Navarathri Mandapam CHAPTER 4 Musical Aspect of Maharaja’s Compositions 4.1. Introduction “Music begins where the possibilities of language end.” - Jean Sibelius Music is just not confined only to notes and its rendition, it is a unit of melody, its combinations and beautiful body movements. Therefore it is called Samageetam (g“rV_²) and Sharangdeva has given an apt definition to the term - JrV§ dmÚ§ VWm Z¥Ë`§, Ì`§ g“rV_wÀ`Vo& Maharaja’s compositions are models of all the three faculties of music. They are sung, played on various instruments and some compositions are exclusively composed for dance performances. To understand the nuance and technical aspects of music, it is very necessary to look back at the history of both the streams of Indian Music which are prevalent. As discussed in the earlier chapters, North Indian Music, popularly known as the Hindusthani Music had a lot of transitions since the Vedic era to the Mughal or the pre- indehendence era. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the patronage of music continued in smaller princely kingdoms like Gwalior, Jaipur, Patiala giving rise to diversity of styles that is today known as Gharanas. Meanwhile the Bhakti and Sufi traditions -------------------------------- ( 100 ) ---------------------------------- continued to develop and interact with the different schools of music. Gharana system had a peculiar tradition of one-to-one teaching which was imparted through the Guru-Shishya tradition. To a large extent, it was limited to the palace and dance halls. It was shunned by the intellectuals, avoided by the educated middle class, and in general looked down upon as a frivolous practise. The Renaissance of Hindustani Music gained momentum when two great pioneers emerged on the horizon, the “Vishnudwayi” - Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. These two stalwarts brought classical music to the masses by organising music conferences, starting schools, teaching music in classrooms and devising a standardized grading and testing system and by 1 standardizing the notation system. The music of South India is popularly known as Carnatic Music. The word Carnatic derives from Karna (the ear) and Sta (to haunt) means, that which haunts the ear. By the 15th century, Kallinatha refers to the music of South India as Karnatic Sangita and records its practise between the rivers Krishna in the north and Kaveri in the south. Foremost among these was Purandara Dasa who lived in Vijayanagar and died a year before the fateful battle of Talikota (1565) which destroyed the empire. Purandar Dasa, who belonged to a sect of Vishnu worshippers called the Haridasas is referred to as the Pitamaha of Carnatic Music. It was he who codified the beginners’ -------------------------------- ( 101 ) ---------------------------------- lessons and also gave the art a concrete syllabus for learning that is followed till date with very minor variations. A senior contemporary of Purandara Dasa was Jalapaka Annamacharya who composed entirely on the deities of the Tirumala Annamacharya is referred to as the Pada Kaurta Pitamaha. Annamacharya was among the earliest composers whose works adhered to alliteration and poetry. Kshetragna who used the signature of Muvva Gopala, was an illustrious composer of a slightly later period who is today best known for his padas, which are replete with eroticism. Later some other composers such as Sarangapani (1680-1750) also composed in this genre. These songs were preserved exclusively by the Devadasis. th It was however only in the 17 century that Carnatic Music became codified the way we know today. Venkatmakhi wrote the Chaturdandi Prakashika, in which he for the first time defined the parent scales (ragas) and mathematically arrived at 72 of them called as the “Melakartas”. Govinda, further refined this scheme in his Sangraha Choodamani and it is his nomenclature that survives till date. All other ragas were attached one or the other parent ragas and were called janya 2 ragas. The Carnatic music reached its zenith when the trinity th of this tradition made an entry in the 18 century. Syama Sastry (1762-1827) Tyagaraja (1767-1847) and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835) were all born in the town of Tiruvarur. Tyagaraja the most prolific among the three mostly composed in his mother tongue, Telugu. Most of his patron -------------------------------- ( 102 ) ---------------------------------- deity, Rama. Syama Sastri, who was a hereditary priest at the Bangaru Kamakshi temple in Thanjavore, composed on the Goddess. Muthuswami Dikshitar, mostly composed in Sanskrit and his compositions are noted for their elaborate and poetic descriptions of Hindu gods and temples. He is also known by his signature name “Guruguha”. The era immediately after the Trinity witnessed the rise of a number of performing musicians who were also composers such as the Tanjore Quartet, Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan, Patnam Subramania Iyer, Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar, and several others. They looked to the royal courts for patronage such as Mysore, Travancore, Pudukottai and the smaller estates such as Ettayapuram, Ramnad and 3 Sivaganga took over. th Madras began its rise as a musical hub in the late 18 century. The sabha culture started to flourish with the Tondaimandalam sabha being the pioneer. The Brahmins were dominant among the vocalists, Isai Vellalars constituted the instrumentalists, specially percussion and women singers mostly come predominantly from the Devidasi community. Looking back to the composers in Carnatic Music, especially the Music Trinity and Swathi Thirunal, their compositions mostly directed to devotion. The emotion of surrender mostly resulted in unwinding the season of their existence. These people were born just to sing praise of their lords. Each composer had a principle deity on whom he wrote. The existence of these four great composers enriched the tradition of Carnatic Music. -------------------------------- ( 103 ) ---------------------------------- 4.2 Comparison between Hindustani Music and Carnatic Music This chapter deals with the musical aspect which consists of both the Hindustani and Carnatic Ragas, it is essential to compare and understand the basic theory of both the faculties. These factors are taken into consideration before the musical analysis of the compositions - 1) The Swaras (Notes) 2) The Talas (Rhythmic structure) 3) The Geet Prakar (Musical forms) 1. Swaras (Notes) The Swaras could be defined as fixed pitch positions. The exact positions of these notes have been identified by the human ear and not by mathematical analysis. The Swaras of both the streams have their own positions and different names. Hindusthani Swaras Carnatic Swaras 1. fS>²O (gm) fS>²O (S) 2. H$mo_b F$f^ (ao) ewÕ F$f^ (R 1) 3. ewÕ F$f^ MVw:lw{V F$f^ (R 2)/ ewÕ Jm§Yma (G 1) 4. H$mo_b Jm§Yma (J) fQ>²lw{V F$f^/ gmYmaU Jm§Yma (G 2) 5. ewÕ Jm§Yma (J) Am§Va Jm§Yma (G 3) 6. ewÕ _Ü`_ (_) ewÕ _Ü`_ (M 1) 7. Vrd« _Ü`_ (_) à{V _Ü`_ (M 2) 8. n#m_ (n) n#m_ (P) -------------------------------- ( 104 ) ---------------------------------- 9. H$mo_b Y¡dV (Y) ewÕ Y¡dV (D 1) 10. ewÕ Y¡dV (Y) MVw:lw{V Y¡dV (D 2)/ ewÕ {ZfmX (N 1) 11. H$mo_b {ZfmX ({Z) fQ>²lw{V Y¡dV (D 3)/ H$m¡{eH$r {ZfmX (N 2) 12. ewÕ {ZfmX H$mH$br {ZfmX (N 3) Music can be viewed as the the specific use of these swaras within definite melodic contexts, but that is not how 4 Karnatic or Hindustani music derives melodies. ii) The Taal (Rhytmic Structure) The various features of time are marked primarily by two elements - laya and tala. Laya is basically a term used for equal intervals of time. Within a musical presentation, speed is measured by the intervals which occur during the standard rhythmic divisions. It is generally measured as slow, medium or fast. Hindustani Carnatic {db§{~V Mm¡H$ _Ü` _Ü`_ ÐwV Xw[aV Laya is that which gives space within a rhythmic structure by creating intervals. These intervals that create space become the playground for melodic exploration. When laya comes together with a fixed number of divisions, or a composite rhythmic unit a taal is created. A taal is a concrete method of dividing time. Taal also creates a sense of time for -------------------------------- ( 105 ) ---------------------------------- melody, defining and highlighting it. A taal is consciously created in music to divide time, so that melody can be placed and measured within it. Laya provides the space and the 5 division within the taal that gives it its body. In Hindusthani music, the taal concept is progressive. It has rhythmic structures ranging from a cycle of 6 beats to 28 beats. Most popularly used in performances are rhythm cycles of 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 beats. Now-a-days there are new discoveries of 7½ beats or a½ beats and so on. They sound quite innovative and give a certain amount of hearing exercise to the listeners, but they remain mostly performance oriented specifically attached to the artist who creates and performs it. The Hindustani Taal system depends on these factors - Taal (Vmb) Vmbr Imbr _mÌm g_ {d^mJ AmdV©Z The beat The beat The The First Division One is shown is shown smallest beat of complete by by not parameter the Taal rhythmic clapping clapping to measure cycle Imbr means the rhythm space The taal systems have a specific technical language and terms. They are denoted by certain signs which are - 1. Sama (g_) = X (first beat) 2. Khali (Imbr) = O (half portion of the taal) 3. Taali (Vmbr) = 2, 3, 4 (on whichever number it comes, e.g. The 1st clap is mostly on -------------------------------- ( 106 ) ---------------------------------- the first beat, the 2nd clap would be denoted by the number 2 and so on) The popular structures which are widely used in Hindutani Music could be explained through this table - Vmb _mÌm ~mob 1.