Music and Musical Thought in Early India by Lewis Rowell; Philip V. Bohlman; Bruno NettlReview by: James R. KippenJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 114, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1994), p. 313Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/605872 .

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Reviews of Books Reviews of Books

Music and Musical Thought in Early India. By LEWIS ROWELL.

Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology, edited by PHILIP V. BOHLMAN and BRUNO NETTL. Chicago: THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, 1992. Pp. 409; tables, notes, glossary, bibli-

ography, index. $59 (cloth); $23.95 (paper).

For many scholars and teachers of the musical traditions of India, myself included, the ancient history of the subject is

something one tends largely to avoid, with the exception of mere passing references to the Vedas and two important trea-

tises, the Niatyasastra (?A.D. 200), and the Sargltaratndkara (A.D. 1240). In general, one's intention is to scurry through to "modern times" (i.e., post-1700), to the inception and develop- ment of instruments and musical forms that enjoy wide cur-

rency today. The bulk of Indo-(ethno)musicological writing, in fact, deals only with the past one hundred to two hundred years, and is informed largely by the recordings and oral accounts of

twentieth-century musicians. In short, for the lack of a compre- hensive history and analysis of music and musical thought in

early India, the foundations of Indian music are relatively little understood or appreciated. Now I, for one, can no longer claim

ignorance as an excuse. Lewis Rowell's masterpiece has re- dressed the imbalance in historical writing by providing an ex- cellent guide to "the intellectual foundations of India's ancient music culture" (p. ix) up to the mid-thirteenth century.

Rowell betrays an inherently ethnomusicological bias (and a welcome one at that) in attempting to contextualize musical facts and concepts with particular reference to more general ideas in Indian philosophy, cosmology, religion, literature, and science. With the help of many quotations from a number of treatises, some never before translated from the original San- skrit, Rowell embarks upon a thematic explication of key con-

cepts such as thought, sound, chant, theater, pitch, time, form, song, and style. Each topic is dealt with in a separate chapter, efficiently subdivided into its constituent elements and logi- cally progressive in its manner of discourse. For instance, the seventh chapter, on pitch, opens with a clarification of the of- ten controversial but crucially fundamental terms svara and sruti (which relate to scale degrees and their relative intona- tion) and progresses through a series of topics relating to scale structures, their rotations, their modal implications (questions of sonance, consonance, dissonance, etc.), methods of manipu- lating the order of notes, and finally to that most complex of musical concepts, raga. The problem of sruti has been raging for decades (if not centuries) in the Indian musicological do- main; whilst Rowell's brilliant explanations will not end the arguments once and for all, I suspect that his common-sense approach will serve as a key reference point for future debates. Of course, Rowell would not wish us to lose sight of the main issue here, and that is how all these components add up to in- form a musical system as sophisticated as ever was developed by any society on Earth. As he explains, rdga is

Music and Musical Thought in Early India. By LEWIS ROWELL.

Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology, edited by PHILIP V. BOHLMAN and BRUNO NETTL. Chicago: THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, 1992. Pp. 409; tables, notes, glossary, bibli-

ography, index. $59 (cloth); $23.95 (paper).

For many scholars and teachers of the musical traditions of India, myself included, the ancient history of the subject is

something one tends largely to avoid, with the exception of mere passing references to the Vedas and two important trea-

tises, the Niatyasastra (?A.D. 200), and the Sargltaratndkara (A.D. 1240). In general, one's intention is to scurry through to "modern times" (i.e., post-1700), to the inception and develop- ment of instruments and musical forms that enjoy wide cur-

rency today. The bulk of Indo-(ethno)musicological writing, in fact, deals only with the past one hundred to two hundred years, and is informed largely by the recordings and oral accounts of

twentieth-century musicians. In short, for the lack of a compre- hensive history and analysis of music and musical thought in

early India, the foundations of Indian music are relatively little understood or appreciated. Now I, for one, can no longer claim

ignorance as an excuse. Lewis Rowell's masterpiece has re- dressed the imbalance in historical writing by providing an ex- cellent guide to "the intellectual foundations of India's ancient music culture" (p. ix) up to the mid-thirteenth century.

Rowell betrays an inherently ethnomusicological bias (and a welcome one at that) in attempting to contextualize musical facts and concepts with particular reference to more general ideas in Indian philosophy, cosmology, religion, literature, and science. With the help of many quotations from a number of treatises, some never before translated from the original San- skrit, Rowell embarks upon a thematic explication of key con-

cepts such as thought, sound, chant, theater, pitch, time, form, song, and style. Each topic is dealt with in a separate chapter, efficiently subdivided into its constituent elements and logi- cally progressive in its manner of discourse. For instance, the seventh chapter, on pitch, opens with a clarification of the of- ten controversial but crucially fundamental terms svara and sruti (which relate to scale degrees and their relative intona- tion) and progresses through a series of topics relating to scale structures, their rotations, their modal implications (questions of sonance, consonance, dissonance, etc.), methods of manipu- lating the order of notes, and finally to that most complex of musical concepts, raga. The problem of sruti has been raging for decades (if not centuries) in the Indian musicological do- main; whilst Rowell's brilliant explanations will not end the arguments once and for all, I suspect that his common-sense approach will serve as a key reference point for future debates. Of course, Rowell would not wish us to lose sight of the main issue here, and that is how all these components add up to in- form a musical system as sophisticated as ever was developed by any society on Earth. As he explains, rdga is

... one of the most explicit and unequivocal statements on musical meaning ever devised by a culture. In its un-

derlying and self-fulfilling assumption that a particular melodic structure insures the communication of affect from person to person, the tradition of raga has become one of the primary means by which Indian culture has become sensitized and perhaps even instructed in emo- tive life. (p. 179)

At no time throughout the book is the author pedantic: he

manages to present a vast array of technical information in a manner that is at once easily memorable and always relevant; he is sparing and tasteful in his choice of colorful philosophi- cal illustrations and arguments from the treatises; and he has a

disarmingly urbane way of simplifying complex issues, of ex-

plaining all sides of a problem, and of arriving at the most

likely scenario without sounding opinionated. The level of

scholarship demonstrated throughout this book suggests that it will inspire further detailed studies in this field; moreover, it should also be argued that Music and Musical Thought in

Early India ought to be the logical starting point for all stud- ies of Indian music. With its clearly defined chapter layouts, thoroughly cross-referenced notes, a helpful glossary of San- skrit terms, bibliography, and functional index, this book is as

easily accessible to the student as it is informative for the ex-

pert. Without a doubt, Lewis Rowell should be congratulated on an outstanding piece of work that has provided a deeper and more thorough understanding of the philosophical and theoretical roots of Indian music.

JAMES R. KIPPEN UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

After the Masters: Contemporary Indian Architecture. By VIKRAM BHATT and PETER SCRIVER. Ahmedabad: MAPIN PUB- LISHING, 1990. Pp. 222, 83 drawings, 268 plates, 103 in color, map. $45.

Trying to present diverse contemporary architecture is a difficult task at the best of times, when there is an absence of "critical distance" (to use a Framptonesque phrase). And In- dian architectures-I use the plural advisedly-have many cultural roots, climates, materials and building traditions that make this task even more formidable. It is, however, the one that the authors of this book attempt and largely succeed in achieving.

The title of the work suggests that not only is their starting point the "Masters" who worked in India, Le Corbusier and

... one of the most explicit and unequivocal statements on musical meaning ever devised by a culture. In its un-

derlying and self-fulfilling assumption that a particular melodic structure insures the communication of affect from person to person, the tradition of raga has become one of the primary means by which Indian culture has become sensitized and perhaps even instructed in emo- tive life. (p. 179)

At no time throughout the book is the author pedantic: he

manages to present a vast array of technical information in a manner that is at once easily memorable and always relevant; he is sparing and tasteful in his choice of colorful philosophi- cal illustrations and arguments from the treatises; and he has a

disarmingly urbane way of simplifying complex issues, of ex-

plaining all sides of a problem, and of arriving at the most

likely scenario without sounding opinionated. The level of

scholarship demonstrated throughout this book suggests that it will inspire further detailed studies in this field; moreover, it should also be argued that Music and Musical Thought in

Early India ought to be the logical starting point for all stud- ies of Indian music. With its clearly defined chapter layouts, thoroughly cross-referenced notes, a helpful glossary of San- skrit terms, bibliography, and functional index, this book is as

easily accessible to the student as it is informative for the ex-

pert. Without a doubt, Lewis Rowell should be congratulated on an outstanding piece of work that has provided a deeper and more thorough understanding of the philosophical and theoretical roots of Indian music.

JAMES R. KIPPEN UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

After the Masters: Contemporary Indian Architecture. By VIKRAM BHATT and PETER SCRIVER. Ahmedabad: MAPIN PUB- LISHING, 1990. Pp. 222, 83 drawings, 268 plates, 103 in color, map. $45.

Trying to present diverse contemporary architecture is a difficult task at the best of times, when there is an absence of "critical distance" (to use a Framptonesque phrase). And In- dian architectures-I use the plural advisedly-have many cultural roots, climates, materials and building traditions that make this task even more formidable. It is, however, the one that the authors of this book attempt and largely succeed in achieving.

The title of the work suggests that not only is their starting point the "Masters" who worked in India, Le Corbusier and

313 313

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