Guest guest Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 Sat Nam, An ethnomusicologist friend/teacher told me that there are Indian singers who specialize in getting people into a trance. They are part of the Drupad tradition. Ali Akbar Khan is the most familiar product of that tradition. He specializes in what was originally a Sufi style (Persian) and he is North Indian. This musicologist says that the singing style in our local Sikh Gudawara (Pittsburgh) preserves some arcane styles and is very high quality. It is all part of the Dhrupad singing style. There is little adornment (no fancy trills, the raga are rythmns are basic). All of this music is intended to bring the sing-along listeners into a trance state. The musicians don't go into a trance. Their job is to create that music. I am not sure how much of that is Sufi, but the general focus on creating a trance state is. My teacher, Amelia Maciszewski, is studying a North Indian female singer, Girija Devi. Except for the top singers, such female singers have become corteseans because their singing is no longer popular in modern India. Giriji Devi's voice is deeply moving: An expression of the holy crone. The whole classical music tradition experienced a decline as secular rulers, starting with the Moguls who oppressed the Sikhs, used music for sensual pleasure rather than to experience the divine in ourselves. The only 3HO singer who I have found singing in anything close to an Indian Raga (the system of scales and rythmns) is Sat Kirin. She has a new release available on www.yogatech.com. Her music is lovely. Your question is really deep and I don't know much, but I am very interested in finding out more. Blessings, Ellen Madono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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