'Traditional classical, carnatic music'

[kvchellappa]

“To believe that the best belongs to the past is the surest road to degeneration.” - Lalgudi Jayaraman.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 358706.ece

[varsha]

Imagination sees the complete reality, – it is where past,present and future meet…Imagination is limited neither to the reality which is apparent – nor to one place.It lives everywhere. It is at a centre and feels the vibrations of all the circles within which east and west are virtually included.
Imagination is the life of mental freedom.It realizes what everything is in its many aspects … Imagination does not uplift: we don’t want to be uplifted, we want to be more completely aware.
(Gibran’s words quoted from Mary Haskell’s journal dated 7th June 1912)

[shankarank]

*Strongly kriti-based (unlike Hindustani music where the bandish is almost inconsequential)

*Dasa vidha gamakams (especially the kampita gamakam)

*Unity of ragam, talam and sruti in every piece

He tries to be somewhat reductionist here trying to list some of the parts.

By kriti - would he include only well viSrAnti-fied structures? Like the Trinity's major ones?

*Dasa vidha gamakams - Gamakams in the current form came about because of continuous dwelling in the viSrAnti and more pronounced in Golden era if we believe some of the claims about how it was before. I don't think the Alap and Tanam improvisations got them in a vacuum without the kriti form playing a major role. Hence well viSrAnti-fied structures are a prerequisite for Gamakams to be arise.

*Unity of ragam, talam and sruti in every piece - Again rAgam is a composite term. tAlam and Sruti are atomic entities.

*showcases raga bhava as its unceasing central objective,
*does this by trying to achieve the highest standard of melody and on-the-spot creativity, and

A straight jump into something that is holistic as rAga bhavam. As regards of highest standard of melody - that is too generic - lot of things sounding good do not convey the carnatic idiom.

*achieves this within the Carnatic paddhati.

So he put this caveat to achieve some sort of completion. All specifics focus on the term melody. But composite terms like rAgam are left without clarity except the mention of terms such as phrase, paddhati, Bhava!

*Raga development phrase by phrase

So phrase is possibly assumed to be a sequence of swaras or Srutis. Again no mention of the concept of kriya and viSrAnti!.

Carnatic music is not merely raga-based but raga-centric. As an art form, the central objective of Carnatic music has always been, the showcasing of raga bhava. The musician’s virtuosity is the means for achieving this objective. This is the crux of tradition.

Sometimes virtousity is executed as a fast sequence of notes - not anything seminal to rAga identity or rAga bhava. But when executed in the context of the viSrAnti in the kriti to reach a tantalizing eDuppu - it brings out that aesthetic.

An example would be TNS' execution of a Brigha to reach the eDuppu of a relatively slow paced behAg padam sAramaina mATalentO. While the brigha is purely a show case of his prowess - the eDuppu and the preceding viSranti are composer's property. When they all come together, Carnatic music is still created.

So more generally Carnatic music is viSrAnti centric! - and rAga is one manifestation of that!

[sureshvv]

The whole part about "Carnatic paddhati" seems to be defining it in contrast to Hindustani music and therefore a bit dubious. Such silos do hold out over a period of time.

Also it is not just raga bhava. It is raga & bhava (emotion) and laya. All 3 are independent and each necessary in good measure.

[shankarank]

This video is a wiki-leaks moment in Carnatic music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNso3nYh5PA

For a raga like suruTTi - if hummed informally would bring it's identity - Prof. SRJ and Smt. Kalpagam Swaminathan look for a Subbarama Dikshitar vaRNam. I know they would still insist that they are after the specific rAga bhAva that SD imprinted on that composition. They are willing to set aside the SRngArA in that sAhityam as virasam and still look for something - that extra music.

At this moment we should place more trust in their (musical) instincts than in their scholarship - which becomes irrelevant. Obviously vaRNams / padams are the first viSrAnti-fied creations.

Dr Raghavan in one of his articles on tyAgarAja while expounding on kriti's lakshana quotes the line from sogasuga mRdanga tAlamu : "yati viSrama satbhakti virati drAkSha rasa navarasa" and explains how tyAgarAja followed the exemplary path set by vaRNa kArAs and prabhanda kArAs before him. Prabhandas if not in the same mold of viSrAnti of the kritis at least gave the Chandas patterns.

After the discomfort with SRngAra bhAva - irony of ironies they proceed to enjoy the music in angArakam ASrayAmyaham - whose anupallavi extols the beauty of zodiacs mESa and vRScika - SRngAraka mESa vRScika rASyAdhipatim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0vN0O4XC_c

It is time to reflect what we have become?? We seem to be doing the job for the outsiders ( within us and elsewhere) - philatalizing the "art" on their behalf!!!

[RSR]

It is rather difficult to define. Carnatic music during the last century has been enriched and delineated by hundreds of Nagaswaram vidwans all over Tamil country. and also by violin , flute , gottuvadhyam, veena players. We may even add Nathamuni band. ...The kruthi, lyrics, theme,bhaavam may be in the background. Alapana, swarams, layam ,everything can exist and be appreciated by people and enthrall them without relating it to the vocalists' approach.
'Thalam' need not be an essential part. Vrutthams exemplify. In that aspect, there is not much difference. .The main difference may be in the basic ragas (scales) chosen. It becomes evident when we hear an instrumental recital of a ragam common to both. the systems. .. Just a view point... Over to experts.