Carnatic rāga
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Carnatic rāga refers to rāgas used in Carnatic music. A Carnatic raga has several components - primordial sound (nāda), tonal system (swara), pitch (śruti), scale, ornaments (gamaka) and important tones.
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Origins and history[edit]
Carnatic raga classification[edit]
Janaka ragas (Melakarta ragas)[edit]
Janaka ragas are parent ragas from which more ragas are derived. They are also called Melakarta ragas. These ragas have all 7 swaras in their scales (only one of each swara, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni), following strict ascending and descending scales and are sung in all octaves.
Janya ragas[edit]
Janya ragas are derived from Janaka ragas (Melakarta ragas). They may have less than 7 notes in their scales, or have additional notes in them, zig-zag (vakra) notes that step and down, asymmetrical scales, etc. See full list of Janya ragas.
Components of Carnatic raga[edit]
A Carnatic raga has several components - primordial sound (nāda), tonal system (swara), intervals (shruti), scale, ornaments (gamaka) and important tones (vadi and samvadi).
Nāda[edit]
An aim of composer-performers of the past and present is to realise nāda, however, the sound that is audible to human ears is only a fraction of primordial sound.[1]
Swara[edit]
The Carnatic tonal system consists of seven basic pitches, expressed by the solfa syllables: Sa (shadja), Ri (rishabha), Ga (gandhara), Ma (madhyama), Pa (panchama), Da (dhaivata) and Ni (nishadha).
Scale[edit]
A Carnatic raga consists of an ascending and descending scale pattern (known as aarohana and avarohana respectively). Both ascent and descent should have at least five tones, although rarer ragas contain fewer tones. Scales establish rules for all performers to adhere to in melodic performance, and provide a tonal boundary. Typical scale features also act to help listeners identify ragas.[2]
Gamaka[edit]
Gamaka, or ornamentation, is essential in Carnatic raga performance. Gamaka encompasses controlled shaking, articulating, sliding, glottal stops and other vocal or instrumental manipulation.[2]
The swara and scale defines only the skeletal structure of a raga. The handling of Gamaka actually defines the raga.
Raga in improvisation[edit]
Types[edit]
Improvisation in raga is the soul of Indian classical music [3] - an essential aspect.[4] "Manodharma sangeetham" or "kalpana sangeetham" ("music of imagination") as it is known in Carnatic music, embraces several varieties of improvisation.[4][5]
Raga Alapana[edit]
An alapana, sometimes also called ragam,[6] is the exposition of a raga or tone - a slow improvisation with no rhythm,[7] where the raga acts as the basis of embellishment.[8] In performing alapana, performers consider each raga as an object that has beginnings and endings and consists somehow of sequences of thought.[8]
The performer will explore the ragam and touch on its various nuances,[6] singing in the lower octaves first, then gradually moving up to higher octaves, while giving a hint of the song to be performed.[7]
Niraval[edit]
Niraval, usually performed by the more advanced performers, consists of singing one or two lines of a song repeatedly, but with a series of melodic improvised elaborations.[9] The lines are then also played at different levels of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and even sextuple speed.[10]
Kalpanaswaram[edit]
Kalpanaswaram, also known as swarakalpana, consists of improvising melodic and rhythmic passages using swaras (solfa syllables).[11] Kalpanaswaras are sung to end on a particular swara in the raga of the melody and at a specific place (idam) in the tala cycle.[12] Generally, the swaras are sung to end on the samam (the first beat of the rhythmical cycle), and can be sung at the same speed or double the speed of the melody that is being sung, though some artists sing triple-speed phrases too.[10]
Tanam[edit]
Tanam is one of the most important forms of improvisation, and is integral to Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi.[13] Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables like tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na, etc.
Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi[edit]
Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi is the principal long form in concerts,[13] and is a composite form of improvisation. As the name suggests, it consists of raga alapana, tanam, and a pallavi line. Set to a slow-paced tala, the pallavi line is often composed by the performer. Through niraval, the performer manipulates the pallavi line in complex melodic and rhythmic ways.[6] The niraval is followed by kalpanaswarams.
Learning and performing[edit]
When learning a raga, it is never enough just to know the basic scale of the raga. In fact, different ragas can sometimes have the same scales. For example, the raga pairs Bhairavi and Manji, Mayamalavagowla and Nadanamakriya, Bilahari and Mand, Shankarabharanam and Kurinji, among others, have exactly the same scale, but are clearly distinct ragas due to the way the notes and musical phrases are rendered. In addition, the scale of the raga often does not offer insight into some of the subtleties of the raga, such as usage of gamakas, anya swaras, and ragabhavam. This is especially true for heavier ragas like Yadhukula Kambodhi, Thodi, Sahana, Huseni, Varali, etc.
An interesting case[according to whom?] to observe is the similarity between the ragas Darbar and Nayaki. Both are upanga janyas of the 22nd mela Kharaharapriya, and have similar patterns in both their ascending and descending scales. However the two ragas are distinctly different, especially where the usage of the gandhara and nishada are concerned. When singing Darbar, these swaras are rendered more quickly with gamaka, and shine especially well when jante prayogas are used in the descending. On the other hand, these swaras are more elongated in Nayaki, as illustrated in the pallavi of Muttusvami Dikshitar's famous composition, RanganayakamBhavayeham.
The best way to learn a raga and account for all its subtleties, therefore, is to refer to compositions, which often contain a wealth of phrases that lend beauty to the raga. Before an artist attempts to sing a raga, he or she should be familiar with several compositions in that raga. He or she should have also listened to many different renderings of the raga by various artists, in order to get a better sense of how certain phrases can be applied.[according to whom?]
Improvisation and gender[edit]
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Raga in dance and drama[edit]
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Raga in non-classical traditions[edit]
Raga in devotional poetry and song[edit]
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Raga in Harikatha[edit]
The Harikatha tradition, which originated in the Indian state of Maharashtra, involves popular storytelling combined with dance and music. Krishna Bhagavathar, an exponent of Carnatic music, is responsible for creating the South Indian harikatha style - singing in raga, dancing with tala, and narrating stories in a manner that sustains the attention of the audience. In effect, harikatha is an art form that requires knowledge of raga, Carnatic music, dance, speech, diction and dramatic technique. Harikatha performance aims to communicate with non-literate and literate audiences.[14]
Well-known harikatha performers had sound knowledge of Carnatic music in the early part of the 20th century - some were well established Carnatic musicians, while others were composers. Today, a few performers keep this tradition alive, and use ragas from both Carnatic music and Hindustani music traditions.[14]
Raga and light classical music[edit]
Raga in film songs[edit]
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Mand Raaga - Tu Chanda main Chandani (Reshma aur Shera) http://www.asavari.org/songs.html
See also[edit]
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Notes[edit]
- ^ Kassebaum (2000), p91
- ^ a b Kassebaum (2000), p93
- ^ MacCarthy, M. (1912). "Some Indian Conceptions of Music". Proceedings of the Musical Association. 38th Sess: 41–65.
- ^ a b Kassebaum, G. R. (1987). "Improvisation in Alapana Performance: A Comparative View of Raga Shankarabharana". Yearbook for Traditional Music 19: 45–64. doi:10.2307/767877. JSTOR 767877.
- ^ Kassebaum (2000), p17
- ^ a b c Wolf, R. (1999). "untitled". Asian Music 30 (1): 199–203.
- ^ a b Royal Carpet: Glossary of Carnatic Terms R
- ^ a b Nettl, Bruno (1974). "Thoughts On Improvisation: A Comparative Approach". Musical Quarterly LX: 9–12. doi:10.1093/mq/LX.1.1.
- ^ Higgins, J. B. (1987). "Performing Arts in India: Essays on Music, Dance, and Drama". Asian Music 18 (2): 103–118.
- ^ a b Henry, E. O. (2002). "The Rationalization of Intensity in Indian Music". Ethnomusicology 46 (1): 33–35. doi:10.2307/852807. JSTOR 852807.
- ^ Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), p219
- ^ Viswanathan & Cormack (1998), p221
- ^ a b Palackal, J. J. (1998). "untitled". Yearbook for Traditional Music 30: 207–207.
- ^ a b Kassebaum (2000), p106
References[edit]
- Kassebaum, Gayathri Rajapur. ‘Karnatak raga’ (2000). In Arnold, Alison. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. New York & London: Taylor & Francis.
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