The Trinity of Carnatic Music
South Indian classical music or Carnatic music as it is universally known today, is rooted in bhakti or spirituality in the Indian context. It is a melodic system of vocal and instrumental music, based on a vast repertoire of verses mostly in praise of or surrender to God in the many forms known to Hinduism. Though there have been many great composers since the system’s acknowledged beginnings in the 17th century, pride of place is accorded to the prolific works of the so-called Trinity of Carnatic music—an extraordinary threesome who lived around the same period in the rich agricultural delta of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, but whose paths apparently never crossed. Among these, Tyagaraja is considered the most accomplished and devout, his legendary devotion to Rama producing the major part of his songs that set the standard for compositions worthy of performance in the modern classical music concert. The other two, Muttuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri were no less gifted or dedicated to their art. Each had a distinctive style and each left a mark on Carnatic music, readily recognizable for his unique contribution to the enrichment of the cultural life of the region. Tyagaraja (1767-1847) is credited with perfecting the most important form of Carnatic music, the kriti. He wrote most of his lyrics in his mother tongue Telugu, brought to Tanjavur by sixteenth-century immigrants from Vijayanagar in present-day Andhra Pradesh, and regarded as the language of the educated classes in Tanjavur. Tyagaraja was the son of Rama Brahman who specialised in discourses on the Ramayana during the reign of
Tulajaji II (1763-87), his patron. Accepted as a pupil by Sonti Venkataramanayya, a reputed court musician, Tyagaraja soon acquired a reputation as a good singer. Turning down lucrative offers to become a court musician, Tyagaraja spent all his time composing verses in praise of the Lord and singing.
‘His inner turmoil in the face of these pressures and conflicts of conscience, perhaps aggravated by financial problems and domestic responsibilities, is reflected in many of his lyrics,’ according to a biographical account of his life. Tyagaraja immersed himself in fervent prayers, domestic worship, and participation in various festivities. His spontaneous and ecstatic compositions reveal depth of knowledge of the scriptures, epics, and legends. Tyagaraja’s work covers about 210 ragas (a raga is the basic building block of Carnatic music) many of which he introduced or invented himself. Nearly a thousand of his songs are included in today’s repertoire.
Tyagaraja preferred the principled and austere life implied by his personal name which refers to Siva, the divinity of Tiruvarur (the composer’s native place) who is perceived as being the ruler (raja) of austerities (tyaga).
Tyagaraja expounded and defended the path of musical worship (nadopasana) on the basis of ancient scriptures. Inspired by the custom of holy mendicancy, he and his disciples went around singing in return for food-alms (unchavrtti). Many festive occasions all over South India are accompanied by the re-enactment of this practice. Since 1925, annual musical festivals have been held at Tiruvayiaru where Tyagaraja lived to pay homage to his memory. These and similar aradhanas in other places in and outside India culminate in congregational singing of his compositions specifically meant for singing at temple processions, after singing an elaborate series of songs known as the Pancharatna kritis (‘five gems’).
Muttuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835) wrote around 400 verses, mainly of the kriti type. Though he composed in Telugu as well, he mainly used Sanskrit in his compositions. His father Ramaswami Dikshitar was a distinguished musician, composer and administrator of music at Tiruvarur, in Tanjavur district. His teacher, a mystic known as Chidambaranatha Yogi took him to Varanasi. There he remained for five years and was exposed to the dhrupad style of North Indian temple music. This influence is reflected in many of his slow compositions.
The compositions of Muttuswami Dikshitar are mostly in praise of various Hindu deities whose temples he visited all over the south. A deeply religious person, he was initiated early into a cult dedicated to the feminine aspect of the Divine. He was also trained as veena player and developed an original style of composition characterised by a slow, majestic pace and rich ornamentation tempered by a feeling of inner stillness. His compositions thus constitute an ideal synthesis of vocal and instrumental styles.
Muttuswami Dikshitar is perceived as a composer who revived some features of ancient music and passed them on to posterity. In this sense he was more conservative than Tyagaraja and retained the older nomenclature of Venkatamakhi to whose tradition he and his father Ramaswami Dikshitar belonged. In many of his compositions (kritis), the music is not repeated at all. The special variant of the kriti form is characterised by the absence of middle theme (anupallavi), otherwise an integral part of the modern kriti form.
In Madras, Muttuswami Dikshitar heard Western music played by the military and dance bands which inspired him to write Sanskrit lyrics, some addressed to Saraswati, the consort of Brahma and goddess of wisdom, for tunes such as God Save the King, the English anthem. These pieces are known as nottuswara sahitya or ‘quasi-European airs’. Out of the 40 compositions of this type which he wrote in his youth, 36 are preserved in notation.
Many of these were used as didactic pieces by music teachers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Muttuswami Dikshitar was the teacher of four brothers, known as the Tanjavur Quartette who spread his musical heritage all over South India. There are some ragas which he alone has employed. His brother Baluswami Dikshitar was the first Carnatic musician to specialise in violin play while Vadivelu of the Tanjavur Quartette, his disciple, is credited with gaining wide acceptance for the violin for use in classical South Indian music. Syama Sastri (1762 or 1763-1827) was a scholarly composer who led a secure and uneventful life as hereditary priest in the temple of Bangaru Kamakshi at Tanjavur.
Pacchimiriyam Adiappayya was his teacher. Syama Sastri is believed to have composed some 300 pieces (kriti, swarajati, tanavarnam), though only about 50 have been preserved. His lyrics are mainly written in Telugu but some are in Sanskrit and Tamil. Many of his songs are in praise of the feminine aspect of the Divine.
Syama Sastri created a new raga (Chintamani) for which he wrote the only known kriti. Otherwise he composed in well-known ragas of universal appeal, particularly those which unfold their charm at a leisurely tempo. He also established the swarajati, a rare form believed to have been derived from dance music in the concert repertoire through his compositions in three ragas.
Syama Sastri employed an intricate compositional device known as swaraksara by which a syllable that denotes a given musical note is made to coincide with a syllable of the lyrics. He wrote some manuscripts containing complex rhythmic patterns and used an inverted form of one of the rhythmic cycles in use in Carnatic music. His son, Subbaraya Sastri, was a disciple of Tyagaraja and became a reputed composer in his own right.
Main source: The Illustrated Companion to
South Indian Classical Music by Ludwig Pesch
(Oxford University Press).
Courtesy: S Rajam
Muttuswami Dikshitar, Tyagaraja , Syama Sastri