The other side of the moon- day, night, and moorchana

Classical Music of North India
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Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

The other side of the moon- day, night, and moorchana

Post by Rsachi »

I relished some interesting experiences on the other side of the moon recently.

The Hindu Friday Review-Bose festival featured a Jasrangi jugalbandi between Ashwini Bhide and Sanjeev Abhayankar
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Deepa Ganesh in her review wrote,
The ancient moorchana principle, reinvigorated by Pandit Jasraj, combines the male and female principles of music. Here, the female singer makes the shadja her take off point (like in the normal course of things), while the male voice makes the madhyama his reference point. Principally, what this results in is two different ragas, but they are effectively dwelling on the same notes. Moorchana, in Carnatic music parlance is the concept of shruti bedha, where you shift your adhara shadja to any other note on the scale and what it produces is a different raga.

Ashwini Bhide Deshpande chose Raga Lalith and Sanjeev Abhyankar, sang the resultant Pooriya Dhanashree. Ashwiniji’s Lalith used the natural dhaivath (shuddh dha) for her rendition of Lalith as opposed to the more commonly heard flat dhaivath (komal dha) these days. According to musicologist Bhatkande’s treatise of Hindustani classical music, Lalith has shuddh dhaivath and therefore belongs to the Marwa That. This naturally bestows the raga with a serious and reflective temperament. Suppose, Ashwiniji had sung Lalith with komal dhaivath, its counterpart would have been Todi.
For me, the experiment was less than satisfactory. Of course Sanjeev was very comfortable doing whatever was supposed to be done, and Ashwini sang the double Ma of Lalit repeatedly to enforce the difference. But for my ears, the two alaaps and taans and even swaras were like pieces of the same cloth. Even the coloured lights which were changing as the ragas changed didn't help me.
It was much better in the second item with Durga and Bhupali but again I felt the swaras were like colourful dancers forming different tableaux and enacting different themes but the dancers themselves did not appear different in anyway from what I identified them originally to be.

The second experience was a DD Bharati programme wherein Pandit Jasraj was answering a question about why Hindustani music states that different ragas are meant for different times of the day. He sang pieces of Puriya Dhanashri, Marwa etc. and showed, as he was suggesting, that the different ragas evoked moods of morning and evening even when the same swaras were being touched, but with different accents/gamakas. He said Puriya Dhanashri was fresh and vivid like the sun rise and Marwa was the mood of a man coming home tired and laid flat after the day's exertions.

He also said something very interesting. If a musician does his riyaz from 3/4 AM to 7/8 AM, his music will instantly enter and stir the "hearts" of the listeners. If a musician does his riyaz from 9 PM to 1/2 AM, and then sings in public, the listeners will feel messed up in their heads, but not really feel any stirring in the heart. And if you listen to a musician who does everything correctly but yet you don't feel anything either in your head or heart, know that the musician is one who does riyaz during the day (somewhat ineffectual as as an aesthetic experience!)

i want to know what you rasikas feel. Please of course relate all these comments and data to the music on the other side of the moon. It will not be directly translatable to our beautiful world of idli sambar and Kambhoji.

Oh, by the way, in another TV programme, Panditji also said something about the 22 shrutis. He said that unlike the piano and harmonium with only 12 shrutis or swara positions, Indian classical music had developed the extremely subtle system of 22 shrutis. He said a really accomplished Hindustani gayak could sing even 18 or 19 shrutis. He said he could himself sing 19. He demonstrated a few Ri's and Ga's. And he said that in Carnatic music, musicians are trained and can achieve 18 shrutis, which he implied was a credit to the Carnatic system.

So folks, come on. Tell me what are your thoughts on all these! Maybe I am auditorily handicapped or something?

Rsachi
Posts: 5039
Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: The other side of the moon- day, night, and moorchana

Post by Rsachi »

I found a You Tube video (an excerpt from their earlier performance elsewhere) of the same Jasrangi - Lalit and Puriya Dhanashri. You can get an idea of how it sounds:
Pt Sanjeev Abhyankar ,Ashwini Bhide & Vishwanath …: http://youtu.be/ZtcffM9s1Ec

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