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Book Review
Jun. 6th, 2010 12:06 amMusic in South India
by T. Viswanathan and Matthew Harp Allen
This was one of the best books in the Global Music Series. It was very well-written, clear, and thorough. Not only did Allen and Viswanathan give a clear and detailed explanation of how Karnatak music works, they also provided interesting and expansive background in the social and cultural history and context of the music and performers. Plus, they touched on some of the folk and local musics of South India.
I got a lot out of this book. It also was a bit of a return to my earlier musical education, because I took a class in solkattu at Wesleyan, with Ramnad Rhagavan, who is mentioned in the text. This book nicely filled in the picture I had of South Indian music from that class, and placed what I'd learned into a larger context. And of course, one of the authors, T. Viswanathan, was a professor at Wesleyan. While I did not study with him, I knew who he was, and I knew his wife because I worked in the music library.
by T. Viswanathan and Matthew Harp Allen
This was one of the best books in the Global Music Series. It was very well-written, clear, and thorough. Not only did Allen and Viswanathan give a clear and detailed explanation of how Karnatak music works, they also provided interesting and expansive background in the social and cultural history and context of the music and performers. Plus, they touched on some of the folk and local musics of South India.
I got a lot out of this book. It also was a bit of a return to my earlier musical education, because I took a class in solkattu at Wesleyan, with Ramnad Rhagavan, who is mentioned in the text. This book nicely filled in the picture I had of South Indian music from that class, and placed what I'd learned into a larger context. And of course, one of the authors, T. Viswanathan, was a professor at Wesleyan. While I did not study with him, I knew who he was, and I knew his wife because I worked in the music library.
