Arnold Bake: A Life with South Asian Music (SOAS Studies in Music)

Arnold Bake (1899–1963) was a Dutch pioneer in South Asian ethnomusicology, whose research impressed not only the most renowned Indologists of his time but also the leading figures in the emerging field of ethnomusicology. This long overdue biography sheds light on his knowledge of the theory and practice of South Asian music, as well as his legacy on the intellectual history of ethnomusicology. Bake spent nearly seventeen years in the Indian subcontinent and made numerous, irreplaceable recordings, films and photographs of local musicians and dancers. As a gifted Western musician, he studied Indian singing with Bhimrao Shastri, Dinendranath Tagore and Nabadwip Brajabashi, and successfully performed Rabindranath Tagore’s compositions and South Asian folk songs during hundreds of lecture-recitals in India, Europe and the United States. For the last fifteen years of his life, Bake taught Indian music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; he was the first to do so at a Western university. Besides his numerous writings and radio presentations, he advanced his subject through his activities in British and international research associations. The history of ethnomusicology, especially as applied to South Asia, cannot be fully understood without regard to Bake, and yet his contribution has remained, until now, unclear and unknown. Cover 1 Half title 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Table of contents 6 List of figures 7 Chronology 9 Map of British India 11 Prelude 12 1 India calling: the first journey 16 2 The second journey 40 3 Western intermezzo 62 4 Indian decade 81 5 The London years 105 6 Finale 132 Appendix: fifteen photographs from ‘Masks and Faces’ (1938–1939) with Arnold Bake’s original notes 146 Arnold Bake: list of publications 163 Bibliography 173 Internet links 180 Index 182