Khyal: Creativity within North India's Classical Music Tradition

DETAILS : 

• Author : Bonnie C. Wade
  
• Publisher: ‎ Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers
  
• Publication date: ‎ 1 December 1997
  
• Language: ‎ English
  
• Print length: ‎ 336 pages
  
• ISBN-10: ‎ 8121507650
  
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8121507653
  
• Item Weight: ‎ 1000 g

ABOUT THE BOOK

Khyal: Creativity within North India's Classical Music Tradition, authored by the distinguished ethnomusicologist Dr. Bonnie C. Wade, is a seminal, authoritative study that offers an unparalleled look into the evolution and performance dynamics of North India's premier vocal genre. Published as part of the prestigious Cambridge Studies in Ethnomusicology series by Cambridge University Press, this highly technical monograph bridges the gap between historical musicology and live performance analysis. The core philosophy of this text is to explore the delicate, fascinating tension between rigid structural lineage and absolute spontaneous improvisation. Dr. Wade presents khyal not as a static museum piece bound by immutable rules, but as a living, breathing expressive system where the performer acts as a co-creator, constantly redefining the musical architecture within the boundaries of a given raga.

The structural arrangement of the book provides a rigorous multi-dimensional analysis of the genre, tracing its historical transition from the more structured dhrupad style to its dominant position in modern Hindustani classical music. Moving away from purely abstract music theory, the narrative is grounded in detailed transcriptions, structural charts, and performance notation. Dr. Wade systematically breaks down the distinct stylistic lineages (gharanas)—including Gwalior, Agra, Kirana, and Jaipur-Atrauli—demonstrating how each school approaches rhythm (tala), melodic expansion (vistara), and virtuosic ornamentation (taan). By incorporating extensive interviews with mid-20th-century vocal masters and analyzing archival recordings, the text thoroughly examines the socio-cultural shifts, patronage transitions, and creative choices that allowed individual vocalists to imprint their unique artistic identities onto a shared classical canvas.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Bonnie C. Wade (1941–2022) was an elite American ethnomusicologist, researcher, and academician who served as a Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley. Widely recognized as a pioneering Western authority on Asian musical systems, her field research in India and Japan significantly advanced the cross-cultural study of performance traditions.

Dr. Wade’s investigative and writing style is deeply academic, precise, and profoundly respectful of oral traditions. She writes from the perspective of an immersive scholar who combines rigorous historical archival tracking with deep, empathetic field interactions with master musicians. Her extensive literary footprint includes other highly acclaimed musicological foundational texts, such as Music in India: The Classical Traditions, Imaging Sound, and Thinking Musically, solidifying her legacy as an intellectual pillar in the global documentation of non-Western classical arts.