The Gayatri Mantra is one of the most important chants in Hinduism, and is recited multiple times a day. Its central focus is to recognize the unity within the world. The typical recording of this mantra is often accompanied by basic chords that lead the melody. These chords are usually created by a baja (also known as a peti or a harmonium) or a sitar.
Indian music is much different from the romantic period, mainly because the notation system and instrumentation come from two entirely different places. The Indian notation system incorporates microtones and improvisation within certain limits set by basic rules. The most basic instrument used is the voice. It is used in most Indian compositions.
This investigation looks at the links between the well-known piano concerto Clair de Lune and the Hindi mantra known as the Gayatri Mantra. Two things are similar in both pieces: a prominent melodic line and a common major chord finishing the phrases. These links will be expounded upon after evaluating the background of these pieces.
Analysis: Clair de Lune
The piece begins in D flat major, in 9/8. In the beginning, there is a syncopated part presented in octaves that are introduced on eighth count apart. After the first measure, the higher and lower right hand are split by thirds, and in the lower voices has an alternating pattern of a third split and a second split between the notes being played. This creates melodic tension with these seconds playing at the same time in left hand.
In measure two, duplets are used; this composing technique creates rhythmic and emotional tension, lengthening the phrase and making it less form-based.
In measure 11, the bass part splits into two. One of these parts is a held out root note and then a tenor line that varies between a fifth and sixth scale degree from the root. The higher bass and tenor line also has a progressing part that matches up with the melody. Two measures later, accidentals are introduced; this creates melodic tension that is then doubled by the duplets in the main melody.
At measure 25, the dynamic level changes to piano, which is louder than the original dynamic marking of pianissimo. Following the dynamic change, the sound of the chords start off major with a color tones, but then evolves to a more textured chord structure. In the last chords located in measures 25-26, the period finally resolves into an A major chord.
The next period of the piece starts in measure 27. Here, the left hand is arpeggiated in the form of sixteenth note runs. This effect makes the piece busy in the under layers of the music, which, consequently, makes the music a little chaotic, but the melody is always prominent. This pattern repeats twice.
This leads up to the key change into E major in measure 37. The two clefs juxtapose each other; the left hand plays three sixteenth notes and then one dotted eighth, and in the right hand, it is the opposite. This puts emphasis on the right hand which holds the melody in this section of the piece.
This leads up to the key change into E major at measure 37. The two clefs juxtapose each other in the way that in the bottom two parts play three sixteenth notes and then one dotted eighth, and in the top two parts, it is the opposite.
In measure 41, the melody returns to the same rhythmic structure that was found in the beginning. Here the key changes back to the tonic. Four measures later, in 45, the higher and lower parts in the right hand switch rhythms. The higher right hand plays a sequence of three eighth notes and the alto answers with a rhythm of six eighth notes.
There is another dynamic shift at measure 51 from piano to triple piano. All four parts are in treble clef, with the right hand being played an octave above. This is all the same melody as the beginning, not only rhythmically but also melodically. This puts emphasis on the melody as well since it is repeated so often throughout the piece.
At measure 68, the harmony is stripped down to the arpeggiated chords in the first few beats, and then introduces simplistic fragments of the original melody after. This repeats itself an octave higher.
In measure 71, the sixteenth notes in the bottom two parts change to eighth notes. The piece ends after 73 measures, and it ends in the tonic chord.
12 - Gayatri Mantra
Analysis: Gayatri Mantra
There is no accurate representation of this mantra for two reasons: Indian music uses a different notation system, so comparisons made between the two would be inconclusive. Another reason is that there is no set formula when reciting a chant in Hinduism.
In this particular interpretation selected from the album Sacred Hindu Chants II, the first six seconds are an introduction to the chant itself. This section introduces the drone played by an instrument known as a tanpura and some random interval notes played on a bell-like instrument. At 0:07, unison vocal parts come in, singing in the Hindi language. Here, the rhythm is a little different to the unaccustomed Western ear, using a type of syncopated rhythms. The melodic line is prominent throughout this mantra, with the vocals being the center of focus. It is accompanied by the tanpura and the other instruments found in the beginning.
Throughout the piece, the melodies are different than what is found in the Debussy piece. The piece sounds pentatonic in nature and has more of a free rhythm to it. The vocal parts usually close their phrases by changing the vowel to an ‘m’ syllable at the end, which can be found at 0:25, 0:58, and 1:24. There is one unison vocal line throughout the mantra and this uses the concept of semi-tones—pitches that are in between the given 8 note Western scale. The bell sound is used to keep melodic interest during the rests the vocal line has throughout the mantra.
Musical Links:
Although these two types of music seem drastically different, two things connect them together despite their differences. These two connections are the prominence of the melodic line and the ending of each phrase in a major chord.
As mentioned in the analysis, for the majority of the piece, Clair de Lune’s melody is prominent in the right hand. This is especially true in measures 1-25 in the beginning. When the melody is first introduced, it is accompanied by simple harmonies which later become more complex- such as rhythms and harmonies found in measures 10-14- but overall, the melody is made obvious to the listener. In measures 15-26, the melody is quite possibly the most prominent because the rhythms throughout all the parts are the same. This continues until measure 27.
When the arpeggiated chords are introduced underneath the melody it has an effect which brings out the melody even more. Evidence for this can be found in measure 31.
Underneath the right hand there is an A flat major chord being arpeggiated. This chaos underneath only reemphasizes the importance of the melody and its simplicity stands out against the complexity of the harmonic line.
In measure 41, the melody is again emphasized by the use of chord arpeggiation underneath the melody. The difference between this phrase of the piece and the one found in measure 31 is that the right hand is descending in thirds.
The direct harmony found in the lower right hand part strengthens the prominence of the higher line because the rhythms found in these parts are the same in this section.
Lastly, another method used to make the melodic line more prominent in Clair de Lune is located in measure 51. Here, the melodic line is stripped down to the third split in the right hand and the lack of any other musical elements below these parts.
12 - Gayatri Mantra
The next link that joins these two pieces together would be the phrases ending in major chords. Almost all of the periods in Clair de Lune end in a major chord. There are certain sections in the piece that highlight the ends of phrases by lessening the complexity of the parts and holding out a chord for a few beats. This is shown in measure 25 of the Debussy piece.
In this section, all four lines are in unison rhythmically, and the parts stack on top of each other. The composer takes the chord and changes different notes in order to create a suspended sound until it fully resolves in a major chord at the end of the phrase.
This is also true towards the end at measure 69. Here, the last few bars have been arpeggiating different chords. On count 4 of measure 69, a melody fragment appears above the chords.
These two notes lead to a similar melody being played in the next measure. The last measure in the entire piece, this split resolves into a full-fledged 8 note chord that is in the tonic at the end of the phrase.
12 - Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri Mantra is different because of the scale base it uses. This scale base is known as a pentatonic scale. A pentatonic scale is, by definition, is “a scale in which the tones are arranged like a major scale with its fourth and seventh tones omitted.” (Merriam-Webster) This creates an effect in which there is no minor effects on the key because of the coloring pitches in the scale are omitted. Despite this, there are still instances that the mantra sounds technically “less minor” than usual. This is true at the end of the phrase found at 0:58. The bells are used to signify the ending of a phrase, and actually create a more major sound and thus linking Clair de Lune and the mantra together. These major sounding fragments by the bells can be found in the beginning, at 0:27, at 1:00, and at 1:26. All of these phrase endings compare to the ones found in Clair de Lune that were aforementioned in the article.
As discussed, Clair de Lune and the Gayatri Mantra have hardly anything in common at first glance. But the links of a prominent melodic line and phrases ending in a major chord connect these two types of music upon further investigation. The prominent melodic line in both pieces play a part in the driving force of the music and the major chord endings help in shaping the way the music is interpreted throughout the Debussy piece and the Mantra, and, by extension, both the French and Indian cultures.
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