The description of Hindustani music as “Classical music” is one of the unfortunate things to happen to this tradition. The objections to this description are several. Three, however, deserve special mention. Firstly, the description is an import from Western music, where “Classical” refers to scholarly music composed during the “Classical” period. Any period-specific connotation is inapplicable to Hindustani music. Secondly, in common usage, the word “classical” has to come to suggest an elitist barrier (“class” as the opposite of “mass”), which again is misleading in the sense in which most people understand it. And, finally, the adjective is scientifically imprecise, because it does not allow its features to be distinguished from other categories of music prevalent in the same culture.
Scholars therefore recommend the term “Art” music in
preference to “Classical” music. This nomenclature is faithful to its features,
and also allows us to distinguish it from other major musical categories –
primitive music, folk music, popular music, devotional music, and martial
music. These various categories co-exist in the musical culture, and are
distinct in their features. Of course, they also interact with each other in
often imperceptible ways and may also overlap.
Hindustani
music should therefore be considered a spontaneous, living, and constantly evolving
expression of society’s musical needs and aspirations. It is an organic part of
the musical culture, and not something outside it. It is accessible to almost
anyone within the culture, though indeed with some effort. In short, it is not music from a different planet.
Features of art music
As a distinct category of music, Art Music has its defining
features. It is devoted towards the achievement of aesthetic objectives, to the
exclusion of all others. It relies entirely on auditory stimuli to achieve its
aesthetic purpose. The existence of other stimuli (e.g. visual appeal or bodily
movement) is incidental, and considered disruptive, if it draws particular
attention to itself. Art music is abstract in the sense that it does not explicitly
represent anything in particular outside of itself. And, finally, to qualify as
Art, it also has to define the artist – and to this extent, it is also
individualistic. This feature is even more important in Hindustani music because,
it combines in the same person the simultaneous roles of composer and performer.
An Art Music tradition generally incorporates several genres
within itself, each with its well-defined disciplines and degrees of artistic
freedom. Because of the simultaneous operation of discipline and artistic
freedom, the appreciation and enjoyment of Art Music grows directly in
proportion to the awareness of the rules that guide performance. This very
phenomenon of discipline alongside artistic freedom allows music to change and
evolve in response to changing audience profiles and tastes. As a parallel
reflection of this dialectic, an art music tradition supports a scholarly
tradition which monitors the performing tradition and conceptualizes trends in
practice.
For a detailed discussion on this subject, read "Hindustani Music Today" by Deepak Raja, DK Printworld, New Delhi 2012.
