Major Projects
The ITC Sangeet Research Academy has initiated a wide range of research projects in the
oral sub-traditions to secure their structural cogency and longevity. The major projects
undertaken include:
- The documentation and rationalisation of Raga structure and Lakshanas.
- The compilation of compositions delineating various facets of basic Ragas of
Hindustani music, as an educational tool.
- The audio-documentation and notational transcription of traditional compositions
hitherto undocumented.
- The documentation and analysis of gayakees (styles) of the major sub-traditions
(gharanas).
- The analysis of the styles of the great masters of the twentieth century.
In 1990, under a grant from the Ford Foundation, USA, ITC-SRA was given an assignment
to collect musical data from the living learned musicians of different gharanas. The
project took nine years to complete. The second phase of editing and notating the
compositions has been taken up.
As a result of the Ford Foundation Project, a priceless treasure house of documented
knowledge was created - detailed interviews, and more than 5000 compositions, through
nearly 1000 hours of recordings of 41 learned musicians belonging to different gharanas.
i) Raga Analysis
The
ITC Sangeet Research Academy has undertaken a major exercise to identify the correct
structures of all the major Ragas and fit them into a rational framework through
discussions among experts.
The sources for this analysis include traditional compositions, audio records of the old
masters, and the Raga Lakshana documented by Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande
and his compeers a
century ago. This documentation is both in the form of compositions with notation and
verbal descriptions.
This project of Raga Analysis is particularly important because the nebulous structures of
Ragas have further dissipated during the last several decades due to the increasing
commercialisation of classical music.
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