25 Facts About Carnatic music

Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka.

The other subgenre being Hindustani Carnatic music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian or Islamic influences from Northern India.

The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gayaki style.

Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer, a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam), and a tambura, which acts as a drone throughout the performance.

Various Carnatic music festivals are held throughout India and abroad, including the Madras Music Season, which has been considered to be one of the world's largest cultural events.

Related searches

Carnatic music is based as it is today on musical concepts that were described in detail in several ancient works, particularly the Bharata's Natya Shastra and Silappadhikaram by Ilango Adigal.

Purandara Dasa, who is known as the "father of Carnatic music", formulated the system that is commonly used for the teaching of Carnatic music.

Main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style.

Today, Carnatic music is presented by musicians in concerts or recordings, either vocally or through instruments.

Carnatic music itself developed around musical works or compositions of phenomenal composers.

Raga in Carnatic music prescribes a set of rules for building a melody – very similar to the Western concept of mode.

In contrast to Hindustani music of the northern part of India, Carnatic music is taught and learned through compositions, which encode many intricate musical details, providing scope for free improvisation.

Varnams are practised as vocal exercises in multiple speeds by performers of Carnatic music, to help develop voice culture, and maintain proper pitch and control of rhythm.

Carnatic music songs are varied in structure and style, but generally consist of three units:.

Prominent composers prior to the Trinity of Carnatic music include Sripadaraja, Vyasatirtha, Kanakadasa, Vadiraja Tirtha, Arunachala Kavi, Annamacharya, Narayana Theertha, Vijaya Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Gopala Dasa, Bhadrachala Ramadas, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi.

Composers of Carnatic music were often inspired by religious devotion and were usually scholars proficient in one or more of the languages Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil, or Telugu.

Papanasam Sivan, who has been hailed as the Tamil Tyagaraja of Carnatic music, composed in Tamil and Sanskrit, and used the signature Ramadasan in his compositions.

Carnatic music is traditionally taught according to the system formulated by Purandara Dasa.

Carnatic music was traditionally taught in the gurukula system, where the student lived with and learnt the art from his guru.

However, Carnatic music continued to be transmitted orally for centuries without being written down.

Unlike classical Western music, Carnatic music is notated almost exclusively in tonic sol-fa notation using either a Roman or Indic script to represent the solfa names.

Indian Carnatic music makes use of hundreds of ragas, many more than the church modes in Western Carnatic music.

Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, who sit on an elevated stage.

Carnatic music songs are composed in a particular raga, which means that they do not deviate from the notes in the raga.

Various music festivals featuring Carnatic music performances are held in India, and throughout the world.

Related searches