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1. Introductory Books and Recordings
Misc. editors
The New Grove Dictionary of Music, entry on India
Availability :any library
Description of contents: Most easily accessible, excellent introductory
article with plenty of references. Only handicap is the lack of
accompanying recorded material. Covers both Hindustani and Carnatic
Bonnie Wade
Music in India, the Classical Traditions
Riverdale reprint of Manohar edition 1987
Availability :South Asia Books
Description of contents: Introductory text with comparisons to western
analogs, oriented towards the western reader. Both Hindustani and Carnatic
music are covered. Chapters on melody, melody instruments, the meter,
rythm instruments, and various performance genres.
Good introduction.
Ravi Shankar
Learning Indian Music, A Systematic Approach
Fort Lauderdale (they publish books there?) circa 1970
Availability: out of print, try libraries
Description of contents: 3 cassettes + book boxed set Whether or not
one likes Ravi Shankar's music, I imagine everyone will admit he knows it
about as well as anyone else. It is a treat therefore to listen to his
well thought out introductory course. There are about 48 lectures on these
cassettes, and one is encouraged to learn the Indian way: i.e. by
listening and practising. The material covers all the major ideas in a
substantial way with very beautiful examples.
Neil Sorrell and Ram Narayan
Indian Music In Performance, A practical Introduction
New York University Press
Availability:out of print, try libraries
Description of contents:The aim of this set is to enable the reader to
appreciate the components of a performance. The book includes introductory
material on Hindustani music, its sociology, some gossip from Ram Narayan,
and musical examples played by him. It would help to be able to read staff
noatation. The material is a small subset of what is covered in the
previous set and the cassette not very well organized since there are no
verbal explanations on the tape and one has to read the examples off the
book.
Author:Anupam Mahajan
Ragas in Indian Classical Music
Publisher:Gian Publishing House, India
Availability : South Asia Books $20
Description of contents: Book + cassette with illustrative examples by
Asad Ali Khan and Mushtaq Hussain Khan (Veena and Sitar)
Various
Music Appreciation
Label:Music Today, 1992
Availability:Shrimati's, $10
Description of contents: Three cassette set
This is in the form of a narrative essay with interpolating examples.
An interesting feature is the use of portions of commercially released
pieces as examples. A drawback is that all these are drawn from the
earlier releases on this label; it is hard for a novice to understand
subtleties when they are played on completely different instruments in
different styles. Thus, there is somewhat of a 'sampler disc' approach in
places, but is useful all the same if only to get familiar with the
jargon.
Ashok D. Ranade
On music and musicians of Hindoostan
Description: 208 p., <1> leaf of plates : ports. ; 23 cm.
Includes bibliographical references, discography, and index.
New Delhi : Promilla, 1984.
This book is divided into two parts. The first part a series of papers
and works on Hindustani Music. The second part is a set of biographies of
India musicians of yore, such as BGAK,Vaze, Abdul Karim Khan etc. In the
first chapter, the author introduces a novice to the concepts of art and
literature, and how Indian Music evolved along with other art forms. He
also highlights the some important aspects of the learning process
itself(the guru-sishya parampara) and why things happened that way.
Inayet Khan & Jessie Duncan Westbrook
Hindustani Lyrics, 1995
Availability: Motilal Banarsidass, or try South Asia Books, PO Box 502,
Clumbia MO, 65205 USA. Tel:(573)474-0116
Also available from Motilal.
Allyn Miner. Sitar &Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Stephen Slawek. Sitar Techniques in Nibaddha Forms
VM Kulkarni. Some Aspects of the Rasa Theory
Shankar, Ravi.
My music, my life. With an introd. by Yehudi Menuhin.
New York, Simon and Schuster <1968>
An autobiography byone of the men who put Indian music on the western
map. Includes material about his training, some basic theory and a sitar
primer.
2. Intermediate and Reference
Material:
Bonnie Wade
Khyal, Creativity within North India's classical music
tradition
Cambridge University Press, 1984
Availability: out of print, try libraries
Description of contents: A very thorough (the genealogical charts
include entries for male, female, and sex unknown) study of Khyal. Apart
from a definition of the genre, includes a study of the major gharanas:
Agra, Gwalior, Rampur/Sahaswan, Alladiya, Kirana, Patiala, as well as
those inbetween houses, such as Amir Khan. The major distinguishing traits
of a gharana as well as its main representatives are analysed, some in
considerable depth. An accompanying cassette includes selections that are
analyzed in the text with a modified western notation, as well as
pictorial depictions of taans etc. Good historical information and
genealogical charts as well. Essential reading for anyone interested in
Khayal.
Indurama Srivastava
Dhrupada, A study of its origin, historical devp.,structure and
present state
Motilal Banarasidass, India, 1980
Availability:Out of print ?
Description of contents: One might preconceive this to be a biography
of the Dagar family, but it is a solid study of dhrupad, its origin, the
verbal content, the musical structure,and the practitioners. Since Dhrupad
must be the most alien of all the Indian musical forms to the uninitiated,
worth studying to understand the complexity behind an apparently simple
sounding music.
Peter Manuel
Thumri, in historical and stylistic perspective
Motilal Banarasidass, 1989
Availability: South Asia Books
Description of contents:The literary aspects of thumris, their
historical origins, stylistic analyses of the Bol Banao and Bandish
thumris, the role of taal, dadras, instrumental thumris,
interrelationships between various thumri ragas.
N.A. Jairazbhoy
The Rags of North India
Lok Virsa Pakistan,(also Faber and Faber, Britain)
Availability : out of print
Description of contents:Although not quite 'introductory', I found this
book very useful reading because of the uniqueness of the approach. (The
information about intonation particularly, cleared up much of my
confusion). There is an emphasis on 'as practised' rather than on theory,
and an attempt is made to systematically classify ragas. Again it would
help to be able to read music (i.e. staff). An example disk by Vilayat
Khan is included with an appendix analyzing these pieces.
B.Subba Rao
Raganidhi, A comparative study of hindustani and karnatak ragas
The Music Academy, Madras, India, 1964
Availability:Cycles in and out of print; only from Karnatic Music Book
Store Description of contents:Short discussions of pretty much all ragas,
including a comparison of similar ragas within the system, and also
between the two systems. The discussion includes the aroh-avaroh, pakad
and sometimes also standard compositions.
Michael Kinnear
A Discography of Hindustani and Karnatic Music
Greenwood Press,1985
Availability:In print, about $ 80
Description of contents: A comprehensive discography, covering mostly
the LP era. Comments: Art Levine provides the information that Kinnear is
currently involved in a project to put out releases from the first few
decades of sound recording in India, with concurrent releases of such
archival recordings.
Shiv Dayal Batish/ Ashwin Batish
Ragopedia Vol I
Publisher:Batish Records
1310 Mission St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Year of Publication:
Availability:about $35
Description of contents:A short introductory section defines basic
terms: thaat, jati, vadi samvadi, poorvang uttarang, rasa etc. Next,
Sargam notation is explained in terms of staff. A short chapter explains
the construction of a chalan from the ascending and descending patterns
and dominant subdominant note information of a raga. Chalans are then
given for five ragas. The rest of the volume is an alphabetically arranged
sequence of ragas, with the names of their thaats, the traditional time of
play, the dominant (Vadi) and subdominant (samvadi) notes, and the
ascending and descending scale patterns in staff and sargam notation.
Planned future volumes include Karnatik ragas, as well as chalans in
English etc. Comments: Its main virtue is its ease of availability in the
U.S. and the use of staff notation for the scales. For a reference work, a
complete absence of references indicates either extraordinary originality
(which we don't want here) or unreliability. Since no information is given
about where the authors got their information from, or what their training
is, difficult to go out to bat with this book.
Author:Chetan Karnani
Title:Listening to Hindustani Music
Publisher:Orient Longmans, India
Year of Publication:
Availability:Libraries
Description of contents:Essays of music criticism.
Comments:The author is a vocalist, and a music critic. These essays
deal with various performers (such as Mallikarjun Mansur, Amir Khan,
Nikhil Banerjee (a great article on Nokhilda), Ali Akbar Khan) and other
general topics (contrasts between western and Indian music, status of
music criticism etc.). Very entertaining and informative. The author has
made a conscious attempt at being 'modern'; a lot of the criticism is
technical and specific rather than emotional and vague. Must read.
Wayne, Howard
Samavedic chant
New Haven : Yale University Press, 1977.
Gottleib, Robert
Solo Tabla Drumming of North India
(2 vol + tapes) $68
I just bought this for $59 at a local Indian book store. It is a fine
resource. Gotleib has collected tintaal recordings from historical
performances of several leading figures in four gharannas: Ustad Wajid
Hussain, Ustad Inam Ali Khan, Ustad Karamatullah Khan, Pandit Kishan
Maharaj, Ustad Habibuddin, and Ustad Alla Rakha. He has transcribed these
tapes completely using a western style notation. He has also provided
commentary to these recordings, histories and geneologies of the gharannas
in North India and Nepal, and basic details of the tabla and musicology. I
believe that these volumes are well worth the money for either the serious
conniseur or the serious student of percussion. My opinion.
Jha, Ramashraya ("Ramrang").
Abhinava Geetanjali.
Sangeet Sadan Prakashan, 88 South Malaka, Ilahabad. Durbhash:54973.
India
Here's my pick for the best publication on Hindustani music. 3 volumes,
totalling ca. 750 pages, surveying 77 rags (counting the four type of
Patmanjari as separate rags).
Volume 1, 262 pages. 3rd edition, 1989.- 15 rags:
Shyam Kalyan, Shuddh Sarang, Devgiri Bilaval, Yamani Bilaval,
Bhatiyar, Puriya Kalyan, Bilaskhani Todi, Gurjari Todi, Maru Bihag,
Chandrakauns, Jogkauns, Sur Malhar, Madhuvanti, Ahir Bhairav, Hansadhvani,
(Rag Mala)
Volume 2, 255 pages. 3rd edition, 1991.- 30 rags:
Suha Kanhra, Nayaki Kanhra, Shahana, Devsakh, Ramsakh, Bavsakh,
Lachchhasakh, Kafi Kanhra, Kaushik Kanhra, Abhogi Kanhra, Maluha Kedar,
Jaldhar Kedar, Sindhura, Patdeep, Hanskinkani, Pradeepaki, Barwa, Bhim,
Bhim (type 2), Palasi, Rageshwari, Dhani, Gopika Basant, Gandhari,
Devgandhar, Khat, Jhinjhoti, Gara, Tilang, Mand, Pahadi
Volume 3, 237 pages. 3rd edition, 1991.- 32 rags:
Narayani, Gorakh Kalyan, Khambavati, Janasammohani, Kalavati, Jog,
Nand, Jait Kalyan, Shukla Bilaval, Kukubh Bilaval, Sarparda Bilaval, Nat
Bilaval, Hamir Bilaval, Hemant, Durga (Bilaval thaat), Pratap Barali,
Bihagra, Nat Bihag, Pat Bihag, Chandni Bihag, Miyan ki Sarang, Madhamad
Sarang, Lankadahan Sarang, Samant Sarang, Badhans Sarang, Jaitashri,
Saraswati Sarang, Patmanjari (type 1), Patmanjari (type 2), Patmanjari
(type 3), Patmanjari (type 4), Basant Mukhari, [8 Thumris]
A couple of factors make *Abhinava Geetanjali* outstanding. First, many
of the compositions are superb, both in terms of the way they reveal the
face of the rag, and for their sheer rhythmic interest.
You'll also note that many of the rags are well into the aprachalit
(rare) category. But the thing that really makes this set great is the
very detailed discussion of the rags themselves. Just to cite one example:
the discussion of Khambavati in vol. 3 consists of a 9-page essay and
includes, among other things, a detailed treatment of the way each
individual swara is to be handled. I am not aware of any other book that
comes close to this. Certainly nothing in English.
And there's the rub, as they say. Armed with a good Hindi-English
dictionary and a reading speed of about three words per hour, I and the
rest of the angloid contingent can basically make out more -- or less --
what Mr. Jha is talking about. But pulling teeth, or what.
So to a statement and a question. Statement: of all the books I know of
written in Hindi on the subject of Hindustani m., this one is the most
valuable both from a theoretical and compositional point of view, and so
is most worthy of being translated into English. Question: would anyone be
interested in having a crack at one of the essays, just so we can have the
translation as a "model" for what a discussion of rag really can be. And
of course, in saying this, I don't at all mean to take away from the value
of the more "thumbnail" sketches provided in such books as Kaufmann,
Raganidhi or lately, through the efforts of Murali and John, in rmic. So,
any takers for a pioneering translation project? I, for one, would be
eternally grateful.
Sambamoorthy, P.
Elements of Western music for students of Indian music / P.
Sambamoorthy. -- Madras : Indian Music Pub. House, [1961?]
Gautam, M. R. (Madura Ramaswami), 1924-
Evolution of raga and tala in Indian music / M.R. Gautam. -- New
Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1989.
Prajnanananda, Swami.
A historical study of Indian music / by Swami Prajnanananda. -- 2nd
rev. and enl. ed. -- New Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981.
Sunil Bose
Indian Classical Music
Vikas Publications, New Delhi, 1993.
Rita Ganguly
Bismillah Khan and Benaras
Siddhi Books, New Delhi, 1994
Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1989.
Pradip K. Sengupta
Foundations of Indian Musicology
Abhinav Publ., New Delhi, '89.
Pandit Kumar Gandharva
Anupragvilas, Vol. 1 &2 ( in Marathi))
Bombay, 1993
Kumar Prasad Mukhapadhyay
Khudarat Raag Birangi (in Bengali)
This book is supposed to contain exceptional ustad anecdotes and
profiles.
B.R. Depdhar
Pillars of Hindustani Music
Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1993.
Superb anecdotes on various music greats, including Moujuddin,
Gauharjan, et al.
Ashok Ranade
Keywords and Concepts: Hindustani Classical Music
Promilla, New Delhi, 1990
Precise and insightful definitions and explanations.
Thomas Marcotty: The Way Music (How to Conjure with Sound): Rudra Veena:
The Theory and Technique of Tantric Music. With C-90 cassette
Decisio Editrice, Lugana, 1980
Contents:
Zia M. Dagar: Pancham Kauns
Asit Kumar Banerjee: Malkauns
Asad Ali Khan: Marwa
Asit Kumar Banerjee: Todi
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