Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition

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A groundbreaking study into the parallel developments of worship and musical performance in Hindu culture.

Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition builds on the foundation of Guy L. Beck’s earlier work, Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, which described the theoretical role of sound in Hindu thought. Sonic Liturgy continues the discussion of sound into the realm of Hindu ritual and musical traditions of worship.

Beginning with the chanting of the Sama-Veda alongside the fire sacrifices of the ancient Indo-Aryans and with the classical Gandharva music as outlined in the musicological texts of Bharata and Dattila, Beck establishes a historical foundation for an in-depth understanding of the role of music in the early Puja rituals and Indian theater, in the vernacular poetry of the Bhakti movements, in medieval temple worship of Siva and Vishnu in southern India, and later in the worship of Krishna in the northern Braj region. By surveying a multitude of worship traditions, and drawing upon diverse sources in both Sanskrit and vernacular languages, Beck reveals a continuous template of interwoven ritual and music in Hindu tradition that he terms "sonic liturgy," a structure of religious worship and experience that incorporates sound and music on many levels.

In developing the concept and methods for understanding the phenomenon of sonic liturgy, Beck draws from liturgical studies and ritual studies, broadening the dimensions of each, as well as from recent work in the fields of Indian religion and music. As he maps the evolution of sonic liturgy in Hindu culture, Beck shows how, parallel to the development of religious ritual from ancient times to the present, there is a less understood progression of musical form, beginning with Vedic chants of two to three notes to complicated genres of devotional temple music employing ragas with up to a dozen notes. Sonic liturgy in its maturity is manifest as a complex interactive worship experience of the Vaishnava sects, presented here in Beck’s final chapters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Guy L Beck

Guy L. Beck is assistant professor of religion at Louisiana State University. After studying vocal classical music in India from 1976-80 and earning a B.A. in Music from Bangiya Sangit Parishad in Calcutta, Beck received an M.A. in Musicology (1986) and a Ph.D. in Religion (1989) from Syracuse University. His current projects include translations of Sanskrit and Bengali hymns and research into North Indian temple music.

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Bibliographic information

Title
Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition
Author
Edition
1st. ed.
Publisher
ISBN
9789381406298
Length
240p., 23 x 15cm.
Subjects