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D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
25 cm.
ix, 174p.
Hardcover
Rs. 520.00
With its roots in the Samaveda (which treats it as a 'divine art'), music in India has a long, splendid tradition. Over the centuries, it has absorbed fresh influences and experimented with new forms to finally evolve into two meticulously codified classical systems: Hindustani and Carnatic. In today's growing library of writings on Hindustani music, Anjali Mittal's research is yet another valuable addition adopting, as it does, a viewpoint which has been neglected so far, namely, the viewpoint of contemporary western aesthetics. It is for the first time that this monograph examines the concept of form in Hindustani classical music. In this context, analytic attention has been focussed on some select compositions in dhruvapada, dhamar, tarana, vilambit and drut khyal genres of Hindustani classical vocal music. A wide variety of drut tanas has also been analysed in terms of notation and linear diagrams. Such diagrams, in fact, distinguish the present volume. Analysis of some rhythm-cycles and rhythmic patterns is another feature of this book. Thoroughly documented and written in a jargon-free language, the study includes a contextual discussion of aesthetics, artistic expression, aesthetic predicates and, above all, the concept of artistic form. The work may be expected to interest all those who want an analytic understanding of what form (or bandisha) means in the region of Hindustani classical vocal music.
About The Author
Dr. Anjali Mittal teaches Hindustani Classical Music and Aesthetics at the University of Delhi. She passed her B.A. Hons. and M.A. examinations from the same institution, getting a high first class on both occasions. As a vocalist herself, Dr. Mittal had the privilege of learning Hindustani Classical Music under the wing of the Late Ustad Nasir Ahmed Khan of Delhi gharana. As a result of this training, she is now a proficient vocalist herself; and her music can be heard from A.I.R., Delhi every now and then. Presently a Reader in the Faculty of Music & Fine Arts of Delhi University, Dr. Anjali Mittal is one of the few teachers of music whose concern with the art follows the way of contemporary aesthetics.
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