INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

kind underline that the aesthetical force of kirtan virtually makes people sit down
even if they do not intend to do so, simply because kirtan attracts and “catches people
from within”.
STRUCTURED IMPROVISATION
Staged kirtan performances by professional musicians can be arranged at the private
house, in the gurdwara, or at some other public place in times of Sikh festivals, ceremonies,
or whenever there is a sponsor to organize a religious event. Different types
of kirtan are today firmly integrated in Sikh rites of passage. For instance, the singing
of the composition Char lavan is an essential component to stipulate a Sikh marriage
and the typical Vairagi kirtan is sung after a death of a family member. Occasionally
the congregation will arrange kirtan darbar, or sessions of kirtan during which several
groups take turns singing in night-long programs (rain sabhai).
The texture of kirtan consists of a melodic line (raga) which is vocalized by the
singer, a musical metre articulated on drum, and a pitch outline of the melody which
is reinforced on a portable harmonium. A typical ragi ensemble therefore consists of
three persons who are responsible for bringing out these three components: the
leader who sings and plays on a harmonium; a second person who accompanies with
another harmonium, and a third companion who sets the rhythm on tabla. Typically
the ensemble appears as a collective group (jatha) named after the leader, usually the
more experienced performer who, during performances, will be seated in the centre
of the group. Although string-instruments (tanti) are the traditional Sikh instruments
and held to be more suitable for devotional Sikh music because of their ability to
produce pure notes, harmonium and tabla ‒ the former a European instrument introduced
in India during the nineteenth century ‒ have become conventional for kirtan
performances today. The ragi jatha sit on a platform lower than the Guru Granth Sahib
facing the congregation.
Considering that the verbal content of gurbani is paramount in Sikh kirtan the
formal elements of performances can be identified by poetic rather musical terms.
The rhythmic patters of hymns derived from the Guru Granth Sahib will guide the
overall structure of the musical setting, including the length, proportions, and number
of sections. Acoustically the performer will bring out the text with clarity by placing
emphasis on salient features of the chosen gurbani hymn. A common pattern is to
build up a song structure with complementary sections of refrain (sthai) and crescendo
(antara). Poems in the Sikh scripture are divided into units with numeral digits
after each line and intersections with refrain lines which carry the central idea of a
hymn and are to be sung after each verse. In kirtan the performers will therefore start
with the refrain line (sthai) and repeat it after each completed verse in successive
order according to the poetic structure of the hymn (See Figure 18). The musical contrast
between refrain and verse in repeated sequences serves to underscore complementarity
between statements and answers. The refrain line represents stability of the
poem and the verse allows for excursions that will move the listeners to new under-
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008