Blog Post #6

Japanese noh theatre was originally a folk art style that moved into the upper levels of society. Based on this performace that I watched and readings from the book, I have found several important factors for producing a noh play. There are only a few instruments, several drums and a single flute. Also, there are only a few actors, who are richly costumed and masked, and also sing during the performance. The drums beat out different patterns and rhythms that do not seem to coincide. The actors pantomime a story that can be understood if one is well versed in Japanese noh theatre. There is a small group of all male chorus members who sing in a chant like manner, reminiscent of Buddhist monks. The music is played generally in a nonpulsatile and free manner often with long pauses. This helps create an atmosphere of timelessness for the audience. The audience is generally familiar with the story before the play has even begun. The stories and styles are very well known. Most noh plays are unrehearsed by the actors and musicians.

I watched this video of Begum Parveen Sultana. Several chordophones are played during this piece. The chordophones could be sitars, sarods, or surbahars, but I'm unsure as to which specific type of chordophone they are since the video does not show the entire instrument. An electric keyboard also seems to be in use, which may be the drone sound that I hear when I listen to this. Towards the end, a membraneophone is played for a short while. The chordophones and membraneonphones were played quietly as more of a background to Begum Parveen Sultana's singing. In this video, Begum Parveen Sultana sounds like she is reciting a religious chant, from which Hindustani Indian classical music is partially derived. I am unsure if she was saying words or just merely "making noise". Towards the end it sounds more like she is reciting words of some sort, but since I do not speak any Indian or similar language it is hard to distinguish anything. The main focus of the song is on Begum Parveen Sultana's voice, which is a major feature of Hindustani Indian classical music. Even the instruments seem to mimic or at least sound like her voice or another person's voice. Hindustani Indian classical music has three major influences: Hindu religion, Indian folk music, and also Persian cultures. I can hear some similiarites between Googoosh's singing and Begum Parveen Sultana's.

Blog Post #4

I watched this video of Googoosh on YouTube. It is called Gharibe Ashena. To me the music sounds like it has a Latin influence. The melody starts off being played by the flute like instrument then the female vocalist Faegheh Atashin sings the melody. Its almost like they have a dialogue throughout the song, when one is playing/singing, the other is not. Unlike most Iranian classical music, the song is rather simple. One melody, and then the supporting harmony provided by the drums, keyboard, flute, and what sounds like violins and other chordophones. I cannot tell if there are two different types of drums are being played. If there are, this could be an African influence. Also the song is clearly composed and rehearsed whereas a lot of Iranian classical music is improvised. I think it is interesting to note how nicely dressed and well put together the singer is as compared to Western popular music where the women parade around in clothing that could barely be considered underwear. This is a clear reflection of culture differences. Laws in Iran after 1979 put a damper on pop music. Whats interesting about her is that she stayed true to her heritage and culture and after the ban on female soloist singers, she stayed in Iran until 2000 when she was granted a special visa to go out and perform again. I think its fascinating that after a 21 year break, she still had mass amounts of followers all around the world and continued to support her even when she was not performing.