Synthesis..Synergy..Symbiosis..Shukran.. Kuwait all the way…All these attributes have been my Anubhuthi(experience)over the last two decades that I have given to spreading awareness about one of the most ancient musical systems of the world..`Carnatic Classical music’.While collaborating with Kuwait’s state musicians,commemorating Kuwait’s 50 yrs of Independence, I was amazed at how the Carnatic Raga Vakulabharanam could easily merge with Arabic Maqam(raga)Bayati Shuri and Hijaz Nawahand..and mused in awe as the Arab musicians hummed `Neesamana’ a GNB(Carnatic legend)’s kriti with literal translation as `Inteeyaummi kullushaibilwajood..(singing the mother’s glory)in the Carnatic melody SubhaPantuvarali,while playing the swaraprastharas and the korvai with ease on the `Qud’..(Arabic/Turkish Stringed instrument.)
I have on earlier occasions written about great legends and Maestros who regaled Kuwait and inspired us time and again with their musical virtuosity.Today my attempt would be to bring out the close proximity between Classical Carnatic music forms and Arab music
Carnatic Classical form
This divine form dates back to the Vedic Period.After the emanation of 12 basic scales....with inputs by great music theoriticians..the Carnatic system came to be streamlined into a 72 Melakarta(main scale )(Main Raga)system with tonic shifts,rationally leading to creation of Ragas(melodies).the first Raga being Kanakangi(or kanakambari in the Asampurna mela) and the 72nd raga being Rasikapriya.From these Ragas can arise 34,000 Janya ragas(Derivatives).Chaturdandi Prakaashika(Sangeeta Sastra Grantha)(Treatise on music) by Shri Venkatamakhi.(Venkateswara Diskshitulu)(1660)was a pioneering contribution in the field as was the Sampoorna Raga scheme by Shri Govindacharya.Thus was born a Raga Scheme which could comprehend all Ragas of all times and of all countries.
Classification Chart of Carnatic Classical Ragas(72 Melakarta Raga Scheme with 36 Shuddha Madhyama and 36 Prathi Madhyama Ragas)
Genesis:Synthesis:Influences
Arab music World and Arab Musical genres:
Just as we have Ragas in Classical Carnatic Music music,Arab music has scales or ragas known as as`Maqam’
If we have the 72 Mela Karta System of Carnatic music or the 10 `That’ System of Hindusthani Classical music,Arab music has Maqams named according to their `JIN’(CONNOTATION)
Maqam Ajam , known as Jaharkah (in Turkish) is so close to Raga Shankarabharanam,and Raga Bilawal,while Maqam Bayati Shuri is the equivalent of Raga Vakulabharnam(14th Melakarta Ragam)
Maqam Hijaz-Nahawand is equivalent to the Raga Basant Mukhari in Hindustani music. This scale commonly occurs in Jewish, Greek, Turkish, Arab and Egyptian music. It is known as the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale and Jewish scale. It is used in Hebrew prayers and Klezmer music and is known as Ahava Rabbah. It is often referred as a Spanish Phrygian scale and Spanish gypsy scale because of its use in Flamenco music. Some popular compositions in carnatic music on the above Raga (Vakulabharanam.In Carantic Music) are Ye Ramuni Nammitino... by Thyagaraja, Nambinen Ayya... by Koteeswara Iyer, Rama Namamai... by Mysore Vasudevachar and Prasanna Venkateshwaram( Vativasantabhairavi ragam) of Muthuswamy Dikshitar (All great Composers of Carnatic music between the 17th to 20th century )
ARAB MUSIC: HISTORY
Arabic music originated in antiquity, and its present form today has been shaped by factors such as:
Contact with assimilated cultures: Exposure to musical traditions of Syria, Mesopotamia, Byzantium, and Persia resulted in reciprocal influences and the cultivation of new forms of Arabic music.
Contact with the Classical past: The introduction of ancient Greek treatises to Islamic scholars resulted in many Arabic music treatises being written between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries.
Contact with the Medieval West: The Islamic occupation of Spain from 713-1492 brought contributions from Moorish Spain to Arabic musical forms.
The influence of Turkish music: Many elements of Arab music and Turkish music got assimilated during the Ottoman Empire's period of dominance over Arabic countries, particularly during 1517-1917.
Contact with the modern West: Beginning in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, contact with the West resulted in the increased use of Western instruments, notation and theory.
Understanding Arab Music:
Classical Arab music is monophonic, and is based on melodic modes called maqam . These melodic modes often utilize microtonality: intervals that are smaller than the half-step and whole-step used in traditional Western art music. Unlike Western art music which uses twelve intervals to divide the octave, modern Arabic music theory divides the octave into twenty-four equivalent intervals (quarter-tones are used to achieve this scale).
CLASSIFICATION OF ARAB MAQAM(ARAB MELODIES)AS PER FIRST LOWER JINS:9 MAQAM CLASSIFICATION GROUPS
Ajam: Ajam, Jiharkah, Shawq Afza
Sikah: Bastanikar, Huzam, Iraq, Mustaar, Rahat El Arwah, Sikah, Sikah Baladi
Bayati: Bayati, Bayati Shuri, Husseini
Nahawand: Farahfaza, Nahawand, Nahawand Murassah, Ushaq Masri
Rast: Mahur, Nairuz, Rast, Suznak, Yakah
Hijaz: Hijaz, Hijaz Kar, Shadd Araban, Shahnaz, Suzidil, Zanjaran
Saba: Saba, Saba Zamzam
Kurd: Kurd, Hijaz Kar Kurd
Nawa Athar: Athar Kurd, Nawa Athar, Nikriz
Arabic music frequently utilizes rhythmic patterns or metric modes called 'iqa, played on the percussion with a pattern of strong and weak beats which can range from two to twenty-four or more.Improvisation is a key component of Arabic classical music. Arabic music employs various forms of improvisation such as forms that are entirely improvised, partially improvised forms and rhythms inserted in a composed piece, and improvised ornaments used within a composed piece. Some of the ornaments used in instrumental music include turns, trills, grace notes (above and below), glissando and vibrato. One of the most highly regarded forms of instrumental improvisation is called taqsim . The Arabic scholar and musician Ali Jihad Racy asserted that Arabic musical improvisation is not only used for affective reasons (on a stylistic and connotative level), but also for symbolic reasons (for social and artistic values) Some of the instruments commonly used today in Arab music include traditional Arabic instruments such as the qanun (a plucked, boxed zither), 'ud (a short-necked lute), and nay (reed flute), as well as Western European instruments such as the violin (during the 19th century, the European violin began to replace the Arabic spike fiddle or kamanja in most Arab countries.
(Carnatic Music Genres are Swarajathi:Kritis:Padams:Varnams:Thillana,Javalis..)) Some of which are comparable to:Arab Musical Forms /Genres))
Some Arab musical Genres!
The Tahmila(a dance form in 2/4 0r 4/4 moderate tempo)The Bashraf(Opening Composition)The Maqtou’a Mousiqiyya(an Ensemble Composition.with melodic patterns and rhythms in rural,folk,instrumrntal music)The Quasida(Classical Arabic poem for soloist)The Quadd(poetic genre from Syria)The doulab(a short instrumental composition)
Arab musical Rhythms :Muwashahat Rhythms(Tala forms in carnatic music)
The Andalusian Muwashahat (plural of Muwashah) are a musical form that originated in Al-Andalus (medieval Spain and Portugal). The muwashah is often composed using a complex rhythm, ranging from 2/4 to 48/4 and greater. A muwashah may use more than one rhythm, although the norm is a single rhythm throughout. Lyrics in a muwashah are poetry in classical Arabic, and must neatly fit the rhythm (every syllable must fall on a beat).
Some Arabic Rhythm patterns -Arabic-maqsum, 4/4..Warshan Arabi..32/4..Muddawar 12/4 could be comparable to Eka Talam chatushra gati, Adhi Talam chatushra Gati and Rupaka Talam Chatushra gati respectively of Carnatic music
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
ALL MUSIC FLOWS FROM THE SAME SEVEN NOTES….ALL FORMS OF MUSIC WALK IN AND OUT OF EACH OTHER..MAQAMS AND RAGAS MEET EACH OTHER…AS DO MUSICAL GENRES…WHERE IS THE DIVIDE?????????