Indian Music – Hindustani and Carnatic Music

Some prominent Personalities & their prominent work – associated with the development of Indian music

Earliest Indian music	Sama Veda	Slokas were put to music
Bharata Muni	Natyashashtra	Earliest text dealing exclusively with performing arts
Matanga	Brihaddesi	Ragas were 1^st named & discussed
Jayadeva	Gita Govinda	Depicts love of Radha and Krishna (Orissa)
Ibrahim Adil Shah II	Kitabe Navras	Songs in praise of Hindu deities & Muslim saints
Pundarika Vittal	Rangmala
Abhinavagupta	Abhinavabharati
Somadeva	Katha-sarit-sagar
Sarangdeva	Sangeet Ratnakara

[clear] Hindustani and Carnatic music systems are comparable to two species that have evolved from a common ancestor. Carnatic music is a system of music associated with the southern part of Indian sub continent. Hindustani music is associated with North India and is deeply influenced by Persian and Islamic music system.

Hindustani Music

Assimilated some features of the music of the Persian and Arabic musicians
Medieval period: Hindustani music prevalent in North India & Carnatic music in South India
Traced back to Delhi Sultanate → Amir Khusrau (AD 1253-1325)

invented sitar and tabla

invented new Ragas like ghora & Sanam

Evolved Qawwali mixing Indian & Iranian music

New music instruments such as Sarangi & Rabab were introduced in this period
Most of the Hindustani musicians trace their descent to Tansen
Prominent Styles → Dhrupad, Dhamar-Hori, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam, Thumri & Ghazal

Dhrupad

Oldest and perhaps the grandest form of Hindustani vocal music
Traditionally performed by male singers in verse form of the poetry Tansen
A poetic form incorporated into an extended presentation style marked by precise & orderly elaboration of a raga
The exposition preceding the composed verses is calledalap, and is usually the longest portion of the performance

Khayal

Literally means ‘a stray thought’, ‘a lyric’ and ‘an imagination’ – adopted from medieval Persian music
Most prominent genre of Hindustani vocal music depicting a romantic style of singing
Dependent to a large extent on the imagination of the performer & the improvisations he is able to incorporate
Khayal is also composed in a particular raga andtala and has a brief text
Texts mainly includes Praise of kings, Description of seasons, Pranks of Lord Krishna, Divine love & Sorrow of separation
There are six maingharanas in khayal àDelhi, Patiala, Agra, Gwalior, Kirana and Atrauli-Jaipur
Gwalior Gharanais the oldest and is also considered the mother of all other gharanas

Thumri

Originated in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, mainly in Lucknow & Benares, around 18^thcentury
A romantic & erotic style of singing; also called “the lyric of Indian classical music”
Compositions are mostly on love, separation and devotion
Distinct feature → Erotic subject matter portrayed picturesquely from the various episodes of the lives of Lord Krishna & Radha
Lyrics are typically in Brij Bhasha and are usually romantic & religious
A Thumri is usually performed as the last item of a Khayal concert.
There are three main gharanasof thumri — Benaras, Lucknow and Patiala.

Dadra

Dadra bears a close resemblance to the Thumri
The texts are as amorous as those of Thumris
The major difference is that dadrashave more than one antara
Singers usually sing a dadraafter a thumri

Dhamar-Hori

Compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated with Holi & Janmashthami
Compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna
The compositions here describe the spring season
These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna

Tappa

Tappa literally means ‘jump’ in Persian
Marked by Quick turn of phase
Developed in the late 18^th Century AD from the folk songs of camel drivers of Punjab
They are essentially folklore of love & passion and are written in Punjabi
Developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori

Ragasagar

Consists of different parts of musical passages in different ragas as one song composition
The peculiarity of this style depends on how smoothly the musical passages change along with the change of ragas

Tarana

Consist of a few lines of poetry with rhythmic syllables
Usually sung in faster tempo
Usually performed towards the end of the concert

Chaturang

Literally means four colours → Denotes a composition of a song in four parts
Four parts being à Fast Khayal, Tarana, Sargam & a “Paran” of Tabla or Pakhwaj

Ghazal

Described as the “pride of Urdu poetry” – originated in Iran in the 10^th Century
Mainly poetic than musical, & more song-like than thumri
Never exceeds 12 shers (couplets) & on an average, usually have about 7 shers
Consists of Independent couplets on love and devotion
Became famousin India around 12^th Century when Mughals came to India
Evolved in the courts of Golconda & Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim rulers
18^th & 19^th centuries are the golden period of theghazal with Delhi & Lucknow being its main centres

Some Other North Indian Music Form
Sabadas	Sikhs Religious Songs
Bhajan	Religious devotional songs
Dhamar	Play of Krishna during holy
Qawwali	Indo- Muslim repertories of songs in groups

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Hindustani Music Gharanas

Hindustani classical music Gharanas refer to hereditary linkages of musicians
Represent the core of the style and distinguish them from the other
Function in gurushishya parampara, i.e. disciples learning under a particular guru, transmitting his musical knowledge and style

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Gharana	Place	Founded by
Gwalior	Gwalior	Nanthan Khan
Agra	Agra	Hajisujan Khan
Rangeela	Agra	Faiyyaz Khan
Jaipur Atroli	Jaipur	Alladiya Khan
Kirana	Awadh	Abdul Wahid Khan

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Carnatic Music

Tamil classic of the 2^nd century “Silappadhikaram” contains a vivid description of the music of that period
Tolkappiyam, Kalladam & contributions of Saivite &Vaishnavite saints of 7^th & 8^th centuries also serve as musical history resource material
South Indian Music, as known today, flourished in Deogiri, the capital city of the Yadavas in middle ages
After the invasion of the city by the Muslims, the entire cultural life of the city took shelter in Carnatic Empire of Vijayanagar under the reign of Krishnadevaraya
Thereafter, the music of South India came to be known as Carnatic Music
Purandar Dasa: Credited with having founded today’s Carnatic music → elevated Carnatic music from religious and devotional form to realm of performing art
Musical Trinity – Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar & Syama Sastri (Tiruvarur 1750 – 1850 AD) ushered in an era of dynamic development in Carnatic music

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Important elements of Carnatic music
Sruti	Musical pitch
Swara	Defines a relative position of a note, rather than a defined frequency
Raga	Set of rules for building a melody
Tala	Refers to beats, set for a particular composition ( a measure of time)

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Usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians consisting of : Principal performer (vocalist) , a Violinist, a Mridangam & a Tamburu
Outstanding feature of Carnatic music is its raga system & highly developed and intricate tala system with following prominent styles –

Gitam

Simplest type of composition, taught to the beginners
Very simple in construction, with an easy and melodious flow of music

Suladi

Similar to Gitam but are of a higher standard

Svarajati

Learnt after a course in Gitam
Paves the way for the learning Varnam
The theme is devotional, heroic or amorous

Varnam

Performed at the beginning of a concert ; a complete composed piece
Helps a musician to attain mastery in presentation and command over raga, tala and bhava

Jatisvaram

Similar to the svarajati in musical structure
Has no sahitya or words
The piece is sung with solfa syllables only

Kirtana

The Kirtana had its birth about the latter half of the 14^th century
It is valued for devotional content of sahitya
Ensembled in simple music, the kirtana abounds in Bhakti bhava
Suited for congregational singing as well as individual presentation

Kriti

The Kriti is a development from Kirtana
Basically devotional music laced with poetic beauty
The raga bhava is extensively brought out in all varied forms

Pada

Padas are scholarly compositions in Telegu and Tamil
Slower tempoed love songs referring to human yearning for his adored god

Javali

In contrast to Padas which portray divine love, javalis are songs which are sensuous in concept and spirit
Basically, Faster tempoed love songs with direct description of human love

Tillana

Corresponds to the Tarana of Hindustani music, & is a short and crisp form
Meaningful phrases, interspersed with variety of meaningless syllables
Finds a place in music concerts as a conclusion piece

Similarities and difference between the Hindustani and the Carnatic styles of classic music

Similarities

Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of swara, raga and tala as foundation of both Carnatic and Hindustani are same.
Hindustani music originated in the Vedic period, while Carnatic music originated during the Bhakti movement. Thus both are having great association with religion.
Carnatic is one of two main sub-genres of India classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions, the other sub-genre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form due to Persian and Islamic influences in North India.
Both the music evolved with Sanskrit language scripts in itself and through Vedic traditions.
The central notions in both these system is that of a melodic mode or raga, sug to a rhythmic cycle or tala.

Differences

Origin of Hindustani music is earlier than Carnatic music. It synthesizes with Vedic chants, Islamic traditions and Persian Musiqu-e-Assil style. Carnatic is Comparatively pure and was developed in 15th 16th century during Bhakti movement and also get boost in 19th -20th century.
Main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music and most compositions are to be sung, involving gayaki style. In Hindustani music vocal- centric group is required. Many instruments are designed to accompany the singer.
The major vocal forms of Hindustani music are Dhrupad, khayal, Tarana, Thumri, Dadra and Gazals. While Carnatic music embraces several varieties of improvisation consist of Alpana, Niraval, kalpnaswaram and Ragam Thana pallavi.

Folk Music of India

Have special meanings or messages
Often describe historical events & important rituals

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Place	Folk Music
Rajasthan	Mand
Haryana	Ragini
Kashmir	Gulraj
MP	Pandayani
Chrismas	Christmas carols
Muslims	Sojkhwani (mournful songs during Muharram)
Bengal	Bhatiali