Born in 1927 in Bombay, Vanraj Bhatia is an Indian composer of music for concerts, film, television, opera, meditation, and commercial jingles. His musical style is unique, stemming from his training in both Western and North Indian classical, or Hindustani, music. Little is known about Vanraj Bhatia in the Western classical world, and in India he is recognized primarily as a composer of film music. This dissertation aims to bring awareness of Vanraj Bhatia's significance as a Western classical composer, focusing on uncovering the cross-cultural influences of his only solo flute piece, Night Music, composed in 1964. This research offers Western flutists a better understanding of Indian music, specifically Hindustani and Indian folk music traditions, often not fully understood since Indian music is an aural tradition, rarely transcribed and notated, and relies on a guru/shishya (teacher/student) relationship. Such an understanding will elucidate the compositional choices made in Night Music, allowing flutists to be more informed in their performance of it. Although the focus of this study is on Night Music, other repertoire from Bhatia's concert music and film music will also be examined to illuminate Bhatia's compositional style, which includes elements of Hindustani music, Indian folk music, and Western musical traditions. An exploration of some of Bhatia's other compositions written for Western musicians will give readers beyond the realm of flutists a better understanding of his distinctive, cross-cultural style and influences, and will introduce larger audiences to this exceptional and little-known composer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1248444 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Woolf, Rachel, 1988- |
| Contributors | Sundberg, Terri, Scott, James Copeland, Ragland, Cathy, Virani, Vivek |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | x, 167 pages : illustration, music, Text |
| Coverage | India |
| Rights | Public, Woolf, Rachel, 1988-, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
| Relation | Recital: March 24, 2014, ark:/67531/metadc848650, Recital: November 19, 2014, ark:/67531/metadc948608, Recital: April 26, 2016, ark:/67531/metadc1614911 |
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