Karnatak (Carnatic), Essay Example

The clip chosen to represent Karnatak (Carnatic) was the Composition: “Brova Barama” by Thyagaraja performed by L. Subramaniam on violin accompanied by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee on the Tabla and others. Although the violin started out as an instrument attributed to western classical music, this small four string instrument became essential to traditional classical music in India as well as jazz, folk, Arabic and the Baroque forms of music (Indobase.com). The violin is used with different position and tuning in Indian music, illustrating the versatility of the instruments and how the device can be played in different genres of music and sound much different from the European style violin (Indobase.com). However, one major difference is that the violin has religious connotations in Indian classical music, unlike in the western countries, and classical violin music is usually a solo performance (Indobase.com). Modern music directors like Ilaiyaraaja frequently use the violin for musical scores in their movies (Indobase.com).

Music

Violins come in a variety of sizes, from fiddles in the size of 1/10 ideal for children between three and five to violins in 4/4 which can be used both children from age nine to adults (Indobase.com). A luthier can help select the right violin depending on the length of your arm and whether an acoustic or electric violin would better suit your musical style of baroque, classical or modern violins, since the sounds are different with respect to the materials used in its construction, as the strings used in an electric violin are usually made from nylon, steel or synthetics and differ from acoustics (Indobase.com). The history for the Tabla stems from Indian folklore, which tells the tale of Brahma, the lord of the Universe, and how drums were created to play when Shiva, the lord of destruction, danced his eternal Tandava Nritya dance and that the present day Tabla is derived form a drum called Durdur (Batish and Batish). The Tabla consists of two drums, the treble drum called Dayan and a bass drum called Bayan, and combines the technical skills of the Mridangam and Pakhavaj, to create the premiere percussion instrument the Tabla drum is today (Batish and Batish).

The pair of drums are placed between the legs, the treble drum being the smallest and placed nearest the dominant hand, and each drum is unique in that they can produce a wide array of tones, unlike other percussion instruments and the sounds are made according to which area of the drum is struck, the force of the blow, and the fingers used to strike the blow, with the sections of the drum designated as follows: (a) the syahi is the innermost circle at the center; (b) the maidan is the next ring; (c) the outermost ring is the chat; and (d) the gajara is the side of the drums (Vaux). The selected musical piece was composed by Tyaagaraaja, who is one of the most famous Carnatic composers in India and is considered the greatest of the Carnatic music trinity (Clement 353). Kriti, or krithi, is a song of praise or adoration for a particular Hindu deity, especially associated with Tyagaraja or Thyagaraja, Muttuswamy Dikshitar, and Syama or Shyama Sastri, a famed trinity of musician-saints or saint-composers (Clement 353).

Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam was born on 23 July 1947 and is a celebrated Indian violinist, conductor, and composer, classically trained in Western and Carnatic music traditions (World Music Central.org.). Renowned for his brilliant playing techniques and compositions in orchestral synthesis with the title ‘Violin Chakravarthy’, meaning emperor of the violin, at a very young age, Subramaniam has recorded, played, and composed an extensive array of musical works including Karnatic, Western classical, jazz, global fusion and world music and his beginnings as a childhood prodigy has enabled him to collaborated with a wide range of artists (World Music Central.org). Stemming from a deep tradition of service to Karnatic music from his father and guru, Professor V. Lakshminarayana and V. Seethalakshmi, his mother, who encouraged him to pursue a career in music, Subramaniam also studied science and medicine, finishing his M.B.B.S at Madras Medical College and registered as a general practitioner while subsequently completing his Master’s Degree in Western Classical Music in California, after which he decided to dedicate his life to musical pursuits (World Music Central.org). he is currently the founder and director of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, the biggest global music festival in India (World Music Central.org).

Pandit Anindo Chatterjee began his musical career at the age of five under Ustad Afaq Hussain Khan of Lucknow gharana and thirty years of training under the famed Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh (Angelfire.com). According to Angelfire.com, Anindo currently:

“…leads his generation of representatives of the Farrukhabad Gharana of tabla founded by Haji Vilayat Khan Sahib. Apart from being one of the greatest performers, Anindo is respected as one of the most important tabla makers, teachers and researchers. [His] performances are marked by clarity of tone, very crisp and clear bols and an intuitive sense of rhythm and melody. Since 1972, Anindo has performed solo as well as accompanied leading artists all over the world. Among those who he has accompanied are Pandit Nikhil Banerjee (sitar), Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta (sarod), Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur (voice), Budhaditya Mukherjee (sitar), Ustad Rais Khan (sitar), Gangubai Hangal (voice), Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (santoor) among many others.”

Carnatic music is derived from Sanskrit: Karn??aka sa?g?ta, and is a class of music most often associated with the southern part of Indian, as opposed to Hindustani, which is from the northern region (Neuman 99). One of two main sub-genres of Indian classical music, karnatak music usually emphasizes vocalizations in the song and is meant to be performed in g?yaki os siung, but this piece does not feature any vocalists (Neuman 99). There are stylistic differences in the basic elements of ?ruti, which is the musical pitch, swara, or the sound of a single note, raga, which is the melodic formulæ, and tala, or the rhythmic cycles and these aspects form the basis of improvisation and composition in Carnatic and Hindustani music (Neuman 101). In the selected musical clip, sruti varies throughout the song, as the tones go from high to low, and the tempo of the music goes from medium to fast to slow and back to medium in a cyclic pattern. Carnatic music is mainly sung through kriti compositions, developed between the 16th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the Trinity of Carnatic music, and performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal vocalist performer, a melodic violin accompaniment, a rhythm mridangam accompaniment, and a tambura, which acts as a drone throughout the performance (Neuman 101-102).

Other typical instruments used in performances may include the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, veena & flute (Neuman 103). Kriti, or krithi, is a song of praise or adoration for a particular Hindu deity, especially associated with Tyagaraja or Thyagaraja, Muttuswamy Dikshitar, and Syama or Shyama Sastri, a famed trinity of musician-saints or saint-composers (Clements 353). Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, 1847-1856. And there are three types of thumri, which are Punjabi, Lucknavi and Poorab ang (Clements 364). While khyal was present in the musical clip selection, thumri was not present because there were no vocals in the musical piece.

Works Cited

Angelfire.com. n.d. Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. 02 Mar. 2012 <http://www.angelfire.com/music3/tabla/anindo.htm>.

Batish, Ashwin and Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. “Origins of the Tabla: Tabla Lesson 1”. Batish Institute of Indian Music and Fine Arts, (2003). 02 Mar. 2012 <http://raganet.com/Issues/1/tabla1.html>.

Clements, Carl. “Tradition and Innovation in the B?nsur? Performance Style of Pannalal Ghosh.” Analytical Approaches to World Music. 1.2 (2011): 330-379.

Indobase.com Music of India: Violin. 02 Mar. 2012 <http://music.indobase.com/musical-instruments/violin.html>.

Neuman, Daniel M. “Indian Music as a Cultural System.” Asian Music, 17.1 (1985, Autumn – Winter): 98-113. 02 Mar. 2012 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0044-9202%28198523%2F24%2917%3A1%3C98%3AIMAACS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23>.

Subramaniam, Lashminarayana et al. Live at the Laxminarayana Global Music Festival Aug 14, 2008. 03 March 2012 < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9EdEQhqDE>.

Vaux, Robert. “How to Play the Tabla Drums.” eHow.com 2012. 02 Mar. 2012 <http://www.ehow.com/how_4710316_play-tabla-drums.html#ixzz1o1WmtbQG>.

World Music Central.org. Dr. L. Subramaniam. 02 Mar. 2012 <http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=3824>.