11. Dhrupad Bibliography

The best general introduction (with extensive bibliographies) to the classical music of the Indian Subcontinent is contained in the section on "India" in the two editions of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, available in the reference section of most major libraries:

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Vol. 9, pp. 69-166.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition. New York: Macmillan, 2001. Vol. 12, pp. 147-272.

The section on "Pakistan" presents a brief survey of different musical genres and folk and regional traditions:

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Vol. 14, pp. 104-12.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition. New York: Macmillan, 2001. Vol. 18, pp. 917-25.

A very interesting and extensive treatment of the visual depiction of musicians and musical instruments in the tradition of Mughal miniature painting may be found in:

Wade, Bonnie. Imaging Sound. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Two good introductions to various aspects of Dhrupad, which was the dominant form of classical music in the Mughal era, may be found in:

Perera, E. S. The Origin and Development of Dhrupad and its bearing on Instrumental Music. Calcutta: K. P. Bagchi and Co., 1994.

Srivastava, Indurama. Dhrupada. A Study of its Origin, Historical Development, Structure and Present State. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980.

Two additional publications focussing on Dhrupad, as yet unseen by this writer, are:

Raja, Deepak, and Suvarnalata Rao, eds. Perspectives on dhrupad: a collection of essays. Mumbai: Indian Musicological Society, 1999.

Thielemann, Selina. The Darbhanga Tradition: Dhrupada in the School of Pandit Vidur Mallik. Varanasi (India): Indica Varanasi, 1997.

For information on where to obtain the above Indian publications in the U.S., as well as how to search for further books and articles related to Dhrupad and the music of the Mughal era, see the Dhrupad Web Links.

-- Brian Q. Silver