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Tuesday 22 May 2012

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Expert Speak

  

TN Seshagopalan

 

Grammy winner Vikku Vinayakram, the maestro of ‘ghatam’ (claypot used as a percussion instrument), is one of Chennai’s foremost musicians who straddles the traditional and contemporary music worlds with rare elan.


"All the systems in music have been built on the powerful base of melody and rhythm. Even though the approach, purpose and evolution has been different for each system, the ultimate aim is to feel and make the audience sense divinity through music."
 

 

Madurai TN Seshagopalan, Padma Bhushan awardee, plays a variety of instruments including the veena,

and the harmonium, and is also a harikatha exponent.

 

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Music in Chennai

Carnatic music is the confluence of many sources though the Vedas, the large body of ancient sacred texts, are considered to be the source. Music flourished in the capital cities and temple towns of Vijayanagara and Thanjavur, patronised initially by temples and later on by royal courts. The genesis of Carnatic music from 2nd to 13th century is traced in Sangita Ratnakara, the authoritative 12th century musical treatise of Sarngadeva (1210-1247). Its 5000 Sanskrit couplets comprehensively cover Swaras, Ragas, Prabandhas (musical form of this period), Tala-vadyas (percussion instruments), Gamakas (ornamentations) and other aspects. Two other works, Sangeeta Sara, attributed to Vidyaranya (1320-1380) and Swaramela Kalanidhi by Ramamatya are milestones in the development of Carnatic music, for their formal classification of ragas and elucidation of techniques.

 

After the 12th century, Hindustani and Carnatic gradually split and evolved separately. Carnatic came to represent the South Indian Classical Music. The three great composers of Carnatic music, Syama Sastri, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar were born during the 1700s. Called the Musical Trinity, they set to tune new compositions and evolved many new musical forms such as the Varnam, Kriti, Padam, Javali, Tillana, and Swarajati. In the early part of the 1800s, Ghanam Krishna Iyer, Vina Kuppayyar, Subbaraya Sastri, Swati Tirunal added to the vast repertoire of Carnatic music, which was further enriched a few years later by Subbaraya Sastri, Gopalakrishna Bharati, Patnam Subramanya Iyer, Mysore Vasudevachar, Koteeswara Iyer and more recently by Muthaiah Bhagavatar and Papanasam Sivan.

 

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The most singular factor in the 19th century was the breakthrough achieved by women artistes. M S     Subbulakshmi, with her contemporaries DK Pattamal and ML Vasanthakumari were the trailblazers in breaking the male-stronghold of music; and fondly referred to as the female trinity of Indian music. D K Pattamal was the first woman to have given a public performance; she was also the first woman to perform, in concerts, Ragam Thanam Pallavi.

 

They sparked the emergence of a host of women musicians who today see no glass ceiling. In 20th and 21 st centuries, doyens like Balamurali Krishna and S Rajam have kept the flag flying. Carnatic music thrives on encouragement by organisations and corporate sponsors. In Chennai, music sabhas and theatre companies offer a host of concerts, plays and recitals every evening. Every major temple in the city hosts regular concerts or kacheris, especially during festivals.

 

The cool month of Margazhi (Dec-Jan) is Chennai’s official music season, the joy of connoisseurs. Held in celebration of the opening of the Madras Music Academy in 1927, sabhas all around the city host a series of music and dance concerts, lecture-demonstrations and performances by top artistes from around the country.  

 

MS Subbulakshmi

 

South India’s wake up call is the suprabatham, the morning hymn of Hindus. It has become almost synonymous with MS Subbulakshmi (1916-2004) whose voice is the embodiment of faith in all its purity. MS was an exceptionally gifted Carnatic vocalist who was equally proficient in Hindustani. A versatile singer and actor, she broke into the male-dominated music scene. She was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

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AR Rahman

 

AR Rahman, arguably India’s favourite composer, has composed music for several Bollywood and Tamil films and recently won a slew of international awards for the music of Slumdog Millionaire including the Golden Globe, and two Oscars, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 2009 Academy Awards.

 

 

Chennai’s colonial past has left it with a rich legacy of Western classical music. Home to several concert pianists, violinists and singers, Chennai also hosts regular concerts formusicians visiting from overseas. The city also has a large rock and jazz scene. The past few years have seen the rise of several new rock and jazz-fusion bands in this city. Chennai’s film industry has produced some of the best film music in the country incorporating symphonic interludes and intricate accompaniments. Ilayaraja, one of the country’s leading composers in the ‘80s and ‘90s, earned the distinction of being India’s first composer to score an entire symphony.

 

 

 

 
 

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