for students and lovers of Carnatic music
The flute has played a key role in India’s artistic life since antiquity. This is evident from writings on dance-drama, mythology, sculptures and paintings. Its playing technique must have been highly developed for a very long time. Different names are used for it, for instance kuzhal (pronounced like “kulal” or “kural”) in Tamil speaking regions; and bansuri in northern India. In poetry, song … Read more
This course covers all the important facets of Carnatic music, the classical music of South India: its traditions as well as its present role in the fields of music and education all over the world. “Very often I think and feel that I am like a flute – the flute that cannot talk but when … Read more
Ludwig Pesch (1955) is a German-born musicologist, educator and musician. Interested in “other” ways of teaching and sharing music, he completed his Diploma Course in Carnatic Music (First Class) at Kalakshetra after serving as church organist and studying music and musicology in Freiburg (Germany). He specialized in playing the bamboo flute under the guidance of Ramachandra Shastry (1906-92) – musical heir to … Read more
Whatever one’s personal background and aspirations may be, Carnatic music remains a quest for undiluted aesthetic experience (rasa).1 Three basic concepts are essential for daily practice as well as proper appreciation: rāga (tuneful rendition with minute intervals and rich in embellishments), tāla (rhythmic order marked by mathematical precision), and bhāva (expression of thoughts and emotions). To … Read more
by Ludwig Pesch Carnatic music – the classical music of South India – unites people from a variety of social backgrounds. Over two hundred fifty million people now inhabit a region that comprises five modern states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana) drawn up on the basis of their respective linguistic majorities. They take pride … Read more