Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 1st Movement vs. Maru Bihag (Hindustani Raga)

Bach's pitch

- Scale used is the *diatonic scale*, comprising 7 different tones (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do) - same kind of scale used in nearly ALL modern music (of any kind or style)

Bach's harmony

- *Basso continuo* - cello plays "a skeletal indication of the primary melodic and harmonic ideas" of the whole composition.

Bach's dynamics

- *Terraced dynamics* - changes in volume are sudden rather than gradual

Hindustani Raga's rhythm

- *tala* - meter in Hindustani Raga - No meter during opening alap section, then a regular and unchanging meter of 10 beats, divided up as *2+3+2+3* - this particular tala is called *jhaptal* - Tempo gradually increases: very slow at beginning to very fast at end - Durations of notes of *gat* (recurring melodic phrase) are varied in continuously more complex patterns

Bach's tonality

- Baroque music is the first to use the system of keys that are still used today in nearly all music. - Consequently, it has a very clear tonal center

Bach's rhythm

- Clear, regular, and *unchanging meter* throughout - Tempo is moderately fast and unchanging - Durations of notes of the *ritornello melody* are nearly all the same (16th notes)

Hindustani Raga's tonality

- Hindustani raga is modal, and so has less of a tonal center

Hindustani Raga's melody

- Melodies produced by constant improvised variation on the gat melodic phrase introduced at the beginning of the jhala section

Hindustani Raga's dynamics

- Performance nuances aside, *no marked dynamics*

Bach's melody

- Ritornello melody is comprised of *3 phrases* - 2nd phrase harder to hear than 1st, and the 3rd even harder - each phrase is longer than previous one, creating *asymmetry*

Hindustani Raga's pitch

- Scale is comprised of 9 tones or pitches - scale is different depending on whether ascending or descending in pitch.

Hindustani Raga's harmony

- Since a sitar only plays one note at a time, and the tabla is an *unpitched percussion instrument*, harmonies are limited to the *drone* (one or two constantly held pitches) played by the tambura

Hindustani Raga's texture

- The alap section is homophonic, the jhala section polyphonic. - Since the jhala section is much longer, the *dominant texture is polyphony*

Bach's texture

- The ritornello is homophonic, the solo sections *polyphonic* - Since most of the piece is solo sections, the *dominant texture is polyphony*

jor-alap

- adds a strong metric pulse - after the *alap*

jhala

- adds percussion and moves to a musical climax

alap

- an initial section which is an *improvisatory exploration* of the raga as a mode - slow, free-rhythmic - followed by the *jor-alap*

Bach vs. Hindustani Raga similarities

- strings are plucked, so each note is clear - texture is mostly polyphonic with some homophony

Bach's tone color

instruments: violins, viola, cello, flute, and harpsichord - Strings of harpsichord plucked, not struck, so can hear each note clearly

Hindustani Raga's tone color

Instruments: sitar, tambura, and tabla (percussion) - String of sitar are not strummed but plucked, so can hear each note clearly