Sailing on the Sea of Love

The Music of the Bauls of Bengal

Capwell Charles

Based on fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, "Sailing on the Sea of Love" is a pioneering study of the songs of the Baul – a Bengali religious sect, widely beloved for its enchanting music. Charles Capwell describes the role Baul song plays in the lives of the Bauls themselves and in the experience and imagination of their fellow Bengalis. He also examines the sometimes enigmatic texts of the songs as well as their musical components and performance elements.

"Sailing on the Sea of Love" provides an overview of the fundamental beliefs and practices of the Bauls and how the changing reception of the Bauls by the larger Bengali society illustrates the evolving nature of tradition. The author that reflects on the startling recent developments that have brought this sect from the relative obscurity of a regional culture to an international audience. This new edition is accompanied by two CDs of Baul music.

About the Author

Charles Capwell was on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for thirty years. A former editor of "Ethnomusicology", he is the author of "The Music of the Bauls" and co-author of "Excursions in World Music".

Reviews

"Capwell lucidly describes the singing style of the Bauls. . . [This book] is indeed a valuable study of the recent past, a fine study of the music of the Bauls of West Bengal" – Anwarul Karim, Kusthtia Islamic University

"A refreshingly humanistic ethnomusicology in which the awareness of people making music is not forsaken for the sake of the music itself" – Peter Manuel, John Jay College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York

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