The Music of Hindostan c5.8

c5.8

In Europe the conventions of folk-song do not land us in any great difficulties. There is nothing in them which a good artist who is content to eschew conceits and lay aside all preciosity cannot as a matter of fact sing. There are few unsingable intervals because, with the exception of a few people, like the Greeks and Hungarians, the scales in use are the common property of the whole continent. There are few melodic ornaments or eccentric rhythms; they do not thrive when voices are much used in concert. But beyond Europe, at any rate in India, with which we are now concerned, it is very different. An enormous amount of convention, the growth of centuries, stands between us and the reproduction and therefore the appreciation of their melodies, for we understand little of any music we can take no part in. And yet no true musician would turn his back on it if he were convinced that the conventions were interesting in themselves; still less if he felt that there was real art behind the conventions.