Indian Classical Music

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Indian Classical Music

• 5 Performance dhrupad and khayal

Lecturer Katherine Brown Email
k.r.brown_at_leeds.ac.uk Room 2.21
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Todays Lecture

• Transcription in Western notation
• Dhrupad composition Rag Yaman
• Dhrupad performance Rag Todi
• Khayal Rag Bageshri

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Rag Yaman, Chautal
sam khali khali X . O . 2 . O . 3 . 4
. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Rag Yaman, Chautal
Melodic structure A 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 1
1 B 1 2 3 4 A1
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Rag Yaman, Chautal, Sthayi and Antara
Melodic structure (Line 1 of Sthayi
Mukhra) Sthayi M M M 2 2 3 4 M
M Antara 1 2 3 4 M
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Sthayi and Antara

• Most Hindustani compositions have two verses,
  sthayi and antara
• Dhrupad may have additional verses, sanchari and
  abhog
• Occasionally in dhrupad, but often in lighter
  genres, only sthayi will be sung
• Whole of sthayi (3 or 4 avarts/cycles) may
  correspond to just one line of text

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Sthayi and Antara

• All verses are designed to end with movement
  leading back to first line of sthayi, called the
  mukhra
• Structure something like a rondo (A B A C A etc)
• Sthayi often explores the madhya saptak and just
  below
• Antara usually starts in upper madhya saptak and
  remains higher in tessitura than sthayi, reaching
  a pitch of tension before dropping down to sthayi
• Sanchari and abhog often reflect sthayi and
  antara respectively in melodic shape and tessitura

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Sthayi and Antara

• Mukhra of sthayi starts in the upper tetrachord
  (uttarang) of madhya saptak and drops to Ga,
  mainly exploring around Pa
• Second line explores middle to lower tetrachord
  (purvang) of madhya saptak, middle Sa and down to
  low Ni
• Third line begins on middle Sa and rises to Pa
• Fourth line explores Pa to upper Sa and then back
  to Pa
• Antara starts on Pa and rises to upper Sa
• Second line explores around upper Sa and tar
  saptak Ga
• Third line explores from Pa middle of madhya
  saptak
• Fourth line starts on tar Sa, similar melodic
  shape to mukhra of sthai

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Dhrupad history and aesthetics

• Dhrupad dhruvapad (dhruva fixed, pad verse)
• 14-15C, probably Hindu religious origin, moved
  into the court of Gwalior end of 15C where
  perfected as a court genre
• Texts gods, kings, philosophy, music theory
• Emphasis on raga and preserving raga
• Dignity and seriousness, no display of showiness
• Absolute clarity of note, pitch rhythm, strict
  vocal discipline and total breath control, huge
  stamina
• Flashy improvisation limited to rhythm

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Dhrupad history and aesthetics

• Set series of approved ornaments
• No highly embellished tans (runs) on open vowel
  a melodic improvisation has to use syllables
  (in the alap) or words of the composition (in the
  bandish)
• Open voice, relaxed throat, sustained and smoothe
• Words more important than any other genre, and
  clearly pronounced
• Compositions have different tals and more verses
• Distinctive opening section the long alap

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Rag Todi Mohinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar
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Rag Todi
Straight ascent and descent, but in some
traditions Pa is avoided in ascent, and only
touched on in descent Vadi is Dha, samvadi is
Ga Characteristic phrase Dha Ma Ga Re Sa Morning
raga
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Rag Todi
Todi stands in a forest playing the bin, with
deer listening with joy and delight to her playing
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Rag Todi Alap

• Opening is ragalap or vedalap (sacred alap)
• Unmetred, slow unfolding (vistar) of the raga
  (vilambit laya)
• Syllables ne, ri, ti, ta, ra, na, nom, tom --
  called nom tomsyllables
• Possibly Hindu mantra om ananta narayana hari
  om (Everlasting god Vishnu)
• Possibly Sufi tarana (secret names of Allah)
• Notes of the raga added one by one melodic
  expansion in an arc form up through madhya saptak
  to tar saptak, mirrored with expansion into mandra

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Rag Todi Alap

• Nom-tom alap second of three principle
  sections, often also called jor or dugun alap
• Section nomenclature and division depends on
  gharana
• Rhythmic pulse noticeable, medium speed, greater
  rhythmic density, nom-tom syllables more
  pronounced
• Layakari/jhala/sphurti third section, marked by
  rapid rhythmic improvisations on and around Sa,
  fast speed, playing with the laya (usually
  chaugun) sphurti means flashing or throbbing

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Laya

• Laya can also refer to rhythmic density, i.e.
  number of subdivisions of the beat
• Barabar laya basic or underlying pulse
• Dugun laya double pulse tigun triple
  chaugun quadruple
• Layakari playing with rhythm

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Rag Todi Alap

• Mukhra short melodic cadential formula, ends
  each section of alap, and sometimes sub-sections.
  Always ends on Sa and marks the end of an
  expansion.
• Ornaments
• Kampit and andolan (andolit) undulations
  between adjacent scale degrees, kampit being
  rapid, and at the beginning or end of a main
  note, andolan being slow and carrying through the
  main note
• Gamak 1) the general word for ornament 2) a
  specific dhrupad ornament a fast, specific
  oscillation of pitch below the note, in chaugun
  laya
• Lahak a fast glissando from an indeterminate
  low register pitch to a high one, breathy tone

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Dhrupad bandish, chautal (sthayi)

• Under what false notion are you, who thinks of
  himself as being knowledgeable and wise?
• You, who thinks he understands the music and its
  meaning emanating from the wise,
• Of the unattainable, one understands nothing
• Knowledge is difficult to master, difficult to
  understand.

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Dhrupad bandish (sthayi)

• Only one who practises with devotion can
  understand its qualities and meaning
• And immerse himself in its beauty and its various
  emotions.
• Vilas (son of Tansen) says that with the
  blessings of the Almighty
• Only one whose guru is Tansen can understand the
  true meaning of the music.

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Rag Todi dhrupad bandish

• Sthayi used as a structural anchor throughout,
  returned to at the end of every improvisation
• Sthayi is barabar laya notable feature of
  dhrupad improvisation layabant the singing of
  the composition in dugun, tigun, etc. Rhythmic
  compression, fixed layakari
• Bolbant (or upaj) free improvisation on the
  words of the composition, free layakari
• Text always used rhythmically in improvisation
• All improvisation meets together on sam.

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Dhrupad structure

• Alap as much as an hour unaccompanied
• 1) Ragalap slow expansion upwards from Sa in
  arc form, slow speed
• 2) Nom-tom alap exploring whole raga in pulse,
  medium speed
• 3) Layakari/sphurti fast repeated notes around
  Sa
• Composition
• Sthayi Antara Mukhra Sanchari Mukhra. . .
• Layakari bolbant and laybant
• Mukhra to end

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Khayal history and aesthetics

• Khayal thought imagination fantasy
• 16C, Sufi religious origin, moved into Mughal
  court early 17C, property of qawwals
• Competition with dhrupad 18C led to definition of
  genre by style
• Texts Radha-Krishna, Sufi, human love and
  longing
• Emphasis on vocal virtuosity and ornamentation
• Tense voice box
• Composition a means to an end (structuring
  virtuosity) so words less important

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Khayal history and aesthetics

• May have small unaccompanied alap (3 mins) but
  otherwise all in tala. Vilambit khayal may have
  an in-tala alap after the statement of the
  composition
• Different talas, only sthayi and antara (antara
  often left out in performance)
• Again, use of mukhra to anchor, but rhythm often
  more freely employed
• Structure either S A Improv OR S Improv A Improv
  S/Improv
• Two types vilambit or bara khayal, drut or
  chota khayal chota may be performed as final
  item in a concert

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Khayal history and aesthetics

• Tan fast virtuosic flourishes up and down the
  raga unique to khayal
• Akar tan on the syllable a
• Bol tan on the words of the composition but
  rhythm and melody freely improvised
• Sargam tan using the mnemonic notation
• Gamak tan gamak from dhrupad, but in tan
  sequence, S shaped as well as U shaped
• Meend long glissando (also extensive in dhrupad)

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Rag Bageshri
Pentatonic in ascent, heptatonic in
descent Characteristic phrase Ma Pa Dha Ma Ga Re
Sa Vadi is Ma, Samvadi is Sa Midnight raga,
Romantic mood
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Khayal structure

• Very brief alap-like voice warmup
• Composition in tal, brief
• Tans of various kinds, interspersed with mukhras
• Increase in virtuosity and speed.
• Bara khayal usually followed by a chota khayal,
  often in the same raga

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