From Listener To Connoisseur

FROM LISTENER TO CONNOISSEUR

A CRITICAL STUDY

 NANDAN HERLEKAR nandanherlekar@gmail.com 

Music is a performing art. The performer is termed as an artiste. He (or she) is a harbinger of tender feelings among the masses, who attend the performance. Listening to the recorded music is a private affair and its effect is on a limited few, who may or may not be attentive towards it. In this regard the performance before connoisseurs has more impact as it has a mass appeal. Among the "masses‟ there are certain groups that are always alert. Then there are groups, which "grace the occasion‟ and there are more number of people who “just attend”. The performer is generally aware of the people who have inclination to good music. He/she performs for them but his anxious lookout for a good listener never ends. 

The topic of the discussion is 'how to become a good listener'. Naturally the sub-topic is how to appreciate music! One has to be a patient listener to become a connoisseur because a true listener can appreciate good music. 

To appreciate music one should know the basics. It may help him in understanding the performance of an artiste. Here it is very necessary that the listener has to take into account the age, experience, training received and the hard work (if any) of the artiste. If the listener has taken some interest in learning the primary facts of music, he or she can well appreciate the performance. He or she may think well before coming to any conclusion in determining the weight and might of the performer. It is a common fact that one writes columns or opines publicly about the artiste and his or her performance very easily, sometimes without knowing the intricacies of classical music. To say a few words one should undergo the training in understanding the needs of an artiste. It might become an injustice in writing or speaking bad before knowing. A critic should be a connoisseur. The aficionado should be considerate and should deserve the position. An artiste cannot be judged in one performance. There are always circumstances behind the good or average performance. Acoustics, accompanists, weather conditions, listeners' attention are the effecting reasons behind the outcome of him or her. Every performer today takes care in choosing his co-artistes, checks the acoustics and sound and requests the organisers to take care of the listeners' attention and patience. Sometimes it helps, but most of the time the circumstances go beyond everyone's limits and the artiste goes along with whatever is with him.

Listening to music is also an art. Most of the listeners generally do not understand the basics, but still they like it. Music always leaves soothing effect on their minds. It distracts them from daily agonies and worries of fast life. In the beginning they may feel out of place in attending the concert or may feel lonely and bored. But it is certain that they get attracted to some powerful force in music. It may be the charisma of the artiste or the quality of his voice, the attractive sound of the percussions or the total effect of the programme. The listener's first ever attendance in the concert transforms him/her into a regular visitor to it. In the beginning he/she is rather perplexed and confused to appreciate 'un-understandable' and complex renderings of the singer. He/she does not understand why the so-called music lovers clap at "meaningless‟ words in the never ending song and lengthy stretches of tones and some vigorous sounds from deep throat of the singer. He/she also claps just to be with the listeners and to not to be observed as an 'odd man out'. He/she is amused to observe peoples‟ words of appreciation uttered loudly. The person feels embarrassed, as he/she cannot express his feelings freely. Then he/she ponders over the remarks made by the expert listeners and then tries to become a good listener. As and when there is a concert, he makes it a point to attend it armed with some words of appreciation. He/she nods at every point stressed by the performer and tries to absorb the good expressions and defines them in his own vocabulary. He/she sheds away his shyness by sitting at some front seats and dares to appreciate loudly. 

A new listener tries to be in the company of regular listeners to know their remarks and expert comments. Whenever he/she finds some good remarks and observes intently. Then the time comes when he/she really can be mesmerized by classical music. He/she feels the difference and enjoys it. As a regular listener now, the listener finds some salient features and attractions of renderings. Most of the time it is the name of the Raga that pleases him/her. Some Ragas have most heard compositions, which are well received. He/she learns them and sings for himself, taps his foot with rhythmic beats in tune with the Tabla player and gets an immense amount of pleasure out of it. As the days pass, he/she recollects a lot number of such compositions and the names of the Ragas. To get more happiness he/she buys CDs of the celebrities and becomes a full time listener. Listening to them in the group of music lovers collectively and exchanging of the recordings becomes a regular happening. He/she finds solace in music in true sense. His/her inner circle of friends consists of admirers of music. Attending the concert with the group collectively becomes a lovely affair. In present times he/she joins Whatsapp groups where they share classical music. Social media becomes a music station for him. This is the process of the making of a listener. 

This listener is in a position to take his own decision in attending, to evaluate the artistes' performance and even to elaborate the happenings in the concert. Still there seems to be a distance between this person and a connoisseur. An ordinary listener likes the composition if it is well known (at least known to him). The listener cannot make out the name of the Raga if any new (or not known to him) composition is sung, as he/she appreciates only “Yeri Aali Piya Bin‟‟ as Raga Yaman. This listener knows some famous compositions, which belong to particular Ragas like -“Kanhaa Re Nand Nandan” as Kedar, “Langar Kankariya Jina Maaro” as Todi and so on. This shows that the listening is based on the lyrical value and not on the aesthetic sense of a Raga. Of course this is the most basic recognition of a person who loves music. His/her appreciation starts with this point onwards. He/she remembers many compositions (Bandish in true sense), which are sung often by the singers. Even he/she enjoys the rhythmic part of them, as he/she understands the difference between Taalas used in various Bandishis. The listener is more inclined towards the Taal, as the sense of rhythm is a common virtue in all music lovers. More than ''Vilambit'' he enjoys "Drut" Laya, since it matches his tapping or clapping. It takes some more time for him/her to enjoy the ''Vilambit Khyal‟, as it is purely ''Swara-Pradhan‟ aspect of classical music. 

Some times it is awful for him to be patient enough to sit motionless and bear the sounds of appreciation of the connoisseurs in the front row. After some more listening he understands that the cycle of the rhythm is very large and the composition sung is also stretched to suit the sphere of the time taken. Now the listener understands  "Sama‟, the beginning of every cycle, where words of appreciation pour in from all sides of the hall. He/she gets a lot of satisfaction when he/she himself can express his/her feelings openly to appreciate the performer. Here one must know that this appreciation is not only for the artiste, but it is for that part of the Raga where it embellishes fully. This appreciation is for the artiste for being able enough to express the core part of the Raga. 

The connoisseur enjoys the attempts of the performer in achieving the height of elaborating all the intricate parts of the Raga. A critic may find the incompetence of the performer in achieving the expected height but a connoisseur appreciates the music rendered wholeheartedly. A connoisseur does not bother for the plain grammar of the Raga. He/she waits for the lovely phrases like ''MaPaDha~MaGaReSa‟ when it is ''Bageshri‟ or ''ReGaReSa~ReGaMaNiDhaPa‟ in ''Jayjaywanti‟ for instance. His/her learning process continues and he/she shows the progress by murmuring the notes or the Alaps of any Raga while it is being rendered. He/she does not depend now only on the Bandish to know the Raga, since he/she knows the aesthetic value of it. This person has now the experience of attending more number of concerts and of listening to more number of performers. He/she accepts that, there are any number of compositions in a Raga with more attractions and also with different rhythmic cycles. The more he/she attends, the more he/she gets to know. 

Every cultured city has a tradition of such good listeners, who can be called as connoisseurs. They have a special place in the minds of the artistes when they are at the front row. Such people encourage their performance; it becomes a treasured memory in their minds. The elders of this tradition boost of their presence in hundreds of concerts of a particular artiste. They authoritatively describe the "still remembered‟ performances of great artistes of yesteryears. The artistes of younger generation try to impress upon them with their performance, which helps them in their music career. They even can get guidance from such connoisseurs in becoming a presentable performer. 

A true connoisseur is the need of the hour. He/she is as important as an artiste is. Such a person is admired by all. Let me narrate a fable describing Akbar's love of music. The story highlights an undeterred common man, who is not bothered of death. Tansen, the great singer was the court singer in Akbar's Durbar. The noblemen readily accepted whatever Akbar wanted and loved. Anytime that Tansen entered, they shouted “Wah- Wah”. Even before he commenced singing they appraised, clapped or hailed him. It was a nuisance for the king. Angered by this, Akbar ordered the head to be cut, of the person who shouted ''Wah-Wah‟. Now everyone was silent and Tansen sang beautifully without any disturbance. At the time when he was at the height of the performance, a cry came from the back ''Wah-Wah‟! Tansen stopped to see the person and the courtiers were anxious to see the death of the betrayer. Akbar saw that in a corner a sword was raised to kill a common man who had praised Tansen loudly. Akbar stopped the soldier and called the person to the front. The king praised his fearless appraisal of music and asked him to sit in the front whenever Tansen sang.

This may be a fable or a true story, but there is no doubt in accepting that there are persons who love music to the core of their hearts and are truly called as connoisseurs.

Nandan