Concerts-the Pride of Indian Classical Music

Hey! So last week we talked about a typical Western Orchestra and this week we'll discuss about the Indian concerts and types of them. To understand the concerts, we'll first discuss about the two main types.

The first one is the Gayaki style or the Vocal style. The second is the Tantrakari or stringed instrument style.

Gayaki style is based on the wonders the human voice can do. In a typical Hindustani vocal concert, we see the main artist accompanied by a percussionist (usually the instrument is Tabla for khayal style and Jori for Dhrupad style. We shall discuss these in the coming articles, so tune in!) and a string instrument such as a Sarangi or Harmonium or the Rudra Veena in case of a Dhrupad concert. In rare cases, a violinist is found accompanying the singer. There might be other artistes or the students of the main singer accompanying their guru, providing vocal support and Tanpura.

Tantrakari style is mainly composed of stringed instruments such as Sitar, Sarod, Santoor, Violin, et cetera. There is a percussionist, usually the Tabla and a person with the Tanpura present on the stage.

The two different styles vary in a lot of ways; the first one being that the voice is something which is in built and not an instrument. Using breath control, you can extend a single note to an average of 30 seconds but when you pluck a string, the vibrations last for a few seconds.

The vocal concerts usually begin with a short Alaap (a string of notes played or sung slowly in various patterns) and then continues with the Vilambit Laya or the slow tempo. The artist makes sure that his audience are captivated by the music. The tempo slowly increases which is known as the Drut Laya or the fast tempo. After the melodic Alaaps and the fast Thaans (a string of notes played fast in various patterns, usually one or two notes per beat), the raga ends with a flourish.

The instrumental concerts begin with a short Alaap and usually, the artist does the Jor Jhala which is a mixture of notes played fast and quick without the percussion. The Jor is usually slower than the Jhala. Once this ends, the artist starts playing in Madhya laya or the medium tempo in any Taal of their choice. Then the tempo increases, (Drut Laya) and the audience are captivated by the heavenly music. The raga ends with a fast tempo leaving the audience in awe.

The only exceptional instrument in the Bansuri or the Indian bamboo flute which is similar to the vocals as it uses breath control as well. One can play the Bansuri in both Gayaki and Tantrakari styles. In concerts nowadays, we see the vocalist singing in Madhya laya and the Sitarist playing a

raga in Vilambit Laya. The tempo doesn't usually define the feeling of the raga. A typical concert is usually for about 3 hours.

The Carnatic Classical concerts deal mainly with the compositions and Kruthis with an assorted percussion which includes Mridangam, Ghata, Khanjira, Morsing and Thavil. The Vocalist or the

Instrumentalist is accompanied by a Violin.

However, there are exclusive concerts where the artist plays in virtuoso, which is similar to the Hindustani Alaap Jor Jhala. This is called as Ragam Thaanam, Pallavi. These concerts are on the spot exploration of the raga, similar to Hindustani Music.

I'll leave these links below for you to check out these ragas and get an idea of the topics discussed above.

• Pt. Ravi Shankar plays Raag Miyan Ki Malhar: https://youtu.be/_tlqyioBbRY

• Bharath Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi sings Raag Miyan Ki Malhar:https://youtu.be/SqzGELYC00w

• Bharath Ratna M S Subbulakshmi sings Raga Kalyani:

https://youtu.be/ZUeUPrTUxuQ

• Dr. N. Ramani plays Raga Kalyani:

https://youtu.be/xwZdg_PLonI

(I chose the same raga so you understand the way one raga can be played and viewed by different artistes in a different perspective.)

Tune in for future posts!!