The rāgas of early Indian music : modes, melodies and musical notations from the Gupta period to c.1250 / Richard Widdess.
| Author/creator | Widdess, Richard |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1995. |
| Description | xvii, 429 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | Oxford monographs on music Oxford monographs on music. ^A256395 |
| Contents | Part I. The origins of rāga. Evidence for the history of rāga to 1250. The evidence of technical sources. The grāma-jāti system ; The primary grāmarāgas ; The grāmarāga-bhāsā system ; The desi-rāga system -- The evidence of non-technical sources ; History, ethnology and rāga -- The modes of early Indian music: concepts, functions and organization. Jāti and rāga: concepts and functions. Jāti ; Rāga -- Organization. Jāti. Primary jātis ; Secondary jātis -- Rāga. Primary grāmarāgas ; Secondary grāmarāgas ; Bhāsās -- Jāti and rāga -- Part II. Early Indian music in notation. An approach to the study of early Indian music notations. Background ; Methods. Transcription ; Analysis -- The Kudumiyamalai inscription. Origins, functions and structure of the inscription ; Notation ; Rāga in the Kudumiyamalai inscription -- The Brhaddesi of Matanga. The source ; Repertory of notated melodies ; Group I: an alamkāra melody. The notation of pitch ; The notation of rhythm ; Reconstruction ; Assessment of accuracy of transmission -- Jāti melodies ; Fragments of grāmarāga melodies ; Bhāsā melodies -- The Sarasvatihrdayālamkāra of Nānyadeva. The source ; Jāti, kapāla and kambala melodies ; Pānikā songs ; Rāga melodies -- The Sangitaratnākara of Sārngadeva. The source ; Repertory of notated melodies ; Notation. Pitch notation ; Rhythmic notation -- The rāga melodies: functions and musical characteristics. Alāpa ; Karana, vartani and rupaka ; Aksiptikā -- Origins and transmission of the SSR melodies -- Part III. Analysis of the rāga-melodies. Scale, consonance and svara-sādhārana. Grāma, sruti and samvāda ; Svara-sādhārana. The evidence of GhNS and DD ; The evidence of KI ; The evidence of SSR ; Svara-sādhārana in the SSR melodies ; Svara-sādhārana in MBD, KI and SSR -- Rāga-laksana: the dynamics of rāga. Predominant ; Final and sub-finals ; Weak and strong notes ; High and low registers ; Pitch-set, directional character and figuration. Murchanā ; Varna ; Alamkāra -- The rāga Suddha-sādava ; Modal dynamics and classification -- Alāpa: mode, form and improvisation. Modern ālāp: rāg Sankarā ; 3/Suddha-sādava (ālāpa, karana, vartani) ; 7/Suddha-kaisika (ālāpa, vartani) ; 8/Bhinna-sadja (ālāpa, vartani) ; 15/Gauda-kaisika (ālāpa, karana) ; 18/Mālava-kaisika (ālāpa, karana) ; 16/Vesara-sādava (ālāpa, karana) ; Lalitā (ālāpa, rupaka) ; Early ālāpa, modern ālāp, and desi ālapti -- Appendix 1. The Paumacariu notation -- Appendix 2. The Kudumiyāmalai inscription -- Appendix 3. SSR primary grāmarāga melodies. |
| Abstract | The concept of raga, the traditional basis of melodic composition and improvisation in Indian classical music, has become familiar to listeners and musicologists throughout the world, but its historial origins and early development have been little explored. The author draws on written documents from the pre-Islamic period in India, including musical treatises (especially that of the thirteenth-century theorist, Sarngadeva), literary works, and a remarkable inscription comprising musical notation. These documents bear witness to the development of the earlier ragas, which they name, classify, define, and in some cases illustrate with melodic examples. The melodies, which have not previously been studied in detail, form the focus of the book, which analyses their notation, musical structure and relationship to the theoretical tradition in which they are embedded, as evidence for the early history of melodic compostion and improvisation in the Indian tradition. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 410-415) and index. |
| LCCN | 94000074 |
| ISBN | 0193154641 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML338.2 .W5 1995 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |