Abstract
Music was not only an art form to Rabindranath Tagore, it was one of the most vital forces in his dynamic consciousness throughout his life. He was brought up in an atmosphere of music. But despite ample opportunities, a thorough methodical training was beyond his artistic temperament and he willfully avoided it. Yet, he was much more musical than the average music-monger. He got into the essence of various kinds of good music most easily, leaving off their professional theoretical details and customary acrobatics. As intuition was a greater factor to him, he often missed or rather neglected the traditional styles. That has not been harmful. On the contrary, Tagore’ s creations in the realm of music have resulted in an original, subjective and in a sense transcendental style.
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Notes
Tagore’s letter to Dilip Kumar Ray, posthumous publication in Desh, literary number 1383 B. S., p. 28. My translation. Sanai: wind instrument for North Indian classical music. Multan, Barowan: North Indian afternoon ragas or melodies.
R. R. 3, p. 636; Abbreviation: R. R. — Rabindra Rachanavali (Works of Rabindranath), Birthday Centenary edition, 1961, Govt. of West Bengal publication. The number following R. R. stands for the volume number. All quotes from R. R. are my translation.
Santiniketan, R. R. 12, p. 127.
Geetabitan (Tagore’s musical works), R. R. 4, p. 392.
Ibid., p. 58.
The Oxford History of Music, Vol. 1 (1957), reprint 1960, p. 196.
(London: Unwin, 1931).
Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of an Artist, (Santiniketan: Visva-Bharati, 1963), p. 15.
R. R. 12, p. 544.
R. R. 9, p. 397.
Ibid., p. 397.
Geetabitan, R. R. 4, p. 453.
R. R. 3, pp. 759-760.
Poem 43, Shesh Saptak, R. R. 3, pp. 216-217.
R R 3, p. 380.
Op. cit., Macmillan, Indian Edition, 1948, p. 19.
Op. cit.,R. R. 9, pp. 717-718.
Raja, R. R. 6, p. 309.
Galpa Guchchha (Collection of Tagore Short Stories), R. R. 7, p. 679.
Mridanga: one of the percussion instruments of Indian classical music.
“Komal Gandhar” Punashcha, R. R. 3, p. 26. Tanpura: a four-stringed instrument used for playing the central tonic drone in Indian classical and art music. Tan: a quick but artistic succession of notes. Bhairabi: a morning melody consisting of all the minor (soft) notes of the Octave.
R. R. 9, p. 748.
R. R. 1, p. 390.
Geetabitan, R. R. 4, p. 218.
R. R. 3, p. 275.
R. R. 3, p. 778.
Sitar: a North Indian stringed instrument for playing classical music.
Love song no. 233, Geetabitan, R. R. 4, p. 281.
R. R. 4, p. 424.
R. R. 12, p. 128.
“Janmadine” (On the Birthday), Senjuti, R. R. 3, p. 552.
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Ray, S. (2002). The Phenomenology of Music: A Vital Source of Tagore’s Creativity. In: Tymieniecka, AT. (eds) The Visible and the Invisible in the Interplay between Philosophy, Literature and Reality. Analecta Husserliana, vol 75. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0485-5_20
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