Monday, February 9, 2009

Carnatic Musical Performance

Carnatic music is full of quality and history. Despite western music getting increasing popularity in India, this form of music has managed to hold on its own. Carnatic music represents Indian culture and heritage. Many south Indian families still dream of having their kids mastering nuances of carnatic music. Music legends like Muthuswami Dikshitar completely changes the way the music was played. Here are several other prominent contributors who enriched the carnatic music traditions with their valuable contributions. Some of them are; Narayan Tirtha, Annamacharya, Papanasam Shivan, Swati Tirunal, Arunagiri Nathar, Gopala Krishna Bharati, Bysore Vasudevachar, Uttukadu Venkatasubbair, to name a few.
Carnatic musical performance has many sections, all performed according to rules. When the recital begins, Varanam that is basically a composition is played. The word refers to description and this consists of two parts of Purvanga (first half) and Uttaranga (second half). Ragam is another crucial section where artists get the freedom to indule in creative aspects. Ragam is also a free melodic composition that allows singer to improvise using his/her creativity. In similar mould is tanam, which is free rhythm. Rag has some fixed compositions that are called kritis. When ragam is introduced to audiences, a certain way is followed and that is known as alapana. Carnatic music theme uses amazingly developed theoretical system. The main ingredients are Ragam and Thalam also known as raga and Tala. Raga is the scale and classified into different modes.

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