Evolution of Indian musical conscious and concepts

[shankarank]

This site gives good account of historical evolution of Indian music overall along with subsequent parts that delve into tuning and formation of first structures from saama gaana.

https://puretones.sadharani.com/learn/h ... ilestones/

https://puretones.sadharani.com/learn/tuningsystems-1/ - this link then has links to subsequent parts.

By the time we get to the Shadj Gram "Demo 1" in this link : https://puretones.sadharani.com/learn/tuningsystems-2/, we find the classic old question of dissonance between R2-G2 being brought out. The site uses small and capital letters to denote komal and tivra svaras using HM terminology.

That they reduced the R2 ( catuSruti Rshabham) by 81/80 which is pramANa Sruti or Pythagorean comma, is less relevant to me, than the fact that by doing so, it went from a dominantly resonant ratio of (9/8) to less dominant (10/9). As a holistic gamut of sound, it sounds more like R1 pushed higher than R2 reduced.

Well, they simply got Bhairavi thaat or southern tODi sounding scale by reducing R2 and D2 in Shadja graama.

This idea continues into the rAgA development era later on.

Here is the older form of kApi ragam which is like today's darbar that the TLM channel brought out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlxVy-m ... lodies-TLM

There is a clear attempt to skirt the direct usage of the two dissonant notes R2-G2.

In fact, ignoring the sugary scales of SankarAbharaNam and KalyANi, the formation of rAga can be explained in a twitter line or now the X line:

"All raagaas are formed by the struggle against the dissonance of R2-G2"

the D2-N2 is a corollary of the same and needs no separate mention, as it is a mirror image in the upper tetrachord.

So, while HM has the Bhairavi ( Sindhu Bhairavi or tODI of the south) as the central rAgam, we have our Bhairavi as the central rAgam.

kApi now spans across both systems.

And this is borne out even in every day rasika experience as well. The most remembered and most cherished raga expositions are the tODi ragam by TNR and kaapi ragam by T.R Mahalingam in the flute - both instrumental music.

This makes the underlying concept very old! You pick 1000 years/ 2000 years.

As Aurobindo says, we must look at the conscious evolution as well, not just the biological, in music - analogous to the forms of music.

Otherwise, the music is only a century old, the compositions and the concert format that we have. In fact, one could argue, it is shaped by the tastes from popular music in films from early days. And here it is irrelevant that films used classical ragas and tunes. Just that the audience mindset was towards listening to songs.

One connoisseur (who was a vainika) once commented after the concert of a visiting popular musician, "these people think we all want to listen to songs!!" Such a vast difference in perception between the learned and the real rasikas at large!

[Nick H]

It will not work in my browser.

This is not just a shame, or a petty techie thing. Those who lived through the days of Microsoft's Internet Explorer wanted not to see more or the same. That happened, for quite a long time then... along came google

[shankarank]

Just tried it in Firefox version: 129.0.2 (64-bit) and it works! Also in : Microsoft Edge Version 127.0.2651.98 (Official build) (64-bit)

[Nick H]

Good. Edge, I think, has gone over to the Chrome side, uncertain about Firefox these days. My browser gets a message "AudioWorklet is not supported in this browser !"

My browser is Pale Moon. Lesser known, but descended from Firefox.

[sam]

I am using a low cost tablet PC android OS and Chrome. I am able to access all the four links given.

[Nick H]

Yes, Chrome. I can use it. It's just that ... I don't like having too!

Anyway, please excuse my sideline rant!

[shankarank]

Interesting to hear the various lec dems on rAgA movement this season. While a few of them, "panel discussion by G. Ravikiran, Sriranjani, Bharat Sundar", then one by Vid. Amrita Murali , by Vid. Sowmya pointed to how rAgAs skirt thier kramas and able to go around the stated arOha/avarOHa", Sri Ranjani proposed to use the term "principles" instead of "rules" for lakshana.

Most rAgAs they mentioned like Bhairavi, Anandabhairavi, Sahana etc. are all rAgAs which handled the semitonal intervals by pushing the problem svara higher - e.g sahAna PM1 D2->N2 S or creating a vakra.

Even if we take semitones in general, in rAgAs that have emerged as rakti or quintessentially carnatic if you will, the semitonal intervals have been handled to be suppressed in many ways.

This even in semitones near prakritis (S, P, M1) like R1, N3 , or G3.

SankarabaraNam: N3 has been made an anusvara so it is almost an inflection from S.

SaVEri : sA - vE - ri , R1 is an inflection from S. No way can they say it is some EkaSruti RShabham. M1-G3 on descent, G3 is held as close to M1 and elongated.

Even KalyANi's M2 has some treatment elsewhere in varALi as varALi madyamam. M2 had been noted as varALi madyamam using that nomenclature for specifying mELA(s) - Lec Dem by Dr Srilatha on (ABhEri, Ahari). So varALi was a famous mELa used to define M2 svarasthanam for other meLAs.

Arabhi - M1-G3 where G3 is almost M1 slide down.

R2-G2 or G2-R2 on descent is to be supported by D1 on upper tetra chord for any gamaka on it to be palatable. Anybody who have learnt bhairavi varNam will feel that resonance in G2-R2. D1 N2N2 D1D1 N2D1D1M1,, N2D1PM1,, D1PM1G2,,R2

In Maanji , almost same gamaka employed in Karaharapriya is employed for G2, but it is soaked in consonance with D1 in upper tetrachord.

Karaharapriya in viruttam , you can see places where the musicians struggles : https://youtu.be/UjeA0ywezik?t=1842. Musician himself shows evidence of that.

I suppose this is inspired by SrI Sethalapathi Balu, but for Balu, his person himself is full of emotion as he renders anything. I saw Bharat tweeting a Balu's viruttam that Bharat had rendered in Karaharapriya, so I surmised.

If it cannot help a musician render a viruttam seamlessly, how can it be a rAgA? Read that TMK started his Perumal Murugan viruttam using Karaharapriya in the kalanidhi concert.

The dissonance and lack of support from an absent d1 hinders the flow. Now don't ask me if naTabhairavi will work better. There is actually a bhairavi hiding behind that question, which is the answer.

kIravANi will work better by itself. puNNIyam oru kODI is a much more expressive rendition for that reason.