Читать книгу Konnakkol Manual - David P. Nelson - Страница 8

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Following the time-honored tradition of Indian music, I am honored to begin by thanking my principal teacher, T. Ranganathan (1925–1987), for his lavish generosity in, as he put it, “showing me the inside of the patterns.” My collection of lesson recordings from 1983 is a treasure house I will never exhaust. I also bow to the memory of his brother, T. Viswanathan (1927–2002), who was my most important musical mentor after Ranga died.

I am deeply grateful to Wesleyan University for supporting the study and performance of Karṇāṭak music for more than fifty years. The university, and particularly the Music Department, have been unflagging and unparalleled patrons of South India’s performing arts in North America. I am proud to be a graduate of the ethnomusicology program, and equally proud to be a member of its faculty.

I thank Suzanna Tamminen and Stephanie Elliott-Prieto at Wesleyan University Press for taking a chance on Solkaṭṭu Manual, and for their enthusiasm for and support of this project.

Members of Wesleyan’s information technology services have provided invaluable support through both projects. My thanks to Allynn Wilkinson, Mariah Kleneski, John Wareham, Ben Travers, and Melissa Roche.

I thank the students and colleagues who have read this manuscript and commented, each in his own way. Fugan Dineen, Gene Lai, Poorya Pakshir, and Christian Scheuber provided invaluable comments and suggestions along the way.

My thanks and admiration go to the performers on the videos featured in part II, “Videos of the Three Tani Āvartanams.” Gene Lai, Poorya Pakshir, Ben Klausner, Bram Wollowitz, Brian Fairley, Tano Brock, and Tomasz Arnold learned the material so thoroughly that they performed it for the videos without any written notes. I admire their commitment and energy.

Shima Etminan, one of Poorya’s colleagues featured in the video from Iran, created the stunningly beautiful cover art for this book. I am honored by and grateful for her contribution.

Finally, my love and thanks to Kim, for thirty-three years of nonstop emotional, physical, and mental support. I treasure you always.

A sad footnote: As I worked through the editing process of this book, I became increasingly impressed by the copy editor who had been assigned to it, Elizabeth Forsaith. I honestly marveled at Elizabeth’s ability to follow my logic, on a subject about which she could not have had any substantial knowledge. Her attention to detail was admirable, and I deeply appreciated having her as a colleague on this project. I had intended to write her a letter at the end of the process to tell her all this, and to thank her for making it all so smooth for me. So I was shocked and saddened to hear of Elizabeth’s sudden and unexpected (albeit peaceful) death before she had a chance to complete her work. I join her friend and colleague Ann Brash, who has taken over for Elizabeth, as well as her other friends and family, in mourning her loss. We will miss her care and intelligence.