R¿tigaula

This book, authored by the late Princeton music scholar Harold Powers, discusses a single Indian r-ga called R-tigaula. R-tigaula's pitch structure, conventions surrounding its performance, and its treatment in historical Indian music treatises are comprehensively described. Powers's unique approach to theorizing r-ga examines r-ga structure and meaning in this monograph too, from the perspective of musical communication and discourse. From within this perspective, Powers shares his thoughts about music's connection to language, and the relationship between r-ga expression and linguistic communication.

Somangshu Mukherji is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Michigan.

1. The language of South Indian classical music 1.1. Improvisation of formal music 1.1.1. Improvisation, music, and language 1.1.2. The nature of r-ga1.2. Some visual representations of r-ga R-tigaula 1.3. General aspects of composition and improvisation in South Indian music 1.3.1. Form and text in composition 1.3.2. Style in improvisation: the temporal domain of flow1.3.3. Other temporal domains: pace, position, and frequency 2. The morphology of r-ga R-tigaula 2.1. Basic elements of musical form 2.1.1. Aspects of pitch space and Sanskrit general phrase types 2.1.2. Phrase types and nuclear motives 2.2. Motivic structure in R-tigaula 2.2.1. The nuclear motives of R-tigaula 2.2.2. Simple motivic expansion in the rising and higher-falling categories 2.2.3. Complex motivic expansion in the lower-falling category 2.3. Thematic compounds 2.3.1. The higher-register thematic compound 2.3.2. The lower-register thematic compounds 3. The syntax of r-ga R-tigaula 3.1. Phrase structure, order, and ambitus 3.1.1. Phrase sequences in the - 7 melodic ambitus 3.1.2. Phrase sequences in the - 5 melodic ambitus 3.2. The exposition of R-tigaula in the lower register 3.2.1. The two ambitus used for the lower register 3.2.2. The two thematic nuclei of the lower register and their extensions 3.3. The exposition of R-tigaula in the higher register 3.3.1. The thematic nuclei and exposition of the higher register 3.3.2. Further instances of higher-register exposition and elaboration 3.3.3. Internal and external marks separating off the higher-register exposition 3.4. Rhetorical procedures in the improvisation 3.4.1. Rapid passage work in improvisation and composition 3.4.2. The improvisatory procedure of end-marked phrases 3.5. Form, style, and procedure in improvisation 4. Musicological method and Indian music 4.1. Linguistic models and music analysis 4.1.1. Models 4.1.2. Levels 4.2. Indian music and historical musicology 4.2.1. Composition, improvisation, and the creative process in Indian music 4.2.2. The "work of music" as historical datum and aesthetic object 4.2.3. Ethnomusicology and "art" music 5. Sanskrit musical theory in the 16th-18th centuries 5.1. The Indic tradition for musical discourse 5.2. The Tanjore tradition in historical context 5.2.1. The treatise Sang-ta-sudh- and the Sh-hji manuscripts 5.2.2. Scholastic conflict between old and new doctrine 5.3. The new doctrines of Sang-ta-sudh-5.3.1. The new tonal system of the 16th-18th centuries 5.3.2. Sang-ta-sudh-'s six r-ga components and the Sh-hji manuscripts 5.3.3. The four essential parts of a r-ga presentation in 17th-century Tanjore 5.4. Descriptions of R-tigaula in the treatises 5.4.1. The similarity of the modern and the 17th-century Tanjore R-tigaula 5.4.2. The description of R-tigaula in the Sang-ta-sudh-5.4.3. R-tigaula in the treatise Sang-ta-s-râmròta5.4.4. R-tigaula in treatises not from Tanjore 6. Pre-modern and modern discourse in r-ga R-tigaula 6.1. Extemporized discourse in R-tigaula in the pre-modern sources 6.1.1. The general shape of the improvisation and its introductory portion 6.1.2. The exposition sections 6.1.3. The passages returning to a constant theme 6.1.4. The concluding portion 6.2. Comparison of 17th-century and 20th-century extempore discourse in R-tigaula 6.3. Improvisation, the concept of r-ga, and the premises of musical thought Appendix 1. Visual models of R-tigaula Chart I. Kriti "Janan- ninnu vin-" Chart II. -l-pan-Appendix 2. Guide to the audio recordings for R-tigaulaAppendix 3. Ornaments and notation Glossary. Notes. Bibliography.