Musicians and scholars

Tyagaraja (1767-1847) – Sruti Magazine

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The period 1750-1850 was a golden era in world music, when some of the greatest musician-composers lived and enriched the field. In Europe, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann and others lived during this period and created the symphony repertoire. It is a significant coincidence that the Carnatic Music trinity—Tyagaraja (1767-1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776-1835) and Syama Sastry … Read more

Video | Vocal recital by Dr. K. Gayatri – Naada Inbam Festival

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Dr. K.Gayatri – Vocal,Vid. Vittal Rangan – Violin,Vid. R.Shankaranarayanan – Mridangam,Vid. H.Prasanna – Ghatam.Recording of Live Concert on 22.12.2022 Thursday 6.15pm Items in YouTube Comments by courtesy Swami Nathan >>(please check the above link for any updates) 1. ​Reethigowlai (after sloka) 00:02:302. Jaganmohini dayApayOnidhE mAm pAhi.. Composer: Mishu Krishna Aiyyar 00:10:113. Madhyamavathi ​naadupai balikeru thyagaraja … Read more

“Remove the barriers imposed by the music”: A tribute to a vital artistic tradition by T.M. Krishna

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A Southern music: The Karnatik story By T.M. Krishna, HarperCollins, Rs 699 If a successful and busy Karnatic singer takes time off in order to write reflections on South Indian or “Karnatic” music, the book release function is bound to be met with considerable interest. […] He pays tribute to the tambura (the tanpura) as “the life-giver, the soul … Read more

An artiste creates and modifies his or her style for several reasons: “Let’s Talk Carnatic” by Mopachennai.org

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Is tradition set in stone? Is not change even within a musician’s lifetime in the natural order of things? Does custom or convention in musical practice have to be held sacrosanct at the cost of organic modification or adaptation? An artiste creates and modifies, subtly or otherwise, his or her style for several reasons – … Read more

Subbulakshmi and contemporary feminism: Sunil Khilnani on BBC Radio 4 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives

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Listen to this programme on BBC Radio 4 (15 minutes) >> Find song lyrics, translations and more (type “M.S. Subbulakshmi”) >> M.S. SubbulakshmiBorn 16 September 1916. Died 11 December 2004 Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (Tamil: மதுரை சண்முகவடிவு சுப்புலட்சுமி, Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi ? 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004), also known as M.S., was a Carnatic vocalist. She was the first … Read more

All craftsmen in Miraj are musicians – the wonderfully resonant Tanpura (Tambura)

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Miraj is famous for tanpuras made by its craftsmen, who honed their skills by first becoming trained musicians. How did it ever strike someone to stick a piece of wood on a dried pumpkin, build this bridge and that and twist some strings on it, to make this wonderfully resonant thing one calls the tanpura? … Read more