The GNB Essays: Part Three

The GNB Essays: Part Three

"Concert Tradition"  - The word tradition connotes the sum total of observances and practices as they come down in human history... 12:47

"Concert Tradition" - The word tradition connotes the sum total of observances and practices as they come down in human history, in the aspect of man's mental and social activities such as literature, art, religion and philosophy. Each generation takes up the heritage of its distant and immediate past and perforce moulds it to the needs, temperaments and capacities of its own time. Therefore, tradition cannot be a dead fossil of the past, but it is a continuity of it, accommodated to the needs of the times. Otherwise it will cease to have a living quality about it. Its validity is proven by the discovery of its moorings in the early ages of human history.

Modern classical concert music is an instance in point. The limbs and parts which go to make up the present day concert are the growth of such basic elements and components that were born even as early as a thousand years ago. To give a few instances, the raga, the soul of our music is a lyrical and historical corollary of and development from jatis, dating from 7th or 8th century A.D. Swara prastara seems to have existed even as early or even earlier than the 13th century A.D. Both the Sangita Ratnakara of Saranga Deva and the later Raga Vibodha mention swara varisais or alankaras about sixty in number, which are quite aesthetic and interesting, judged, even by modern standards.

"Kootatanam" as opposed to "Suddhasadanam" is swara prastara in a vakra order. Tanam singing of the modern type in which raga phrases are sung to madhyama kala with specified letters or aksharas, seem to be only 300 to 400 years old. Again pallavi singing has been hinted at and vaguely described in the words roopaka alapati in the Sangita Ratnakara.

Between the post Ratnakara period, about which time, the Indian Music system seems to have bifurcated itself into the Southern and Northern systems and the 18th century, the 72 melakarthas with their enormous possibilities for the creation of innumerable janaka ragas had been propounded and exploited. The theory of the music of the South had been promulgated in all its elborateness and detail Purandara Dasa had laid secure foundations of our music with his alankaras, geetams and suladis, not to speak of thousands of padas. Venkatamakhin and others had composed Lakshana geetams for many ragas. The ground had been thoroughly prepared for the flowering men of genius like the South Indian Trinity who appeared in the firmament of music and flooded our continent with the light of their celestial compositions. The kriti in its embryo form in the "Geeta Govinda" reached adolescence with the Takapakkam composers followed by Bhadrachala Ramadas and other and reached its full maturity in the compositions of Thyagaraja, Syama Sastri and Dikshitar. Periods of private and royal patronage of music have always been rich in period, concerts were mostly held in the chambers of royalty and zamindars, where only a chosen few were privileged to listen to classical Music. The concert, which lasted about two hours or more, was mainly elaborate raga singing followed by a pallavi. Musical history has it that even contests in such concerts were held in royal courts. Nagaswaram, the most effective instrument for the propagation of classical music among the masses, on occasions of royal festivities as also religious and temple utsavas, was the medium through which, large sections of the public got gradually acquainted with many ragas and talas.

Thus, it will be seen that all the material for the structure of the modern concert, barring kritis, were ready in the Tyagaraja-period-varnmas of Audiappier and others, kritis of the Trinity and other composers in their wake and the ragam-tanam-pallavi. The early forms of music like tayams and prabandhams were swept away by the advent of the kritis. But their spirit continued to live in the varieties of the kritis produced by the Trinity. Dikshitar's kritis are prabhandas in spirit, those of Thyagaraja and Syama Sastry, of kavya kalpana sangitam, till then confined to ragas and pallavi, could now be had through the interpretation of various types of compositions.

From an analysis of the history of our music from very early times up to the 18th century, it will be evident that there had been a progressive, though slow, evolution of music in all its forms which gave nourishment and growth to individual talent, through scientific methods and codification of musical practice and knowledge. Ample opportunities were afforded in private houses of royalty and zamindars for exhibition of such individual artistic talents. The adaptation of the modern violin , an importation from the West and exploitation of its possibilities as a solo and accompanying medium in a concert came in handy and timely when the concert emerged from the private chambers in to the public wing. With the increasing patronage of music by the public and private audiences, musicians were tempted to pursue it as a career. The performer as such had to enlarge his stock and repertoire. Unalloyed interpretative music was found inadequate to meet the increasing demands from the public. The performer had to include recitative portions also in the concert before and after the ragam, tanam and pallavi. The post-Thyagaraja period saw an exuberance of compositions like tillanas and javalis, which supplied the needs of the performing musicians in this respect. The large volume of compositions of the Trinity came in a very strategic and psychological moment. These compositions afforded unprecedented scope for the the display of the individual talent in the very handling of such piece as well as raga prologue to the pieces and in the niraval and swara improvisations which could be introduced during or after the recitation of the piece. There were also such wide range of variety as could suite the varying musical temperaments and equipments of many talented and gifted musicians, as also various grades of the fast growing public taste for music.

The concert should be divided into three segments, (1) the pre-pallavi segmentm (2) the ragam-tanam-pallavi, and (3) the post-pallavi and comparatively light segment. The one that precedes the pallavi is a mixture of recitative and interpretative elements. From the opening varnam, through alternating fast and slow phased kritis, small raga prologues to the former and elaborate expositions for the latte, the classical atmosphere gets gradually heightened. It culminates in the second segment, the ragam-tanam-pallavii, which is the high watermark of South Indian classical Music. It is the peak of the concert. From the ragam, tanama, pallavi, to the end of the performance, there is a gradual watering down of classical and light music, so at the end, even non-classical folk and Hindustani melodies fit with naturalness into the pattern of the concert. Even in the pre-pallavi portion, in the rendering of each piece, the succession of the ragam, kriti, niraval and swara has a significance. From the raga to kriti, from kriti to niraval and from niraval to swara improvisations, it is a graded, increasing emergence and emphasis of the aspect of laya.

The unique appeal and greatness of our art are owing to its capacity fro growth and adaptation, through a long period of time and more so because, men of great genius, through their knowledge and intelligence could have the greatest freedom for the play of both these factors within the framework of tradition. Our system, the most aesthetic, intricate and exalted in the world, is the noblest heritage of man. Our concert tradition has come to stay. It will be good to remind ourselves that All is great to the extent that it is informed of the spirit, by the nobility of its content, harmony of its parts and elegance in its presentation. We should not all this great heritage to disintegrate into mere and empty aesthetic formalism and uninspired technique and showmanship, which inordinate and indiscriminate commercialisation of any art is likely to bring in its wake.

The GNB Essays: Part Two

The GNB Essays: Part Two

"Mass Appeal in Music" - "The old order changeth yielding place to the new." the days are gone when patronage of the f... 09:21

"Mass Appeal in Music" - "The old order changeth yielding place to the new." the days are gone when patronage of the fine arts was regarded as the luxury of the select few who have the time, the taste and the money to indulge in such expensive hobbies. The rapid advance of democracy which connotes that all citizens shall have equal opportunities to participate in all activities - political, economic, social or cultural - has led to the natural result that no art can be regarded as the privilege of those better placed in life. The object of this talk is to discuss whether it is necessary for music, generally admitted to be one of the finest of fine arts but fully worthy of being regarded as a science, to be adapted in such a manner as to attract mass appeal in consonance with changed conditions. A mere thirty years ago, music in South India had a limited appeal confined generally to the middle classes. The great exponents of Carnatic music those days sang long hours with great enthusiasm to audiences who number would today be regarded as quite negligible. But what the audiences lacked in quality was more than made up by quality. A hundred musically minded persons listening appreciatively and gesticulating sympathetically to masterly expositions of the intricate masters of raga, tala and swaras were able to inspire manodharma in singers who lost themselves in the ecstasy of their skill. Audiences of a thousand and more were unknown earlier in the century, not merely because of loudspeakers were uncommon but also because the niceties of music were realised only by a few.

Comparing the exposition of music some thirty years ago with performances today, what strikes one is the gentle revolution that has taken place in its form almost imperceptibly doing this period. Earlier this century, a musical performance afforded an opportunity to the participants - the vocalist, the violinist, the mridangam player (often also to the kanjira and ghatam players) to prove their prowess to critical audience in a competitive spirit. A show often lasted 5 hours or more. Alapana of several ragas was elaborated at some length before the pallavi. In most of the kirtanas, niraval was made at suitable points with elaboration followed by a multiplicity of swaras - starting with short ones of slow pace, followed by swaras in quicker tempo of short duration and ending with a grand flourish marathon swaras lasting quite often for several minutes. The violinist was given almost equal chances to exhibit his skill. Pallavi was an epic in itself. The ragas, usually a ghana raga, was analysed, even dissected, with considerable ingenuity and alapana itself very often took nearly an hour. Taanam was expounded at length. This was followed by the detailed pallavi with tala in three speeds -- slow, medium, fast. The singer showered millions of swaras on a vigorously nodding audience; the tala vadyams had a second innings. After the pallavi, only a few songs were sung briefly before the performance closed.

It will be evident that a musical performance this days was considered a really serious affair alike by the musicians and the audience. There was so much of science in it that the appeal was bound to be restricted to a very few. An ordinary layman could not possibly have appreciated the delicacies served to him and would, if he had bravely persisted, have suffered from acute indigestion causing perhaps a severe headache.

Musical performances at the present times are not quite such elaborate matters and usually last only about 3 hours. All concerned - the vocalist, violinist, mridangam player and others - work as a team with the primary object of pleasing the audience and with the subsidiary object of displaying their skill individually but not competitively in a short time. Ragas are done with delicacy in finesse and in a few minutes. Niraval is confined to one or two songs and the swarams are not very many in numbers the pallavi is also condensed and usually sung in only one speed. The swarams here again are comparatively few. The mridangam usually gets only one chance. After the pallavi, a few Tamil songs are the fashion - one or two of them are of patriotic or romantic interest. Musical performances of the present day therefore command quite rightly a much wider appel and enjoy far greater popularity. Apart from the changes being conducive to appreciation by a wider circle, the microphone and the loudspeaker have made it possible for several hundreds to listen to and delight in the performances .But the musical performances of today as expounded by the well known masters some of whom have been in the field for several years have not achieved this popularity at the expense of scientific accuracy. It is a matter of great gratification that the leading vidwans have been able to adapt themselves to rapidly changing conditions without lowering even one with the scientific standard of music from the point of view of the critic.

It must be noted with satisfaction that a much larger number of persons now have the requisite knowledge of music to assess the merits of singers and to appreciate the niceties. More performances, critical studies in magazines and the wide use of the radio with its carefully choses programmes and relays have thrown open the science of music to an increasing number of enthusiasts. The special feature now is the appreciable proportion of ladies among the critics.

The question is whether this stage is the final one or whether music should be made even simpler the detriment of its scientific with so that it appeals to the mass at large. It may also be considered whether it would not be more appropriate for music to maintain its present high level of efficiency and leave it to the mass as a whole to climb up to such a high standard. In other words, should the musician play to the gallery or should the gallery play up to the higher standards of music?

It is a platitude to say that the largest audiences are attracted not by skilful exponents of scientific music but by vocalists with good voices who sing popular songs preferably in the local language, shortly and sweetly, without much pretence to scientific skill. The box office almost anywhere in the province will prove the truth of this statement - the finest performance, form the critic's point of view, does not filed very much profit. It is not surprising that this should be so. in spite of the much vaunted claim that "music hath charms to soothe man and beast", it cannot be seriously gain said that music in its higher forms is a science and not merely an art; it has therefore to maintain its delicate precision, without attempting to give up the permutations and combinations which are vital, merely to pander to the public tastes. It would be a great tragedy indeed to south India and to the nation as a whole if, with an eye to the box office, music permitted to come down from the high pedestal where she is now enthroned. The science handed down from generation to generation, transmitted with uncanny skill and efficiency, practised by the zealous few and encouraged by the increasing number of enthusiasts, would be a complete loss if our real musicians began to play to the gallery with a view to becoming popular, thereby earning more income.

It must be said with regret that the standard of the gallery judged musically continues to be fairly low. This is small wonder considering that our country has, due to a variety of reasons, so far been deprived of the fundamental right of every citizen - Education. The achievement of Independence will undoubtedly lead in due course to this serious deficiency being made up - but this will take time. Education cannot be imparted to millions overnight and the best schemes must take several years to reach fruition. Till such time, if at all, it would be futile to expect the gallery to raise itself to the existing higher standards of music.

One suggestion that might be well worth pursuing is that our mode of education in the future should desist from following the hackneyed tracks of the past but should be moulded in a manner capable of drawing out the best in us. Music is a subject that should be begun, both by boys and girls, at a very early stage. Carnatic music is suited to the genius of south India; it will be the sacred duty of the present generation to safeguard through its popular government the cherished gift handed to us by our predecessors. It is a happy augury that a move has already been made in this direction. It is obvious however that the masses should not be neglected and that they should be given the chance to enjoy in the lighter vein which can be appreciated without great knowledge; this will perhaps be necessary however high the general standard of education in the country may eventually become. There is no reason whatsoever why music should always be "high-brow". In almost all countries in the world, music both "high brow" and "low brow"; as a science its value is appreciated by a few but as an art it is enjoyed, and practised by many. Music is not meant merely for the superior intellects music serves several purposes - it satisfies the scientific mind, it soothes a worried brain, it provides incentive to workers, it affords relaxation to weary persons. View in this light music may have as many forms as there are moods.

Community singing could with advantage be developed in the South where the practice has been one of "let those on the platform do all the singing." There are pieces which will greatly increase in value if they are sung by the entire audience - this particularly so in the case of national songs or poems of general appeal. Ballad music of a simple type deserves the fullest encouragement.

It is of great importance that composition of kirtanas should be actively encouraged; while paying homage to Sri Tyagaraja, Syama Sastry and Dikshitar, it cannot but be a matter of regret to all music lovers that so few good pieces have been composed subsequently. It is essential that the music of any particular period should reflect the temper of the people during that stage. The tendency to sing or to compose purely devotional songs, however laudable and pious the intent, is not calculated to enable succeeding generations to appreciate the thoughts foremost in the minds of the people at the time of composition. A good composer is not necessarily a good poet - the faculties might with advantage be kept quite separate where necessary. There is no reason why an expert musicians should not improvise original "met" for the glorious songs of the poets. One has only to thing of the rousing songs of Bharati to realise how the genius of a poet and brain of a musician can be combined effectively to produce inspiring kirtanas which can be handled from generation to generation and made to serve almost as a history book.

Given a certain amount of tolerance and the adaptation of a realistic attitude, there is no reasons why we should be embarrassed by being compelled to adopt one of the two solutions, i.e, the musician playing to the gallery or the gallery playing up to a higher standard of music. Music should continue, and will continue, as a science for the delectation of the real critics drawn from all classes who can enjoy it for hours despite its lack of great popular appeal. Side by side, music in its lighter form (but correct music all the same) will flourish for the enjoyment of the masses as a whole. Any attempt to have only highbrow music is doomed to failure as the mass as whole can never come up to such high standards. "Low brow" music exclusively will deprive us of the rich treasures passed on to and will slowly but surely, lead to the inevitable deterioration of the finer qualities of the musician as well as the critic. There is no conflict, and there can be no conflict, between these two theories. Music must serve one and all - whether it be the critic who delights in elaborate expositions or the man in the street (or rather the cultivator on the fields) who wants to while away an hour or two with advantage. By its very nature and for its very purpose music must be multi-shaped to suite the demands of all and to conform to the various moods of listeners.