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entirely used
according to performance techniques of Indian music, iii) the organisation of
texture inspired by Indian performance models, such as the melody-rhythm
axis, but arranged more freely, iv) the text, in English, which is proposing
themes inspired by Hindu philosophy. Such elements are ‘counterpointed’ by
Western features such as the string orchestra, the singing style, the orchestration
techniques and the overall form of the song. In evaluating the song Farrell
writes: ‘It is a quintessential fusion of pop and Indian music’ and ‘Harrison
has created a hybrid form, neither entirely Indian nor entirely pop’ (Farrell,
1997:185).
In Within you without you the logistics of the instrumentation are inversely proportional to those of the previous song, in that the context is characterized by an explicit Indian idiom wherein the function of the string orchestra resembles that of the sitar in Norwegian wood, as melodic and timbral reinforcement of the texture. In both cases the textural role of the ‘alien’ instrument is absorbed by the logistics imposed by the dominant cultural context – this is most evident in the choice of idiom and its deriving harmonic and melodic structures – and for this reason the weight given to the instrument is too minimal to establish an intercultural discourse with the other instruments. Although Within you without you presents by far a more interesting musical case than Norwegian wood, in neither song an intercultural dialogue is taking place, as the discourse is defined by one chosen idiom. However, we may agree that Within you without you is more likely to denote a hybrid context, bearing in mind that ‘hybrid’ is not necessarily ‘intercultural’. Also, the two examples show four distinctions: i) how the context is established by the degree of the musical idiom;19
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