carnatic

Once in a while, one is privileged to attend a concert that not many people seem to know about, Indian Institute of Managerment, Bangalore (IIMB) and The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)  together organized a violin concert by Lalgudi Shri Krishnan,  accompanied on the mridangam by Shri K U Jayachandra Rau , and on the ghatam by Shri H Sivaramakrishnan. Opening with a varnam in Nalinakanti, followed by Dhenuka (Theliye ledu Rama) he went on to play Sri Rangapura Vihara in Brindavana Saranga,  Marukela Ra in Jayanthashri (Thyagagaja) followed.   The main…

"Did you see how she did that?" I was lucky enough to attend numerous concerts, most often at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja, with my late guru Seethalakshmi Venkatesan. In every concert, we had attended together, she unfailingly pointed out nuances brought out by the performer of the day.  i Recently when a friend shared a video of Carnatic vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer performing at a sabha in Chennai, I was reminded of this when I saw the audience at this concert. A virtual who's who of today's Carnatic music stars were seated in the audience listening to the stalwart sing.…

 Photo credit: Bhoomija   As the last quarter of the year rolls round, Devi or the Mother Goddess figures frequently in classical concerts. Bhoomija, a Bangalore-based trust that promotes performing arts presented a special concert Amma-for the mother by Carnatic vocalists Ranjani Gayatri. Bhoomija has previously presented Listening to Life, a concert by Bombay Jayashri which I had thoroughly enjoyed. Listen to a thillana that was presented by Bombay Jayashri in that program.  So it was with a good deal of anticipation that I attended the Bhoomija concert with family in tow. Carnatic vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri are among the…

Last week we looked at how music from Europe such as Gregorian chants and Hungarian music had traces of classical Carnatic ragas. This week let's look at music from African countries such as Algeria, Egypt and Mali. The music of Algeria today is the confluence of many threads including those of Bedouin origin, Andalusian music with its confluence of the Ottoman Empire and Europe, and the mysticism of poets such as Rumi. Bedouin music revolves around the theme of spirituality with strong influences of Rumi, the well known Muslim poet. Andalusian music, a form of Arabic music owes much of…

Ramakrishna Murthy performing at Unnati Centre during the Gokulashtami music festival 2014 Whether the monsoons are on time or not, music festivals in Bangalore mark the time far more predictably. With the Rama Navami festival marking the onset of spring in April, the end of summer is marked by Janmashtami or Gokulashtami music festival.  Bangalore-based SGBS trust has been promoting the cause of classical music for several decades now. In additon to promoting classical music under their Utsav initiative, SGBS runs Shiksha which provides education to underpriviliged children and Unnati that provides vocational training to the unskilled. This week Unnati's…

A raga is defined as a series of musical notes that constitute a melody. The importance of a raga lies in the mood that it's intended to create in the mind of the listener. Today I'd like to share with you the moods conveyed by popular ragas in Indian classical music. While many of the ragas are confined to solely Carnatic (C) or Hindustani (H) genres of Indian music, some are common to both styles. Join in with your thoughts on these ragas, the moods they evoke in you and others that are your favorites. The links posted below each…

As Sivaratri is being celebrated tonight by millions of people, here are some Carnatic songs that extol the greatness of the Hindu God Shiva. Tyagaraja's Naada Tanumanisham in raga Chittaranjani, Shambho Mahadeva and Shiva Shiva Yena Radha in raga Pantuvarali, Raga Sudha Rasa in raga Andholika, Ilalo Pranatharthi in raga Atana to Dikshithar's Akshaya Linga in raga Shankarabharanam, Shri Matrubhootham in raga Kannada and Shri Vishwanatham Bhajesham Chathurdasa Ragamalika are some of the songs heard on the Carnatic platform. There are innumerable compositions on Lord Shiva in Carnatic music by different composers. Some of the popular ones in Tamil are…

All of us have preconceived notions about artists - be they movie actors, theatre personality or musicians. R.K.Padmanabha, carnatic vocalist and composer, defies being cast into any simple mould of a classical musician that we may have. His accessibility and humble demeanour belie the popularity he enjoys in Karnataka, as both a singer and a teacher. His passion to spread the practice of Carnatic music across the state and all ages, is infectious.   “If one can introduce a grandmother to the joys of appreciating classical music, then her grandchild would simply follow suit.” This is Padmanabha's simple philosophy, as…

In popular imagination the Vindhyas represent the boundary between north and south India. In the case of music, that boundary while far more diffuse inarguably runs through Karnataka. While Dharwad, Hubli and Belgaum in the northern parts of the state have spawned Hindustani musicians such as Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal, Bangalore and Mysore in south Karnataka have been nurturing grounds for Carnatic musicians. The Mysore school of music has produced several renowned Carnatic musicians from veena vidwans such as Veena Seshanna, Mysore Doraiswamy Iyengar to violinist Chowdiah and the present-day violinists (brothers) Mysore Nagaraj and Mysore Manjunath to name…

Duets – the very word evokes images of love ballads from Hindi movies. The successful pairing of Lata Mangeshkar with Mohammed Rafi or P. Susheela and T.M. Soundararajan left an indelible mark on Indian movie music. Here is a song by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar from the classic Hindi movie Aandhi.  Duets are not uncommon in classical music. In Carnatic music, the last fifty years have seen numerous successful pairing of singers. Radha-Jayalakshmi were one of the pioneering duos from the 1950s. They were followed by others such as Soolamangalam Sisters and Bombay Sisters all the way to present-day…