Carnatic music or Karnāṭaka saṃgīta or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India : Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Kerala, and Tamil Nadu . It is one of two main sub-genres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions; the other sub- genre being Hindustani music , which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian and Islamic influences in North India. The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gāyaki (singing) style. Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of śruti (the relative musical pitch), swara (the musical sound of a single note), rāga (the mode or melodic formulæ), and tala (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music. Although improvisation plays an important role, Carnatic music is mainly sung through compositions, especially the kriti (or kirtanam) – a form developed between the 14th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the Trinity of Carnatic music . Carnatic music is also usually taught and learnt through compositions. Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer (usually a vocalist), a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin ), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam ), and a tambura , which acts as a drone throughout the performance. Other typical instruments used in performances may include the ghatam , kanjira , morsing , venu flute, veena , and chitraveena . The most outstanding performances, and the greatest concentration of Carnatic musicians, are found in the city of Chennai. [1] Various festivals are held throughout India and abroad which mainly consist of Carnatic music performances, like the Madras Music Season, which has been considered as one of the worlds largest cultural events. [2] [3] Origins, sources and history Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of all knowledge, music, arts and science, with her instrument, the veena. Like all art forms in Indian culture , Indian classical music is believed to be a divine art form which originated from the Devas and Devis ( Hindu Gods and Goddesses), [4][5] and is venerated as symbolic of nāda brāhman. [6] Ancient treatises also describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and mans effort to simulate these sounds through a keen sense of observation and perception. The Sama Veda , which is believed to have laid the foundation for Indian classical music, consists of hymns from the Rigveda , set to musical tunes which would be sung using three to seven musical notes during Vedic yajnas . [5] The Yajur-Veda , which mainly consists of sacrificial formulae, mentions the veena as an accompaniment to vocal recitations. [7] References to Indian classical music are made in many ancient texts, including epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata . The Yajnavalkya Smriti mentions vīṇāvādana tattvajñaḥ śrutijātiviśāradaḥ tālajñaścāprayāsena mokṣamārgaṃ niyacchati (The one who is well versed in veena, one who has the knowledge of srutis and one who is adept in tala, attains salvation without doubt). [8] Carnatic music is based as it is today on musical concepts (including swara , raga , and tala ) that were described in detail in several ancient works, particularly the Bharatas Natya Shastra and Silappadhikaram by Ilango Adigal. [9] Owing to Persian and Islamic influences in North India from the 12th century onwards, Indian classical music began to diverge into two distinct styles, being Hindustani music and Carnatic music. [1] Commentaries and other works, such as Sharngadeva s Sangita Ratnakara , further elaborated on the musical concepts found in Indian classical music. [10] By the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a clear demarcation between Carnatic and Hindustani music; [11] Carnatic music remained relatively unaffected by Persian and Arabic influences. It was at this time that Carnatic music flourished in Vijayanagara, while the Vijayanagar Empire reached its greatest extent. [12] Purandara Dasa , who is known as the father ( Pitamaha ) of Carnatic Music, formulated the system that is commonly used for the teaching of Carnatic music. [5][13] Venkatamakhin invented and authored the formula for the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work, the Chaturdandi Prakasika (1660 AD). [11] Govindacharya is known for expanding the melakarta system into the sampoorna raga scheme – the system that is in common use today. Carnatic music was mainly patronized by the local kings of the Kingdom of Mysore and Kingdom of Travancore in the 18th through 20th centuries. Some of the royalty of the kingdoms of Mysore and Travancore were themselves noted composers and proficient in playing musical instruments, such as the veena, rudra veena , violin , ghatam, flute , mridangam , nagaswara and swarabhat. [14] Some famous court-musicians proficient in music were Veene Sheshanna (1852–1926) [15] and Veene Subbanna (1861–1939), [16] among others. With the dissolution of the erstwhile princely states and the Indian independence movement reaching its conclusion in 1947, Carnatic music went through a radical shift in patronage into an art of the masses with ticketed performances organized by private institutions called sabhās. During the 19th century, the city of Chennai (then known as Madras) emerged as the locus for Carnatic music. [17] Nature of Carnatic music The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as gāyaki ). [18] Like Hindustani music , Carnatic music rests on two main elements: rāga , the modes or melodic formulæ, and tāḷa , the rhythmic cycles. [18] Today, Carnatic music is presented by musicians in concerts or recordings, either vocally or through instruments. Carnatic music itself developed around musical works or compositions of phenomenal composers (see below). Important elements of Carnatic music Śruti Main article: Śruti (music) Śruti commonly refers to musical pitch. [19] It is the approximate equivalent of a tonic (or less precisely a key) in Western music; it is the note from which all the others are derived. It is also used in the sense of graded pitches in an octave. While there are an infinite number of sounds falling within a scale (or raga) in Carnatic music, the number that can be distinguished by auditory perception is twenty-two (although over the years, several of them have converged). In this sense, while sruti is determined by auditory perception, it is also an expression in the listeners mind. [20] Swara Main article: Swara Swara refers to a type of musical sound that is a single note, which defines a relative (higher or lower) position of a note, rather than a defined frequency. [19] Swaras also refer to the solfege of Carnatic music, which consist of seven notes, sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da- ni (compare with the Hindustani sargam : sa- re -ga-ma-pa- dha -ni or Western do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). These names are abbreviations of the longer names shadja , rishabha , gandhara , madhyama , panchama, dhaivata and nishada . Unlike other music systems, every member of the solfege (called a swara ) has three variants. The exceptions are the drone notes, shadja and panchama (also known as the tonic and the dominant ), which have only one form; and madhyama (the subdominant), which has two forms. A 7th century stone inscription in Kudumiyan Malai [21] in Tamil Nadu shows vowel changes to solfege symbols with ra, ri, ru etc. to denote the higher quarter-tones. In one scale, or raga , there is usually only one variant of each note present. The exceptions exist in light ragas, in which, for artistic effect, there may be two, one ascending (in the arohanam) and another descending (in the avarohanam).
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:17:36 +0000
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