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.
No comments
Post a Comment