INDIA I
A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE ORIENT
Edited by the International Music Council under the direction of Alain Daniélou
Unesco Collection-Musicaphon Bärenreiter, ?, BM 30L2006
This series about India has four albums made of recordings by A. Daniélou between 1949 and 1951 for this album. They are all supposed to have been reissued as CD by Auvidis or Rounder as read on some sites. But I never found any of them listed on the main platforms. So I'm posting them here until further notice.
Album I focuses on Vedic recitation and chant. A. Daniélou (1907-1994) wrote the presentation text. While he was considered as ''the specialist'' of Hinduism and Indian music between the 1930s and the 1960s in France, some musiclogists and musicians pointed out errors in his publications. Now many more recent works have a different approach and perception of Indian music. But I suppose most of the short introduction is reliable. He says that ''Vedic chant is probably the oldest known form of psalmody'' and thinks that this kind of chant has been preserved through very strict and complex teaching in spite of social changes and political events. But nobody knows for sure when this collection of texts has been drawn up; some say between 1900 and 1000 BCE, others 3500 BCE ...; but although everything is written the transmission has been orally done until now; brahmans teach young children through specific and very strict vocal techniques based on tonal stress, a unique way of pronouncing each letter, in order to keep texts unchanged.
Of course all this was based on the cast system that was praised by Daniélou who was much criticised on this subject.
Anyway it is an interesting document to listen to for this ''music'' long predates what is called Hindustani classical music and is believed to have been in practice even before the Aryans arrived in present India. Most of the Rig Veda is sung with three notes except for Sāma Veda which is considered more ''musical''. At least rhythm in Indian classical music is surely related to the Vedic Sankrit poetry.
