Society III: Changes in the Social Status of Music and Musicians
By the end of the 19th century, the system of court patronage, whereby classical music was supported by local rulers who employed musicians on a permanent basis, had virtually come to an end, owing to the impoverishment of the princes, the political disruption of colonial rule, the Mutiny of 1857 and other factors. In the 20th century, musicians were forced to seek alternative channels of employment. At the same time, classical music came to be seen as an expression of ancient Indian culture, closely allied to Hindu devotional religion, rather than a product of what had become a moribund and decadent Mughal, therefore Muslim, court culture. Although many leading musicians of the 20th century were from Muslim gharānā families, an increasing majority of musicians are now from non-hereditary Hindu backgrounds.
The demise of court patronage made it essential for musicians to perform for and teach a wider public: namely the increasingly wealthy, educated, urban middle class. One of the first musicians to take music out of the courts and into the public arena was Paṇḍit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, a leading non-family disciple of the Gwalior gharānā and teacher of Vidyadhar Vyas' father, Narayanrao Vyas.
Paluskar pursued what he regarded as a sacred mission to save Indian classical music, opening music colleges to the general public in Lahore and Bombay. He established in his colleges a new pedagogy and curriculum for music education, drawing on Western models (for example by publishing textbooks) but introducing an element of religious (Hindu) ritual, such as daily prayers. He also introduced, for the first time in India, the concept of classical music concerts for the general public, with tickets sold at the door. Thousands of Indians have benefited from his innovations by becoming familiar with classical music, at least as listeners; but most professional performers continue to be trained in the traditional manner, individually, by gharānā experts, rather than in college classrooms.
From around 1950 musicians also started to travel outside India, and built up what has become a large international audience for Indian classical music. This has led both to economic prosperity and to stardom internationally and at home for a small number of successful performers. Exposure through radio, television and recordings has also enabled some musicians to become household names in India and abroad. These developments have raised the social status of the musicians concerned to that of cultural ambassadors for India, not unlike film or cricket stars. Education also offers a secure and prestigious employment for some musicians, as in the case of Vidyadhar Vyas (Head of the Music Department, University of Mumbai [Bombay]). But music is still regarded in some sectors of society as a lowly occupation.
Instruments and Ensembles
The listening example features the most important instrument of Indian classical music: the human voice. Although Indian vocal music is less familiar than instrumental music to audiences outside India, instruments such as the sitar have been developed in such a way as to enable instrumentalists to emulate the flexibility, resonance and expressivity of the voice. We therefore begin with a performance that is primarily vocal.
The listening example also features two instruments that normally accompany the voice in North Indian classical music:
the pair of small drums called tablā, and the drone lute tambūrā (or tānpurā). A similar ensemble may be seen in the picture to the right; this is the standard ensemble for the performance of North Indian classical vocal music. It may be optionally expanded by the inclusion of a melodic instrument: either the bowed lute sārangī, or a small portable harmonium.
An Indian dancer serves as an instrument, accompanying music by producing rhythms through footwork, ankle bells, and other body movements.
