ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
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cacm
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ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
IN THIS SECTION I HOPE TO DISCUSS THE FUNDAMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARI IN ADVANCING 20TH CENTURY C.M. TO THE POINT THAT MANY PRACTICEONERS HAVE ATTAINED GLOBAL RECOGNITION & STATUS TO THE POINT SOME OF THEM ARE SUFFICIENTLY ARROGANT ABOUT THEIR ABILITY, STATUS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXHIBIT LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT GOT THEM TO THIS STATUS. I am hoping to have a frank robust honest discussion in the hope of educating many including myself in the process. I consider three articles are MUST READING for any one wanting to enhance their knowledge & understanding in this crucial area. I am going to copy here the BRILLIANT, INCISIVE and AUTHORITATIVE ARTICLE BY NONE OTHER THAN THE ONE&ONLY GNB. This is a must for anyone HONEST & SERIOUS ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THE MUSIC & CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARI. The other two by PMI (IN TAMIL & I DONT HAVE ENERGY TO TRANSLATE IT) & T.S. BALAKRISHNA SASATRIGAL (MAY BE TOO HIGH-BROW?). Before starting any discussions I am copying GNB'S ARTICLE FROM "COMMEMORIUM VOLUME 1963" VKV (TO BE CONTINUED)
Last edited by cacm on 13 Feb 2015, 01:48, edited 1 time in total.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESRVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
THE HERO AS A MUSICIAN by G.N.BALASUBRAMANIAM (1)
To talk about modern Karnatik music is to talk of Sri.Ariyakudi, the architectand maker of our music today. He is seventy four years "young" and very muchin his stridesas a top performer and musician. His record is unique in the annals of music history in its consistently high level of performance anfd reputation. As a man and as a musician he is many sided being entertaining as well as instructive. Throughout, his career has been the cumulative result of professional dignity business acumen and artistic ideals.
HE has been an outstanding long established success.It is not due to luck or adventious chance that it is so. There are solid grounds for it.Moreover, it is, it will be admitted more difficult to maintain leadership in a public career than to gain it. His repertoire is as varied as it is big.He is as alert and aware of of contemporary musical trends and movements as he is composed in his belief in tradition and "Sampradaya". Hi is probably the one instance of a unique wedlock of seeming incompatibles "Sastra" & "Stravya" and tradition and modernity".
STILL RETAINS SOVEREIGNITY"
There are a good many amongst us now who have followed his musical career for the past four decades and more who have noticed all the qualities which conduced to make him an undisputed to make him an undisputed leader in his profession ever since he entered into the music world.Many musicians have come into the music field after him and risen to prominence. He still retains his sovereignity. Why? If one such, tries to mark by specialising in any aspect of performance this aspect is immediately taken up by him and he unfailingly demonstrated he could do it and more, in a better way.This naturally presupposes that his stock & resilience should be sufficiently big & tough so that he could meet this moves & prove himself superior to them. Incompatibility in equipment and musical temperament of the accompanists have never stood in the way of his making a success of the performance. He is at home with both great senior accompanists as well as rising junior ones.He never allows himself to be non plussedon the platform. His ADJUSTABILITY, STOCK AND DIPLOMACY ARE in ample evidence when new and young accompanists perform along with him. He is a musician with a with a classical ideal with a definite choiceful awareness-choiceful because there is all round fullness from which to choose. He knows what he is about leaving nothing to chance or the moment preferring "how" a thing is done to "what" is done- a typical classical ideal based on conscious deliberate artistry rather than haphazard musical adventure. This is why he is so dependable and never below par on any occasion.
It cannot be denied that his is the greatest share among all the musicians for making Karnatic Classical Music as popular amongst the laity as it is now. He effectively exploded the myth and illusion which were ptevalent for a long time that "Sampradhaya" and tradition were not pleasing to the ear. The music world is and should be indebted to him for the long and signal service he has rendered in stabilising and presenting our Prasiddha and Rakthi ragas in their true basic and traditional form and with rheir characteristic and unmistakeable Sancharas, Sangathis and Prayogas.(To be continued)
To talk about modern Karnatik music is to talk of Sri.Ariyakudi, the architectand maker of our music today. He is seventy four years "young" and very muchin his stridesas a top performer and musician. His record is unique in the annals of music history in its consistently high level of performance anfd reputation. As a man and as a musician he is many sided being entertaining as well as instructive. Throughout, his career has been the cumulative result of professional dignity business acumen and artistic ideals.
HE has been an outstanding long established success.It is not due to luck or adventious chance that it is so. There are solid grounds for it.Moreover, it is, it will be admitted more difficult to maintain leadership in a public career than to gain it. His repertoire is as varied as it is big.He is as alert and aware of of contemporary musical trends and movements as he is composed in his belief in tradition and "Sampradaya". Hi is probably the one instance of a unique wedlock of seeming incompatibles "Sastra" & "Stravya" and tradition and modernity".
STILL RETAINS SOVEREIGNITY"
There are a good many amongst us now who have followed his musical career for the past four decades and more who have noticed all the qualities which conduced to make him an undisputed to make him an undisputed leader in his profession ever since he entered into the music world.Many musicians have come into the music field after him and risen to prominence. He still retains his sovereignity. Why? If one such, tries to mark by specialising in any aspect of performance this aspect is immediately taken up by him and he unfailingly demonstrated he could do it and more, in a better way.This naturally presupposes that his stock & resilience should be sufficiently big & tough so that he could meet this moves & prove himself superior to them. Incompatibility in equipment and musical temperament of the accompanists have never stood in the way of his making a success of the performance. He is at home with both great senior accompanists as well as rising junior ones.He never allows himself to be non plussedon the platform. His ADJUSTABILITY, STOCK AND DIPLOMACY ARE in ample evidence when new and young accompanists perform along with him. He is a musician with a with a classical ideal with a definite choiceful awareness-choiceful because there is all round fullness from which to choose. He knows what he is about leaving nothing to chance or the moment preferring "how" a thing is done to "what" is done- a typical classical ideal based on conscious deliberate artistry rather than haphazard musical adventure. This is why he is so dependable and never below par on any occasion.
It cannot be denied that his is the greatest share among all the musicians for making Karnatic Classical Music as popular amongst the laity as it is now. He effectively exploded the myth and illusion which were ptevalent for a long time that "Sampradhaya" and tradition were not pleasing to the ear. The music world is and should be indebted to him for the long and signal service he has rendered in stabilising and presenting our Prasiddha and Rakthi ragas in their true basic and traditional form and with rheir characteristic and unmistakeable Sancharas, Sangathis and Prayogas.(To be continued)
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNAIC MUSIC
G.N.B. ON A.R.I. (2):
CLEAR VISION
Sri.Ariyakudi is a musician with a clear vision and idea of what he is about. He never allowed himself in his early days to fall into the dangerous illusion that originality comes only with the avoidance of the well known obvious and basic sancharas and form of a raga, a shoal on whichyoung musical minds are apt to wreck themselves on. He has to his credit introduced the largest number of new new compositions of the Trinity, Pallavis,& the miscellaneous items which come after the Pallavi. He it is who has codified & adapted to modern times the aspects of a concert, their spacings and times- and this is so well done that both lay and learned never have a dull moment or feeling of boredom, theroughout the concert.
Sri.Ariyakudi's music is the touchstone on which we can judge the standard of music of others probably because it is in the truest and basic traditions of our classical music. The unmistakeable and indispensable attributes of our classical music are its "Gamaka suddha", the prime importance given to madhyamakala and the strict maintenance of and timely and well proportioned admixture of Sowka, Madhya, and Drutha kalas, the appropriate use of the correct Kala pramanas & thenecessary Gamakas in the phrases and the Jiva Swaras of the ragas & the usage of the "thin" and the "thick" in the Jiva swras of the ragas. These are exemplified in his style. That Madyamakala is the Jiva of our Sangitha has been amply demonstrated fro the days of Thyagaraja the composer through performers & musicianslike Sri.Patnam Subramanmya Iyesr, Sri. Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer,Sri. Poochi Srinivasa Iyengarand of the presentlate Mysore Vasudevachariar & Sri.Ariyakudi. The Madyama kala is neither too fas or too slow. This, his gift Gamaka suddham and Madyama kala makes his music unsatiating & never tiring. Hence, there is as much movement and life in his Vilambakritis & ragas. There is no listness in the latter nor drag in the former. This is amply borne out in his method of singing Vilambakala Kshetranga Padams which when rfendered in pure chamber style do not have that movement and vivacity foe lay listeners which he is able to impart by his manner of singing them.
CLEAR VISION
Sri.Ariyakudi is a musician with a clear vision and idea of what he is about. He never allowed himself in his early days to fall into the dangerous illusion that originality comes only with the avoidance of the well known obvious and basic sancharas and form of a raga, a shoal on whichyoung musical minds are apt to wreck themselves on. He has to his credit introduced the largest number of new new compositions of the Trinity, Pallavis,& the miscellaneous items which come after the Pallavi. He it is who has codified & adapted to modern times the aspects of a concert, their spacings and times- and this is so well done that both lay and learned never have a dull moment or feeling of boredom, theroughout the concert.
Sri.Ariyakudi's music is the touchstone on which we can judge the standard of music of others probably because it is in the truest and basic traditions of our classical music. The unmistakeable and indispensable attributes of our classical music are its "Gamaka suddha", the prime importance given to madhyamakala and the strict maintenance of and timely and well proportioned admixture of Sowka, Madhya, and Drutha kalas, the appropriate use of the correct Kala pramanas & thenecessary Gamakas in the phrases and the Jiva Swaras of the ragas & the usage of the "thin" and the "thick" in the Jiva swras of the ragas. These are exemplified in his style. That Madyamakala is the Jiva of our Sangitha has been amply demonstrated fro the days of Thyagaraja the composer through performers & musicianslike Sri.Patnam Subramanmya Iyesr, Sri. Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer,Sri. Poochi Srinivasa Iyengarand of the presentlate Mysore Vasudevachariar & Sri.Ariyakudi. The Madyama kala is neither too fas or too slow. This, his gift Gamaka suddham and Madyama kala makes his music unsatiating & never tiring. Hence, there is as much movement and life in his Vilambakritis & ragas. There is no listness in the latter nor drag in the former. This is amply borne out in his method of singing Vilambakala Kshetranga Padams which when rfendered in pure chamber style do not have that movement and vivacity foe lay listeners which he is able to impart by his manner of singing them.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
G.N.B. ON A.R.I. (3):
HIGH MUSICAL IDEALS
With all his equipment, musical & temperamental he rose by sheer merit to eminence not by supplementary and auxiliary methods of sycophany or seelikng patronage.. In his case it was the reverse. Distinguished personages and patrons sought him. He being a graceful inoffensive and pleasing person never antagonised them. In spite of his inordinate and long standing though legitimate success he is unique in making not making a handle of this art for gaining social and material status for himself. He always placed his musical ideal in a high pedestal and stood by them. He has not been to sacrifice his ideals for personal gains there of to please a particular section of the public or water them down to meet the tastes of the masses. Those who know his musical history may remember in this connection that he antagonised a very great accompanist in his young days which few musicians in his status and with his status then would have dared to., in their own interests and the glory of it is that he got away with it too. All these are unmistakeable pointers tothe tenacity of his conviction in his own musical ideas and the courage to practice it. With all this he is probably the one musician with a real sense ofhumility. Humility as a pose & artifice stands self-indicted & self-exposed. He has always attributed his "humble" success to the reverential care with which he has preserved what he has imbibed from the great master like his Guru Poochi Iyengar, Thirukodikavl Krishna Iyer and others.
REVERENCE FOR ART
The great concern he shows for the success of his performance, how he spends the time on a performance day, avoiding sleep in the afternoon even at this age and doing musical "mananam" all the time indicate what reverence he has for for the Art and how humble he is. Besides, smug complacency that comes with an established reputation which is the canker that kills progress and improvement in th eart has never claimed him as victim at any time of his life. He is even now learning new compositions. On the platform the way he conducts the performanceshares it with his accompaniments and never indulging in meaningless or unprovoked diversions or even unintended offence under provocation, to his accompanists, or a noisy audience again show his sense of seriousness while performing.Even at moments of hilarious success his behaviour has never been tinged with insolence or swankiness. Technique in his music has always been given its proper place never obtruding on aesthetics. Throughout his career he has been an example on the platform for others to emulate. Further from private conversation to platform concert his deportment is the most pleasing & graceful. There is not one discordant word or unmusical sound.
HIGH MUSICAL IDEALS
With all his equipment, musical & temperamental he rose by sheer merit to eminence not by supplementary and auxiliary methods of sycophany or seelikng patronage.. In his case it was the reverse. Distinguished personages and patrons sought him. He being a graceful inoffensive and pleasing person never antagonised them. In spite of his inordinate and long standing though legitimate success he is unique in making not making a handle of this art for gaining social and material status for himself. He always placed his musical ideal in a high pedestal and stood by them. He has not been to sacrifice his ideals for personal gains there of to please a particular section of the public or water them down to meet the tastes of the masses. Those who know his musical history may remember in this connection that he antagonised a very great accompanist in his young days which few musicians in his status and with his status then would have dared to., in their own interests and the glory of it is that he got away with it too. All these are unmistakeable pointers tothe tenacity of his conviction in his own musical ideas and the courage to practice it. With all this he is probably the one musician with a real sense ofhumility. Humility as a pose & artifice stands self-indicted & self-exposed. He has always attributed his "humble" success to the reverential care with which he has preserved what he has imbibed from the great master like his Guru Poochi Iyengar, Thirukodikavl Krishna Iyer and others.
REVERENCE FOR ART
The great concern he shows for the success of his performance, how he spends the time on a performance day, avoiding sleep in the afternoon even at this age and doing musical "mananam" all the time indicate what reverence he has for for the Art and how humble he is. Besides, smug complacency that comes with an established reputation which is the canker that kills progress and improvement in th eart has never claimed him as victim at any time of his life. He is even now learning new compositions. On the platform the way he conducts the performanceshares it with his accompaniments and never indulging in meaningless or unprovoked diversions or even unintended offence under provocation, to his accompanists, or a noisy audience again show his sense of seriousness while performing.Even at moments of hilarious success his behaviour has never been tinged with insolence or swankiness. Technique in his music has always been given its proper place never obtruding on aesthetics. Throughout his career he has been an example on the platform for others to emulate. Further from private conversation to platform concert his deportment is the most pleasing & graceful. There is not one discordant word or unmusical sound.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
G.N.B. ON A.R.I. (4)
Sri. Ariyakudi typifies the Golden mean. The Golden mean is an ideal of the Gita. His music is to Karnatic music what Gita is to Indian philosophy. Its quintessense is eternal and elemental truths & values which stand for all time. Singing with full-throated ease and undeflected middle position of the chin & face, mouth, neither too open nor too closed the use of the Akaras-the Golden mean of the Madhyama kala, the Jiva of Karnatic music- the balance of in proportions of the presentation , of the various aspects of concert- these represent the golden mean. This is the key to his longevity.IF One may so his music called the "Gita of Sangita".
He has been the "Sangitha Dharma Paripalaka for so many decades for s many decades by fostering with genuine care, real interest and innate strength, KARNATIC SAMPRADHAYA.iT IS THE DUTY -the best & mosr effective tribute to his services for our music-of musicians and listeners to adopt in principle and encourage, the establishment and growth of the musical culture and tradition he has so assiduoly and for so long, built up. --- At the feet of the Master
G.N.B. CONSIDERED A.R.I. TO BE HIS MANASEEGA GURU. MII WANTED TO LEARN FROM HIM BUT CIRCUMSTANCES DID NOT ALLOW IT.......VKV
Sri. Ariyakudi typifies the Golden mean. The Golden mean is an ideal of the Gita. His music is to Karnatic music what Gita is to Indian philosophy. Its quintessense is eternal and elemental truths & values which stand for all time. Singing with full-throated ease and undeflected middle position of the chin & face, mouth, neither too open nor too closed the use of the Akaras-the Golden mean of the Madhyama kala, the Jiva of Karnatic music- the balance of in proportions of the presentation , of the various aspects of concert- these represent the golden mean. This is the key to his longevity.IF One may so his music called the "Gita of Sangita".
He has been the "Sangitha Dharma Paripalaka for so many decades for s many decades by fostering with genuine care, real interest and innate strength, KARNATIC SAMPRADHAYA.iT IS THE DUTY -the best & mosr effective tribute to his services for our music-of musicians and listeners to adopt in principle and encourage, the establishment and growth of the musical culture and tradition he has so assiduoly and for so long, built up. --- At the feet of the Master
G.N.B. CONSIDERED A.R.I. TO BE HIS MANASEEGA GURU. MII WANTED TO LEARN FROM HIM BUT CIRCUMSTANCES DID NOT ALLOW IT.......VKV
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Now that I have somehow copied G.N.B.' S ARTICLE THAT IS EXCEEDINGLY WELL WRITTEN- after all he was a English literature graduate- I now request the various EXPERTS AS WELL NON-EXPERTS TO start a lively discussion so we can all benefit & dispel irrelevent mis-representation of our musical history (which prompted this section). Above all NO ONE CAN DO THE "muzhu pooshini kai maraithal " magic & syndrome by being arrogant & clever & taking advantage of the POLITENESS & RESPECT PERSONS GIVE. Like our lack of written History there is a tendency if something is in print it must be true. Well it is not.....VKV
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munirao2001
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
VKV Sir,
Before a detailed discussion, I have sensed a very deep sense of hurt. Please let us clear this for clarity and understanding. To my knowledge, only few Vidwans, mostly identified with Mysuru bani and school of CM were critical of Greatest Maestro ARI e.g.Late RRK. Some of the Great Maestros of Hindusthani Music were also highly critical. With such few exceptions, ARI's worshiped and followed in all the aspects of KM by all the practitioners of KM, a role model. ARI's quality and values in KM became the benchmark for all the other practitioners. Which specific statement or writing which has caused this hurt?
Sir, you have began the very much arduous task of writing of historically significant and importance, which very few have attempted. All the rasikas and Indian Classical Music fraternity are beholden to you and wish you a great success and atma trupthi-soul filling.
munirao2001
Before a detailed discussion, I have sensed a very deep sense of hurt. Please let us clear this for clarity and understanding. To my knowledge, only few Vidwans, mostly identified with Mysuru bani and school of CM were critical of Greatest Maestro ARI e.g.Late RRK. Some of the Great Maestros of Hindusthani Music were also highly critical. With such few exceptions, ARI's worshiped and followed in all the aspects of KM by all the practitioners of KM, a role model. ARI's quality and values in KM became the benchmark for all the other practitioners. Which specific statement or writing which has caused this hurt?
Sir, you have began the very much arduous task of writing of historically significant and importance, which very few have attempted. All the rasikas and Indian Classical Music fraternity are beholden to you and wish you a great success and atma trupthi-soul filling.
munirao2001
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
DEAR MUNI RAO, YOU ARE WRONG. YOU also do not know many things & INSIDE DETAILS I AM NOT WILLING TO DISCUSS HERE.I happen to know. THERE IS NO EGO INVOLVED. I am not interested in discussing myself & am neither flattered or unhappy or happy. THE STRENGTH OF THIS FORUM IS EVERY ONE CAN WRITE WHAT THEY FEEL EVEN IF ITS WRONG.Actually lets talk about the many points made by G.N.B. WHICH ARE MORE IMPORTANT & CAN THROW LIGHT ON ARI as IGNORANCE IS ALL I HEAR FROM SO CALLED EXPERTS. I have met & known close to every S.K. or those that deserved it not to mention close to 30 Nobl laurates, authors etc.
So I request you to not HARP on ME but the subject matter. YOUR INSIGHTS ARE VALUABLE. vkv
So I request you to not HARP on ME but the subject matter. YOUR INSIGHTS ARE VALUABLE. vkv
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vgovindan
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Palghat Mani Iyer's views on ARI - http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/ptsmani.txt
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear Sri.Govindan,
Thanks a million. The article you have referenced describes a VERY KEY ASPECT BY KALIYUGA NANDHI HIMSELF who has accompanied ARI almost 90-95 percent of the time. AS USUAL HIS FRANKNESS & ASTUTENESS GIVES REAL INSIGHTS ON ARI.....ON A SEPARATE SUBJECT I CANNOT BUT RECALL WITH ADMIRATION THE REVIEWS & SCHOLARLY OF NMN COMPARED TO MANY OF THE CURRENT REVIEWERS! VKV
Thanks a million. The article you have referenced describes a VERY KEY ASPECT BY KALIYUGA NANDHI HIMSELF who has accompanied ARI almost 90-95 percent of the time. AS USUAL HIS FRANKNESS & ASTUTENESS GIVES REAL INSIGHTS ON ARI.....ON A SEPARATE SUBJECT I CANNOT BUT RECALL WITH ADMIRATION THE REVIEWS & SCHOLARLY OF NMN COMPARED TO MANY OF THE CURRENT REVIEWERS! VKV
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kvchellappa
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
i read that Sri VVS was a disciple of ARI and that he has written about ARI in a book of his. If that could be shared, it would be useful in this discussion.
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munirao2001
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
VKV Sir,
I take your advice. Let me keep the focus only on the Great Maestro Ariyakudi and share the personal experiences and information.
munirao2001
I take your advice. Let me keep the focus only on the Great Maestro Ariyakudi and share the personal experiences and information.
munirao2001
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kvchellappa
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
PMI talks of 'judiciously selected programmes and well proportioned excellence in interpretation of the varied concert material' about ARI's music. Is it not what his kaccheri paddhati about? What is the issue there?
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mridangamkid
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I unfortunately have never been able to listen to Sri ARI live however he is unequivocally my favorite artist by quite a wide margin (TR Mahalingam being the only one close time). It is said he has NEVER had an "off" concert, song, or even sruti in his years of professional singing. Perhaps it is because of the household and family I grew up in (all of whom are major Ariyakudi bakthas), but ARI sings in such a way that can not stop ringing in my ear. I joke that listening to Ariyakudi is worse than a drug, because once I start listening to him, I can't stop! Because my family and I are Ariyakudi fanatics, I have learned a couple stories/myths/legends of him which perhaps some of you may have heard, some may have not, that I'd like to share.
I have heard when the group of ARI-TNK-PMI first formed, because he was much elder to TN Krishnan and Palghat Mani Iyer, Ariyakudi's one HARD rule was that both accompanist should NEVER look into the audience, back stage, or anywhere else except for looking at Ariykudi himself. The reason (I believe) was in order to create the chemistry needed to have a perfect concert. He'd mention that -- especially in kalpana swarams-- the accompanist must focus solely at him in order to pick up on subtle cues that cannot be caught unless perfect concentration was there.
One legend I heard was of Ariyakudi singing/practicing for months at a time a particular song (I can't for the life of me remember which song it was). His neighbor would hear him singing this song everyday for 6 months months straight, but never heard him sing it in concert. He finally asked Ariyakudi why he hasn't yet sung this song in concert, and Ariyakudi simply replied "It's not perfect yet". This was the type of perfection he demanded from himself before introducing it on stage.
I have spoken to multiple artists as well as rasikas whom have heard ARI multiple times live. I'd always ask "what exactly made him special? What separated him from the rest of the Vidwans", and I would always get back near exact responses. It was his ability to read the audience and anticipate how what/how to sing for them. He would start with the varnam, and see how the audience receives how he sung it, and based of that, can manipulate the concert in such a way to individual it per audience. While this should be standard practice, it is very difficult to do and apparently, Sri Ariyakudi was a master of it.
Once again, all of what I have said is hearsay. One regret I do have is that I have never been able to listen to ARI live, but in a sense, I feel like that is a positive thing as well. To me, ARI is immortal. I have only seen pictures and listened to recordings (of which are 1950s quality), and to me, that's part of the charm which attracts me to him.
I'd love to hear any stories from rasikas who were able to listen to him live. Especially something which one would not get from simply listening to his music.
I have heard when the group of ARI-TNK-PMI first formed, because he was much elder to TN Krishnan and Palghat Mani Iyer, Ariyakudi's one HARD rule was that both accompanist should NEVER look into the audience, back stage, or anywhere else except for looking at Ariykudi himself. The reason (I believe) was in order to create the chemistry needed to have a perfect concert. He'd mention that -- especially in kalpana swarams-- the accompanist must focus solely at him in order to pick up on subtle cues that cannot be caught unless perfect concentration was there.
One legend I heard was of Ariyakudi singing/practicing for months at a time a particular song (I can't for the life of me remember which song it was). His neighbor would hear him singing this song everyday for 6 months months straight, but never heard him sing it in concert. He finally asked Ariyakudi why he hasn't yet sung this song in concert, and Ariyakudi simply replied "It's not perfect yet". This was the type of perfection he demanded from himself before introducing it on stage.
I have spoken to multiple artists as well as rasikas whom have heard ARI multiple times live. I'd always ask "what exactly made him special? What separated him from the rest of the Vidwans", and I would always get back near exact responses. It was his ability to read the audience and anticipate how what/how to sing for them. He would start with the varnam, and see how the audience receives how he sung it, and based of that, can manipulate the concert in such a way to individual it per audience. While this should be standard practice, it is very difficult to do and apparently, Sri Ariyakudi was a master of it.
Once again, all of what I have said is hearsay. One regret I do have is that I have never been able to listen to ARI live, but in a sense, I feel like that is a positive thing as well. To me, ARI is immortal. I have only seen pictures and listened to recordings (of which are 1950s quality), and to me, that's part of the charm which attracts me to him.
I'd love to hear any stories from rasikas who were able to listen to him live. Especially something which one would not get from simply listening to his music.
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vgovindan
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear K.V.C., What u have referred about what PMI has written is a slightly different aspect. I will soon write in greater detail about this as well as Kacheri paddathi which is where he made a unique contribution that has lasted all these years & REVOLUTIONISED the WHOLE FIELD. There are SO MANY ASPECTS that I am hoping to discuss because to me the reason Carnatic Music is where it is in terms of POPULARITY without GIVING up GRAMMAR, THE TRADITION & REVERENCE FOR COMPOSERS etc but ENABLING MANY GENIUSES TO BLOSSOM-like MMI, GNB, SEM to name just a few- to further ADVANCE the state of the art CANNOT BE DENIED.....VKVkvchellappa wrote:PMI talks of 'judiciously selected programmes and well proportioned excellence in interpretation of the varied concert material' about ARI's music. Is it not what his kaccheri paddhati about? What is the issue there?
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
THANKS. IN A VERY REAL SENSE I AM IRRELEVENT & OTHER MUSICIANS ARE TOO UNLESS THEY HAVE EXPRESSED VIEWS THAT ARE WORTHY OF DISCUSSION. SO CONCENTRATING ON ARI IS THE BEST THING WE CAN DO. REGS, VKVmunirao2001 wrote:VKV Sir,
I take your advice. Let me keep the focus only on the Great Maestro Ariyakudi and share the personal experiences and information.
Dear munirao2001
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear Mridangam Kid, EXCELLENT summation. I first heard ARI when I was fifteen- he even talked to me! & last time was two days before he passed away. In due course I will surely try to recall interesting things that happened but unfortunately his quips, jokes etc were in Tamil & may be our EXPERT Sri.Pasupathy (Toronto) can translate some of the one he knows. I request some time as I am fully occupied right now with Cleveland. R U COMING? REGS, VKV
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Rsachi
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
VKV Sir,
I have attended an Ariyakudi concert in City Institute around 1960. I don't remember much but I do recollect his impressive stage presence.
I have heard the greats like KVN and TS Balakrishna Sastrigal speak with awe about him. There is a lovely shloka about ARI in many ragas that TSB had written and KVN used to sing.
GNB, KVN, PMI, TNK, TSB.. Their awe and reverence shows for me two things, which you have so wonderfully strung together :
His music was like a Zen Haiku... An elemental simplicity of extraordinary perfection.
The second thing: when someone speaks of such excellence, their choice of words and emphasis tells more about their own values and aspirations. Their description of that Zen perfection is like a face reflected in a perfectly still pool. That pool has attained such perfection that what it reflects is only the onlooker's face!
As GNB puts it, ARI stood for the perfection extolled in the Gita! No wonder Maha Periyava wanted to listen to his Sri Subrahmanyaya namaste-Kambhoji-MD!
I have attended an Ariyakudi concert in City Institute around 1960. I don't remember much but I do recollect his impressive stage presence.
I have heard the greats like KVN and TS Balakrishna Sastrigal speak with awe about him. There is a lovely shloka about ARI in many ragas that TSB had written and KVN used to sing.
GNB, KVN, PMI, TNK, TSB.. Their awe and reverence shows for me two things, which you have so wonderfully strung together :
His music was like a Zen Haiku... An elemental simplicity of extraordinary perfection.
The second thing: when someone speaks of such excellence, their choice of words and emphasis tells more about their own values and aspirations. Their description of that Zen perfection is like a face reflected in a perfectly still pool. That pool has attained such perfection that what it reflects is only the onlooker's face!
As GNB puts it, ARI stood for the perfection extolled in the Gita! No wonder Maha Periyava wanted to listen to his Sri Subrahmanyaya namaste-Kambhoji-MD!
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rajeshnat
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Actually for the record the so called sequencing of songs the kutcheri paddhati was not ariyakudi creation , it was first done by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar . So as such we should call it as Poochi or ramnad way instead of ariyakudi way.
Long time back I and few others had this discusssion , it was from the below link see atleast 10 to 15 posts from then on.
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... 75#p168151
Some how I in awe look at the combination of SSI, GNB and MMI as the creator , inventors and preservers of mooladharam of 20th century. I know each of those 3 himalayan greats have liked ariyakudi so much and attributed . I wish there were those anthakalathu recording to surely substantiate the claim.
Mods,
Kindly merge this thread to ariyakudi vidwan thread .
Long time back I and few others had this discusssion , it was from the below link see atleast 10 to 15 posts from then on.
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... 75#p168151
Some how I in awe look at the combination of SSI, GNB and MMI as the creator , inventors and preservers of mooladharam of 20th century. I know each of those 3 himalayan greats have liked ariyakudi so much and attributed . I wish there were those anthakalathu recording to surely substantiate the claim.
Mods,
Kindly merge this thread to ariyakudi vidwan thread .
Last edited by rajeshnat on 14 Feb 2015, 23:42, edited 1 time in total.
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SrinathK
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Every paradigm has a purpose behind it. ARI had an incredibly vast repertoire of songs considering his era (over 2000 probably). The concert pattern he pioneered IMHO set off a trend which lead to more and more compositions and composers coming into the light of the day and it also made musicians after him expand their repertoires as well.
From my recordings of ARI, one thing I noticed is that he never resorted to ugly / aggressive vocal gymnastics (such as overly strong attacks at the start of a phrase, or too many staccatos or any thing that ruins the tone and strains the voice. No screaming or shouting and no crooning). As a kid I was a rabid ARI listener and now I think his voice and the elegant manner of handling the phrases was what turned me on -- in fact as even a kid I always used to tell myself I had to learn from ARI, Maharajapuram Santhanam, MSS and MMI because of their superb use of the voice (the thing is that even after listening to so much more music for more than a decade and adding more and more to that list, these musicians are still among the very first names that will come to my mind from CM).
He had quite a lot of ARI standard phrases for whatever raga he sang and the raga colours he brought in both ragam and tanam was unique. While I don't have much of his tanam singing recordings, what I do have is truly spectacular. His voice had a natural vibrato to it that was always there no matter what. These are some of the things that come to my mind right off the bat when I listen to my ARI collections.
From my recordings of ARI, one thing I noticed is that he never resorted to ugly / aggressive vocal gymnastics (such as overly strong attacks at the start of a phrase, or too many staccatos or any thing that ruins the tone and strains the voice. No screaming or shouting and no crooning). As a kid I was a rabid ARI listener and now I think his voice and the elegant manner of handling the phrases was what turned me on -- in fact as even a kid I always used to tell myself I had to learn from ARI, Maharajapuram Santhanam, MSS and MMI because of their superb use of the voice (the thing is that even after listening to so much more music for more than a decade and adding more and more to that list, these musicians are still among the very first names that will come to my mind from CM).
He had quite a lot of ARI standard phrases for whatever raga he sang and the raga colours he brought in both ragam and tanam was unique. While I don't have much of his tanam singing recordings, what I do have is truly spectacular. His voice had a natural vibrato to it that was always there no matter what. These are some of the things that come to my mind right off the bat when I listen to my ARI collections.
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cacm
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- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear Rsachi, Thanks for your excellent, succint brief bit complete Decsription of the aura & presence of ARI. REMINDS ME of what MMI said about ARI. He said if you give Ayyangarval 30 seconds or 30 hours to expound on Thodi he brings out ALL THAT IS RELEVENT & YOU WILL FIND HE HAS NOT MISSED A THING! I have been spending all my life how to do this but for me it takes a minimum of 10-15 minutes & all the support from Sivan's kritis to do it unsuccessfully!....I have the T.S.B. Article & the 6 slokas in Sanskrit he composed & K.V.N. set to tune in Misra Jampa (7+1+2) to be sung in Madhyama Sruti in the ragas: Yamuna Kalyani, Nadanamakriya, Navroz, Punnagavarali, Kapi and Sindhubhairavi. I am so tied up & my efficiency has now become a deficiency as I am tied upwith Cleveland Festival activities! It wpould be nice if some one who can locate it can paste it here for persons to listen to.Rsachi wrote:VKV Sir,
I have attended an Ariyakudi concert in City Institute around 1960. I don't remember much but I do recollect his impressive stage presence.
I have heard the greats like KVN and TS Balakrishna Sastrigal speak with awe about him. There is a lovely shloka about ARI in many ragas that TSB had written and KVN used to sing.
GNB, KVN, PMI, TNK, TSB.. Their awe and reverence shows for me two things, which you have so wonderfully strung together :
His music was like a Zen Haiku... An elemental simplicity of extraordinary perfection.
The second thing: when someone speaks of such excellence, their choice of words and emphasis tells more about their own values and aspirations. Their description of that Zen perfection is like a face reflected in a perfectly still pool. That pool has attained such perfection that what it reflects is only the onlooker's face!
As GNB puts it, ARI stood for the perfection extolled in the Gita! No wonder Maha Periyava wanted to listen to his Sri Subrahmanyaya namaste-Kambhoji-MD!
KEEP WRITING MORE! VKV
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear KVC,kvchellappa wrote:PMI talks of 'judiciously selected programmes and well proportioned excellence in interpretation of the varied concert material' about ARI's music. Is it not what his kaccheri paddhati about? What is the issue there?
There are VARIOUS ASPECTS:
1. MOST MUSICIANS ESP. ARI&MMI WERE VERY QUICKLY ABLE TO JUDGE A) THE AUDIENCE CAPABILITIES & SENSIBILITIES B) THEIR ACCOMPANISTS ABILITIES+ LOCATION OF CONCERTS. For Example MMI would render certain songs, ragas if V.Govindswamy Naicker was violinst. IF MSG played he increased his srutiby1/2kattai etc. ARI ALSO WAS VERY GOOD AT THESE JUDGEMENTS.
However the Kacheri Paddhathi is INDEPENDENT OF THESE FACTORS. I will discuss that separately & later. AM I MAKING SENSE? VKV
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Rsachi
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I wrote down the shloka composed by TSB and give my meanings:
yamunAkalyANi:
zrI-viShNu-pada-cintana-bhaktavaryaM
Zri-vaiShNava-kula-prasUna-prabhAvaM
sangIta-ratnAkara- padmabhUSaNaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(I bow down to the great guru named Ramanuja, who was a great devotee always contemplating the divine feet of Lord Vishnu, distinguished scion of a Srivaishnava family, conferred with titles such as Sangita Ratnakara and Padma Bhushana)
nAdanAmakriya:
AzESa vidvadjjana-rAja-manDitaM
viziSTa- vaitAlikA-tArakAzrayaM
suziSTa- ziSyavara-pAlanavrataM
sadguruvaraM naumi rAmAnujAkhyam
(...enthroned in any distinguished assembly of musicians, who tamed the rare-devilish melodies too, who nurtured with dedication the gifted students into excellence...)
kurinji:
ziva-guruguha-gIta-manOharaM
prabala-prabandhAdi- kIrtanakaraM
suzruti- laya-sukhagAtra-gAyakaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Who melodiously presented the compositions of Dikshitar and Papanasam Sivan, who composed scholarly prabhandas and kIrtanas, who sang with tuneful voice, mastery over Tala and with a golden sense of proportion and a lovely voice..)
punnagavarALi:
santata-sauzIlya-sadguna-sAmpradaM
sukha-bhoga-bhOgya purva-punyayutaM
rAga-gnAna-vizESa-lakSya-lakSanaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Always a paragon of virtue, he earned by past merit the fortune to enjoy life's pleasures, who had a keen grasp of ragas theory and presentation skills...)
kApi:
saha-gAyaka-vrunda-saMstuta-prabhuM
saha-cAriNa-vinoda-cAtu-vAkyaM
nija-gurupada-sEvita ziSya-varyaM
sadguruvaraM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Always held up in respect by fellow musicians and accompanists, with easy humour among close associates, truly devoted to serving his guru...)
sindhubhairavi:
tyAgabrahma-ziSya-kulAbdi-candraM
srInivAsa-padasEvitAnta-rangaM
bhAratIya-kalApravINa-bhasvaraM
Sadguruvaram naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... shining moon among the constellation of Thyagaraja's disciplic succession, his heart always in prayer of Lord Srinivasa, an exemplar of classical Indian musical form...)
You can listen to it here:
http://www.sangeethamshare.org/kasturi/ ... ayanaswamy
yamunAkalyANi:
zrI-viShNu-pada-cintana-bhaktavaryaM
Zri-vaiShNava-kula-prasUna-prabhAvaM
sangIta-ratnAkara- padmabhUSaNaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(I bow down to the great guru named Ramanuja, who was a great devotee always contemplating the divine feet of Lord Vishnu, distinguished scion of a Srivaishnava family, conferred with titles such as Sangita Ratnakara and Padma Bhushana)
nAdanAmakriya:
AzESa vidvadjjana-rAja-manDitaM
viziSTa- vaitAlikA-tArakAzrayaM
suziSTa- ziSyavara-pAlanavrataM
sadguruvaraM naumi rAmAnujAkhyam
(...enthroned in any distinguished assembly of musicians, who tamed the rare-devilish melodies too, who nurtured with dedication the gifted students into excellence...)
kurinji:
ziva-guruguha-gIta-manOharaM
prabala-prabandhAdi- kIrtanakaraM
suzruti- laya-sukhagAtra-gAyakaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Who melodiously presented the compositions of Dikshitar and Papanasam Sivan, who composed scholarly prabhandas and kIrtanas, who sang with tuneful voice, mastery over Tala and with a golden sense of proportion and a lovely voice..)
punnagavarALi:
santata-sauzIlya-sadguna-sAmpradaM
sukha-bhoga-bhOgya purva-punyayutaM
rAga-gnAna-vizESa-lakSya-lakSanaM
sadguru-varaM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Always a paragon of virtue, he earned by past merit the fortune to enjoy life's pleasures, who had a keen grasp of ragas theory and presentation skills...)
kApi:
saha-gAyaka-vrunda-saMstuta-prabhuM
saha-cAriNa-vinoda-cAtu-vAkyaM
nija-gurupada-sEvita ziSya-varyaM
sadguruvaraM naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... Always held up in respect by fellow musicians and accompanists, with easy humour among close associates, truly devoted to serving his guru...)
sindhubhairavi:
tyAgabrahma-ziSya-kulAbdi-candraM
srInivAsa-padasEvitAnta-rangaM
bhAratIya-kalApravINa-bhasvaraM
Sadguruvaram naumi rAmAnujAkhyaM
(... shining moon among the constellation of Thyagaraja's disciplic succession, his heart always in prayer of Lord Srinivasa, an exemplar of classical Indian musical form...)
You can listen to it here:
http://www.sangeethamshare.org/kasturi/ ... ayanaswamy
Last edited by Rsachi on 15 Feb 2015, 11:27, edited 2 times in total.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
RSachi, GREAT! thanks a lot. vkv
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
cacm wrote:YOUR OBSERVATIONS ARE BOTH ASTUTE & VERY TRUE.....VKVSrinathK wrote:Every paradigm has a purpose behind it. ARI had an incredibly vast repertoire of songs considering his era (over 2000 probably). The concert pattern he pioneered IMHO set off a trend which lead to more and more compositions and composers coming into the light of the day and it also made musicians after him expand their repertoires as well.
From my recordings of ARI, one thing I noticed is that he never resorted to ugly / aggressive vocal gymnastics (such as overly strong attacks at the start of a phrase, or too many staccatos or any thing that ruins the tone and strains the voice. No screaming or shouting and no crooning). As a kid I was a rabid ARI listener and now I think his voice and the elegant manner of handling the phrases was what turned me on -- in fact as even a kid I always used to tell myself I had to learn from ARI, Maharajapuram Santhanam, MSS and MMI because of their superb use of the voice (the thing is that even after listening to so much more music for more than a decade and adding more and more to that list, these musicians are still among the very first names that will come to my mind from CM).
He had quite a lot of ARI standard phrases for whatever raga he sang and the raga colours he brought in both ragam and tanam was unique. While I don't have much of his tanam singing recordings, what I do have is truly spectacular. His voice had a natural vibrato to it that was always there no matter what. These are some of the things that come to my mind right off the bat when I listen to my ARI collections.
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music1
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- Joined: 09 Dec 2014, 17:49
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
In one of the Interviews of Sri Semmangudi, when asked about his views on Sri Ariyakudi's music, he said '' Naan adutha janmathil avarai pola pada asai padugiren ''. There could be nothing greater than this coming out of the Legendary musician about Ariyakudi !
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
YES! HE REALLY FELT LIKE IT TOO! AND ALL OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES.....CAN WE DISCUSS & SAY WHY ALL OF THEM SAID SO PRETTY MUCH? VKVmusic1 wrote:In one of the Interviews of Sri Semmangudi, when asked about his views on Sri Ariyakudi's music, he said '' Naan adutha janmathil avarai pola pada asai padugiren ''. There could be nothing greater than this coming out of the Legendary musician about Ariyakudi !
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music1
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Some of his classical presentations such as Akshaya linga vibho, manasu swadeena, ninnu vina, ramanatham bajeham, ninne nera nammi etc have clearly left an indelible mark - THE ARIYAKUDI STAMP AND IT STAMDS OUT AFTER SO MANY YEARS !!
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music1
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
cacm wrote:YES! HE REALLY FELT LIKE IT TOO! AND ALL OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES.....CAN WE DISCUSS & SAY WHY ALL OF THEM SAID SO PRETTY MUCH? VKVmusic1 wrote:In one of the Interviews of Sri Semmangudi, when asked about his views on Sri Ariyakudi's music, he said '' Naan adutha janmathil avarai pola pada asai padugiren ''. There could be nothing greater than this coming out of the Legendary musician about Ariyakudi !
VKV Sir, I doubt whether it requires such a detailed discussion. It is not rocket science:
What stands out to me :
1. A well laid out pattern of presentation.
2. Cover all aspects of the CM - Varnam, Kritis, Pallavi, Javalis/Padams, Bhajans, Slokam ...
3. Stardarization of presentation yet has manodharma sangeetham (creativity)
4. No groping in the dark - A major ragas essence is brought out in its full capacity/splendor in a 10 mins duration, not more !
5. Covering all composers and vageyakaras.
6. Brisk music yet melodious to the core.
7. The disciples given a fair chance to sing along
8. Bring out the best out of the accompanists - PMI/TNK/Lalgudi etc have added beauty to his music
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SrinathK
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Speaking of which, in an interview (I think KVN) I have read one of the best replies to what was meant by guru bhakti. I can't find it anymore, but it said that guru bhakti did not mean the idolatory of a man but the reverence to the music within him.
Here's a long interview with Sri KVN where he's discussed a lot about ARI : http://www.narada.org/interview-with-kvn.html
Here's a long interview with Sri KVN where he's discussed a lot about ARI : http://www.narada.org/interview-with-kvn.html
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mridangamkid
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I think a couple more points could be added to this.music1 wrote:cacm wrote:YES! HE REALLY FELT LIKE IT TOO! AND ALL OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES.....CAN WE DISCUSS & SAY WHY ALL OF THEM SAID SO PRETTY MUCH? VKVmusic1 wrote:In one of the Interviews of Sri Semmangudi, when asked about his views on Sri Ariyakudi's music, he said '' Naan adutha janmathil avarai pola pada asai padugiren ''. There could be nothing greater than this coming out of the Legendary musician about Ariyakudi !
VKV Sir, I doubt whether it requires such a detailed discussion. It is not rocket science:
What stands out to me :
1. A well laid out pattern of presentation.
2. Cover all aspects of the CM - Varnam, Kritis, Pallavi, Javalis/Padams, Bhajans, Slokam ...
3. Stardarization of presentation yet has manodharma sangeetham (creativity)
4. No groping in the dark - A major ragas essence is brought out in its full capacity/splendor in a 10 mins duration, not more !
5. Covering all composers and vageyakaras.
6. Brisk music yet melodious to the core.
7. The disciples given a fair chance to sing along
8. Bring out the best out of the accompanists - PMI/TNK/Lalgudi etc have added beauty to his music
9. His choice of songs/ragams. I've heard him sing Kanada, Bharavi, Kamboji Shankarabaranam, Thodi, Sahana AND Reeti gowla within the same concert. His ragam choice was strong and in depth and he'd sing in such a manner. He'd also choose songs which both he and his accompanist were comfortable with, which showed in the overall presentation.
10. His (IMHO) unrivaled way of bringing out ragams. Within the first sangathee I (a novice when it comes to ragam identification) can tell what the ragam will be and even what song will be sung, all without ARI having to sing the actual sangathees of the song.
This brings me to another "legend" I've heard about Ariyakudi. A person (I forgot who, whether it be a rasika or a contemporary musician) asked ARI how long should it generally take a knowledgeable rasika to identify a ragam when listening to Alapana. ARI simply said "one note". When asked to elaborate, he mentioned that if the singer was knowledgeable, and the rasika was also knowledgeable, the singer simply needs to sing "Pa" in order to bring out the particular ragam. He then went on and demonstrated how. I won't sit here and try to pretend I understand how one does this, but I always found it interesting that when I listen to ARI, I can immediately identify the ragam , whereas for other artists, it's impossible for me to tell. Perhaps it's just because I got too used to his style.
I would also like to emphasize your point number 4. Anybody can sing quickly and up-tempo, but I think what really differentiated ARI is his ability to bring out the entire foundation of a ragam within such a short span. You never listen to him feeling incomplete or that something's missing. Here is a quick (and I mean quick) youtube link of him singing Alapana AND kalpana swarams for Anupama Gunaambudhi, all packaged within 3 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVRn-X6Y4Mg
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
YES! HE REALLY FELT LIKE IT TOO! AND ALL OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES.....CAN WE DISCUSS & SAY WHY ALL OF THEM SAID SO PRETTY MUCH? VKV[/quote][/quote]mridangamkid wrote:In one of the Interviews of Sri Semmangudi, when asked about his views on Sri Ariyakudi's music, he said '' Naan adutha janmathil avarai pola pada asai padugiren ''. There could be nothing greater than this coming out of the Legendary musician about Ariyakudi !
VKV Sir, I doubt whether it requires such a detailed discussion. It is not rocket science:
What stands out to me :
I am STARTING WITH THE FIRST OF TEN THINGS MRIDANGAM KID HAS POINTED OUT:
1. A well laid out pattern of presentation.
Dear Mridangam Kid,
YOU have hit the nail on the head! I WANTED TO FIRST LAY THE GROUND WORK TO DISCUSS IN SPECIFIC DETAIL BY TRACING THE HISTORY OF VOCAL CARNATIC MUSIC BEFORE ARI INTRODUCED HIS SCHEME. I will now do it. In the meanwhile I URGE EVERY ONE TO DISCUSS EACH OF THE TEN AREAS YOU HAVE SPECIFICALLY RAISED + ANYTHING ELSE SOME ONE MIGHT COME UP WITH so we can TRULY APPRECIATE THE FORESIGHT & THOUGHTFULNESS ARI GAVE TO EVERY ASPECT.
As far as I am concerned UNLESS ONE DISCUSSES ARI in this FASHION THEY HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED AS NAIVE & TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE GULLIBILITY of the Rasikas. Fortunately this forum has enough persons who will not fall for these shallow superficial approaches especially as KVC has pointed out what Alternative is proposed by person/s with access to mic, newspapers, stage etc is ABSENT except insulting the intelligence of the Rasikas. I am not writing this but at a PERSONAL LEVEL but assessing it at face value.
Incidentally I do not consider you as kid except may be in the sense of what Palghat Raghu told me: If I play "NAM" a thousand times it is CORRECT only once! If YOU are a kid I will have to be classified as a Baby!
I am DELIGHTED that this subject is being given the attention ESPECIALLY by persons who are chronologically young as it is these persons who are going to decide the future of Carnatic Music; If this "kid" & the many more making Cleveland Festival what it is FUTURE IS INDEED BRIGHT! VKV
Last edited by cacm on 16 Feb 2015, 00:21, edited 1 time in total.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONCERTS IN CARNATIC MUSIC BEFORE ARIYAKUDI PADDATHI CAME TO VOGUE
I WISH TO EMPHASISE THAT ARIYAKUDI Started his Career AT A TIME when the typical concert format was quite different and RESTRICTED MANY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES CRATIVELY IN THE OPTIMUM FASHION. FOR EXAMPLE there are descriptions of equivalent of boxing bouts in which winners were declared. Then Specializations became the VOGUE with Raga Alapanas lasting several weeks with dwindling audiences reducing them to several hours, similarly Thanams, Pallavis with the Pallavi for example appended in front to the front of the name of the artist. The competition of Nadaswara Vidwans in Raga Alapana was so severe certain later musicians like SEM, GNB used their style to their advantage & it was touted as a virtue.
I AM WRITING THESE SERIOUS ASPECTS IN A SLIGHTLY FLIPPANT& BRIEF FASHION DUE TO MY IMPATIENCE TO GET TO TODAY'S MUSIC! PLEASE PARDON ME.I URGE THOSE WHO WISH TO REFUTE OR IMPROVE ON MY VERY BRIEF COVERAGE TO DO SO...
ARI WAS CAPABLE OF HANDLING & EXCELLING IN ANY ARENA & ANY STYLE- SOMEWHAT LIKE SACHIN TENDULKAR- BUT HE WAS A MAN OF THE FUTURE WHO COULD BRING A REVOLUTION ABOUT WHILE RETAINING AUDIENCE RETENTION & IMPROVEMENT IN THE CREATIVE RANGE OF THE MUSIC WITHOUT CHEAPENING OR REDUCING TRADITION WHILE ENHANCE THE PLAYING FIELD. SO HE CAME UP WITH A SCHEME THAT MET THE REQUIREMENTS OF TIME, AUDIENCE CAPABILITIES WHILE ENHANCING THE SUBTELITIES & STRENGTHS OF THE MUSIC ESPECIALLY THE COMPOSERS. Also at that time there were NO SABHAS & THE PATRONS HAD TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE & RICH . WITH HIS SCHEME HE STRUCK THE GOLDEN MEAN FOR THE GOLDEN AGE OF CARNATIC MUSIC. I WILL NOT INSULT THE INTELLIGENCE OR KNOWLEDGE OF TODAYS RASIKAS BY STATING WHAT IT WAS BECAUSE EVERY ONE LISTENING TODAY IS LISTENING TO SOME MINOR VARIATION OF WHAT HE PROPSED & IMPLEMENTED & WAS EAGERLY ADAPTED BY ALMOST EVERY SUCCESSFUL MUSICIAN OF THE GOLDEN ERA. Only today UNABLE TO CREATIVELY COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES quirky schemes, statements about our MUSIC & STRENGTHS by a few LEADING MUSICIANS- Saying why their knowledge of names of CHEAP liquor brands or lack of belief in GOD etc will enable them to gain followers or making FOOLISH STATEMENTS about COMPOSERS without knowing the languages they sing a few songs to earn their bread- and questioning & insulting the AUDIENCE which pays for their life style- makes one sad.....I am being very careful here. If there are those who question my statements SPECIFICALLY I will pursue these areas. Otherwise I want to myself discuss MRIDANGAM KID'S TEN POINTS. VKV
I WISH TO EMPHASISE THAT ARIYAKUDI Started his Career AT A TIME when the typical concert format was quite different and RESTRICTED MANY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES CRATIVELY IN THE OPTIMUM FASHION. FOR EXAMPLE there are descriptions of equivalent of boxing bouts in which winners were declared. Then Specializations became the VOGUE with Raga Alapanas lasting several weeks with dwindling audiences reducing them to several hours, similarly Thanams, Pallavis with the Pallavi for example appended in front to the front of the name of the artist. The competition of Nadaswara Vidwans in Raga Alapana was so severe certain later musicians like SEM, GNB used their style to their advantage & it was touted as a virtue.
I AM WRITING THESE SERIOUS ASPECTS IN A SLIGHTLY FLIPPANT& BRIEF FASHION DUE TO MY IMPATIENCE TO GET TO TODAY'S MUSIC! PLEASE PARDON ME.I URGE THOSE WHO WISH TO REFUTE OR IMPROVE ON MY VERY BRIEF COVERAGE TO DO SO...
ARI WAS CAPABLE OF HANDLING & EXCELLING IN ANY ARENA & ANY STYLE- SOMEWHAT LIKE SACHIN TENDULKAR- BUT HE WAS A MAN OF THE FUTURE WHO COULD BRING A REVOLUTION ABOUT WHILE RETAINING AUDIENCE RETENTION & IMPROVEMENT IN THE CREATIVE RANGE OF THE MUSIC WITHOUT CHEAPENING OR REDUCING TRADITION WHILE ENHANCE THE PLAYING FIELD. SO HE CAME UP WITH A SCHEME THAT MET THE REQUIREMENTS OF TIME, AUDIENCE CAPABILITIES WHILE ENHANCING THE SUBTELITIES & STRENGTHS OF THE MUSIC ESPECIALLY THE COMPOSERS. Also at that time there were NO SABHAS & THE PATRONS HAD TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE & RICH . WITH HIS SCHEME HE STRUCK THE GOLDEN MEAN FOR THE GOLDEN AGE OF CARNATIC MUSIC. I WILL NOT INSULT THE INTELLIGENCE OR KNOWLEDGE OF TODAYS RASIKAS BY STATING WHAT IT WAS BECAUSE EVERY ONE LISTENING TODAY IS LISTENING TO SOME MINOR VARIATION OF WHAT HE PROPSED & IMPLEMENTED & WAS EAGERLY ADAPTED BY ALMOST EVERY SUCCESSFUL MUSICIAN OF THE GOLDEN ERA. Only today UNABLE TO CREATIVELY COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES quirky schemes, statements about our MUSIC & STRENGTHS by a few LEADING MUSICIANS- Saying why their knowledge of names of CHEAP liquor brands or lack of belief in GOD etc will enable them to gain followers or making FOOLISH STATEMENTS about COMPOSERS without knowing the languages they sing a few songs to earn their bread- and questioning & insulting the AUDIENCE which pays for their life style- makes one sad.....I am being very careful here. If there are those who question my statements SPECIFICALLY I will pursue these areas. Otherwise I want to myself discuss MRIDANGAM KID'S TEN POINTS. VKV
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mridangamkid
- Posts: 150
- Joined: 03 Sep 2007, 22:11
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I'm always interested in discussing Ariyakudi, his innovations, music, and his philosophy of carnatic music in general as I never get bored of discussing him; however, I would like to point out I did not write the 10 points. "music1" wrote 8 of them, I simply added points 9 and 10 to the list.cacm wrote:A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONCERTS IN CARNATIC MUSIC BEFORE ARIYAKUDI PADDATHI CAME TO VOGUE
If there are those who question my statements SPECIFICALLY I will pursue these areas. Otherwise I want to myself discuss MRIDANGAM KID'S TEN POINTS. VKV
Last edited by mridangamkid on 16 Feb 2015, 03:05, edited 1 time in total.
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Dear "music1", I aplogise for not making the proper attribution. Let me congragulate you for coming up with a concrete list & with the other two by "mridangam kid" I feel we have the basis for discussing the "Dasavatharam" ASPECTS OF A.R.I'S MUSIC& CONTRIBUTIONS. LETS DISCUSS THESE IN DETAIL. THANKS. VKV
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
http://www.narada.org/interview-with-kvn.html
PLEASE READ THIS EXCELLENT INTERVIEW WITH K.V.N. & A FEW ARTICLES ABOUT A.R.I. IN website of H.V.SrivatsAN disciple of K.V.N., CHILD PRODIGY, SCIENTIST living in CA. VKV
PLEASE READ THIS EXCELLENT INTERVIEW WITH K.V.N. & A FEW ARTICLES ABOUT A.R.I. IN website of H.V.SrivatsAN disciple of K.V.N., CHILD PRODIGY, SCIENTIST living in CA. VKV
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cacm
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
The Concert Tradition
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
(Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar speaks of kutcheris, classicism and much more in this paper presented at a symposium and published in the Commemoration Volume dated May 19, 1990.)
It gives me immense pleasure to contribute to this Symposium an article on some aspects of Karnatak music. For, though I can claim a successful and unbroken career, extending over 52 years, I have had no opportunity till now to assemble and present my views on kacheri paddhati (concert sampradaya or tradition).
Here, I propose to deal with kacheri paddhati, as I have learnt and practised it on the platform all these years, in the light of its historic background after a rigorous period of gurukulavasa, first under Pudukottai Malayappa Iyer and Namakkal Narasimha Iyengar, and later, for over 11 years, under Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar of Ramnad. More than this, I have had the good fortune to listen to and learn from the expositions of such great masters as Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, Tiruchi Govindasami Pillai, Saraba Sastri, Sakharam Rao, Veenai Dhanammal and a host of others. In vocal concerts today, certain changes are perceptible which, if allowed to grow unchecked, may spell ruin for our great tradition of Karnatak music, and eventually result in the total disappearance of sampradaya. This is all the more regrettable when our music is claiming hundreds of adherents in the West.
It is the peculiar feature of Karnatak music that it has survived the invasions of kings and chieftains, and feudal wars, in South India to build up a great tradition – a tradition that dates back to Vedic times. The Tamil classics speak of seven palais, later developing into 16 melas, leading to a further emergence of 103 pannas. Those versed in them were the Panars, such as Tiruppanazhwar, Tirunilakanta yazhpanar and others. They were not worldly-minded; to them music was divine. They were God-intoxicated and aimed at the attainment of Supreme Bliss. Their devotional and soul-stirring lyrics were sung in the temples. Next, we are deeply indebted to Sarangadeva for his great and invaluable work, Sangitaratnakara, in which he describes and interprets the lakshnas of Karnatak music.
The final shape
Karnatak music took its final shape and form from the time of Purandaradasa, who systematised the laws of teaching music and wrote of innumerable padas and prabandhas, besides composing svaravalis, gitas, suladis, tayams and alankaras in the saptatalas as preliminary exercises and early lessons which must necessarily be learnt. Subsequently, Ramamathya, in his work Svaramelakalanidhi, condenses the Sangitaratnakara and explains the nature of 19 melas and their 166 janya-ragas. But it was Venkatamakhi who formulated the scheme of seventy-two melas in his Chaturdandi Prakasika. It is, however, not known if he assigned names to the several ragas. Later, Akalanka, in his work Sangitasarasangraham, speaks of a number of ragas and determines their lakshanas. The great work of Govindacharya, Sangrahachoodamani, is an authoritative and later contribution, containing lakshanagitas for 366 ragas (including the 72 melas), and this became the classic authority for the great vidwans like my guru Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar.
While the great stream of Karnatak music has been enriched by vaggeyakaras who have preserved the musical forms, like the varna, kriti, javali, tillana and svarajatis, the torch-bearers of South India’s musical traditions were the numerous sabha musicians and vidwans, who were patronised by kings, princes and zamindars.
Kacheri is an Urdu word, referring to the musical concerts held in the courts of the Mohammedan rulers in North India. It is akin to those held in the South which were known as arangam, sabha or sadas. A kacheri in its early phases was confined to a recital before a select gathering at the royal court or in the assembly hall on an auspicious occasion. The court of Sarabhoji of Thanjavur seems to have had on its rolls nearly 360 musicians, each specialised in certain specific branches of vocal or instrumental music, and each waiting for a day in the year to exhibit his skill and prowess!
Varnam singing
The celebrated composer of the ‘Viriboni’ varna in Bhairavi, Pachaimiriyam Adiyappayya, was a distinguished musician who adorned the courts of Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ettayapuram – as also Pallavi Doraisamy Iyer, Gopala Iyer, Todi Sitarama Iyer, Sankarabharanam Narasayya and several instrumentalists and dancers. Varna singing may be presumed to have been in vogue from Adiyappayya’s period. Among his disciples may be counted such distinguished names as Syama Sastri and Ghanam Krishna Iyer. We are ushered into the treasures of Tyagaraja by Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavatar and Sundara Bhagavatar, Walajapet Venkatramana Bhagavatar, Tillaisthanam Rama Iyengar and Tiruvotriyur Thyagier. The point worthy of note is that, while Dikshitar adopted Venkatamakhi’s system of asampurna-mela-paddhati, Tyagaraja followed the Govindacharya sampradayam of sampurna-mela-krama.
Like my guru, I have never begun a concert without singing a varna at the commencement. It imparts mellowness to the voice and a flavour to the subsequent rendering of kritis or ragas. Palghat Anantarama Bhagavatar and Bidaram Krishnappa began their concerts with tana varnas. In the past (pre-varna days), performers used to sing tanas in the Nattai, Gowla, Arabhi, Varali and Sri ragas, to the accompaniment of the mridangam.
In the concerts, the singer is accompanied on the violin and the mridangam. Where a gayaka has specialised in the laya aspects, he revels in having additional accompaniments such as the ganjira, ghatam, morsing, konnakol and dholak. In early times, the musicians used to sing in sthayi-sruti; now they have lowered it, owing to several exigencies. A performer must be deeply conscious of his strengths and weaknesses. The effect of the performance should be such as to keep the listeners spell-bound, making them stay on to the very end, thirsting for still more.
Sruti sense, earnestness, a proper conception of raga-swarupa and good laya-jnana - without these, it is impossible to perform entertainingly. The choice should be made from classical pieces conforming to the South Indian type (whatever the language), with a knowledge of the meaning thereof. The purpose should be to elevate and educate the listeners and improve their tastes. The concert should begin with a varna, to be immediately followed by a few fast-tempo kritis. A short and crisp alapana, of two or three of the ragas of the kritis to be sung, may be rendered. Kalpanaswaras must be limited and proportionate, and restricted to a few pieces, after a reasonable measure of niraval.
The pieces selected should be of varied talas and no two of the same tala need be sung consecutively. In rendering kalpanaswaras, for kritis or pallavis, it would be more appropriate to adopt the traditional mode of sarvalaghu pattern with variations in the nadai in tala imparting ranjakatva, keeping in view the raga-swarupa. An admixture of slow-and fast-tempo kritis alternately is preferable. The main raga for tana, pallavi, should be a Ghana raga familiar to the audience and the rendering of the alapana must be fairly lengthy and should explore into the mandhara sthayi as well. In the alapana of rare ragas, their distinctive character should reveal themselves at the first touches in all their purity and clearness, and should neither get confused nor clash with ragas closely allied to or resembling them. A couple of opportunities (according to the convenience of the artiste) may be given to the mridangam player — the first an hour after the commencement, the second during the pallavi stage, in different talas of convenient tempos. The items should comprise padam, javali, Tevaram, Tiruppugazh, Ashtapadi, tarangam, tillana, ragamalika and sloka, all of which must form Part II of the concert. The singer should enlist the cooperation of the accompanists all through, with the object of making the concert a success.
Thus it will be seen how the great tradition of Karnatak music has been built up by the South Indian genius. It is up to the vidwans and rasikas to see that this torch of Karnatak music is kept effulgent for all time to come and in all its glory.
HERE IS ARI EXPLAINING THINGS! PL; READ IT CAREFULLY....VKV
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
(Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar speaks of kutcheris, classicism and much more in this paper presented at a symposium and published in the Commemoration Volume dated May 19, 1990.)
It gives me immense pleasure to contribute to this Symposium an article on some aspects of Karnatak music. For, though I can claim a successful and unbroken career, extending over 52 years, I have had no opportunity till now to assemble and present my views on kacheri paddhati (concert sampradaya or tradition).
Here, I propose to deal with kacheri paddhati, as I have learnt and practised it on the platform all these years, in the light of its historic background after a rigorous period of gurukulavasa, first under Pudukottai Malayappa Iyer and Namakkal Narasimha Iyengar, and later, for over 11 years, under Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar of Ramnad. More than this, I have had the good fortune to listen to and learn from the expositions of such great masters as Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, Tiruchi Govindasami Pillai, Saraba Sastri, Sakharam Rao, Veenai Dhanammal and a host of others. In vocal concerts today, certain changes are perceptible which, if allowed to grow unchecked, may spell ruin for our great tradition of Karnatak music, and eventually result in the total disappearance of sampradaya. This is all the more regrettable when our music is claiming hundreds of adherents in the West.
It is the peculiar feature of Karnatak music that it has survived the invasions of kings and chieftains, and feudal wars, in South India to build up a great tradition – a tradition that dates back to Vedic times. The Tamil classics speak of seven palais, later developing into 16 melas, leading to a further emergence of 103 pannas. Those versed in them were the Panars, such as Tiruppanazhwar, Tirunilakanta yazhpanar and others. They were not worldly-minded; to them music was divine. They were God-intoxicated and aimed at the attainment of Supreme Bliss. Their devotional and soul-stirring lyrics were sung in the temples. Next, we are deeply indebted to Sarangadeva for his great and invaluable work, Sangitaratnakara, in which he describes and interprets the lakshnas of Karnatak music.
The final shape
Karnatak music took its final shape and form from the time of Purandaradasa, who systematised the laws of teaching music and wrote of innumerable padas and prabandhas, besides composing svaravalis, gitas, suladis, tayams and alankaras in the saptatalas as preliminary exercises and early lessons which must necessarily be learnt. Subsequently, Ramamathya, in his work Svaramelakalanidhi, condenses the Sangitaratnakara and explains the nature of 19 melas and their 166 janya-ragas. But it was Venkatamakhi who formulated the scheme of seventy-two melas in his Chaturdandi Prakasika. It is, however, not known if he assigned names to the several ragas. Later, Akalanka, in his work Sangitasarasangraham, speaks of a number of ragas and determines their lakshanas. The great work of Govindacharya, Sangrahachoodamani, is an authoritative and later contribution, containing lakshanagitas for 366 ragas (including the 72 melas), and this became the classic authority for the great vidwans like my guru Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar.
While the great stream of Karnatak music has been enriched by vaggeyakaras who have preserved the musical forms, like the varna, kriti, javali, tillana and svarajatis, the torch-bearers of South India’s musical traditions were the numerous sabha musicians and vidwans, who were patronised by kings, princes and zamindars.
Kacheri is an Urdu word, referring to the musical concerts held in the courts of the Mohammedan rulers in North India. It is akin to those held in the South which were known as arangam, sabha or sadas. A kacheri in its early phases was confined to a recital before a select gathering at the royal court or in the assembly hall on an auspicious occasion. The court of Sarabhoji of Thanjavur seems to have had on its rolls nearly 360 musicians, each specialised in certain specific branches of vocal or instrumental music, and each waiting for a day in the year to exhibit his skill and prowess!
Varnam singing
The celebrated composer of the ‘Viriboni’ varna in Bhairavi, Pachaimiriyam Adiyappayya, was a distinguished musician who adorned the courts of Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ettayapuram – as also Pallavi Doraisamy Iyer, Gopala Iyer, Todi Sitarama Iyer, Sankarabharanam Narasayya and several instrumentalists and dancers. Varna singing may be presumed to have been in vogue from Adiyappayya’s period. Among his disciples may be counted such distinguished names as Syama Sastri and Ghanam Krishna Iyer. We are ushered into the treasures of Tyagaraja by Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavatar and Sundara Bhagavatar, Walajapet Venkatramana Bhagavatar, Tillaisthanam Rama Iyengar and Tiruvotriyur Thyagier. The point worthy of note is that, while Dikshitar adopted Venkatamakhi’s system of asampurna-mela-paddhati, Tyagaraja followed the Govindacharya sampradayam of sampurna-mela-krama.
Like my guru, I have never begun a concert without singing a varna at the commencement. It imparts mellowness to the voice and a flavour to the subsequent rendering of kritis or ragas. Palghat Anantarama Bhagavatar and Bidaram Krishnappa began their concerts with tana varnas. In the past (pre-varna days), performers used to sing tanas in the Nattai, Gowla, Arabhi, Varali and Sri ragas, to the accompaniment of the mridangam.
In the concerts, the singer is accompanied on the violin and the mridangam. Where a gayaka has specialised in the laya aspects, he revels in having additional accompaniments such as the ganjira, ghatam, morsing, konnakol and dholak. In early times, the musicians used to sing in sthayi-sruti; now they have lowered it, owing to several exigencies. A performer must be deeply conscious of his strengths and weaknesses. The effect of the performance should be such as to keep the listeners spell-bound, making them stay on to the very end, thirsting for still more.
Sruti sense, earnestness, a proper conception of raga-swarupa and good laya-jnana - without these, it is impossible to perform entertainingly. The choice should be made from classical pieces conforming to the South Indian type (whatever the language), with a knowledge of the meaning thereof. The purpose should be to elevate and educate the listeners and improve their tastes. The concert should begin with a varna, to be immediately followed by a few fast-tempo kritis. A short and crisp alapana, of two or three of the ragas of the kritis to be sung, may be rendered. Kalpanaswaras must be limited and proportionate, and restricted to a few pieces, after a reasonable measure of niraval.
The pieces selected should be of varied talas and no two of the same tala need be sung consecutively. In rendering kalpanaswaras, for kritis or pallavis, it would be more appropriate to adopt the traditional mode of sarvalaghu pattern with variations in the nadai in tala imparting ranjakatva, keeping in view the raga-swarupa. An admixture of slow-and fast-tempo kritis alternately is preferable. The main raga for tana, pallavi, should be a Ghana raga familiar to the audience and the rendering of the alapana must be fairly lengthy and should explore into the mandhara sthayi as well. In the alapana of rare ragas, their distinctive character should reveal themselves at the first touches in all their purity and clearness, and should neither get confused nor clash with ragas closely allied to or resembling them. A couple of opportunities (according to the convenience of the artiste) may be given to the mridangam player — the first an hour after the commencement, the second during the pallavi stage, in different talas of convenient tempos. The items should comprise padam, javali, Tevaram, Tiruppugazh, Ashtapadi, tarangam, tillana, ragamalika and sloka, all of which must form Part II of the concert. The singer should enlist the cooperation of the accompanists all through, with the object of making the concert a success.
Thus it will be seen how the great tradition of Karnatak music has been built up by the South Indian genius. It is up to the vidwans and rasikas to see that this torch of Karnatak music is kept effulgent for all time to come and in all its glory.
HERE IS ARI EXPLAINING THINGS! PL; READ IT CAREFULLY....VKV
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rshankar
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Wonderful indeed! A couple of questions, Sri VKV. When and in which Sabha did Sri ARI give this presentation?
And what would the length of this concert be? How long were Sri ARI's concerts? I ask because, if I understand correctly, Sri ARI says that the post-RTP portion should include a padam, jAvaLi, tEvAram, tiruppugazh, ashTapadi, tarangam, tillAnA, and a rAgamAlika slOkam...
And what would the length of this concert be? How long were Sri ARI's concerts? I ask because, if I understand correctly, Sri ARI says that the post-RTP portion should include a padam, jAvaLi, tEvAram, tiruppugazh, ashTapadi, tarangam, tillAnA, and a rAgamAlika slOkam...
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
- Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I have attended at least a hundred concerts starting in 1949 &they lasted anywhere from 2.5-3 hours depending on whether PMI had to catch a train in Egmore to return to Thanjavur; In the mid-late fifties I think MKR used to take him to Egmore station! HE NEVER STOPPED IN BETWEEN SONGS! As MMI SAID how long he sang was never felt by the audience . IT ALWAYS FELT COMPLETE! IT WAS MAGIC!....I do not know if he sang EVERY ITEM as with all of those Giants BEFORE THEY ASCENDED THE STAGE between the fans, musicians & Sabha secretaries they had a list TWICE as long as time would allow too......BUT their PARAMOUNT CONSIDERATION WAS TO RESPOND TO REQUESTS; IT WAS A DIFFERENT AGE. PMI played TWO THANI AVARTHANAMS TOO....BUT IT USED TO BE RAPID FIRE ONE AFTER THE OTHER! I will go back & just count the number of items he rendered. IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL TIME IT WAS NEVER LONG.HIS CONCERTS WERE NEVER A FAILURE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY ITEMS EXCEPT ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS THAT MOST OF THEM WERE SUCCESSES....I attended concerts all over Madras from Triplicane Hindu High School (Parthasarathy Swami Sabha to Perambur Sangeetha Sabha).... VKV
VKV-
rajeshnat
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
On a side note , since the references in general that having more compositions was started by poochi iyengar and then taken big time by Ariyakudi , I would always call this as poochi iyengar-ariyakudi tradition.
VKV Sir,
I see Poochi was born 1860 and died on 1919 . Ariyakudi was born on 1890 and died on 1967. I remember some time back where you said ariyakudi gave concerts till 1960 or 62. By any chance has your father grandparents etc.. heard poochi kutcheri live say in 1900 to 1919 timeframe. For that matter can any one tell if there is any hearsay anecdote of how poochi iyengar had sung a concert.
VKV Sir,
I see Poochi was born 1860 and died on 1919 . Ariyakudi was born on 1890 and died on 1967. I remember some time back where you said ariyakudi gave concerts till 1960 or 62. By any chance has your father grandparents etc.. heard poochi kutcheri live say in 1900 to 1919 timeframe. For that matter can any one tell if there is any hearsay anecdote of how poochi iyengar had sung a concert.
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Rsachi
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I had shared an article by Mysore Vasudevacharya narrating his visit to Poochi with Veene Seshanna and Bakshi Subbanna.. Poochi was teaching Parama Pavana Rama and also they had spotted a very bright young disciple: Ariyakudi.
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munirao2001
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
VKV Sir,
Consciously avoiding idolization, I am researching/studying on the information on -1. CM's state in ARI's learning period. 2. ARI's role models and the quality of music.3. ARI's contemporaries and their standards and status. 3. Qualitative differentiating factors in values in his music, in comparison with his Seniors,Contemporaries and later period great maestros. I shall post the results of my study, very soon. I would other rasikas also to post the information on these topics, in the meanwhile. If you think this study, unrelated and not required, I shall not post the details.
munirao2001
Consciously avoiding idolization, I am researching/studying on the information on -1. CM's state in ARI's learning period. 2. ARI's role models and the quality of music.3. ARI's contemporaries and their standards and status. 3. Qualitative differentiating factors in values in his music, in comparison with his Seniors,Contemporaries and later period great maestros. I shall post the results of my study, very soon. I would other rasikas also to post the information on these topics, in the meanwhile. If you think this study, unrelated and not required, I shall not post the details.
munirao2001
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varsha
- Posts: 1978
- Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Few bits to add pep to discussions
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qy6htq8 ... garAja.mp3
ARI-TNK-PMI-PSP
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/f4xgn85 ... garAja.mp3
WITH TNK - PR
http://www.mediafire.com/watch/r222l9dt ... eature.wmv
A COLLECTORS CACHE of PHOTOS
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qy6htq8 ... garAja.mp3
ARI-TNK-PMI-PSP
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/f4xgn85 ... garAja.mp3
WITH TNK - PR
http://www.mediafire.com/watch/r222l9dt ... eature.wmv
A COLLECTORS CACHE of PHOTOS
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rajeshnat
- Posts: 10144
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
SachiRsachi wrote:I had shared an article by Mysore Vasudevacharya narrating his visit to Poochi with Veene Seshanna and Bakshi Subbanna.. Poochi was teaching Parama Pavana Rama and also they had spotted a very bright young disciple: Ariyakudi.
Yes i remember reading it sometimes . Is there any writeups any where even anecdotes of a concert that Poochi Iyengar sang considering that he codified the songs that really became surely a great thing to follow by poochi disciple ariyakudi and others
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Rsachi
- Posts: 5039
- Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54
Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I have scanned and uploaded a fine article by Mysore Vasudevacharya on his guru bhai Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar, here:
http://bit.ly/17G6yMS
http://bit.ly/17G6yMS
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kvchellappa
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Excellent lines from KVN interview that appear to give a rebuttal to revolutionists:
"I notice that we, the modern-day artists and other people have a feeling that we are far more intelligent than the people of yesteryears. The attitude is: What have they done that we cannot do better ? I think it's a terrible attitude to take, especially in Carnatic music. What we should think of now is how has the treasure of music come down to us ? Generation after generation of musicians have sung, created and perfected this great art and they have got it to a stage where it is beautiful."
"I notice that we, the modern-day artists and other people have a feeling that we are far more intelligent than the people of yesteryears. The attitude is: What have they done that we cannot do better ? I think it's a terrible attitude to take, especially in Carnatic music. What we should think of now is how has the treasure of music come down to us ? Generation after generation of musicians have sung, created and perfected this great art and they have got it to a stage where it is beautiful."
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MaheshS
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
I quite like the topic header where I think VKV sir has hit the nail on the head, especially the <b>"20the century carnatic music"</b>. There has been carnatic music for a long time, it's just we consider [apart from a few composers / compostions], post-trinity era as "canatic music" for discussion.
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vasanthakokilam
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
Revolutionists are always opposed. And that is easy to do. They always have an uphill battle which is a good thing. Such things act as a filter. Most fail for a plethora of reasons, good and bad. The few who succeed write the history for the future and they become the 'good revolutionists' and after a few generations what they did becomes the status quo. This cycle has repeated many hundreds of times and that is what has shaped human history.
But I do not think the above quote from KVN should be considered a rebuttal to revolutionists of any kind. There are lots of nuances to what KVN says "The attitude is: What have they done that we cannot do better ? ". He is not opposing doing better.
I consider KVN to be a trendsetter and someone who had indeed done better than others on a few fronts. Of course, he is just being humble in that traditional Indian manner. And offering the general advice 'Do not belittle the past masters, they have indeed done great things' and more importantly 'Don't challenge the past and say you are going to do better until you really mastered the past. Then we will see." Those are the unsaid subtleties.
Consider what he says right after that and apply that recursively. "generation after generation of musicians have ..... perfected this great art". To perfect something necessarily implies that it was not that perfect before. And why arbitrarily stop that quest for perfection in this generation. He is a traditionalist alright, but had an exquisite sense for the aesthetics of the great art form he was a master at.
And 'perfection' in art is not on a linear ascending scale. If you fill in some holes, you are making something better and hence more perfect. In that sense, you are contributing to making something into a shape that it should have been in the first place. Or it was there at one point, and got lost and you are putting it back in. The classic example is singing Tanas in the ghana ragas outside the context of an RTP. That is not in main stream practice now but if someone sings that, they are bringing a practice that was there just 100-150 years back. I do not think KVN would oppose such things.
But I do not think the above quote from KVN should be considered a rebuttal to revolutionists of any kind. There are lots of nuances to what KVN says "The attitude is: What have they done that we cannot do better ? ". He is not opposing doing better.
I consider KVN to be a trendsetter and someone who had indeed done better than others on a few fronts. Of course, he is just being humble in that traditional Indian manner. And offering the general advice 'Do not belittle the past masters, they have indeed done great things' and more importantly 'Don't challenge the past and say you are going to do better until you really mastered the past. Then we will see." Those are the unsaid subtleties.
Consider what he says right after that and apply that recursively. "generation after generation of musicians have ..... perfected this great art". To perfect something necessarily implies that it was not that perfect before. And why arbitrarily stop that quest for perfection in this generation. He is a traditionalist alright, but had an exquisite sense for the aesthetics of the great art form he was a master at.
And 'perfection' in art is not on a linear ascending scale. If you fill in some holes, you are making something better and hence more perfect. In that sense, you are contributing to making something into a shape that it should have been in the first place. Or it was there at one point, and got lost and you are putting it back in. The classic example is singing Tanas in the ghana ragas outside the context of an RTP. That is not in main stream practice now but if someone sings that, they are bringing a practice that was there just 100-150 years back. I do not think KVN would oppose such things.
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cacm
- Posts: 2212
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Re: ARIYAKUDI-CREATOR, INVENTOR, PRESERVER, "MOOLADHARAM"OF 20TH CENTURY CARNATIC MUSIC
[quote="munirao2001"]VKV Sir,
Consciously avoiding idolization, I am researching/studying on the information on -1. CM's state in ARI's learning period. 2. ARI's role models and the quality of music.3. ARI's contemporaries and their standards and status. 3. Qualitative differentiating factors in values in his music, in comparison with his Seniors,Contemporaries and later period great maestros. I shall post the results of my study, very soon. I would other rasikas also to post the information on these topics, in the meanwhile. If you think this study, unrelated and not required, I shall not post the details.
Dear Sri.MUNI RAO,
Dear Sri. munirao2001, YOU HAVE COME UP WITH AN EXCELLENT PROJECT. With your expertise ALL rasikas can BENEFIT from any OBJECTIVE STUDY OF ARI in this thread. Looking forward to your SCHOLARLY REPORT ON YOUR STUDIES& RESEARCH. Regs, VKV
Consciously avoiding idolization, I am researching/studying on the information on -1. CM's state in ARI's learning period. 2. ARI's role models and the quality of music.3. ARI's contemporaries and their standards and status. 3. Qualitative differentiating factors in values in his music, in comparison with his Seniors,Contemporaries and later period great maestros. I shall post the results of my study, very soon. I would other rasikas also to post the information on these topics, in the meanwhile. If you think this study, unrelated and not required, I shall not post the details.
Dear Sri.MUNI RAO,
Dear Sri. munirao2001, YOU HAVE COME UP WITH AN EXCELLENT PROJECT. With your expertise ALL rasikas can BENEFIT from any OBJECTIVE STUDY OF ARI in this thread. Looking forward to your SCHOLARLY REPORT ON YOUR STUDIES& RESEARCH. Regs, VKV