Nowadays I am listening to Carnatic music. My musical phases last about a month or so but I have been in Carnatic music phase for almost six months now! I enjoy most Indian music (disclaimer: I have nothing against other music, all music is divine if it can touch a chord in you) and this Carnatic phase started with listening to Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna and Priya sisters. This world will be that much more dreary without these singing geniuses. I am not an expert in music and I have never managed to progress beyond Geethams on the veena and Varnams in vocal music, but oh boy do I enjoy listening!!
Balamurali, who deserves a Bharat Ratna as much as MS or Lata, has a voice which can bring the Gods to earth. Listening to his singing of Thyagaraja's Pancharatna Kritis is a divine experience. He has sung kritis in each of the 72 janya ragas which is like a audio dictionary of Carnatic music. What you hear in his voice is his joy in singing.
Listening to Sarasijanabha Sodari by Priya sisters makes you feel a kind of joy which is painful at times. Their combined voices are like nectar. And then you start thinking about the composer who has composed such lyrics and music. Muthuswamy Dikshithar, who composed this kriti always put the name of the raga he composed in somewhere in the song. Thus you come across 'Nagagandhari Pujithabjapade" in the kriti because it is composed in Nagagandhari raga. The song Akhilandeswari Rakshamam has the raga name Dwijawanti in the lyrics. There is another gem of a kriti called 'Nagagandhari Raaganuthe' which is also in Nagagandhari. 'Kanjadalayatakshi' in Kamalamanohari is also a treat to listen to. I have seen 'Kanjadalayatakshi' also performed in Kuchipudi style which transports you to another realm and makes you realise how lucky you are to be born a human.
I think I like Priya sisters so much because they have this no-nonsense approach to singing. Rarely do they do a long-winded aalapana ( though the aalapana in Prakkana Nilabadi and Srivalli Devasenapathe are worth listening to) and come to the point without much ado. And the mridangists and violinists who accompany them add their magic to the song. If you think for a moment, its the combined efforts of Dikshithar, the Priya sisters and their accompanists and the years of sadhana they have put in with their gurus which gives us this finished product called a kriti!
Then there is Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, another veritable genius. His Telugu is so crystal clear, each syllable and word can be heard and understood (if you know Telugu ,that is. Alas! I dont know the difficult words but I get the overall sense) and his rendering of Annamayya kritis can be matched only by the poet himself I think. Alara chanchalamaina is my all-time favourite.We must all be grateful to Balakrishna Prasad and Nedunuri Krishna Murthy and many other musical stalwarts involved in the Annamayya Project of TTD who rescued Annamayya from near oblivion and brought so many kritis of his to the limelight.
These are just three singers who have made a difference in my life. There are many more...
To be continued:)
Balamurali, who deserves a Bharat Ratna as much as MS or Lata, has a voice which can bring the Gods to earth. Listening to his singing of Thyagaraja's Pancharatna Kritis is a divine experience. He has sung kritis in each of the 72 janya ragas which is like a audio dictionary of Carnatic music. What you hear in his voice is his joy in singing.
Listening to Sarasijanabha Sodari by Priya sisters makes you feel a kind of joy which is painful at times. Their combined voices are like nectar. And then you start thinking about the composer who has composed such lyrics and music. Muthuswamy Dikshithar, who composed this kriti always put the name of the raga he composed in somewhere in the song. Thus you come across 'Nagagandhari Pujithabjapade" in the kriti because it is composed in Nagagandhari raga. The song Akhilandeswari Rakshamam has the raga name Dwijawanti in the lyrics. There is another gem of a kriti called 'Nagagandhari Raaganuthe' which is also in Nagagandhari. 'Kanjadalayatakshi' in Kamalamanohari is also a treat to listen to. I have seen 'Kanjadalayatakshi' also performed in Kuchipudi style which transports you to another realm and makes you realise how lucky you are to be born a human.
I think I like Priya sisters so much because they have this no-nonsense approach to singing. Rarely do they do a long-winded aalapana ( though the aalapana in Prakkana Nilabadi and Srivalli Devasenapathe are worth listening to) and come to the point without much ado. And the mridangists and violinists who accompany them add their magic to the song. If you think for a moment, its the combined efforts of Dikshithar, the Priya sisters and their accompanists and the years of sadhana they have put in with their gurus which gives us this finished product called a kriti!
Then there is Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, another veritable genius. His Telugu is so crystal clear, each syllable and word can be heard and understood (if you know Telugu ,that is. Alas! I dont know the difficult words but I get the overall sense) and his rendering of Annamayya kritis can be matched only by the poet himself I think. Alara chanchalamaina is my all-time favourite.We must all be grateful to Balakrishna Prasad and Nedunuri Krishna Murthy and many other musical stalwarts involved in the Annamayya Project of TTD who rescued Annamayya from near oblivion and brought so many kritis of his to the limelight.
These are just three singers who have made a difference in my life. There are many more...
To be continued:)
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