If there is a single feature of Carnatic music to account for its mesmerizing effect on listeners it may well be a feature known as kalapramanam: practicing rhythm (laya) ((‘”The sense of rhythm gives us a feeling of freedom, luxury, and expanse. It gives us a feeling of achievement in molding or creating. It gives …
Category archives: Musicians and scholars
Flow | Colourful and creative “when life is attuned to a single tune” – Mahatma Gandhi
An exercise for raga Kuntalavarali (YouTube) >> The above exercise is inspired by eminent Carnatic flautist Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar rendering Bhogindra Sayinam (Kuntalavarali, Khanda capu) by Svati Tirunal Excerpt © HMV Marga 1996 cassette recording South Indian conventions (raga names & svara notation): karnATik.com | Guide >> raagam: kuntalavarALiAa: S M1 P D2 N2 D2 S | Av: S N2 D2 …
Flow | Janya practice 5 & 7 notes
An exercise for ragas Mohana Kalyani and Bilahari (YouTube) >> The above exercise is inspired by eminent Carnatic flautist Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar rendering Siddhi Vinayakam (Mohana Kalyani, Adi) by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar ((“Harikesanallur L.Muthiah Bhagavatar was something of a Superman in Carnatic music [who] created new raga-s, imported several from Hindustani music and composed many …
Time theory in Vivekananda’s Concepts of Indian Classical Music
Explore >> The notion of a particular time prescribed for ragas (gāna kāla) plays a greater role in Hindustani music than for exponents of its southern counterpart where sārvakālika ragas prevail: ragas suited to any day or night time. A few ragas nevertheless continue to be associated with the moods indicated by song lyrics (notably …
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How prehistoric societies were transformed by the sound of music
Amidst lively debates within and beyond India these perspectives on our shared legacy make interesting reading: Vainika Savithri Rajan who believed that Tyagaraja, like other great men, was always meditating, but his medium of expression was nādam, “sound”. In the introduction to his unfinished yet voluminous magnum opus Karunamirtha Sagaram, titled “The Dignity and Origin …
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