http://epaper.navhindtimes.in/NewsDetail.aspx?storyid=16097&date=2017-02-12&pageid=1
Rendezvous @ Ketevan Bhakti
In 1986, Ilaiyaraaja, the
carnatic musician, paid a tribute to the great musical composers Johann Sebastian
Bach and Tyagaraja, considered father of carnatic music, in his fusion
music album- ‘How to Name It? ’ The album had carnatic and western musical
movements that were dedicated to Tyagaraja and Bach. One of the tracks is based on ‘Preludium in E’ by Bach. In another track
two violins talk, one of which speaks Western classical and the other Indian
classical!
Johann
Sebastian Bach Cantatas and the devotional compositions of Tyagarajaa are
rooted in bhakti. The ongoing Ketevan World Sacred Music Festival in old Goa
explores the intersections between Bach’s World and Indian classical music.
There is also a separate concert dedicated to the compositions of German bhakti
saint Hildegard von Bingen..
My
research to find interconnections between these two musical exponents led me to
a study printed in the Boulder Bach Beat, which states, “The musical composers
Bach and Tyagaraja belonged to different races, cultures, and language and
musical traditions. Bach lived in Germany, Tyagaraja lived in Tamil Nadu (South
India). Bach died in 1750, whereas Tyagaraja was born in 1767. The former’s
mother tongue was German whereas that of the latter was Telugu. Bach was a
Christian whereas Tyagaraja was a Hindu. The former lived in an increasingly
capitalistic semi-feudal society while the latter lived in a traditional caste-based
society coming under growing influence of British colonialism. The western
musical tradition to which Bach belonged was polyphonic, whereas the South
Indian tradition to which Tyagaraja belonged was based on ragas and taalas.”
Yet they have a commonality that transcends these differences,
turning all barriers to dust. The study further states, “Their musical genius
and innate spiritual sensitivities were wonderfully receptive to the spirit of bhakti.
Their creations are the highest musical expressions of the spirit of bhakti of
their respective countries. Bach’s duet ‘Mein Freund ist mein’
from Cantata no. 140 Wachet auf,
ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140) and Tyagaraja’s krithi Rama ‘Nannu Brovara’ (raga:
Harikamboji, taala: Rupaka), along with countless other examples, prove the
point.”
Studies
do not doubt their spiritual cores, but it is interesting to note that their
spiritual compositions were deeply influenced by religious reformation
movements in their respective countries. While these bhakti movements developed
separately from one another (one in Germany and the other in South India), they
show striking similarities.
Bhakti
movement in South India arose as a response to Brahminic Hinduism of the
medieval era. Brahmins from elite classes had built fortresses around sacred
texts, and only the priests could have access to them. Worship was mired in
elaborate rituals and sacrifices which required money. Also the language of
ceremonies was Sanskrit, which was like Greek to the common man. The hegemony
of the caste system bound society into separate iron-clad compartments, and was
a misinterpretation of the religious texts. Also the priests were exclusively
male.
The pioneers of the South Indian bhakti
movement were the wandering poet-saints called Alvars (Vaishnavites, devotees
of Vishnu and his incarnations Krishna and Rama) and Nayanars (Shivites,
devotees of Shiva). It first began in Tamil Nadu in the sixth century and later
spread to other states in India. It was at its peak from the 13th to
the 17th century, and as a result, carnatic music was born in South
India in the 1400s.
Similarly
a bhakti movement arose in Germany in the eleventh century in response to the
institutionalized medieval Roman Catholicism, headed by the pope. The priests
(exclusively male) played a great role between God and man, leading prayers in
Latin (language of the educated elite) and other mandatory ritualistic
procedures. The fine line between political powers and the church was crossed
frequently in favour of the wealthy class. The teachings of the bible had lost
their essence to superficial protocols. Along came the German Reformist Martin
Luther (1485-1546), who gave a great boost to the bhakti movement in Germany. Luther,
who was himself a gifted poet and a musician, composed numerous congregational
hymns in German, known as ‘chorales’.
More
interestingly, in contrast to prevailing male dominated religious structures of
their time, the pioneers of the bhakti movement in both the countries were
women. The pioneer of German bhakti was a woman, Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), who was a Catholic
nun (enjoy the Ketevan concert ‘Hildegard to Cage’ on 18th Feb). She
was followed by several other nuns. The first bhakti saint in India was Karaikkal Ammaiyar
(sixth century AD).
In India, the bhakti saints also
included outcastes and pariahs. The bhakts in both countries composed songs in
native languages, which were then sung in congregations by common people. This
enabled the Germans/Indians to express their innermost spiritual emotions in
their mother tongue. They emphasized the need for man to directly experience
the divine through personal efforts.
Bach
and Tyagaraja were hugely influenced by the bhakti movements of their
respective countries. Bach was brought up in the tradition of north German
polyphonic music, which gave pride of place to the chorale. Tyagaraja was
brought up in the tradition of South Indian Carnatic music. Tyagaraja, was
greatly influenced by the devotional songs of saint Purandaradasa, sung by his
mother since his childhood. Tyagaraja was a devotee of Rama, a ‘Ramabhakta’.
In
today’s world of partisan politics and sectarian violence, world sacred music
festivals become centers of research and collaboration where new meanings are
sought and understood, in turn creating channels of communication. These threads
hope to tie seemingly diverse cultures together and build bridges of understanding
in a world that’s falling apart at its seams.
