Carnatic music (Sanskrit: कर्नाटक संगीत; Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ ಸಂಗೀತ}}) is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It is one of two main sub-genres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions; the other sub-genre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian and Islamic influences in North India. In contrast to Hindustani music, the main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in ''gāyaki'' (singing) style.

Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of (the relative musical pitch), (the musical sound of a single note), (the mode or melodic formulæ), and (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music. Although improvisation plays an important role, Carnatic music is mainly sung through compositions, especially the kriti (or kirtanam), a form developed between the 16th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the Trinity of Carnatic music.

Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer (usually a vocalist), a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam), and a tambura, which acts as a drone throughout the performance. Other typical instruments used in performances may include the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, veena & flute. The most outstanding performances, and the greatest concentration of Carnatic musicians, are found in the city of Chennai. In particular, the six week-long Music Season held in Chennai every December, has been described as the world's largest cultural event.

Nadaswaram music, consisting of wind instrument nadaswaram and drum thavil, once enjoyed a unique status in Carnatic music.

Origins and history

Like all art forms in Indian culture, Carnatic music is believed to have a divine origin. It originated from the Devas and Devis (Hindu Gods and Goddesses), and is venerated as symbolic of . Ancient treatises describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and man's effort to simulate these sounds through a keen sense of observation and perception. The Sama Veda, which is believed to have laid the foundation for Indian classical music, consists of hymns from the Rigveda, set to musical tunes which would be sung using three to seven musical notes during Vedic yajnas. The Yajur-Veda, which mainly consists of sacrificial formulae, mentions the ''veena'' as an accompaniment to vocal recitations. References to Indian classical music are made in many ancient texts, including epics like the ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata''. The ''Yajnavalkya Smriti'' mentions ''vīṇāvādana tattvajñaḥ śrutijātiviśāradaḥ tālajñaścāprayāsena mokṣamārgaṃ niyacchati'' ("The one who is well versed in ''veena'', one who has the knowledge of srutis and one who is adept in tala, attains salvation without doubt"). Carnatic music is based as it is today on musical concepts (including ''swara'', ''raga'', and ''tala'') that were described in detail in several ancient works, particularly the ''Silappadhikaram'', and Bharata's ''Natya Shastra''.

Owing to Persian and Islamic influences in North India from the 12th century onwards, Hindustani music and Carnatic music styles diverged. By the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a clear demarcation between Carnatic and Hindustani music. It was at this time that Carnatic music flourished in Thanjavur, while the Vijayanagar Empire reached its greatest extent. Purandara Dasa, who is known as the father (''Pitamaha'') of Carnatic Music, formulated the system that is commonly used for the teaching of Carnatic music. Venkatamakhin invented and authored the formula for the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work, the ''Chaturdandi Prakasika'' (1660 AD). Govindacharya is known for expanding the melakarta system into the sampoorna raga scheme - the system that is in common use today.

Carnatic music was mainly patronized by the local kings of the Kingdom of Mysore and Kingdom of Travancore in the 18th through 20th centuries. The royalty of the kingdoms of Mysore and Travancore were noted composers and proficient in playing musical instruments, such as the veena, rudra veena, violin, ghatam, flute, mridangam, nagaswara and swarabhat. Some famous court-musicians and royalty proficient in music were Veene Sheshanna (1852–1926) and Veene Subbanna (1861–1939), among others.

With the dissolution of the erstwhile princely states and the Indian independence movement reaching its conclusion in 1947, Carnatic music went through a radical shift in patronage into an art of the masses with ticketed performances organized by private institutions called sabhas. During the 19th century, Madras emerged as the locus for Carnatic music.

Nature of Carnatic music

The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as ''gāyaki''). Like Hindustani music, Carnatic music rests on two main elements: , the modes or melodic formulæ, and , the rhythmic cycles.

Today, Carnatic music is presented by musicians in concerts or recordings, either vocally or through instruments. Carnatic music itself developed around musical works or compositions of phenomenal composers (see below).

Important elements of Carnatic music

Śruti

''Śruti'' commonly refers to musical pitch. It is the approximate equivalent of a tonic (or less precisely a key) in Western music; it is the note from which all the others are derived. It is also used in the sense of graded pitches in an octave. While there are an infinite number of sounds falling within a scale (or raga) in Carnatic music, the number that can be distinguished by auditory perception is twenty-two (although over the years, several of them have converged). In this sense, while sruti is determined by auditory perception, it is also an expression in the listener's mind.

Swara

''Swara'' refers to a type of musical sound that is a single note, which defines a relative (higher or lower) position of a note, rather than a defined frequency. Swaras also refer to the solfege of Carnatic music, which consist of seven notes, "sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da-ni" (compare with the Hindustani ''sargam:'' sa-''re''-ga-ma-pa-''dha''-ni or Western do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). These names are abbreviations of the longer names ''shadja'', ''rishabha'', ''gandhara'', ''madhyama'', ''panchama'', ''dhaivata'' and ''nishada''. Unlike other music systems, every member of the solfege (called a swara) has three variants. The exceptions are the drone notes, ''shadja'' and ''panchama'' (also known as the tonic and the dominant), which have only one form; and ''madhyama'' (the subdominant), which has two forms. A 7th century stone inscription in Kudumiyan Malai in Tamil Nadu shows vowel changes to solfege symbols with ra, ri, ru etc. to denote the higher quarter-tones. In one scale, or raga, there is usually only one variant of each note present. The exceptions exist in "light" ragas, in which, for artistic effect, there may be two, one ascending (in the ''arohanam'') and another descending (in the ''avarohanam'').

Raga system

A ''raga'' in Carnatic music prescribes a set of rules for building a melody - very similar to the Western concept of mode. It specifies rules for movements up (''aarohanam'') and down (''avarohanam''), the scale of which notes should figure more and which notes should be used more sparingly, which notes may be sung with ''gamaka'' (ornamentation), which phrases should be used or avoided, and so on. In effect, it is a series of obligatory musical events which must be observed, either absolutely or with a particular frequency.

In Carnatic music, the ''sampoorna ragas'' (those with all seven notes in their scales) are classified into a system called the ''melakarta'', which groups them according to the kinds of notes that they have. There are seventy-two ''melakarta ragas'', thirty six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is sadharana (perfect fourth from the tonic), the remaining thirty-six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is prati (an augmented fourth from the tonic). The ''ragas'' are grouped into sets of six, called ''chakras'' ("wheels", though actually segments in the conventional representation) grouped according to the supertonic and mediant scale degrees. There is a system known as the ''katapayadi sankhya'' to determine the names of ''melakarta raga''s.

''Raga''s may be divided into two classes: ''janaka raga''s (i.e. melakarta or parent ragas) and ''janya raga''s (descendant ragas of a particular janaka raga). Janya ragas are themselves subclassified into various categories.

Tala system

''Tala'' refers to the beat set for a particular composition (a measure of time). ''Tala''s have cycles of a defined number of beats and rarely change within a song. They have specific components, which in combinations can give rise to the variety to exist (over 108), allowing different compositions to have different rhythms.

Carnatic music singers usually keep the beat by moving their hands up and down in specified patterns, and using their fingers simultaneously to keep time. ''Tala'' is formed with three basic parts (called ''anga''s) which are ''laghu'', ''dhrtam'', and ''anudhrtam'', though complex talas may have other parts like ''plutam'', ''guru'', and ''kaakapaadam''. There are seven basic ''tala'' groups which can be formed from the ''laghu'', ''dhrtam'', and ''anudhrtam'':

Dhruva tala

Matya tala

Rupaka tala

Jhampa tala

Triputa tala

Ata tala

Eka tala

A ''laghu'' has five variants (called ''jaathi''s) based on the counting pattern. Five ''jaathis'' times seven tala groups gives thirty-five basic ''tala''s, although use of other ''anga''s results in a total of 108 ''tala''s.

Improvisation

Improvisation in ''raga'' is the soul of Indian classical music - an essential aspect. "''Manodharma sangeetham''" or "''kalpana sangeetham''" ("music of imagination") as it is known in Carnatic music, embraces several varieties of improvisation. The main traditional forms of improvisation in Carnatic music consist of alapana, niraval, kalpanaswaram, ragam thanam pallavi, and thani avarthanam.

Raga Alapana

An alapana, sometimes also called ragam, is the exposition of a raga or tone - a slow improvisation with no rhythm, where the raga acts as the basis of embellishment. In performing alapana, performers consider each raga as an object that has beginnings and endings and consists somehow of sequences of thought.

The performer will explore the ragam and touch on its various nuances, singing in the lower octaves first, then gradually moving up to higher octaves, while giving a hint of the song to be performed.

Theoretically, this ought to be the easiest type of improvisation, since the rules are so few, but in fact, it takes much skill to sing a pleasing, comprehensive (in the sense of giving a "feel for the ragam") and, most importantly, original raga alapana.

Niraval

Niraval, usually performed by the more advanced performers, consists of singing one or two lines of a song repeatedly, but with a series of melodic improvised elaborations. The lines are then also played at different levels of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and even sextuple speed.

Kalpanaswaram

Kalpanaswaram, also known as swarakalpana, consists of improvising melodic and rhythmic passages using ''swaras'' (solfa syllables). Kalpanaswaras are sung to end on a particular swara in the raga of the melody and at a specific place (''idam'') in the tala cycle. Generally, the swaras are sung to end on the ''samam'' (the first beat of the rhythmical cycle), and can be sung at the same speed or double the speed of the melody that is being sung, though some artists sing triple-speed phrases too.

Kalpanaswaram is the most elementary type of improvisation, usually taught before any other form of improvisation.

Tanam

Tanam is one of the most important forms of improvisation, and is integral to Ragam Tanam Pallavi. Originally developed for the veena, it consists of expanding the raga with syllables like ''tha, nam, thom, aa, nom, na,'' etc.

Ragam Tanam Pallavi

Ragam Tanam Pallavi is the principal long form in concerts, and is a composite form of improvisation. As the name suggests, it consists of raga alapana, tanam, and a pallavi line. Set to a slow-paced tala, the pallavi line is often composed by the performer. Through niraval, the performer manipulates the pallavi line in complex melodic and rhythmic ways. The niraval is followed by kalpanaswarams.

Thani Avarthanam

Tani Avartanam refers to the extended solo that is played by the percussionists in a concert. The percussionist displays the full range of his skills and rhythmic imagination during the solo, which may take from two to twenty minutes.

Compositions

In contrast to Hindustani music of the northern part of India, Carnatic music is taught and learned through compositions, which encode many intricate musical details, also providing scope for free improvisation. Nearly every rendition of a Carnatic music composition is different and unique as it embodies elements of the composer's vision, as well as the musician's interpretation.

A Carnatic composition really has two elements, one being the musical element, the other being what is conveyed in the composition. It is probably because of this fact that most Carnatic music compositions are composed for singing. In addition to the rich musical experience, each composition brings out the knowledge and personality of the composer, and hence the words are as important as the musical element itself. This poses a special challenge for the musicians because rendering this music does not involve just playing or singing the correct musical notes; the musicians are expected to understand what was conveyed by the composer in various languages, and sing musical phrases that act to create the effect that was intended by the composer in his/her composition.

There are many types/forms of compositions.

''Geethams'' and ''swarajatis'' (which have their own peculiar composition structures) are principally meant to serve as basic learning exercises.

Compositions more commonly associated with Indian classical dance and Indian devotional music have also been increasingly used in the Carnatic music repertoire. The performance of the Sanskrit ''sloka'', Tamil ''viruttam'' and Telegu ''padyamu'' or ''sisapadya'' forms are particularly unique. Though these forms consist of lyric-based verses, musicians improvise ''raga'' phrases in free rhythm, like an alapana, so both the sound value, and the meaning of the text, guide the musician through elaborate melodic improvisations. Forms such as the ''divya prabandham'', ''thevaram'' and ''ugabhoga'' are often performed similarly, however, these forms can also have a set melody and rhythm like the ''devaranama'', ''javali'', ''padam'', ''thillana'' and ''thiruppugazh'' forms.

The most common and significant forms in Carnatic music are the ''varnam'' and the ''kriti'' (or ''kirtanam'').

Varnam

This is a special item which highlights everything important about a ''raga'', known as the ''sanchaaraas'' of a raga - this includes which notes to stress, how to approach a certain note, classical and characteristic phrases of a raga, the scale of the raga, and so on. Though there are a few different types of varnams, in essence, they all have a ''pallavi'', an ''anupallavi'', ''muktayi swaras'', a ''charanam'', and ''chittaswaras''. They are sung in multiple speeds, and are very good for practice. In concerts, varnams are often sung at the beginning as they are fast and grab the audience's attention.

Kriti

Carnatic songs (kritis) are varied in structure and style, but generally consist of three units: #Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music. One or two lines. #Anupallavi. The second verse. Also two lines. #Charana. The final (and longest) verse that wraps up the song. The Charanam usually borrows patterns from the Anupallavi. There can be multiple charanas.

This kind of song is called a ''keerthanam'' or a ''kriti''. There are other possible structures for a ''kriti'', which may in addition include swara passages named ''chittaswara''. ''Chittaswara'' consists only of notes, and has no words. Still others have a verse at the end of the ''charana'', called the ''madhyamakāla''. It is sung immediately after the ''charana'', but at double speed.

Prominent composers

There are many composers in Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa (1480–1564) is known as the father ''(Pitamaha)'' of Carnatic music because of his pioneering contributions to Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa is renowned for formulating the basic lessons of Carnatic music. He structured graded exercises known as ''Swaravalis'' and ''Alankaras'', and at the same time, introduced the ''Raga'' Mayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners. He also composed ''Gitas'' (simple songs) for novice students.

The contemporaries Tyagaraja (1759? - 1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar, (1776–1827) and Syama Sastri, (1762–1827) are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music because of the quality of Syama Sastri's compositions, the varieties of compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar and Tyagaraja's prolific output in composing ''kritis''.

Prominent composers prior to the Trinity of Carnatic music include Arunachala Kavi, Annamacharya, Narayana Theertha, Vijaya Dasa, Bhadrachala Ramadas, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi. Other composers are Swathi Thirunal, Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Neelakanta Sivan, Patnam Subramania Iyer, Mysore Vasudevachar, Koteeswara Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, Subramania Bharathiyar and Papanasam Sivan. The compositions of these composers are rendered frequently by artists of today.

Composers of Carnatic music were often inspired by religious devotion and were usually scholars proficient in one or more of the languages Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. They usually included a signature, called a ''mudra'', in their compositions. For example, all songs by Tyagaraja (who composed in Telugu) have the word ''Tyagaraja'' in them, all songs by Muthuswami Dikshitar (who composed in Sanskrit) have the words ''Guruguha'' in them, songs by Syama Sastri (who composed in Telugu) have the words ''Syama Krishna'' in them, while Purandaradasa, who composed in Kannada, used the signature ''Purandara Vittala''. Gopalakrishna Bharathi used the signature ''Gopalakrishnan'' and composed in Tamil. Papanasam Sivan, who has been hailed as the ''Tamil Thyagaraja'' of Carnatic music, also composed in this language, as well as Sanskrit, and used the signature ''Ramadasan''.

Learning Carnatic music

Carnatic music is traditionally taught according to the system formulated by Purandara Dasa. This involves ''varisais'' (graded exercises), ''alankaras'' (exercises based on the seven talas), ''geethams'' or simple songs, and swarajathis. After the student has reached a certain standard, ''varnams'' are taught and later, the student learns kritis. It typically takes several years of learning before a student is adept enough to perform at a concert.

The learning texts and exercises are more or less uniform across all the South Indian states. The learning structure is arranged in increasing order of complexity. The lessons start with the learning of the ''sarali varisai'' (solfege set to a particular raga).

Carnatic music was traditionally taught in the gurukula system, where the student lived with and learnt the art from his guru (perceptor). From the late 20th century onwards, with changes in lifestyles and need for young music aspirants to simultaneously pursue a parallel academic career, this system has found few takers.

Musicians often take great pride in letting people know about their Guru Parampara, or the hierarchy of disciples from some prominent ancient musician or composer, to which they belong. People whose disciple-hierarchies are often referred to are Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri, Swathi Thirunal and Papanasam Sivan, among others.

In modern times, it is common for students to visit their gurus daily or weekly to learn music. Though new technology has made learning easier with the availability of quick-learn media such as learning exercises recorded on audio cassettes and CDs, these are discouraged by most gurus who emphasize that face-to-face learning is best for students.

Notations

Notation is not a new concept in Indian music. However, Carnatic music continued to be transmitted orally for centuries without being written down. The disadvantage with this system was that if one wanted to learn about a kriti composed, for example, by Purandara Dasa, it involved the difficult task of finding a person from Purandara Dasa's lineage of students.

Written notation of Carnatic music was revived in the late 17th century and early 18th century, which coincided with rule of Shahaji II in Tanjore. Copies of Shahaji's musical manuscripts are still available at the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjore and they give us an idea of the music and its form. They contain snippets of solfege to be used when performing the mentioned ragas.

Melody

Unlike classical Western music, Carnatic music is notated almost exclusively in tonic solfa notation using either a Roman or Indic script to represent the solfa names. Past attempts to use the staff notation have mostly failed. Indian music makes use of hundreds of ragas, many more than the church modes in Western music. It becomes difficult to write Carnatic music using the staff notation without the use of too many accidentals. Furthermore, the staff notation requires that the song be played in a certain key. The notions of key and absolute pitch are deeply rooted in Western music, whereas the Carnatic notation does not specify the key and prefers to use scale degrees (relative pitch) to denote notes. The singer is free to choose the actual pitch of the tonic note. In the more precise forms of Carnatic notation, there are symbols placed above the notes indicating how the notes should be played or sung; however, informally this practice is not followed.

To show the length of a note, several devices are used. If the duration of note is to be doubled, the letter is either capitalized (if using Roman script) or lengthened by a diacritic (in Indian languages). For a duration of three, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and followed by a comma. For a length of four, the letter is capitalized (or diacriticized) and then followed by a semicolon. In this way any duration can be indicated using a series of semicolons and commas.

However, a simpler notation has evolved which does not use semicolons and capitalization, but rather indicates all extensions of notes using a corresponding number of commas. Thus, ''Sā'' quadrupled in length would be denoted as "S,,,".

Rhythm

The notation is divided into columns, depending on the structure of the ''tāḷaṃ''. The division between a ''laghu'' and a ''dhrutam'' is indicated by a ।, called a ''ḍaṇḍā'', and so is the division between two ''dhrutams'' or a ''dhrutam'' and an ''anudhrutam''. The end of a cycle is marked by a ॥, called a ''double ḍaṇḍā'', and looks like a caesura.

Performances of Carnatic music

Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, who sit on an elevated stage. This usually consists of, at least, a principal performer, a melodic accompaniment, a rhythm accompaniment, and a drone.

The ''tambura'' is the traditional drone instrument used in concerts. However, tamburas are increasingly being replaced by ''śruti'' boxes, and now more commonly, the electronic ''tambura''. The drone itself is an integral part of performances and furnishes stability - the equivalent of harmony in Western music.

Performances can be musical or musical-dramatic. Musical recitals are either vocal, or purely instrumental in nature, while musical-dramatic recitals refer to Harikatha. But irrespective of what type of recital it is, what is featured are compositions which form the core of this genre of music.

In a vocal recital, a concert team may have one or more vocalists as the principal performer(s). Instruments, such as the veena and/or flute, can be occasionally found as a rhythmic accompaniment, but usually, a vocalist is supported by a violin player (who sits on his/her left). The rhythm accompanist is usually a mridangam player (who sits on the other side, facing the violin player). However, other percussion instruments such as the ghatam, ''kanjira'' and ''morsing'' frequently also accompany the main percussion instrument and play in an almost contrapuntal fashion along with the beats. The objective of the accompanying instruments is far more than following the melody and keeping the beats. The accompaniments form an integral part of every composition presented, and they closely follow and augment the melodic phrases outlined by the lead singer. The vocalist and the violinist take turns while elaborating or while exhibiting creativity in sections like raga, niraval and kalpanaswaram. Unlike Hindustani music concerts, where an accompanying tabla player can keep beats without following the musical phrases at times, in Carnatic music, the accompanists have to follow the intricacies of the composition since there are percussion elements such as eduppu in several compositions. Some of the best concerts feature a good bit of interaction with the lead musicians and accompanists exchanging notes, and accompanying musicians predicting the lead singer's musical phrases.

Concert content

A contemporary Carnatic music concert (called a ''kutcheri'') usually lasts about three hours, and comprises a number of varied compositions. Carnatic songs are composed in a particular ''raga'', which means that they do not deviate from the notes in the ''raga''. Each composition is set with specific notes and beats, but performers improvise extensively. Improvisation occurs in the melody of the composition as well as in using the notes to expound the beauty of the ''raga''.

Concerts usually begin with a ''varnam'' or an invocatory item which will act as the opening piece. The ''varnam'' is composed with an emphasis on ''swaras'' of the raga, but will also have lyrics, the ''saahityam''. It is lively and fast to get the audience's attention. An invocatory item may usually follow the ''varnam''.

After the ''varnam'' and/or invocatory item, the artist sings longer compositions called ''kirtanas'' (commonly referred to as ''kriti''s). Each kriti sticks to one specific ''raga'', although some are composed with more than one raga; these are known as ''ragamalika'' (a garland of ''ragas'').

After singing the opening ''kriti'', usually, the performer sings the ''kalpanaswaram'' of the ''raga'' to the beat. The performer must improvise a string of ''swaras'' in any octave according to the rules of the raga and return to beginning of the cycle of beats smoothly, joining the ''swaras'' with a phrase selected from the ''kriti''. The violin performs these alternately with the main performer. In very long strings of ''swara'', the performers must calculate their notes accurately to ensure that they stick to the ''raga'', have no awkward pauses or lapses in the beat of the song, and create a complex pattern of notes that a knowledgeable audience can follow.

Performers then begin the main compositions with a section called ''raga alapana'' exploring the ''raga''. In this, they use the sounds ''aa, ri, na, ta'', etc. instead of ''swaras'' to slowly elaborate the notes and flow of the raga. This begins slowly and builds to a crescendo, and finally establishes a complicated exposition of the ''raga'' that shows the performer's skill. All of this is done without any rhythmic accompaniment, or beat. Then the melodic accompaniment (violin or veena), expounds the ''raga''. Experienced listeners can identify many ragas after they hear just a few notes. With the ''raga'' thus established, the song begins, usually with lyrics. In this, the accompaniment (usually violin, sometimes veena) performs along with the main performer and the percussion (such as a mridangam). In the next stage of the song, they may sing ''niraval'' or ''kalpanaswaram'' again.

In most concerts, the main item will at least have a section at the end of the item, for the percussion to perform solo (called the ''tani avartanam''). The percussion artists perform complex patterns of rhythm and display their skill. If multiple percussion instruments are employed, they engage in a rhythmic dialogue until the main performer picks up the melody once again. Some experienced artists may follow the main piece with a ''ragam thanam pallavi'' mid-concert, if they do not use it as the main item.

Following the main composition, the concert continues with shorter and lighter songs. Some of the types of songs performed towards the end of the concerts are ''tillanas'' and ''thukkadas'' - bits of popular ''kriti''s or compositions requested by the audience. Every concert that is the last of the day ends with a ''mangalam'', a thankful prayer and conclusion to the musical event.

Audience

The audience of a typical concert has a reasonable understanding of Carnatic music. It is also typical to see the audience tapping out the ''tala'' in sync with the artist's performance. As and when the artist exhibits creativity, the audience acknowledge it by clapping their hands. With experienced artists, towards the middle of the concert, requests start flowing in. The artist usually sings the requests, and it helps in exhibiting the artist's broad knowledge of the several thousand kritis that are in existence.

Modern performances

Every December, the city of Chennai in India has its six week-long Music Season, which has been described as the world's largest cultural event. The Music Season was started in 1927, to mark the opening of the Madras Music Academy. It used to be a traditional month-long Carnatic music festival, but since then it has also diversified into dance and drama, as well as non-Carnatic art forms.

Artists

Carnatic music artists often have to have had several years of intense training and practice before being qualified as musicians who can perform on stage.

See also

List of Carnatic composers

List of Carnatic musicians

Notes

References

Kassebaum, Gayathri Rajapur. ‘Karnatak raga’ (2000). In Viswanathan, T. & Cormack, Jody (1998). In

External links

Bibliography

Category:South India Category:Indian styles of music *

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Name	M.S.Subbulakshmi
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 16, 1916 Madurai, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	December 11, 2004Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Origin	India
Genre	Indian classical music
Occupation	Classical Vocalist
Years active	1930–2004
Label	HMV
Spouse	Thiagarajan Sadasivam
Religion	Hindu }}

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi ( 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004), also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, Asia's highest civilian award, in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the Karnataka tradition of South India."

Biography

Early years

Subbulakshmi (Kunjamma to her family) was born in Madurai, Madras Presidency, British India to veena player Shanmukavadiver Ammal and Subramania Iyer. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist.

She started learning Carnatic music at an early age and trained in Carnatic music under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and subsequently in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas. She also learned Sanskrit and Telugu under Dr. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy.

Her mother, from the devadasi community, was a music exponent and a regular stage performer, and Subbulakshmi grew up in an environment very conducive to musical learning. Her musical interests were also shaped by regular interactions with Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. Subbulakshmi gave her first public performance in 1929 when she was 13 years old at the prestigious Madras Music Academy. The performance consisted of singing bhajans (Hindu hymns). The academy was known for its discriminating selection process, and they broke tradition by inviting a young girl as a key performer. Her performance was described as spellbinding and earned her many admirers and the moniker of musical genius from critics. Soon after her debut performance Subbulakshmi became one the leading Carnatic vocalists.

Move to Madras

In 1936 Subbulakshmi moved to Madras (now Chennai). She also made her film debut in ''Sevasadan'' in 1938,.

Musical style and performance

Singing career

Subbulakshmi first recording was released when she was 10 years old. She gave her first public performance during the Mahamaham festival at Kumbakonam at the age of sixteen. She began her Carnatic classical music training under her mother Shanmugavadivu and then Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. By the age of 17, Subbulakshmi was giving concerts on her own, including major performances at the Madras Music Academy, a prestigious centre for the study and promotion of Carnatic music. Performance in Carnatic music concerts, was until then, a domain, traditionally reserved for men. She performed a vast variety of devotional musical forms in different languages including Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit, Panjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi.

When the governor of Madras wanted the famous spiritual leader, Mata Sri Anandamayi Ma, to reside in his residence, Anandamayi Ma replied, "I will stay in the house of Subbulakshmi. She is Meera to me." Within two days, Sadasivam had special quarters built in their garden for Mata to give darshan and arranged for a new well to be dug nearby for fresh drinking water. Every evening thousands of people gathered there.

She traveled to London, New York, Canada, the Far East, and other places as India's cultural ambassador. Her concerts at Carnegie Hall, New York; the UN General Assembly on UN day in 1966; the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1982; and at the Festival of India in Moscow in 1987 were significant landmarks in her career. In 1969 she was accompanied by Indian Railways Advisor SN Venkata Rao to Rameshwaram, where she famously sang several songs in front of each idol in the Rameshwaram temple.

After the death of her husband Sadasivam in 1997, she stopped all her public performances.

Films

M.S. also acted in a few Tamil films in her youth. Her first movie "Sevasadanam" was released in 1938. MS Subbulakshmi also played the male role of Narada in "Savitri" (1941) to raise money for launching Kalki, her husband's nationalist Tamil weekly. Her title role of the Rajasthani saint-poetess Meera in the eponymous film (1945) gave her national prominence. This movie was re-made in Hindi in 1947. The movie had M.S Subbulakshmi. sing the famous Meera bhajans, with Dilipkumar Roy as the music director. Later, she quit films and turned wholly to concert music.

Awards and honours

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had this to say about M.S. Subbulakshmi- "Who am I, a mere Prime Minister before a Queen, a Queen of Music". While Lata Mangeshkar called her ''Tapaswini'' (the Renunciate), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her ''Suswaralakshmi'' (the goddess of the perfect note), and Kishori Amonkar labeled her the ultimate eighth note or ''Aathuvaan Sur'', which is above the seven notes basic to all music. The great national leader and poet Sarojini Naidu called her "Nightingale of India". Her many famous renditions of bhajans include the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning).

She was widely honored, praised and awarded. Some of the more popular ones include ''Padma Bhushan'' in 1954, ''Sangeet Natak Akademi Award'' in 1956, ''Sangeetha Kalanidhi'' in 1968 (literally, Treasure Chest of Music. She was the first woman recipient of the title), Ramon Magsaysay award (often considered Asia's Nobel Prize) in 1974, the ''Padma Vibhushan'' in 1975, the ''Kalidas Samman'' in 1988, the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1990, and the ''Bharat Ratna'' in 1998. She was also honored as the court-singer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) has installed a bronze statue of M.S. Subbulakshmi at the Poornakumbham circle in the temple town. It was unveiled by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy on 28 May 2006.

The most famous Kancheepuram Saree shade known as MS Blue was created for her by the well known Congress party member and philanthropist, Sri Muthu Chettiyar when they met at the residence of Sri R. Aiyadurai and Smt. Thangam Aiyadurai at Lady Desikachari Road, Madras, who were close friends of MS and Sadasivam.

She was bestowed with enormous prize moneys with these awards, she donated most of them to charity. She has given more than 200 charity concerts and raised well over Rs. 10,000,000.

She was awarded honorary degree degrees from several Universities.

She was an ardent devotee of Kanchi Mahaswamigal and she rendered his composition ''Maithreem Bhajatha'' (O World! Cultivate peace) in her concert at the UN in 1966. She donated many of the royalties on several best sold records to many charity organizations.

References

Further reading

M.S. Subbulaksmi, the Voice Divine (79 pages) by V. Gangadhar.

MS - A Life in Music, T. J. S. George. 2004, HarperCollins. ISBN 978-81-7223-527-7

MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion - by Gowri Ramnarayan - http://www.msstribute.org/

External links

Biography at the official site of Ramon Magsaysay award

Photo of MS, Sadhasivam and Ellis R. Dungan

See also

Category:1916 births Category:2004 deaths Category:Carnatic singers Category:Tamil musicians Category:Indian actors Category:Tamil actors Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Category:Indian female singers

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Name	Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Background	solo_singer
Born	January 21, 1968
Origin	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1987–
Genre	Carnatic music - Indian Classical Music
Label	}}

Sanjay Subrahmanyan (born January 21, 1968) is a Carnatic music singer from India. He performed in many concerts in India and overseas and has won many awards for his excellence. He believes that listening takes a musician closer to perfection.

Early life and background

Sanjay Subrahmanyan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He began learning music at the age of seven. Initial training was under V. Lakshminarayana on the violin as well as in vocal music. He later switched to vocal music and was trained by Rukmini Rajagopalan for a period of almost eight years. His skills were further sharpened under Calcutta K.S Krishnamurthy and the training under him led to innovations and blending of tradition and modernity. Sanjay continues to learn from Nadaswaram maestro Semponarkoil SRD Vaidyanathan.

Career

Sanjay teaches music as well, and has many successful students such as Prashanth Viswanathan, Swarna Rethas, Sandeep Narayan, and Prasanna Venkatraman in the contemporary music field.

Sanjay Subrahmanyan has been the subject of documentary film ''Aaraar aasaippadaar'' by filmmaker Prasanna Ramaswamy. It opened to rave reviews in November 2006 in Chennai.

He has performed with excellence and has enthralled the music loving audiences in Chennai as well as in Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and other places all over India. He has toured Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, USA, Canada, UK ,Switzerland and Oman.

Awards & titles

He received the title "Vani-kala-sudhakara" from Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha in 2010.

Sanjay received the prestigious ''Kalaimamani'' award from the Tamil Nadu Government for the year 2006.

He is an `A' Grade artiste of All India Radio, Madras

He is the recipient of the Outstanding Junior Musician award from the Annual Conference of the Madras Music Academy.

He received the Spirit of Youth Award for Outstanding Performance from Krishna Gana Sabha under its talent promotion scheme.

He won first prize in the AIR competition held in 1985.

For the period 1987-1988, Sanjay was the recipient of the Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer Trust Scholarship for advanced musical training.

He received the ''Yuva Kala Bharathi'' title from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai in 1991.

He received the "Isai Peroli" title from Karthik Fine arts, Chennai in December 2000.

Sanskriti Award from the Sanskriti Prathishthan for performing art in 1997.

Sangeetha Kalasarathy title from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai in December 2006.

Sanjay is a Chartered Accountant and a rank-holding Cost Accountant.

Discography

References

External links

Interview: Sanjay Subrahmanyan speaks to The Times of India

Category:Carnatic singers Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Tamil people Category:Tamil musicians

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Maharajapuram Santhanam (), (1928-1992) was one of the great Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was born in Sirunangur, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu. He followed the footsteps of his father Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer who was also a Carnatic singer.

Profile

Besides studying with his father, he was also a disciple of Melattur Sama Dikshitar. Maharajapuram Santhanam was also a distinguished composer. He wrote many songs on Lord Murugan and Kanchi Shankaracharya, His Holiness Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal (Maha Periyavar). He was the Principal of Ramanathan College in Sri Lanka. Later he came and settled in Chennai. The songs which were popularised by Maharajapuram Santhanam are "''Unnai Allal''" (Kalyani Raga), "''Sadha Nin Padhame gathi'', ''Varam onnru''" (Shanmukhapriya), "''Bho Shambo''" (Revati), "''Madhura Madhura''" (Bagheshri), "''Srichakra Raja''" (Ragamalika), "''Nalinakaanthimathim''" (Ragamalika),"Ksheerabdi kannike" (Ragamalika) among others. The Maharajapuram Santhanam Day is celebrated on the 3rd of December every year.

He died in a car accident in 1992. His sons Maharajapuram S. Srinivasan and Maharajapuram S. Ramachandran and his primary disciple Dr. R. Ganesh are now carrying on his musical tradition.

His other most popular songs are Purandaradasa kritis: "''Narayana ninna''" (Shuddha Dhanyasi) and "''Govinda ninna''". His rendition of "''Vilayada ithu nerama muruga''" cannot be replicated by any other artiste. His renditions were full of ''Bhakthi''.

In chennai Griffith Road in T.Nagar was renamed as MAHARAJAPURAM SANTHANAM SALAI in honor of Maharajapuram santhanam by Karunanidhi and Stalin. The street has the famous Krishna Gana Sabha and Muppathamman Temple.

References

External links

Maharajapuram musical family

Category:1928 births Category:1992 deaths Category:Carnatic singers Category:Carnatic composers Category:Road accident deaths in India

ml:മഹാരാജപുരം സന്താനം

Vishaka Hari is an Indian musician from Chennai. She is a practitioner of the age-old art form of Kathakalakshepam, the art of story telling, weaving together music in a concert-discourse format. The stories are usually of a devotional nature depicting scenes from great Hindu epics like Ramayana, the accompanying songs often are set to music by great music composers and spiritual teachers who are often the authors of the stories being narrated. She was presented with the "Vasantha Shresht" award by the Vasantha Memorial Trust, an organisation working in the area of cancer care and cure, in October 2007.

Vishaka Hari is the daughter-in-law of Paranur Mahatma Sri Sri Krishna Premi swamigal, who is also her spiritual Guru. She is the wife of Shri. Hariji, who is an expert in delivering vedantic and bhagavatham lectures. She married Shri. Hariji in Paranur in 2001 at the age of 22. She learnt carnatic music from Padma Vibhushan Shri.Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.

Smt. Vishaka Hari is an accomplished A-grade artist of All India Radio with number of honours to her name, including coveted titles like Thyagaraja Prathidwani and Yuva kala Bharathi. She also enjoyed an outstanding academic career in Accounting.

She is also a qualified Chartered Accountant. She stood All India Third in Chartered Accountancy Final exams of May 2000.

References

Category:Living people Category:Indian female singers