History of Indian Music
The history and origins of Hindustani classical music, sometimes referred to as the music of North India or Shastriya Sangeet, is both intriguing and interesting.
The melodic structure of Indian classical music is the raga which is formed from a seven note scale called saptak. Whilst there has been mention that the raga form arose from vedic chants from the samveda (a book of the samhita category of veda based on mantras dating between the 1st and 4th millenia BC) we are not clear what musical notes were employed.
The atharva veda, similarly taken from the samhita category of veda, mentions the 7 note system although this is unlikely to have been the one that we recognise as forming the ragas of today.
The first notable work on Indian classical music theory mentioning in it the name raga is the Natyashastra credited to Bharata Muni around the 3rd century BC and although distinctly different from today’s form, raga as concept finds a mention in Matanga’s Brihadeshi (dated around the 6th century AD).
The Saraswathi Veena the ancient string instrument of India whose origin can be traced back to the ancient Yazh, a stringed instrument, similar to the Grecian harp. Bharata, in his Natyashastra, explains the theory of the 22 srutis in a saptak using the Veena.
Following these early texts the Sangit Makaranda by Narada (dated around 11th century) outlines rules similar to the current classification in Hindustani music. For example, ragas are classified into how many notes were employed in their scales, what their gender was and their particular association with a certain time of day.
Sharangdeva’s work Sangit Ratnakar enhanced the development of Indian music by laying down over 200 ragas and introducing the 3 registers, mandra (lower) madya (middle) and tar (higher).
Islamic rule over India in the period after the 11th Century saw a gradual fusion of Persian and Arabic musical forms with the prevailing Hindu music. The scales used at the time in the Middle East were blended with existing scales to form new ragas. The Persian-writing poet, musician and sufi mystic Amir Khusrau, born in 1253, is said to have played a pivotal role in enriching the music of the time. He is credited with the invention of the Qqwwali and Tarana vocal genres and several classical ragas.
Whilst Amir Khusrau undoubtedly plays an important role in the early development of Hindustani music, it is in the music of the 15th century that the links with today’s Hindustani music become more obvious. Pandit Lochana in Raga Tarangini and other later works begin to classify ragas into parent scales or thaat and that ragas could be formed by using some or all of the notes of these thaat.
It was then in the period immediately following this that Indian music flourished. This was largely due to a system of patronage by wealthy state rulers who employed musicians in their courts during the period of the Mughal emperors. For the large part of 250 years these emperors, amongst them, Akbar (d.1605), Shahjahan (d.1658) and Mohammed Shah (d.1758) allowed music and other art forms to develop increasingly. The origin of many of today’s instruments can be traced back to this period.
Whilst the patronage system did still exist during British occupation, it was largely confined to wealthier courts in outlying areas. As the patronage system gradually declined in the early 20th century, All India Radio provided a platform for artists to continue the art of Indian classical music.
Other useful sources
A full history and instruments
Nad – Understanding Raga music (Sandeep Bagchee)