Composers and Tradition in Karnatic Music

7/25/2019 Composers and Tradition in Karnatic Music

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Composers and Tradition in Karnatic MusicAuthor(s): Barbara BenarySource: Asian Music, Vol. 3, No. 2, Indian Music Issue (1972), pp. 42-51Published by: University of Texas PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/833958.

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2/11

COMPOSERS ND TRADITIONN KARNATIC USIC

by

BarbaraBenary

The

classical

concert

music of South

India

performed

tbday

in

concerts,

at

weddings, at religious ceremonies and in festive processions involves both

composition

and

improvisation.

The

composition,

with its

specifications

of

raga

(melodic

prototype)

and

tala

(rhythmic

cycle),

forms a

central

musical

core around

which various kinds of

improvisation

are woven.

The

greatest

part

of a concert

musician's

repertoire

is traditional.

The earliest

compositions

played

today

date from around the

sixteenth

century,

but the

large majority

are

works of

the

eighteenth

and

nineteenth centuries.

The

compositions

of the most

popular

composer,

Thyagaraja

(1767-1847),

account

for

about

half

the

songs

heard in

public

concerts

in

Madras

today.

Most

Karnaticcompositions are vocal pieces having text and a title derived from

the

first

few words

of

the text.

Telugu

is

the

predominant

language,

but

Sanskrit and

Tamil

are also

common.

Although

most

musicians

know the

names

of

the

composers

whose

works

they

perform,

there

is not a

great

deal of

common

knowledge

about the

life

and

times of

the dozens

of

major composers

of the

classical

tradition.

Thyigaraja

is

one

of few well-documented

composers.

Information about

other

composers

was

rarely

compiled

in

their own

lifetimes

and

has

been

passed

on

only

through

the memories

of

certain

musical

families and

through

the

ideals,

myths

and anecdotes

which

survive

in

popular

culture.

The

focus

of

this

essay

is to

picture

the

South Indian

composer

as

he

appears

in

current

English-language writings,

and to

estimate

the

effect

of

his

image

and

his contributions on current

musical

practice.

I

Sources

Perhaps

the most valuable source for

information

on

composers

is

a

series

of

articles

published

by

The

Hindu

(Madras edition)

in

its

Sunday magazine

between the

last weeks of

1969

and the

first weeks of

1971.

The

series,

entitled Carnatic Music Composers consists of 64 biographies by different

authors. The

well-documented

musical

trinity

(Thyagaraja

and

his

two

contemporaries

Muttuswamy

Dikshitar and

Sydma

Sastri)

are not included

in

the

series.

It

gives

a

thorough

and broad

picture

of

the

various social

settings

and

musical

expectations

which a

composer might

encounter

during

the

sixteenth

through

nineteenth

centuries.

1

The

writing

of

historical

biographies

is

a trend

of this

century,

brought

on

by

a

long

period

of

Western

educational and

political

domination.

Despite

the

use of the

English

language

and

scientific

aim,

the

biographies

in

The

Hindu's series maintain a good deal of the traditional writing style and values.

The Western

ideals

of

fact,

time,

location

and

objectivity

are

given

little

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3/11

coverage,

both

because such information has often been

lost,

and because it

is not considered as important and

interesting

as information which highlights

Hindu

aspects

of

the

composer's

life.

Biographies generally

include social

information

such as the

composer's

caste or

family

background,

name

of

native

village,

guruparampara

(musical

pedigree)

and

sishyaparampara

(line

of disciples). Since music is believed to be powerful only insofar as it is

devotional,

the

religious aspects

of the

composer's

life and music will be

discussed.

If he was

a

bhakta

(one

seeking

unity

with God

through

devotion

and

praise),

who was his Ishtadevata

(form

of God to whom his

songs

were

dedicated);

what miracles

allegedly

occurred in his

life,

what instances of

divine

intervention,

what

inspirations

leading

to the

composition

of

particular

songs

?

Musicological

information is also included such as names

of

ragas

used,

forms

used,

names of

outstanding

works

and details

of the

composer's

performing

career,

if

they

are known.

Information on composers from earlier centuries is rather difficult to obtain.

The

traditional

musicological

treatises such as

the

Natya

Sastra,

Sangitaratnaikara

and

Lilappadikaram

are of little

help

since

they

deal

with the

ideals of music

rather than actualities

of

practice,

and

they

make

no

mention of

actual

historical

persons.

One

is

more

likely

to find

biographical

information

in

literary

and

religious

histories such

as T.M.P.

Mahadevan's Seminar

on

Saints

(Madras:

Ganesh and

Co., 1960)

or C. and H.

Jesudasan's

A

History

of Tamil Literature

(Calcutta:

Y.M.C.A.

Publishing

House, 1961).

One

must

keep

in

mind, however,

that the

impact

of

these

composers

today

is more

philosophical

and

literary

than

musical.

There

is

little musical

information

to be

found about

them,

and in fact

little

if

any

of

their

music

has survived

these

centuries of oral

transmission

or

is

sung

in

concert.

Influences

of

Caste

Although

music formed an

integral

part

of

life

and

poetic

expression

in

south

India

in

the

early

centuries

A.D.,

it

was

a

general

infiltration

of

Brahminical

values

and

religious

philosophy

from the

North which

lead to the

bhakti

movement

of the seventh

through

ninth

centuries.

It

was

this

nrFvement

which laid the

foundations for

the

late forms of

classical

music.

It

also

formed the basis

for

certain beliefs and

conflicts about the

role

of

music and

musical composition in religious and secular life.

Up

through

the

twentieth

century

we see

varied

biographical

instances of

the

musician

pulled

between the

life

ideals

proposed by

the

Brahmin caste

and the

Kshatriya

caste.

Brahmins,

according

to

tradition,

are

priests,

religious leaders,

teachers,

and

keepers

of

knowledge

and

literacy.

Their

values

lean

toward

asceticism,

and

the

role

of music

in

the

scheme

is

to

please

God

and

aid

the

practitioner

to achieve

salvation

through

devout

expression

(bhakti)

or exact

practice

of

musical

science

(nadopasana).

Music

is seen

as a

very

personal

mode

of

religious expression,

to be

displayed

in

public only for the purpose of teaching and imparting religious belief to

others.

-43-



4/11

However,

innumerable

professional

musicians from earliest

recorded

times

have

made

their

living

through

association

with a

royal

court

or

a

wealthy

private

patron (zamindar).

Royal

patrons

were

of the

Kshatriya

caste,

whose

traditional

role

is

military

and

political.

Music

under

such

patronage

was

for

display,

amusement

and

cultural

adornment.

Musical

competitions

were

frequently held, the object being to impress the patron who (in theory)

represented

the

ultimate

connoisseur.

The fine-arts

view and the

religious

view

of

music

have

coexisted

up

to

the

present

day,

sometimes in

conflict,

but

usually

intermingling peacefully.

In

the

collection

of

biographies

some

composers

appear

as

saints,

others

as

hard-working

lackeys

of

a

pleasure-loving

monarch.

Yet

the

majority

experienced

both roles to

some

degree

and

practiced

music

in

both

capacities,

rejecting

neither

the

power

of

devotion nor

their

ability

to

entertain.

Although

music

today

is

patronized by an urban public consisting of wealthy

persons

of

many

castes,

the

influence

of Brahmins still

predyminates.

The

majority

of

popular performers

are

themselves of this

caste,

and

since the

caste

places particular

value

on

appreciation

and education of

classical

music,

the

largest

percentage

of the

audience at

advertised

concerts

are

also

Brahmin. It

is

this

educated

audience for

whom the

biographical

col-

lections I

have cited are

written.

Thus it is

not

surprising

that

both the

written

materials and the

current

concert

repertoire

show a

striking

preference

for

composers

and

compositions.

The

Composer

as

Saint

The earliest

remembered

composers

of

Karnatic music were the

poet-saints

of the

bhakti

movement for

whom

devotional

texts

were

the

means of

salvation

and

music was the

vehicle for

the

texts. Those saints

of the

Saivite sect

were

called

N1yangrs;

those of the

Vaishnavite

sect were

called

Tlvvrs.

Later,

in

the

fourteenth to

sixteenth

centuries

when current

forms of

Karnatic

music

began

to

emerge,

the

originators

of

the forms

are

pictured

as

either

recognised

saints

or as

saintly

personalities. They

include

Arunagiri

(originator

of

Thiruppugal

hymn

form),

Tirtha

Narayana

(who

composed

a

cycle

of

tarangini,

similar in

form to

bhajans),

Siddhendra

Yogi

(founder

of

Kuchipudi dance), Purandara Dasa (prolific composer, called the father of

Karnatic

music ),

and

Kshetragna

(composer

of

padams).

The next wave of

innovation

came in

the

late

eighteenth century,

and

its

three most

renowned

composers,

the

aforementioned

musical

trinity

are all

considered saints.

Thyagaraja's

life in

particular

is

looked

upon

as

exemplary

of

the

Brahmin

musical

ideal,

even

though

some of

the saints of

earlier

centuries are

remembered

as

having gone

to

further

extremes

in

their

devotion.

Themes

which

characterize the

lives

of

musical

saints

in

India

have their

counterparts

the

world

over.

Devotion

to the Ishtadevata

precludes

worldly

ties, particularly that of marriage which entails social and material involve-

ment as

well

as

sexual

union.

Those

saints who

are

pictured

as

having

a

-44-



5/11

religious

bent

from

early

childhood

often

refused

marriage

or later

repudiated

it. Those

who

experienced

conversion

later

in life often abandoned

their

spouse

or,

as

happened

to the female

NIyanlr

saint

KIraikkal

Ammaiyar,

were

abandoned

by

a

spouse

frightened

off

by

an

excess

of

piety.

Thy'garaja

and

a

few

others

consented to live a

married

life,

believing

it

to be their duty to fulfill the ashramas or prescribed life stages. During

some

time

in their lives

many

saints undertook

pilgrimage,

visiting

distant

shrines

and

holy

places,

possibly

settling

at

a

particular

place

for the

rest

of their lives.

For

Thyagaraja

and

many

of

his

contemporaries,

pilgrimages

occasioned the

composition

of a

collection of

five,

seven

or

nine

songs

dedicated to

the

deity

of

a

particular

shrine

visited.

Many

saints

accurately

predicted

the moment

of their

death

either

through

astrological

skill

or,

more

often,

through

a direct vision

or

message

from

their Ishtadevata.

The

NIyanar

saint

Sundarar

is

said to have

met

his

end

by

disappearing

into the

inner

sanctum of the

shrine of his

chosen

deity, having

been

absorbed into the deity. Similar legends exist about

the

deaths

of

AndNl

(of

the

Alvirs)

and

Mirabai

(of

Rajasthan).

As

described

in

the

biographies,

it

is

usually

the

god

who

reaches down to

the

saint,

revealing

himself

through

vision or

miracle

and

instructing

or

inspiring

the

devotee

to

worship

him.

Often

the

god provides

the

devotee

with the

first few

words

for his

song,

or

endows

him with

a

musical talent

previously

lacking.

Through

his

deity

the

saint

is believed

to

acquire

particular

powers

and

by

the

power

of

their music

some are

believed

to

have

been

able to

perform

miracles.

Muttuswamy

Dikshitar,

according

to

a

popular incident,

brought

rain

and then

sent it

away.

Thyagaraja

and

Sundarar are both

credited with

incidents

of

restoring

the

dead

to

life.

Likewise

it

is

believed

that

God

inspires

those with

unusual

creative

powers,

and the

saint-composer

is

the

instrument

through

which new

musical

ideas

pass

into

human

hands.

To

today's

musicians,

the

members of

the

musical

trinity

are

as

strong,

if

not

stronger,

as

a

religious

force

than the

deities

whom

their

compositions

praise.

A

tradition

of

post-Vedic

writings

says

that

the

devotees,

by

virtue

of

their

great

penance,

are

greater

than

God

Himself.4

Whether or

not

this

is

believed

literally,

it

is

interesting

to

note

that

modem

authors

and

illustrators often use the same techniques in the portraiture of saint-

composers

as are

used

in

depicting

the

gods.

Gods

are

usually

portrayed

in

an

act or

incident

for which

they

are

well

known.

Saint

Thy-agaraja

is

depicted

singing;

Dikshitar

is

depicted

playing

the

vina;

Sygma

SIstri is

usually

shown

holding

betel

leaves or

having

them

nearby,

since

one

of

the

prominent

facts

remaining

about

his

life is his

fondness

for

chewing.

These

leaves

and

instruments

serve

much

the

same

function

as

Krishna's

flute

or the

conch

which Vishnu

carries

in

one

hand.

The

bhakta

seeks

ultimate union

with

God as

others

seek

wealth,

sexual

love and earthly power. And so it is not surprising that hymns, poems and

-45-



6/11

musical

texts

often

took the form of madhura

bhakti,

also

called

nayaki-

nayaka

bhava,

sringara

rasa

or bridal

mysticism.

In such

texts

the

love of

woman

for

man becomes a

parable

for

the

soul's search for

God.

Other texts dealt with direct

praise

or

description

of the

god.

Praise could

even take the form of sarcasm and fault-finding (ninda stuti). Saint

Sundarar,

who made use of this

form,

produced lyrics

which were

often

wildly

beyond

the

limits of

good

taste,

yet

it was

believed

that

Siva

him-

self

commanded

Sundarar

to

do

so.

By

the time

of

the musical

trinity,

however,

the

emotional

aspects

of

bhakti

appear

to have

gone

out

of

favor

among

orthodox

devotees. In

Thy-gar ja's

texts

more stress

is

given

to

musical

knowledge

and

the

philosophic

aspects

of

devotion.

During

the same

period opera

and

dance

forms continued

to

flourish,

relying heavily

on

madhura

bhakti, yet

in

this

century they

suffered

much

neglect, being regarded

as a less

desirable

form

of

worship

by

both the

moralistic British and the

ascetically-inclined

Brahmins.

Today's

writers and critics of

classical

music

seem

to

regard

Thyagaraja's

style

of

text

as

the

most

pure

and

profound.

Dikshitar,

who wrote

in

Sanskrit

with

intricate

poetic structure,

is

regarded

as

overly

intellectual

and somewhat

dispassionate. Shyama

Sastri's works are

considered

rhythmically

clever,

but

are not

given

as

great

an

amount

of

attention.

And

the vast

legacy

of

dance

music,

with its

many

shades

of

love-parable,

is

relegated

to

degrees

of

inferiority directly

proportional

to

the overtness

of its sexual allusion. In most

musical concerts

(other

than dance

concerts)

Thyfgaraja's compositions

form

the

meat

of

the

program

and the works of

others are left for

the

trimmings.

But

of

course this

represents

the

pre-

ference

of

only

one social

group.

There are other

groups,

castes and

traditions of

musicians who

continue

to

preserve

and

practice

the music of

less

publicized composers,

though they

may

be out

of the

limelight

of

activities

of

the

large

urban

sabhas

(clubs)

and

universities.

Questions

of

Patronage

One might well ask at this point how greatly these ideals of devotion and

sainthood

corresponded

to

the

realities of most

composers

lives,

both

in

the

classical

period

and

today.

For

although

religious

forces

in

fact

provided

the

main

inspiration

and

direction

of Karnatic

music,

it

was

the

courts

and

patrons

who

provided

the

wealth,

leisure

and

encouragement

which

enabled

both

artists and

religious

philosophical

writers to

produce

words

during

the

centuries

of

intense

creativity.

Orthodox

religion

was

aided and

supported

by

empire,

yet

by

the

nature of its

philosophy,

it

rejected

empire

as

an

ultimate

human

aim.

This paradox is reflected in the life conditions of the musician and composer.

Should

he

rely

on

patronage

and

use it

to

his

own

ends,

or

should he

reject

-46-



7/11

it

on

principle

?

Thyigaraja

most

adamantly

rejected

the offers

of

several

Maharajas

and chose

instead

to make

his

living

by

singing

for alms.

On

the

other

hand there

are

legends

of

great

musicians

who,

when

denied

audience

with

the

king,

sang

by

the roadside

when

the

royal

entourage

passed

or made

music

outside

the

royal

chambers,

to

achieve

royal

recognition despite social obstacles. In general biographers do not seem

to

condemn

such actions

or

the idea

of

singing

for

a

patron's entertain-

ment.

But

they

do stress

the

virtue

of those

who either

refused

gifts of

money,

donating

such

gifts

to

charities,

or who

influenced

their

patron

to finance the

building

of a

temple

or shrine.

A

greater

cause

for

conflict

was

the issue

of

dedicating

the

song.

According

to

tradition,

the

king

is

the

visible

God

(raja

pratyaksha

deivam).

Many

kings

and

wealthy

nonroyal

patrons

expected

composers

to

write

songs

in

their

honor,

and

musicians

were well

used to

such

expectations.

Yet

a particularly religious musician would balk at the idea of praising

royalty

above his

deity.

Again,

the

biographers

do not

condemn

particular

composers

who

addressed

lyrics

to a

patron. They

merely

neglect

to

mention

the

fact,

while

recounting

in

detail

incidents

such

as

the

following:

Maharaja

Swati

Tirunal

demanded

that the

composer

Vadivelu

rewrite

a

new

composition

so

that

the

lyrics

praised

Sri

Padmanabha

rather

thagn

himself.

Music

is

not

worth

its

name

if

it

has

any

lower

aim,

he

said.

An

exception

to

this

ideal

was

the

praise

of

other

saintly

personages.

A

religious

composer

might

refuse

to

recognize

the

greatness

of

royalty,

but

other

godly

men

could be praised in song for the religious ideals which

they

represented.

Thyagarfja's

famous

kriti

Endar

mahanabhavulu

has

such

a

theme,

although

it

expressly

avoids

naming any

of

the

great

devotees.

There

is

strong

evidence

that

the

devotional

role of

music

often

took

second

place

to

the

worldly

realities

of

practice.

Viewing

the

Hindu

series

chronologically

one

finds

that

few

of

the

composers

of

post-Thy-garaja

times

were

saints

and

progressively

more

information

is

given

about

their

musicianship

and

less

about

their

religious

life.

Of

course,

the

idea

of

an

atheistic

composer

is

absent

and

writers

usually

make

every

effort

to

incorporate

evidence

of

their

subjects'

good

character.

In

summary then,the

qualities

which are most

stressed

are

outstanding

musical skill

and

imagination,

strong

reputation

as

performer

or

teacher,

and

a

devotional

approach

to

the

art,

if

not to

all

of

life.

What

Becomes

of

Traditional

Compositions

A

composer's

popularity

in

his

own

lifetime

depended

much

on

his

own

reputation

as

a

performer

and on

his

standing

among

his

musical

peers.

If

he

gave

frequent

performances,

he

would

have

ample

opportunity

to

bring

his

own

compositions

to

the

attention

of

the

musical

elite.

Performers

often visited each other and exchanged repertoires; by this means the

music

was

spread

to a

larger

audience.

Sishas

or

disciples

were

even

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8/11

more

important

in

passing

on

compositions

to

future

generations.

A

popular

or skilled

performer

can

bring

a

composer's

work

to fame

within

his

life-

time

or

generations

after,

whereas

a

composer

lacking professional

status,

friends

or

sishya

was

likely

to

become

obscure.

The general lack of stress on notation before this century accounts for

the

loss

and alteration

of

many

musical

compositions.

The first

published

notations

in

Tamil

and

Telugu

of

both text

and

melody began only

late

in

the

eighteen-hundreds.

By

that

time the

larger part

of the

repertoire

of

the

sixteenth-century

composers

had

been

forgotten

and works of

composers

only

a

few

generations past

already

existed

in

many

variant

versions.

Even the

existence of

published

notations

in this

century

provides

little

insurance

against

variations

and

changes

in

the works of

past

composers.

The

notational

system

itself

does

not

include

the vast

amount

of

ornamenta-

tion

and

improvised

variation

integral

to the

performance

of

a

piece.

In

addition,

a

performer

never

considers

published

notations the

final

authority.

He still

prefers

to learn

new

compositions

orally

from his

guru

or from a

performer

who

is

well

known

or

whose

family style

is

respected.

If

the

oral

version differs from the

printed,

he will

usually

ignore

the

printed.

The

very

structure of

compositions

such as

Thyagaraja's encourages

varia-

tion,

providing

some

sangatis

(composed

variations on a

line)

and

giving

the

performer liberty

to

add

further

melodic

variation

on the

text

through

niraval

and

swaras

(improvisational devices).

The line

between

composi-

tion

and

improvisation

is thin.

The

musical

additions,

deletions

and

altera-

tions of a

particularly

famous

performer

may

become an

accepted

version of

the

composition.

I

have

heard

performances

of

the

same kriti

wherein

only

the

name,

text

and

raga

of the

piece

remained

similar,

the melodic curve

being quite

changed,

the

sangatis

totally

dissimilar and

even the

tala

counted in

a different

way.

Performers

seem to

be

concerned about

correctness,

but this

correctness

means

a faithful

rendition of

the

composition

as

taught by

the

guru

or

family tradition,

or,

more

broadly,

a faithfulness

to the

style

of

raga

singing

(or

playing)

and

interpretation

which he has

been

taught.

It

seems

understood that there is no means of accounting for the note-for-note sound

of the

composer's

own

rendition

unless the

composer

himself

has

been

the

guru.

A

respected

style

of

rendition

passed

on

by

guru

or

family

has an

authenticity

of

its

own. A

variant

version

of

the

piece

performed by

another

musician would

still

be

considered

acceptable

if

the listener

believed that

it

carried the

true

spirit

of

the

composition.

Family styles

and versions

are

cherished,

yet

it

is still

recognized

that to

some

degree

the

composi-

tion has become

public property.

Even

the text is

not free from

alteration

once

a

piece

is

out

of

the hands of

its composer and his immediate followers. There have been many instances

of

one

composer's

text

being sung

to

another

composer's

tune.

In

the

process

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9/11

of

changing

languages

and

alphabets

further

alterations

may

occur.

Much

of the classical

repertoire

is in

Telugu,

yet

many

of

today's musicians

are

Tamil

speakers

and much

published

notation

is in Tamil. Yet

the

Tamil

alphabet

cannot

account

for

many

sounds

of

the

Telugu

and

Sanskrit

languages.

Thus Tamil

vocalists

who

do not

speak

those

languages

have

frequently been accused of mangling the meaning of devotional texts

beyond

forgiveness.

Ultimately

it

appears

that

the

essential

identity

of a

song

lies

neither

in

its melodic

lines,

which

can

be

changed,

nor

in its

text,

which

may

be

unintelligible

to

the

audience or

even to

the

performer

himself. It

lies in

a

combination

of

factors

provided

by

audience and

performer

as

well

as

composer.

The

listener's

knowledge

of the

piece-

its

name,

its

raga,

and

the

reputation

of

its

composer-

is

highly

important.

The

performer's

contribution is his

interpretation

of

the

bhava

(essential

mood

quality)

of

the

piece

through rhythmic

structure,

tempo,

and use of

selected

pitches

and

phrases

in

the

raga.

The

composer

has

provided

the

musical

skeleton and the

thought

which

generated

the

text.

However

the

composer's

contribution has

much

less

direct

effect

on

an actual

performance

by

artists

in

late

generations

than is

the case in

Western

music. The

per-

former

has

the

license to

become a

composer

himself,

and

to

bring

the

traditional

composition

to

life as

he

sees

fit.

Composers

in

This

Century

When it

comes

to the

naming

of

contemporary

composers

of

Karnatic

music,

historical writers fall strangely silent. The only living composer to be

included in

The

Hindu's

series is

Papanasa

Sivan,

a

man now in

his

eighties

who is

portrayed

as

leading

the

simple,

austere

life of

the

ideal

bhakta. There are

no

available

biographies

of

any

composer

born

in

this

century.

This

does

not

mean,

however,

that

no

one

composes

Karnatic

music

any

more.

It is

true that

many

composers

work

instead

through

the

medium

of

the

film

industry,

where fame

and

fortune

come

far

more

easily.

However,

film

music

is

unmentionable tQ the

upholders

of

the

classical

tradition,

so

one

would

not

hear

of

those

composers

from

such

sources.

Quite

a few

of

Karnatic

music's

most

popular

performers

do

write

pieces

in

the traditional forms, and occasionally include them at the tail end of a

concert.

Why

then is

there

nothing

written

about

them

?

One

factor to

consider is

the

overall

reluctance to

write

about

the

living.

Perhaps

a

few

generations

must

elapse

before

today's

musicians

will

be

ripe

for

biography.

An even

more

important

factor seems

to

be

the

attitude

of

traditionalism in

viewing

the

present.

Upholders

of

this

viewpoint

believe

the

past

to

be

far

more

glorious

than

the

present.

The

elderly

musician

is

more

revered

than

a

young musician.

The

image of Thyagaraja casts both a light and a

long

shadow

over

the

present.

His

compositions

dominate

the

repertoire

that

a

performer

must

present

in

order

to

achieve

popularity.

Other

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10/11

compositions

are

judged

by

the standard

of his

music.

There is

no market

for the

new,

and

any composer

who stressed his

own

individuality

or

originality

would

be viewed

harshly

by

traditional critics.

The

issue of

religion

underlies

much of this

criticism.

Sainthood

and

innovation are believed to be linked. If a new musical development is

not

a result

of

devotion

or

darshan

(vision

of

God)

then

can

it

be of

any

merit?

Musicians

are

advised

to

follow

the

example

of those innovators

of

the

past

who

were in

divine

contact,

since

few

musicians

of

today

fit

the ideal of

the

bhakta.

In

addition, today's

music

is

played

to

an

educated

public,

not

to a

royal

elite.

Traditionalists

see this as

a

disastrous

blow

to

the

music.

They

believe

the

public

lacks

aesthetic

taste and

prefers

clever

gymnastics

and

sensuality

to

a

truly

devotional

spirit,

and

that music can be no better

than its

audience.

However, I should add that it is only the purists who see the music of

today

as

hopelessly degraded. Performers,

although

they may

be

absorbed

in

the

businesslike

modern

world,

still

lead lives

that

are far from

secular,

and believe

that

their

practice

of

classical

music

even before

a

mass

audience

is

still a

devotional

undertaking.

Though

developments

occur,

performers

do not

view

them

as a break from

tradition.

For

instance,

the

major

trend of

the

past

few

decades

has been

a rise

in

importance

of

instruments.

Technique

and

virtuosity

have blossomed

and as a result

instrumental solo concerts are

nearly

as common

as

vocal concerts

in

Madras

today.

Improvisation,

particularly

fast

rhythmic

work,

has

gained

greater

importance, perhaps

because

the element

of text

is

absent

in

instrumental

performance.

However

instrumental

performers

see this as

a shift from direct

expression

of

religious

idea

to indirect

expression,

with

alina

(raga

improvisation

without

rhythm)

and melodic

sangatis

adequately

substituting

for

text.

Hindu culture

has

a

great

toleration for

paradox.

Traditionalists

may

claim

that true music

is

defunct, yet

it

will

continue to be

practiced

and

to

develop

along

its

natural

lines,

adjusting

to

economic

circumstances

as

they

come.

Traditional

ideals need not be overthrown

by

revolution

or

abandoned

entirely.

The

new is

incorporated

so

thoroughly

that

it

is

believed to be a return to the old and it becomes hopelessly difficult to

disentangle objectively

what musical

developments

come from

where

and

when. Least of

all

can

we

predict

how

musicologists

some

generations

hence

will

view the state of

Karnatic music

today

?

FOOTNOTES

1.

Another

biographical

collection of

fairly

prominent

composers

is P.

Sambamoorthy's

Great

Compo

sers,

book

I

(Madras:

Indian

Music

Publishing House, 1962). There are quite a few books and essays

-50-



11/11

in

English

available on

Thy-gar5ja's

life,

including

S. Y.

Krishnaswamy's

Thy-gar5ja,

Saint

and

Singer

(Bombay:

Orient

Longmans,

1968),

V.

Raghavan's

long

introductory

thesis to

C.

RimrTnujichtri

and

V.

Raghavan,

The

Spiritual

Heritage

of

ThyVgarjia

(Mylapore,

Madras:

Sri

Ramakrishna

Math, 1966),

and

P.

Sambamoorthy's

Great

Composers,

Book II: Thyagar'ia. (Madras: Indian Music Publishing House)

2.

C.

Jesudasan

and

Hepzibah

Jesudasan,

A

History

of

Tamil

Literature.

Calcutta:

Y.M.C.A.

Publishing House,

1961,

p.

136

3.

Froman

unpublished

study

on

castes of

Karnatic

musicians

by

Adrian

L'Armand,

University

of

Pennsylvania

4.

T.M.P.

Mahadevan,

Seminar

on

Saints,

Madras:

Ganesh and

Co.

1960, p.

85

5.

T.

Sankaran,

Carnatic

Composers

series

#16:

The

Last of

the

Tanjore

Quartette,

The Hindu

(Madras

edition)

April

5,

1970

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Composers and Tradition in Karnatic Music

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