Shankar’s Fundamental Structure
by Rose Marie McSweeney
October 1983, Harvard University, Ear Training Class:
“Well, it’s really just a prolongation.”
“Well, Shankar would say it’s even simpler than you have there on the blackboard.”
[In my inner ear, a long sustain appears, followed by a descending sparkle.]
“Yes, he would . . . but Shankar took it to extremes.”
[In my inner ear, and my retrospective eye, I recall this prolongation.
It was the first orchestral music I ever heard.]
And the delivery system:
A year or two later, I learn about something called the ursatz.
[R.I.P. Ravi Shankar.]