Sri.V.Govindan,
@252
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In the video cited by you, for non-kannada people like me, it can only be the ragam and rendition that may appeal.
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I have the greatest respect to you for your dedicated work in transliteration in many languages and translation of almost all the kruthis of Thyagaraja Swani, Shyama Sastry and MD.
However, I am unable to agree with you in your over-emphasis on Lyrics and grammar. and in your assertion that the kruthis derive their beauty from the lyrics. It is a fundamentally flawed theory.
I will confine myself to Haridasa poets and Trinity. The music of Haridasa poets is lost and what we have today is just re-tuned versions ( and many of them are absolutely great tunes! Smt MLV is a specialist in Purandaradasa and other Dasar songs and it was her parents ' dedicated work to have unearthed many of the songs and notated them. Yet, I was hugely surprised today to learn through Lalitharam's interview of MLV when she said that she did not know much of Kannada! ( see parivadhini post in musicians and composers section).
An absolutely top-class interview. Never to be missed!
viewtopic.php?p=364535#p364535
I do not know Kannada and it has not prevented me and countless non-kannada-knowing rasikas , from being thrilled by the songs. When we do not know Kannada how can we still be enslaved by the message and literary niceties of those songs? It is the tune and the singing that sways us . Bless them.
In the case of Thyagaraja and Shyamasastry, their music has come to us through their disciples. Let me consider Thyagaraja only now. One of the main disciples of Thyagaraja Swami was
his own nephew ' Manambuchavadi' and two of the most illustrious disciples of him were Patnam Subramanya Iyer and MahaVaidyanatha Sivan. I have not come across any information about their mother tongue. MahaVaidyanathaSivan 's mother tongue must have been Thamizh. Poochi Srinivasa Iengar was a disciple of Patnam Subramanya Iyer. ( Tamzh) . Ariyakkudi was a disciple of Poochi Iyengar. Though, the entire lineage might have had a basic understanding of the lyrics of the Kruthis, it is very doubtful if they had given much importance to the lyrics to the extent that a born-Telugu like you has done.
For them, it was the music that was of primary importance. Nor were famous contemporaries and younger vocalists like Chembai, MVI, Musiri, SSI, MMI and GNB , from Telugu speaking families. All of them were Tamils. They may or may not have fully studied the lyrics except to the extent that mattered for its music and rendition.
The case of Sanskrit was slightly different. In the decades 1900 to 1960, all brahmin households in towns and villages, had exposure to Sanskrit through poojas and daily recitations of slokams and prayers. Some , even through Vedic Adhyayanam. Still, none of the greats of those decades were all that comfortable with chaste Sanskrit. It is said that the sage of Kanchi corrected the padaantharam of even the famous scion of Dhanammaal family. and ARI.
There were literally thousands and thousands of rasikas of Thayagaraja swami's music but very few vocalists and listeners worried too much about the lyrics, their exact meaning, philosophical implications and such. All that mattered to them was the music and 'paadaantharam'.
How is it that though so many of Thyagaraja swami's kruthis are about Rama , even confirmed Sakthas and Saivites and Subramanya worshippers could enjoy the music? How about the same kruthis being played inspiringly by great Nagaswaram Vidwans, Violin, Flute, VeeNa and Gottuvadhyam and Jalatharangam players? Why did common people in those decades throng the temple procession - playing by such Nagaswaram immortals? Did they attend for the language? Did they all know Telugu, Sanskrit and Kannada and even Marathi? No.
It was the music and they were true rasikas though not trained in classical music. Who trained Mali? NCV? DKP? MS? Did they have any gurukula vaasam? who trained Chembai?
Of course, for people who know Telugu, any grammar mistake or wrong pronunciation would surely be jarring. but we the majority of Tamils then and now, do not know either Sanskrit or Telugu or Kannada. or Marathi So, it does not matter much if the music is chaste and inspiring.
If any of the vocalists make jarring errors while singing in Tamizh, their own mother-tongue, it would surely be noticed and condemned. But such things are rare. though do occur. as we do not know literary Tamil these days.
HM has no such problems when it avoids lyrics and gives more focus to tune. and rhythm.
This is not a plea to jettison CM but putting things in proper perspective.
Raga itself has a bhaavam. It is not derived from the lyrics. So, the bhava of the theme and bhava of the ragam should synchronize and if possible be enhanced. That is the guiding principle of good CM.
. More than any "uncertainty principle", the spectral smearing about the central frequency, as the sample window narrows, is the key. This has an almost exact psycho-acoustic analog which I can vouch from personal experience and the experience of other highly pitch sensitive musical people I know. Loved the entire presenstation too. Will be checking other videos in this channel. Nice blend of signal processing and physics.