Category: background info

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Livre-CD ‘Musique d’Inde du Sud – Petit traité de musique carnatique’

Livre-CD en Français (2001) recommendé par Ludwig Pesch

Cet essai éclaire les traditions millénaires de la musique classique de l’Inde de Sud, transmise le long d’une chaîne orale continue de maître à disciple. L’auteur nous plonge dans les arcanes du raga et des émotions qu’il suscite et développe les clés des concordances symboliques et de l’apprentissage de cette musique carnatique considérée comme une voie spirituelle pour atteindre la libération du moi individuel et son union à l’universel.
Le CD tente de reconstituer les différentes phases d’un concert de musique carnatique avec notamment la voix d’Aruna Sayeeram et le violoniste T.N. Krishnan.
Un extrait du titre n° 6 est disponible à l’écoute.

Les titres du CD
1. Varnam : Om pranava ; Raga : Mayamalavagaula ; tala : adi (Aruna Sayeeram : chant) : 5’36
2. Kriti : Marivere gati ; Raga : Anandabhairavi ; tala : misra chappu (T.N. Krishnan : violon) : 14’15
3. Kriti : Vallabha nayakasya ; Raga : Begada ; tala : rupakam (Dr Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer : chant ; L. Subramaniam : violon) : 8’01
4. Raga : Alapana ; Raga : Kamboji (T.R. Mahalingam : flûte ; L. Subramaniam : violon) : 3’05
5. Kriti : Raga ratna malikace ; Raga : Ritigaula ; tala : rupakam (V. Doreswamy Iyengar : vina) : 15’50
6. Alapana et kriti : Marakata mani ; Raga : Varali ; tala : adi (D.K. Pattammal : chant) : 9’28
7. Padam : Ninnu juchi ; Raga : Punnagavarali ; tala : tisra triputa (Aruna Sayeeram : chant) : 9’28
8. Tillana ; Raga : kapi ; tala : lakshmsam (Trivandrum R.S. Mani : chant) : 2’02

Enseignante de formation, Isabelle Clinquart a vécu pendant dix ans au Kerala, où elle a appris la danse et le chant de théâtre kathakali, ainsi que la musique carnatique. Elle a donné ses premiers concerts en 1997 et s’est produite régulièrement au Kerala tout en poursuivant son apprentissage.

21,00 € disponible
Collection : musiques du monde
179 pages
Illustrations 35 N&B
14 x 18 / Livre-CD broché / 2001 2-7427-3324-8

Source: Librairie en ligne – Cité de la musique
Address : http://www.cite-musique.fr/boutique/article.aspx?a=890
Date Visited: Wed Nov 02 2011

Voici un livre bienvenu pour le lecteur francophone qui ne disposait jusqu’ici d’aucun ouvrage général et synthétique sur la musique classique du sud de l’Inde abordant en sept courts chapitres à la fois son évolution historique, sa théorie esthétique (théorie des rasa), son système musical (théorie des raga et des tala, règles d’improvisation), les modalités de son apprentissage, ses instruments ainsi que la description générale du déroulement d’un concert.

Source: Worldcat.org where you also may find a library copy near you >>

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How will we experience music in 2050? To play music together and connect!

Ideally in a very profound way – the way families have shared music for thousands of years, and long before music became a commodity:

So it’s a rainy day in 2050 and you and your friends decide you’d like to see a concert. […] Emmy Parker, a cultural futurist and former brand manager for synthesizer maker Moog Music, said that the future could also allow us to experience music and sound in a very profound way, the way families have shared music for thousands of years, and long before “music” became a commodity.

“How can we expand that simple idea, which has been on planet Earth probably for 150,000 years, that we play music together to, number one, connect with each other?” said Parker.

19:40 we play music together, to connect to our higher self or God or universe; to our ancestors, to bring us back to another time and place […] very similar to a time traveler.

We use to heal our minds, our hearts and spirit, and our body, and connect to each other, to our families.

Listen to Spark’s Next Big Thing series, which explores how technology in various guises might affect humanity in the far future >>

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The tambura (tanpura)

Tambura_sculpture_Arun

The tambura – also known as tanpura – has long served as India’s most important accompaniment. It accompanies vocal and instrumental performers as well as dance musicians. It has embellished the salons of nobles, merchants and courtisans long before its arrival on the modern concert stage.

Its present form with four strings has been known since the 17th century. It combines the properties of two types of instruments, namely the ancient zither (veena or been) and the present long-necked lute (Sarasvati veena, sitar). Its function and manner of playing distinguishes the tambura from similar instruments used in neighbouring countries. This is because Indian musicians have used a fundamental note since about the 13th century.

Hundreds of melody types – known as raga (lit.’colours’) – have since been created, rediscovered and analysed. They all arise from a fundamental note, known as ‘sadja’, which is articulated as ‘Sa’ during a lesson or vocal performance.

The fundamental note is continuously sounded as the tambura’s ‘supporting’ or ‘base’ note (the bourdon or drone of western music). It is freely chosen in accordance with the vocal or instrumental range of the main performer.

With these basic elements composers, musicians and dancers are able to evoke any conceivable mood or aesthetic experience (rasa). This requires no more than a few additional notes, usually arranged in a particular sequence by which they are readily recognised by discerning listeners. The notes heard in any given raga are drawn from among the proverbial ‘seven notes’ (saptasvara). A competent musician also knows which notes need to be modified by means of embellishments (gamaka) and subtle shades achieved by intonation (sruti).

Text: Ludwig Pesch | Nederlands | Deutsch | Art: Arun VC

Listen to this tambura, played by Ludwig Pesch
Tanjore-style Carnatic tambura.JPG
Photo (C) Martin Spaink Wikimedia