History & Culture
The range of music in India, and the rest of South Asia, extends from simple melodies, to what is one of the most well-developed "systems" of classical music in the world. Indian music can be described as having been introduced with the chanting of Vedic hymns. However, it is more than likely that the Indus Valley Civilization was the foundation for India's musical culture; but there is no evidence and nothing known about the music of these people. There are references to various string and wind instruments, as well as several kinds of drums and cymbals, in the Vedas. Sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 5th century AD, the Natyasastra, on Treatise on the Dramatic Arts, was composed by Bharata. This work has had an influence on the development of Indian music, dance, and the performing arts in general.
The term raga, on which Indian music is based, was first discussed at any length in the Brhaddesi, a project from the 10th century attributed to Matanga. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva, who wrote Sangitaratnakara, had 264 ragas. By this time, the Islamic population was being noticed in India. Muslim rulers and noblemen always showed their loyalty to music. In the courts of the Mughal emperors, music is said to have flourished, and the composer-musician Tansen was one of the jewels of Akbar's court. Though songs had traditionally been composed in Sanskrit, by the sixteenth century they were being composed in the various composers of Hindi -- Braj Bhasa and Bhojpuri among them -- as well as Persian and Urdu. The lyrics of Surdas, Tulsidas, and most particularly Kabir and Mirabai would therefore be set to music, and bhajans, or devotional songs, continue to be very popular.
By the sixteenth century, the difference between North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) music was also being more sharply outlined. Though music in the north, owing to the strong Muslim presence, had been more open to outside influences, in the eighteenth century South Indian musicians had to show themselves as being quite adaptable to adopting foreign instruments. Sometime in the mid-eighteenth century, the violin entered the repertoire of South Indian music. Classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, may be either instrumental or vocal. Though traditionally this music would have been performed in temples, courts, residences of noblemen and other patrons, and in small gatherings (called baithaks) of music aficionados, today most classical music concerts are held in concert halls.
In India, however, music is most commonly associated with film music. Popular Indian films, whether in Hindi, Tamil, or any of the other Indian languages, are most often described and understood in the West as "musicals", as they are seldom without songs, though they by no means constitute a genre as did American musicals. Also popular are ghazals, poetic compositions that aspire more than do popular film songs to poetic qualities: the subject here is usually the loss, memory, and remembrance of love. Qawaalis, compositions in which the subject is also love, though here it is understood that it is the love of man and woman for the Divine, have also attained a certain following, and in recent years the Pakistani qawaali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has established a world-wide reputation.
The term raga, on which Indian music is based, was first discussed at any length in the Brhaddesi, a project from the 10th century attributed to Matanga. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva, who wrote Sangitaratnakara, had 264 ragas. By this time, the Islamic population was being noticed in India. Muslim rulers and noblemen always showed their loyalty to music. In the courts of the Mughal emperors, music is said to have flourished, and the composer-musician Tansen was one of the jewels of Akbar's court. Though songs had traditionally been composed in Sanskrit, by the sixteenth century they were being composed in the various composers of Hindi -- Braj Bhasa and Bhojpuri among them -- as well as Persian and Urdu. The lyrics of Surdas, Tulsidas, and most particularly Kabir and Mirabai would therefore be set to music, and bhajans, or devotional songs, continue to be very popular.
By the sixteenth century, the difference between North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) music was also being more sharply outlined. Though music in the north, owing to the strong Muslim presence, had been more open to outside influences, in the eighteenth century South Indian musicians had to show themselves as being quite adaptable to adopting foreign instruments. Sometime in the mid-eighteenth century, the violin entered the repertoire of South Indian music. Classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, may be either instrumental or vocal. Though traditionally this music would have been performed in temples, courts, residences of noblemen and other patrons, and in small gatherings (called baithaks) of music aficionados, today most classical music concerts are held in concert halls.
In India, however, music is most commonly associated with film music. Popular Indian films, whether in Hindi, Tamil, or any of the other Indian languages, are most often described and understood in the West as "musicals", as they are seldom without songs, though they by no means constitute a genre as did American musicals. Also popular are ghazals, poetic compositions that aspire more than do popular film songs to poetic qualities: the subject here is usually the loss, memory, and remembrance of love. Qawaalis, compositions in which the subject is also love, though here it is understood that it is the love of man and woman for the Divine, have also attained a certain following, and in recent years the Pakistani qawaali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has established a world-wide reputation.