Arnold Bake (1899–1963), a Dutch singer and scholar, made significant contributions to the study and dissemination of South Asian music, particularly through his work with the songs of Rabindranath Tagore and various regional folk traditions. Over nearly three decades, Bake traveled extensively across the Indian subcontinent—from Kanyakumari in the south to Ladakh in the north, and from Lahore in the west to Dhaka in the east—immersing himself in the study and performance of classical, folk, and devotional music.

Bake’s engagement with South Asian music began with his study of Sanskrit musical treatises and the Hindustani art music tradition. He also gained recognition for performing the songs of Rabindranath Tagore, known collectively as Rabindra Sangit, as well as Bengali and Nepali folk songs. His lecture-recitals took place across India, Europe, and the United States, where he combined performance with educational efforts. Renowned for his scholarly rigor and linguistic ability—including proficiency in Sanskrit and Bengali—Bake was praised by contemporaneous Indologists and considered an authority on Indian music.

Between 1925 and 1956, Bake recorded numerous performances and created visual documentation of South Asian musicians and dancers, preserving many examples of folk traditions. In 1935, he published Twenty-Six Songs of Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of transcriptions authorized by Tagore himself and dedicated to the memory of Dinendranath Tagore, Rabindranath’s nephew and collaborator. While Bake’s transcriptions and performances reflected a distinctively European classical style, his deep understanding of Bengali language and culture, combined with his embodiment of the music, earned him acclaim for authenticity in both India and Western academic circles.

Bake’s scholarship emphasized Tagore’s unique musical style, which blended elements of Hindustani classical forms such as khayal and dhrupad with Bengali kirtan, Baul songs, and British folk traditions. Tagore’s compositions were notable for their regularized rhythms and rejection of elaborate ornamentation, departing from certain classical conventions. Both Tagore and Bake shared a modernist nostalgia for rural Bengali folk culture, viewing it as the source of genuine artistic expression. Bake argued that Tagore’s songs could be understood only in relation to the folk songs that inspired them.

Tagore himself promoted the modernization of Indian music, founding a music department at Shantiniketan (later Visva-Bharati University) and advocating for the notation of his works. However, his views on the performance and authenticity of his songs were complex. He was critical of some traditional Indian music practices while admiring Western musicians’ vocal and instrumental disciplines. Despite Bake’s framing of certain version of Tagore’s songs as authentic and inviolable, Tagore acknowledged that his own renditions varied and that responsibility for preserving them fell to his students. Tagore encouraged broad dissemination and individual interpretation of his music, showing openness to variations in pronunciation and accompaniment, provided certain instruments like the harmonium were avoided.

Following Tagore’s death in 1941, his songs became deeply embedded in Bengali cultural identity, and issues surrounding their authentic performance were overseen by the Visva-Bharati Music Board. However, some archival recordings, including those of Dinendranath Tagore, remained restricted. Scholars and practitioners agree that no definitive "authentic" version of Rabindra Sangit exists beyond the composer’s own variable performances, reflecting Tagore’s liberal attitude toward interpretation and his commitment to the universal communication of his art.

Bake’s career culminated in his teaching Indian music at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, where he was the first to formally introduce the subject at a Western university. His extensive public lectures, radio broadcasts, and leadership in organizations such as the International Folk Music Council helped build bridges between South Asian musical traditions and Western audiences. Bake’s work remains a foundational chapter in the history of South Asian ethnomusicology and continues to inform contemporary understanding of Rabindranath Tagore’s songs and their place in both regional and global cultural contexts.