it simply, classical music is any music that has remained popular over the course of time. Another important point to note, that for anything to last in the course of time it has to evolve and grow unabatedly or else it will lose it appeal over time.
Carnatic music has evolved very much from its modern counterparts and is evolving at this very point in the areas of composing and performing as well as research. Technically, it is also mathematically and scientifically developed in sophistication that is unmatched to any similar form. This is almost parallel with Greek music which has similar attributes to the Carnatic music system. In fact, according to the well-known Roman writer Strabo, classical Greek music was pioneered by Pythagoras who visited India and studied various subjects including music, mathematics and sciences in his early years. As such, there are many technical similarities in Carnatic music and Greek music. While some may say Greek classical music is a dead music by itself chiefly due to the Romans' lack of interest for classical music, its influence in liturgical music (Gregorian chants) is significantly salient. Gregorian chants is still practised today in many parts of the Western hemisphere. Dominique Vellard, is a prominent recording artiste in this field.
However, one cannot rule out the possibility that all forms of modern music cannot achieve a classical status. For example, Michael Jackson, also hailed as the greatest entertainer of all time is one exception. His music has a universal appeal and has many innovations unheard of in pop music culture at that time. Consequently, his music albums like "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" have achieved a classical status. These recordings have been imitated all over the world not only because of the stardom of Michael Jackson, but because of the thought process behind creating an original music that can be universally loved. Even after more than 25 years of its original release, Thriller sold out like newly released music video off the shelves.
Film music on the other hand achieves a classical status only when it appeals aesthetically. It has to have a sound music score, preferably drawing from a classical source, good poetry and rhythm. The impetus for the showbiz business including mainstream cinema is for predominantly commercial pursuit and success. In today's globalised world, this impetus has grown tremendously chiefly because of increased competition. With the music industry getting more globalised, the quality of music reaching the people has also decreased significantly. While the listener may enjoy the track for that moment, over time, he or she may not get interested in it. As such, there is a trend that many true fans of music are falling back to the classical scene to reflect on the core principles of good music all over the world. One fine example of this argument is that in the West, there are always full-house performances for philharmonic concerts and chamber music.
Globalisation has in fact gone on the reverse in recent years showing a growing demand due to increased awareness of classical music. Carnatic music on the other hand though well established in the West by expatriates and avid lovers of world music, has more or less lost its appeal with the Indian masses on Indian soil, as with the case of Hindustani music with the onset of the globalisation fever throughout Asia. This has ushered an exchange in embracing foreign cultures especially in the context of artistic interaction. Many other Asian classical art forms from China and other countries are also getting recognised in foreign soil, particularly in the West.
To cut this discussion without a further need to explain on what constitutes classicism, classical subjects are there to stay, as a testament to the persevering spirit of human knowledge of past generations. No matter how far humanity progress, these subjects will be taught perpetually to future generations and will form the core principles of human knowledge to evaluate and access humanity's progress throughout time. On the whole, classical forms provide the absolute benchmark for intellectual achievement.
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