Monday, February 28, 2011

M.S. Subbulakshmi - Surdas Bhajans - Hindi Devotional


M.S. Subbulakshmi - Surdas Bhajans - Hindi Devotional
EMI Parlophone PSLP 1391 - P.1986




Side A

A1 Prabhuji tum bin kaun sahai 5'59
A2 Nis din barsat nain hamare 3'41
A3 Raakho laaj hari tum meri 4'49
A4 Kunjani Kunjani Bajati Murli 4'25

total time 19'08

Side B

B1 Akhiyan Hari Darsan ki pyasi 5'06
B2 Madhuban tum kyon rahat hare 4'23
B3 Hey deen dayal gopal hari 4'36
B4 Suneri main ne nirbal ke balram 4'43

total time 18'45


Vocal Support by Radha Viswanathan
Tunes set by P.S. Srinivasa Rao







Sūrdās (1483—1563)


Sūrdās, (fl. 16th century, probably in Braj, India; traditionally b. 1483—d. 1563), North Indian devotional poet known for lyrics addressed especially to Krishna that are usually considered to be the finest expressions of Brajbhasa, one of Hindi’s two principal literary dialects. Owing to a biographical tradition preserved in the Vallabha sampradāya, Sūrdās (or Sūr, for short) is usually regarded as having taken his inspiration from the teachings of Vallabha, whom he is supposed to have met in 1510. Sūr is said to have become foremost among the poets the Sampradāya designates as its Aṣṭachāp (“eight seals”), following the convention that each poet affixes his oral signature (chāp, or “seal”) at the conclusion of each composition.

Yet a number of factors render this connection historically doubtful: the awkward logic of the story of the meeting of the poet and philosopher, and the absence from early Sūrdās poems of any mention of Vallabha and of any clear debt to major themes in his theology. More likely, Sūrdās was an independent poet, as is suggested by his continuing appeal to members of all sectarian communities and well beyond. He probably became blind in the course of later life (the Vallabhite story makes him blind from birth), and to this day blind singers in North India refer to themselves as Sūrdās.

Poems attributed to Sūrdās have been composed and collected gradually, swelling a corpus of about 400 poems that must have been in circulation in the 16th century to editions of some 5,000 in the 20th century. A 19th-century manuscript boasts twice that number. The size of this cumulative tradition, in which later poets evidently composed in Sūr’s name, justifies a title that had already been assigned to the corpus by 1640: Sūrsāgar (“Sūr’s Ocean”). The Sūrsāgar’s modern reputation focuses on descriptions of Krishna as a lovable child, usually drawn from the perspective of one of the cowherding women (gopīs) of Braj. In its 16th-century form, however, the Sūrsāgar gravitates much more to descriptions of Krishna and Rādhā as beautiful, youthful lovers; the pining (viraha) of Rādhā and the gopīs for Krishna when he is absent—and sometimes vice versa; and a set of poems in which the gopīs lambast Krishna’s messenger Ūdho (Sanskrit: Uddhava) for trying to satisfy them with his spiritual presence once he has finally left their midst. They will have nothing less than the real, physical thing. In addition, poems of Sūr’s own personal bhakti are prominent, whether as celebration or longing, and episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata also appear. Encyclopedia Britannica


The concept of devotion towards Godhead, though very ancient, had its birth in the South, says an old adage. But its expansion, depth and value acquired a significant place in literature in the beginning of the 16th Century through the compositions of a galaxy of scholars in the North. Among them, even today, Bhakta Surdas occupies the first place. Bhakta Surdas is rated as an outstanding composer of devotional songs in Hindi. For his compositions he chose many areas; among them the area of an unfathomable affection of a mother towards the child is most popular. He also added a new dimension to his compositions by introducing the yearnings of a devotee towards God and also the inexhaustible quantum of wordly wisdom. These songs are said to be available in scores of thousands and they are being treasured from generation to generation. There is a general belief that Bhakta Surdas was deprived of his physical vision. Yet he envisioned through his compositions, the entire scenario of Lord incarnate, Sri Krishna's life, particularly his childhood. These compositions are equally valued by scholars, poets, musicians and dancers covering the whole gamut of aesthetics. The name of Bhakta Surdas is treasured by every singer with reverence in this country. His poems have been acclaimed both as classical and popular and treated as the touchstone for excellence of singing for their style, music and richness of thought.


Srimathi M.S. Subbulakshmi (1916—2004)

Srimathi M.S. Subbulakshmi, by her reputation, crossed all barriers of language. She developed a language of her own through her songs making her singing intelligible to everybody among her audience composed of all sections, irrespective of speech. age and special strata. She has chosen to present a few Bhajans of Bhakta Surdas through gramophone records; the pieces chosen and the ragas selected are just superb. Like her wealth of music, Srimathi Subbulakshmi's munificence also is matchless It is very appropriate that she has renounced the royalties on this valuable record of Bhajans of the blind saint, Bhakta Surdas in favour of Sankara Nethralaya, a unique hospital in Madras dedicated to serve people suffering from eye ailments. By her reputation, which she has been maintaining for over four decades, she made an invaluable addition by these songs to enable her listeners to get into ecstasy and attuned to divinity and devotion. (From the sleeve notes by Dr. Moturi Satyanarayana)








An Anthology of South-East Asian Music - Musicaphon Bärenreiter - discography

Musicaphon • Bärenreiter - discographic entry

An Anthology of South-East Asian Music

BM 30 SL 2560 Panji in Lombok I 1972
BM 30 L 2561 The Senoi of Malacca 1963
BM 30 L 2562 Music of the Negrito of Malacca 1924/25, 1963
BM 30 L 2563 The Protomalayans of Malacca 1963
BM 30 SL 2564 Panji in Lombok II 1972
BM 30 SL 2565 Panji in Bali I 1972-73
BM 30 L 2566 Sri Lanka: Singhalese Music:
- Singing and Drumming 1972-77 *
BM 30 SL 2567 The Mandailing People of Sumatra 1971-79
BM 30 L 2568 The Angkolo People of Sumatra 1971-72
BM 30 SL 2569 Sri Lanka: Kolam - The Masked Play 1979, 1982

BM 30 SL 2570 Ritual Music from Bali I:
- The Annual Cycle in Tatulingga: The Usaba Sumbu 1972

BM 30 SL 2571 Ritual Music from Bali II:
- Music of the Annual Cycle in Tatulingga, 1972-73* (Cross-Section )

BM 30 SL 2572 The Lahunyi of Thailand 1985

BM 30 SL 2573 Ritual Music from Bali III:
- The Gong Gedé from Sulahan

BM 30 SL 2574 Ritual Music from Bali IV

BM 30 SL 2575 Contemporary Music from Bali.
- The Gamelan Gong Kebyar in Pinda and Sawan.

I don't think the one below ever made it on to LP, so maybe it is a CD only release.

Musicaphon

M 52576 The Kenyah of Kalimantan
- An Anthology of South-East Asian Music



This discographic post is a preparatory one to facilitate later finding of the following posts. Nothing to click on yet but ideally all catalogue numbers will later be clickable and bring you to the respective post. 

M.S. Subbulakshmi - Devotional Songs in 10 Languages


M.S. Subbulakshmi - Bhavan's LP - Devotional Songs in 10 Languages
EMI India - ECSD 3259 - P.1975



Side A

A01 Bhajare Yadu Natham - Sanskrit 4'03
A02 Hari maitho - Hindi 5'37
A03 Narayananu Nama Narayananu Nama - Gujarati 3'09
A04 Pathithoddharini Gange - Bengali 4'29
A05 Kendu Kandu - Malayalam 5'24


Side B

B01 Ishrate Katra - Urdu 7'10
B02 Hari Bola hari Bola - Marathi 3'10
B03 Yadu Vamsa Yadu Vamsa - Kannada 5'09
B04 Vasudeva Vasudeva - Telugu 3'22
B05 Nenjukku Neethi Nenjukku Neethi - Tamil 2'58


Radha Viswanathan, vocal support

V.V. Subramaniam, violin
Karaikudi R. Mani, mridangam



I cannot resists continuing to post M.S. Subbulaksmi's Devotional repertoire and this one is one of the first records I bought by M.S. Subbulakshmi. And like the good Arvind said before when discussing some of the songs presented here:

"It's very rare to come across a bhajan in Urdu, the language which evolved in the courts of the erstwhile princely state of Awadh, what is now Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. It's the language in which Ghazals are written, and often Qawwalis too, but listening to an Urdu bhajan is a real treat!

On this record there is also a very young Karaikudi R. Mani playing the mridangam, but after this and maybe, maybe just one more and then there will be Carnatic classical concerts and soon I will go back to mixing music from all over, there will be some more South East Asia, Oceania and some more following Deben Bhattachariya around. OK...




Sunday, February 27, 2011

M.S. Subbulakshmi - Sri Kamakshi Suprabhatam


M.S. Subbulakshmi - Sri Kamakshi Suprabhatam
- and other songs in praise of Sri Kamakshi
EMI India - ECSD 3254 - P. 1974




Side A


A1 Sri Kamakshi Suprabhatam 12'29
A2 Kanja Dalayatakshi - Kamala Manohari 7'57


Side B


B1 Sri Kamakoti - Saveri 9'35
B2 Kanakasila - Punnagavarali 4'32
B3 Vinayakuni - Madhyamavati 7'10

Vocal support by Radha Viswanathan

(N.B. As there is no interruption between the songs the LP-sides has been kept uncut as they are on the record the times are given but above for the individul song but there is no trackdivision!)












Saturday, February 26, 2011

M.S. Subbulakshmi - Bhaja Govindam - Vishnu Sahasranamam



M.S. Subbulakshmi - Bhaja Govindam - Vishnu Sahasranamam
EMI Odeon - SMOAE 5011 - P.1970



Side A

A1 Talk on Bhaja Govindan by Sri Rajagopalachari 'Rajaji' 2'05
A2 Bhaja Govindam - 11'04 - (lyrics in sanskrit, with interpretation into hindi and english)
A3 Vishnu Sahasranamam - Dhyanam - 6'54

Side B

B1 Vishnu Sahasranamam - Stotram 22'43





Sri Rajagopalachari 'Rajaji' (1878 — 1972)

Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (Tamil: சக்ரவர்த்தி ராஜகோபாலாச்சாரி) (December 10, 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a devout Hindu . He was the second Governor-General of independent India. Later he became the Chief Minister of Madras State, and was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

CR made several literary contributions. His works in his native Tamil are recognized as modern classics (published and re-printed several times). After his break with politics, he started on the massive task of translating the Hindu Scriptures Ramayana , Mahabharata from Sanskrit to Tamil; and later into English.

He received rave reviews from scholars and religious seers alike. He translated Upanishads and Bhaja Govindam into English. His book Hinduism - Doctrine and Way of Life is a concise essence of the doctrine and way of life propagated by Hinduism.

His novels and short stories, themselves would have won him public adulation. He also translated 'The Tirukkural' from Tamil to English. 'Tirukkural' is an ancient piece of the Tamil literature and is often referred to as 'the flower of Tamilnad'. His ability as a writer, is in a sense, unparalleled, not just in India alone.

Some of his poetry was set to music and sung by Carnatic music's dominant personality M.S. Subbulakshmi at several occasions of importance, and once at the United Nations, Kurai Onrum Illai - (meaning - No regrets have I My lord, None) is a very famous song in the semi-Carnatic music genre written by Rajaji and the most popular version, (widely acknowledged as soul-stirring) has been rendered by M.S. Subbulakshmi. Rajaji also composed a hymn which was sung in 1966 at the United Nations, again by M.S. Subbulakshmi.

I will post the UN concert in the following days...




Friday, February 25, 2011

M.S. Subbulakshmi - Kashi-Rameswaram Suprabhatam


M.S. Subbulakshmi - Kashi-Rameswaram Suprabhatam
EMI India - ECSD 3282 - P. 1977



Side A

A1 Kashi-Rameswaram Suprabhatam - Varanasi Sanskrit Scholars
A2 Siva-Panchakshara Stotra - Sri Adi Sankaracharya
A3 Annapurnashtaka - Sri Adi Sankaracharya


Side B

B1 Rameswaram Ramanatha Suprabhatam - 'Kavikokila' Dr. V. Raghavan
B2 Ramantham Bhaje'ham - Muthuswamy Dikshitar


Radha Viswanathan, vocal support






Lord Viswanatah of Kashi-Ganga and Lord Ramanatha of Rameswaram-Setu have been integrateing the whole of Bharat from time immemorial, through the constant flow of pilgrims. Everyday Sri Ramanatha at the southern end of the land is bathed in an unending stream of Ganga waters brought by the devout from the North while their counterpart are making a similar offering of sands from the southern seas to the Ganga in the North.

Here Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi who has integrated the hearts of humanity through the magic of her divine music, "awakens" Lord Viswanatha and Lord Ramanatha through two soulful Suprabhatams praying to the Almighty to open His eyes for the welfare and happiness of the world.


M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916 — 2004)


Recording for HMV

The little girl in pavadai chattai, oiled curls pressed into a tight braid, was too timid for noisy games with other children. But she devised a secret game for herself. Rolling waste paper into a cone, she sang into it for hours – pretending to record a ‘plate' for ‘His Master's Voice', then the biggest gramophone company in India.

Little did the child know that one day she would render the company's bestseller in ‘Venkatesa Suprabhatam,' still enjoying the longest shelf life among Indian audio recording. from Recording a Legend by Gowri Ramanyan,

Continue reading the article published
in The Hindu here






Thursday, February 24, 2011

Srimati M.S. Subbulakshmi - Sanskrit Morning Recital


M.S. Subbulakshmi - Sri Venkatesan
EMI India - ECSD 2293 - P.1963



Side A

A1 Sri Venkatesan Suprabatham - Sanskrit recitation - Devotional 20'39

Side B

B1 Bhavayami - Ragamalika - rupaka - Swati Tirunal 13'35
B2 Sri Rangapura Vihara - Brindavana Saranga - rupaka - Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar 6'16


R.S. Gopalakrishnan, violin
T.K. Murthy, mridangam



At last I have come to one of my absolute favourite singers, M.S. Subbulakshmi! I will write some more about her when I start posting her concerts. But you will find loads of information about her on the web. Here is one about the recording of Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam among many other things. Published in The Hindu where you can read some more about her relation to HMV and recording technicians.

The little girl in pavadai chattai, oiled curls pressed into a tight braid, was too timid for noisy games with other children. But she devised a secret game for herself. Rolling waste paper into a cone, she sang into it for hours – pretending to record a ‘plate' for ‘His Master's Voice', then the biggest gramophone company in India.

Little did the child know that one day she would render the company's bestseller in ‘Venkatesa Suprabhatam,' still enjoying the longest shelf life among Indian audio recording. from Recording a Legend by Gowri Ramanyan - read on

What about a little biography? Need someplace to start? Well, for instance wikipedia...


M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916 — 2004)


Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (Tamil: மதுரை சண்முகவடிவு சுப்புலட்சுமி, Mathurai Caṇmukavaṭivu Cuppulaṭcumi ? 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004), also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, Asia's highest civilian award, in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the Karnataka tradition of South India." and continue here...


I first heard her more than forty years ago and the first records was bhajans and the Concert she held in USA at UN. Over the years I have continued to listen to her very regularly and her voice is like a certain antidote to all evil and misfortune. I will post more of her Classical Concerts later but lets first start with something very typical for a morning in the homes in Madras. I am sure that as I am posting this it has already played in many many homes all over Tamil Nadu this morning, and if you start listening late you may as well begin with the B-side!


Suprabhatam, literally an auspicious dawn, is a name given to Sanskrit hymns recited in the morning to awaken the Lord.

The most famous is the Venkatesa Suprabhatam recited at Tirupati to awaken Lord Balaji. The rendition by M.S. Subbulakshmi can be heard in many Tamil houses each morning.

The Venkateswara SuprabhAtam (Morning Prayer/Song of Awakening) is attributed to have been composed at the Tirupati temple by one of Sri Ramanujacharya's disciples.

It was written around A.D. 1500 by Sri Prativadi Bhayankara Annangaracharya of Kanchipuram, who also composed Sri Ranganatha Suprabhatam. Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam consists of four parts: Suprabhatam, Sri Venkatesa Stothram, Prapatti, and Mangalasasanam.






Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Karukurichi Arunachalam - Chakkaniraja as Welcome Music!





Karukurichi Arunachalam - Chakkaniraja
His Masters Voice - HMV 7 EP 61 - P.1958


Side A

Chakkaniraja pt. 1

Side B

Chakkaniraja pt. 2


Chakkaniraja - Karaharapriya
Thyagaraja Kriti

When there are nice royal paths,
why enter bylanes? O Mind!




I hope everything went well and that my friends have safely landed in Madras. Here is a Nagaswaram piece that should be fitting as a fanfare of welcome and as the Nagaswaram is an auspicious instrument often announcing that the festivities have started, I will let this be the first in a long row of good recordings of Nagaswaram music.

Lets start with one of the two real pillars of Nagaswaram music. The first and by most rasikas agreed to be the greatest of all the recorded players to date would be the larger than life T.J. Rajaratnam Pillai (1902-1956). I will post some of his music later because I tend to even more like the slightly mellow and sometimes pensive romantic tone of his around twenty years younger disciple Karukurichi P. Arunachalam, also he considered part of the very foundation of the tradition!


Karukurichi P. Arunachalam (1921-1964)
in the late fifties.


I was very lucky on one of my visits to His Excellency to bring back home a real rarity from the fifties, as the good friend he is, he kindly lent me this EP pressed in Great Britain in 1958. I hope you will like it and that it can serve as music for many happy landings!



Setup of a typical orchestra, two Nagaswaram players in the middle
and two Thavil players, one on each side.

Nagaswaram & Thavil

Nagaswaram

The nadaswaram (also spelt nadhaswaram, and also called nagaswaram) (Tamil:நாதஸ்வரம் ) is one of the most popular classical instruments of Tamil Nadu and the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument. It is a wind instrument similar to the North Indian shehnai but larger, with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal.



The nadaswaram contains three parts namely, kuzhal, thimiru, and anasu. Traditionally the body of the nadaswaram is made out of a tree called aacha.

It is a double reed instrument with a conical bore which gradually enlarges toward the lower end. It is usually made of a type of ebony. The top portion has a metal staple (called "Mel Anaichu") into which is inserted a small metallic cylinder (called "Kendai") which carries the mouthpiece made of reed.

Besides spare reeds, a small ivory or horn needle is attached to the Nadaswaram. This needle is used to clear the mouthpiece of saliva particles and allows the free passage of air. A metallic bell (called "Keezh anaichu") decorates the bottom.

The Nadaswaram has seven finger-holes. There are five additional holes drilled at the bottom which are used as controllers. The Nadaswaram has a range of two and a half octaves like the flute. The system of fingering is similar to that of the flute. But unlike the flute, where semi and quarter tones are produced by the partial opening and closing of the finger holes, in the Nadaswaram they are produced by adjusting the pressure and strength of the air-flow into the pipe. Hence it is a very exacting instrument. Also, due to its intense volume and strength it is basically an outdoor instrument and much more suited for open spaces than for closed indoor concert situations.

In Tamil Culture the nadaswaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is the key instrument which is played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples in Tamil Nadu. It is part of the family of instruments known as a Mangala Vadya (lit. mangala means auspicious, vadya means instrument). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil.



Thavil

The thavil is a barrel shaped percussion instrument from South India. It is used in folk music and Carnatic music, often accompanying the nadaswaram. The thavil and the nadaswaram are essential ingredients of traditional festivals and ceremonies in South India. The thavil consists of a cylindrical shell hollowed out of a solid block of wood. Layers of animal skin are stretched across the two sides of the shell using hemp hoops attached to the shell. The right face of the instrument has a larger diameter than the left side. The instrument is hung by a leather strap from the shoulder of the player. The right head is played with the right hand, wrist and fingers. The player usually wears thumb caps on all the fingers of the right hand. The left head is played with a stick made from the wood of the portia tree.




Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sulamangalam Sisters - Murugan Devotional Songs



Sulamangalam Sisters - Murugan Devotional Songs
EMI India S/33ESX 6031 - P.1970



Side A

A1 Sri Mahaganapathe
A2 Swararagasutha


Side B

B1 Panchashadpeedaroopini
B2 En Indha Mounam
B3 Arbuthamana pazhaniappa
B4 Kandan mel kaadal
B5 Nalamyavum tharuvai muruga
B6 Mamaduraiyil





I have little to add about the music of this record, except that it is one of the best Sulamangalam Sisters I have heard. A beautiful mix of Carnatic Classical and Carnatic Devotional "Filmi" songs. I wholeheartedly recommend it. And it makes me "triply" happy as it has a little story. It belongs to a very special batch of recordings. I wrote the following in one of my comments to one of the previous postings on Carnatic Devotional Music:

"As I have friends traveling to India that will for the first time see and stay in places I love and that they have been loving from a distance. They travel to meet with another wonderful friend and all this is because of music! I have over the last month on and off been thinking about how best to make this travel and congregation an auspicious one and as I wanted to be there myself but only can travel later in the year I was thinking of some way that I also could be part of their adventure and therefore we are all going to have this Carnatic spring!

Over the following days we shall see not only posts of my own records but also some contributions by my friends! There will be several more devotional albums and soon to follow, there is at least one more Sulamangalam Sisters!

(This post contains that very album!)

The record was spotted and secured by the good Arvind and sent over the great water and ripped and digitally fondled by good Costis with very little help from the lazy dog zwan but whose overseeing I am sure was crucial to the whole undertaking! This eventually led to these digital likenesses finding their way through the myriads of protocols on the internet to finally land with us here!

I am confident you will enjoy many of them!

It will be my great pleasure to be with you on your journey and to bring other travellers in music along with us!"

That is what I wrote, and what the Carnatic Spring postings mean, is that for the duration of my friends journey that starts today (on what numerological seems to be very special date 2011.02.22 and as I hope an auspicious one!) I will play mostly Carnatic music at home and burn incense for their safe passage and for the first week there will only be posts with Carnatic music here at Luobaniya!!

Thank you so much Costis for the rip and the photos made just before leaving and thank you Arvind for finding the records taking good care of them and passing them on to a good future!

I propose that we keep doing this "digital trinity offerings" later and on a more regular basis!


But to make it clear to everyone else, that are not specifically into Carnatic Devotional or Classical Music, you may rest assured I am not going to stop posting music from other traditions! There will be music interspersed in the course of posting from most all over the world. I may even go to Europe when it gets a bit warmer here. I still have not finished posting Deben Bhattacharya's field recordings but they will come, as will the Bärenreiters, Esperance, BAM, and all the others! I have not forgotten! I just have too many things I want to share with you at the same time. Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, African, South East Asia, they will all come back but now it is this glowing warming of the Carnatic Spring that will shine over all of you!




Monday, February 21, 2011

Sirgazhi S. Govindarajan - Sri Rama Charitha Geetham



Isaimani Sirgazhi S. Govindarajan
Papanasam Sivan's - Sri Rama Charitha Geetham
EMI HMV India - ECSD 3215 - P. 1973



Side A


A1 Sri Rama Charitha Geetham pt. 1 - 21.10


Side B


B1 Sri Rama Charitha Geetham pt. 2 - 20.15





Sirgazhi S. Govindarajan (Tamil: சீர்காழி கோவிந்தராஜன்;
January 19, 1933 - March 24, 1988)


The singer Sirgazhi S. Govindarajan, was a leading vocalist in Carnatic Music. Govindarajan, born in Sirkali in Madras Presidency) and started performing at the age of eight in Tirupurasundari Temple. He graduated from the Tamil Isai College in Chennai in 1949 and learnt music from Thiruppampuram Swaminatha Pillai. He was conferred the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

Govindarajan had also done playback singing in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Madras University conferred a doctorate (Honoris Causa) on him in 1983. He died in 1988, aged 55.

Sri Papanasam Sivam

The composition is by Sri Papanasam Sivam who is responsible for hundreds and hundreds of popular compositions in all forms of carnatic music like Varnams, Kritis, Thillanas and like here, a Ragamalika set to Adi Tala, consisting of 24 ragas beginning with a Pallavi and anu-pallavi in Nata raga and 23 charnams unfolding the story of Ramayana. Valmiki's epic in
24.000 slokas epitomized in 24 stanzas of elegant Tamil.


Sri S.V. Venkatraman

The music director for this Ragamalika, Sri S.V. Venkatraman, is the same person who also supplied the music for the movie "Meera" where the great singer Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi acted the heroine. Her music will also soon be well represented here as she is one of my favourite singers and that is something I happily share with a larger part of the South Indian population and that I know they are also happy to share with us.





Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sulamangalam Sisters - Murugan Devotional Songs


Sulamangalam Sisters - Murugan Devotional Songs
EMI India 33ESX 6038 - P.1977


Side A

A1 Thiruneeril
A2 Muruganukku Orunaal
A3 Karunai Mugangal
A4 Vel Vandhu
A5 Oru Mugamai
A6 Kavadigal

Side B

B1 Muthuvel
B2 Adugindranadi
B3 Muruga un sirippu
B4 Deiva Thamizh
B5 Muthedukkum
B6 Eraivanukke



Smt. Jayalakshmi & Smt. Rajalakshmi hail from the musically famous Sulamangalam village in Tanjore District. Both the sisters had their training in Carnatic music under the guidance of Sri Pathamadai Krishna Iyer. The knowledge of the Carnatic Music and the mellifluos voice enabled them to receive their recognition among the public in a short span of time.
The devotional songs to Lord Muruga have also been sung in films and have become very popular with the audience. The selection on this LP truly transmits the feeling of Divine ecstacy and come from songs that were previously released on 78 rpm records.

Hope you like it, and if you do, don't forget to check the extra link below!
Also do remember to come back in a few days as there will be at least one more album by the sisters and much more Carnatic music. Both classical and devotional especially as they often are one and the same ;-)







Twofer bonus!

Another good thing about blogging is the sudden stirs in the collective soul, that atman synchronicity if you like, giving you the feeling that somehow we are connected. A friend in music who keeps a most wonderous blog has just posted another LP by the sisters. I suggest you go check that out as well! Do you remeber "twofers", two LP's on one? Well you can consider this posts one of those "twofers" if you step over to Ghostcapital and check out this one: