Some my comments is not in response to your posting. But to the content of the lecture itself. Apologies if that was not clear.
So much narrative is being built on this one book, almost in accusatory tone against previous generation of musicians, not by RKSK , but by few others! Hence thought I should respond!
Sangita Kalanidhi 2025
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sam
- Posts: 1057
- Joined: 04 Mar 2020, 20:25
Re: Sangita Kalanidhi 2025
I came across this nice article from sangeetham.com., on sankarabharanam.
I was wondering if composers prior to ShyamaSaastry had used this ragam. Could not get that info.
SS seems to have been a pioneer. with 3 classics.
Thyaagaraaja has given us 29 kruthis.
MD has given 8 kruthis. And ofcourse nottuswara saahithyams.
shankarabharanam.pdf
Sivakumar.orgQuoting article from sangeetham.com
Very detailed article. Will be of interest to
@shankarank sir.
---
It is a lengthy article. Here is an excerpt only.
--
As usual with great ragas, the Tiruvarur Trinity has produced masterpieces in this raga too.
Shyama Sastri's sarOjadaLa nEtri and the rare dEvi mina nEtri, the former in madhyamakAla and the latter in caukakAla provide ample testimony to the inimitable craftsmanship of this great composer. ....
Versatility marks the eternal quality of the compositions of Tyagaraja. shankarAbharaNam is no different. The bard has gifted the world with about 20 songs, all different in melodic structure and individuality, each outlining a different aspect of the rAga. The very popular enduku pEddhala, the philosophically advaitic and musically sublime manasu svAdhInamai, the cauka kAla masterpiece Emi nEramu, the evergreen swararAga sudhA rasa which expounds the great purpose of music,bhakti bhikshamiyyavE wherein the bard pleads to Rama to grant him devotion as alms and
budhirAdu, wherein the saint moans the silly and stupid ways of the world and mariyAda gAdurA -
all these kritis have only shankarAbharaNAm in common, but, what the poetry speaks of, the music underlying each of the pieces conveys in tone and with ultimate perfection, thereby rendering each of those compositions unique in raga bhAva. Who else but the Sage of Tiruvaiyyaru could achieve such excellence in the world of tonal art? With the infinite musical
possibilities of shankarAbharaNam, is it any wonder that the great Tyagaraja has coaxed the raga to yield all kinds of rasas? His other compositions include eduTa nilicitE, endukI calamu, ramA
ramaNa and many others. He has also composed a number of divyanAma kIrtanas in shankarAbharaNam, of which the brisk ones like gatamOhA srita pAla and varalIlagAna lOla are akin to the western notes.
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Muttuswami Dikshitar's popular akshayalinga vibhO has the same dhAtu as Tyagaraja's manasu swAdhInami in the pallavi. If the prosodic beauty in the anupallavi blends perfectly and is stunningly beautiful musically, it is due in no small measure to the great scope that the rAga possesses as to the limitless creativity of Dikshitar. His dakshiNAmUrtE in jhampa tALa is another
masterpiece that testifies to his genius and wherein the music itself reveals in subliminal tone, the truth of Silence as exemplified by Lord Dakshinamurti Himself. Such is the soulful quality of the song. girijaya ajaya and sadAshivam upAsmahE bring out the highly creative Dikshitar. In these
two songs, he has explored certain rare combinations spanning the three octaves. All said and done, his navAvaraNA kriti in shankarAbharaNam is a class by itself. What better way to invoke the Goddess than to just sing the pallavi lines of this masterpiece? The elevating quality of the
riShabha of shankarAbharaNAm is utilized to create the effect and the presence of the Shrine itself. Dikshitar's nOTTuswara songs, numbering around 40 are all based on shankarAbharaNam and correspond to western tunes.
I was wondering if composers prior to ShyamaSaastry had used this ragam. Could not get that info.
SS seems to have been a pioneer. with 3 classics.
Thyaagaraaja has given us 29 kruthis.
MD has given 8 kruthis. And ofcourse nottuswara saahithyams.
shankarabharanam.pdf
Sivakumar.orgQuoting article from sangeetham.com
Very detailed article. Will be of interest to
@shankarank sir.
---
It is a lengthy article. Here is an excerpt only.
--
As usual with great ragas, the Tiruvarur Trinity has produced masterpieces in this raga too.
Shyama Sastri's sarOjadaLa nEtri and the rare dEvi mina nEtri, the former in madhyamakAla and the latter in caukakAla provide ample testimony to the inimitable craftsmanship of this great composer. ....
Versatility marks the eternal quality of the compositions of Tyagaraja. shankarAbharaNam is no different. The bard has gifted the world with about 20 songs, all different in melodic structure and individuality, each outlining a different aspect of the rAga. The very popular enduku pEddhala, the philosophically advaitic and musically sublime manasu svAdhInamai, the cauka kAla masterpiece Emi nEramu, the evergreen swararAga sudhA rasa which expounds the great purpose of music,bhakti bhikshamiyyavE wherein the bard pleads to Rama to grant him devotion as alms and
budhirAdu, wherein the saint moans the silly and stupid ways of the world and mariyAda gAdurA -
all these kritis have only shankarAbharaNAm in common, but, what the poetry speaks of, the music underlying each of the pieces conveys in tone and with ultimate perfection, thereby rendering each of those compositions unique in raga bhAva. Who else but the Sage of Tiruvaiyyaru could achieve such excellence in the world of tonal art? With the infinite musical
possibilities of shankarAbharaNam, is it any wonder that the great Tyagaraja has coaxed the raga to yield all kinds of rasas? His other compositions include eduTa nilicitE, endukI calamu, ramA
ramaNa and many others. He has also composed a number of divyanAma kIrtanas in shankarAbharaNam, of which the brisk ones like gatamOhA srita pAla and varalIlagAna lOla are akin to the western notes.
-
Muttuswami Dikshitar's popular akshayalinga vibhO has the same dhAtu as Tyagaraja's manasu swAdhInami in the pallavi. If the prosodic beauty in the anupallavi blends perfectly and is stunningly beautiful musically, it is due in no small measure to the great scope that the rAga possesses as to the limitless creativity of Dikshitar. His dakshiNAmUrtE in jhampa tALa is another
masterpiece that testifies to his genius and wherein the music itself reveals in subliminal tone, the truth of Silence as exemplified by Lord Dakshinamurti Himself. Such is the soulful quality of the song. girijaya ajaya and sadAshivam upAsmahE bring out the highly creative Dikshitar. In these
two songs, he has explored certain rare combinations spanning the three octaves. All said and done, his navAvaraNA kriti in shankarAbharaNam is a class by itself. What better way to invoke the Goddess than to just sing the pallavi lines of this masterpiece? The elevating quality of the
riShabha of shankarAbharaNAm is utilized to create the effect and the presence of the Shrine itself. Dikshitar's nOTTuswara songs, numbering around 40 are all based on shankarAbharaNam and correspond to western tunes.