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Thursday, April 10, 2008

What is classical music?

this discourse about the classical/nonclassical music is going on for a long time. after our independence in 1947, Indian music took new turns with regard to the trends and traditions. gharana tradition got scattered as the the lordships evaporatted. the patrons of classical music were redefined. in fact, the world of classical music changed upside down. artists from India began performing internationally. they got recognition globally. great maestros like Pt. Ravishankar, Ustad Allauddinkhan, and others made new experiments in the field of classical music. many Indian musicians experimented with duets in unison with the western artists. this new kind of music was called the fusion music. the question was whether this fusion could come in the category of classical music or not. as per the definition of the classical music, this music was based upon a strict set of rules. it had a composition which was based upon a certain scale. therefore, it had all the ingrediants to be called the classical music. but somehow, the traditionalists were not ready to call it classical music. ultimately, this debate was left to the audiences.
So let us decide on the point if fusion music is classical or not.
your comments are welcomed.

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