The aesthetic and the sacred

Assigned readings

Please read the following.

Festivals of Dhrupad in Northern India

Intrinsic Aesthetics in Balinese Artistic and Spiritual Practice

Tarab in the Mysic Sufi Chant of Egypt (pass briefly over descriptive sections; focus on the role of tarab aesthetics in mystical practice)

Next week we'll also continue our discussions of last week's readings, which are closely related, so please bring them along.

Listenings, viewings

Example of Balinese Barong/Rangda ritual possession music Gamelan Pelegongan - Sisyan, Danse Des Apprenties-Sorcieres Du Theatre Exorciste Calonarang

Example of dhrupad, as performed by the Dagar brothers. Fifteen generations of Dagars have sung India's dhrupad devotional music. Rag Kambhoji: Alap is followed by Rag Kambhoji: Dhrupad in praise of Krishna.

Excerpt from a performance by Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami. Read notes for this example.

Listening: (delayed from last week)

• Examples of Temiar ritual music and soundscape
• Examples of pentecostal preaching style and music

We will watch some videos on Tuesday, including:

• Excerpts from Mystic Iran (delayed from last week)

plus:

• Footage of the Rangda/Barong ritual dance (Bali)
• Dhrupad performance
• Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami