Music beyond borders – Part 1

World music – as it’s been termed has continued to gain popularity. The term today encompasses, practically anything that’s not of Western European or North American origin.

Whether Ravi Shankar in the sixties, Sting’s flirtations with Moroccan music in the 70s through Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Yanni in the 80s and 90s, an endless stream of regional or world music has gained a global audience. My own exposure to world music began with Gregorian Chants, in many ways reminiscent of my childhood experience of vedic chanting and grew thanks to my husband’s interest in Qawwali.

I have been exploring how ragas – be they carnatic or hindustani – figure in music from different parts of the world. Starting this week, over the next several columns, I will share with you some of my more interesting findings. The biggest insight I’ve gained in this exploration is that boundaries are only in our minds. Music is beyond borders.

I’ll start with the Gregorian chants that I spoke of. The Benedictine monks who do the chanting create an immensely meditative atmosphere. They were the precursor to other genres of music such as Hungarian and Spanish music. This particular link, the Gregorian chant “Dies Irae” reminds me of raga Abheri.

Raga Simhendramadhyamam is commonly heard in Spanish and Hungarian gypsy music. The origin of Hungarian music can be traced to Transylvania in central Romania, a place that is synonymous with the fictional character of Count Dracula. Do listen to these musical notes and whether raga Simhendramadhyamam resonates in your mind.

There will be an interlude here before we move onto Africa in the next post.

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About Chitra Srikrishna 50 Articles
Chitra Srikrishna is a Carnatic vocalist and writer living in Bengaluru & Columbus. Chitra blogs for Sruti, runs the podcast Raga Ruminations and produces RaagTime, a radio show on Indian music. Her albums include devotional poetry of Tamil Alwars & Dasa kritis, & thematic compositions on Rama and Hanuman. She's the musical half of a multimedia performance duo HumRaag. Her program BHAKTHI explores the journey of the mystics of India. Her latest Antah Prerna -A Musical Telling of an Entrepreneur's Journey debuted at Bangalore International Centre in 2018.