‘APOORVA KRITI MANJARI’ a book and twin audio CD release of 20 select songs of the Trinity.
Notation by Musicologist Sri S.Balachandar of Mumbai Songs rendered by Smt. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam, Chennai .
At Raga Sudha Hall, Luz, Chennai , On June 10th, 2007 at 6 pm
The cultural heritage of any country is most evident through its systems of music and dance. India has a vast cultural inheritance, rich in diversity. The classical system of music has flourished from very ancient times and is a highly evolved and sophisticated system. There are treatises dating back to as early as 2nd cent BC.
Carnatic Music – the stream of classical music popular in South India--is one of extensive creativity. Carnatic Music is a rich repository of songs called ‘Kritis’ and uses the kritis as a launch pad towards extemporising. The most prominent among the ‘Kriti’ composers have been the Trinity of Syama Sastry, Thyagaraja and Muthuswamy Dikshitar (18th cent). They have made significant contribution to Carnatic music and have influenced the direction of progress of this system of music.
Since there were no tangible means of documentation during their period, their music has come down to us largely through a vocal tradition. Also, Indian systems of music rely heavily on ornamentation of the music and it is not easy to translate these into notation. While the Trinity have composed more than 1200 songs collectively, only about 500 are actually in practice. Some notations are available for the other songs but they are yet to be taken up actively and performed in concerts. This is true of many other noted composers too.
With a view to popularizing these kritis, VS Classics and BSV Trust have come forward to record some of these for posterity. In this first project, ‘Apoorva Kriti Manjari’ (Book I), twenty songs of the Trinity have been notated in simple, easily read and understood form of notation by eminent musicologist Shri S.Balachandar of Mumbai. The book carries the notation in Tamil and English scripts.
To make optimum use of technology and facilitate audiovisual learning, an audio recording of these songs is being appended to the book. Well-known musician of Chennai, Smt. Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam has rendered the songs.
The Music Trinity—the pride of Carnatic Music
SYAMA SASTRY( 1762- 1827)
He was born Venkatakrishna, in Tiruvarur on April 26, 1762, into a family not particularly interested in music. A sanyasi Sangitaswami was quick to discover Syama Sastry's keen intellect, melodious voice and musical talent and foresaw greatness in him. Syama Sastry, like his father, was the archaka (priest) in the Bangaru Kamakshi Temple in Tanjore. He was a very pious and genuine devotee of Goddess Kamakshi.
He is believed to have lost consciousness of the outside world on several occasions as he prayed to the Goddess. On such occasions, he would sing his kriti-s extemporaneously. He composed in Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil and almost all compositions of Syama Sastry are in praise of the Supreme Mother Goddesses. He has composed kritis, varnams and swarajatis with the mudra 'Syama Krishna'. His set of three famous swarajati-s is referred to as ratna trayam. These are in Bhairavi, Yadukulakambodhi and Todi. Syama Sastry has composed in some rare ragas like Manji, Chintamani, Kalgada and Karnataka Kapi. His rare originality was in swara sahitya compositions and the use of swarakshara. He was most comfortable with the Vatsalya Bhava, referring to the Goddess as Mother.
THYAGARAJA (1767-1847)
It was on 4th May 1767 that the great saint composer Sri Thyagaraja was born in Tiruvayur to a learned father Sri Rama Brahmam. Thyagaraja was a prodigy who was gifted with a melodious voice. He became a disciple of Sonti Venkataramaiah, a great scholar of those days and soon gained a profound knowledge in Telugu, Sanskrit, Jyotisha, Ganita and Mantra Sastras.
He started composing songs in his teens itself and continued to dedicate his whole life in writing innumerable songs in praise of his Lord Rama as well as few other deities like Lord Venkateswara, Goddess Devi and Lord Vinayaka. His kirtanas are direct, simple and inspiring, full of wisdom and complete surrender to the Almighty. He breathed his last on the Pushya Bahula Panchami day in 1847 and this is observed as Thyagaraja Aradhana Day the world over.
The music of this great composer is dedicated to the attainment of peace and happiness through sacrifice and renunciation. It is Bhakti Yoga at its highest.
MUTHUSWAMY DIKSHITAR (1775—1835)
A spell binding combination of intellect, talent, devotion and absolute mastery over every aspect of music - this perhaps best describes one of the greatest music composers to have ever walked this earth. Muthuswami Dikshitar was born in the manmatha year, in the month of Panguni under the star Krittikaa. He was named after the temple deity, Muthukumaraswamy of Vaitheeswaran Koil.
Dikshitar’s knowledge of Music, Sanskrit, Vedas, Sastras and Sthala Puranas are admirable. His compositions are highly esoteric in content and full of musical and lyrical beauty and sophistication. He was one of the earliest to incorporate the Raga mudra into his compositions, in addition to his own mudra—Guruguha. Dikshitar’s songs are like Mantra upadesas. Advaitam is his ultimate goal. It is evident in the usage of Advaitic words like Kaivalya, Satchidanada, Chit, Parabrahma and Ekaagra Manolayam in many of his compositions.
For richness of Raga Bhava, sublimity of their philosophic contents and for the sheer grandeur of Sahitya, the songs of Dikshitar stand unsurpassed.
Dear Viji,
It is nice to hear from you. Please accept my congratulations on the wonderful work you have done in researching and bringing out the book and the CDs of the rare kritis of the trinity. Upon reading the book and listening to the audio program, I liked the flow of the kritis, the script in Tamil as well as in English, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your beautiful rendering of the kritis. I will definitely recommend and encourage not only my students but also students from other music schools to obtain a copy and use it wisely to learn the wonderful compositions. This is definitely a praiseworthy contribution for the benefit of all music lovers in general and carnatic music in particular. I wish you all the best.
I look forward to meeting with you in September. Let us keep in touch.
With warm wishes and congratulations,
Jayashree Varadarajan
- SAn Jose
