Bevor die Untersuchungen im einzelnen vorgestellt werden, sollen an dieser Stelle einige
zusammenfassende Gedanken zum rāga als wichtigstem musikalischen Konzept der
nordindischen Kunstmusik erläutert werden. Selbstverständlich ist es nicht möglich, ein
solch komplexes musikalisches System wie das des rāga in wenigen Sätzen umfassend
zu beschreiben. Die Schwierigkeit dieses Unterfangens sei anhand des folgenden Zitats
verdeutlicht: »Is it possible to define raga? Virtually every writer on Indian music has
struggled with this fundamental question and usually begins by explaining what it is
not.«
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Zum besseren Verständnis scheint es jedoch unumgänglich, wenigstens einige zentrale
Prinzipien zu erwähnen. Dem niederländischen Musiker und Ethnomusikologen Joep Bor
ist dies meisterhaft gelungen, daher sei er hier abermals zitiert: »Broadly speaking then,
a raga can be regarded as a tonal framework for composition and improvisation; a
dynamic musical entity with a unique form, embodying a unique musical idea. As well as
the fixed scale, there are features particular to each raga such as the order and
hierarchy of its tones, their manner of intonation and ornamentation, their
relative strength and duration, and specific aproach. Where ragas have identical
scales, they are differentiated by virtue of these musical characteristics. (…)
Most importantly, a raga must evoke a particular emotion or create a certain
›mood‹, which is hard to define, however. As the term raga itself implies, it
should ›colour‹ the mind, bring delight, move the listeners and stimulate an
emotional response. In other words, the concept of raga, which has evolved over a
period of two millenia, eludes an adequate brief definition. It is an open-ended
concept in which the associations of a particular raga with a specific emotional
state, a season or time of day, though intangible, is as relevant as its melodic
structure.«
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