Showing posts with label Nagaswaram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nagaswaram. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Kottur Rajarathinam Pillai - Karnatic Classical


Kottur Rajarathinam Pillai & Haridwaramangalam, A.K. Palanivel
- Karnatic Classical - Nadaswaram & Thavil
Sangheta - 33PIX 1051 - P.1980




Side A

A1 Terateeyagarada - Gowlipanthu - Adi - Thyagaraja
A2 Sarasakshaparipalaya - Panthuvarali - Adi - Swathi Thirunal
A3 Nee Bhakthi Bagyasudha - Jayamanohari - Rupakam - Thyagaraja

Side B

B1 Nadachi nadachi - Kharaharapriya - Adi - Thyagaraja
B2 Janakiramana - Sudhaseemanthini - Adi - Thyagaraja
B3 Nagumomu - Madhyamavathi - Adi


Kottur Rajarathinam Pillai, Nadaswaram
Veeraswamy Pilai, Nadaswaram
Haridwaramangalam, A.K. Palanivel, Thavil
Thanjavur Govindaraj, Thavil



Short notes on the artists from the back of the sleeve:

Sri Kottur N. Rajarathinam learnt the art of the Nadaswaram under his grandfather, Kottur S. Sowndera Raju. Later he developed the art under Tiruvidaimarudur P.S. Veerasamy Pillai. A very popular artist in Nadaswaram, Sri Rajarathinam has many titles to his credit.

Sri Haridwaramangalam A.K. Palanivel learnt thavil, a percussion instrument under his father Kumaravel Pillai. Later, he was a disciple of Tirucherai T.G. Muthukumaraswamy Pillai. He has many titles to his credit. He made a performance tour in USA and Canada for two months and has visited Srilanka on several occasions.








Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Madurai Brothers - Nadhaswaram




M.P.N. Sethuraman & M.P.N. Ponnuswamy (Madurai Bros.,)
- Nadhaswaram
AVM Music Service - AVM 1000351 - N.D.





Side A

A1 Mangayarkarasi - Bhoopalam - Adhi
A2 Manasuloni - Hindolam - Adhi
A3 Oh Rama Nee Nama - Poorvikalyani - Adhi


Side B

B1 Thani Avarthanam - Thavul - Adhi
B2 Ennakavi Padanalum - Neelamani - Adhi
B3 Ye vaky Seetha Jawali - Kapi - Eka thalami

Special Thavul:
Haridhwaramangalam Pazhanivel
Thiruvalaputhoor Kaliyamoorthy





Apart from "What fantastic music, and what a breathtaking Thani Avarthanam on the B-side", I can only add, "What a cover!"





Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Madurai Brothers - Nadhaswaram



M.P.N. Sethuraman & M.P.N. Ponnuswamy - Nadhaswaram
EMI Columbia - S-33 ESX 6086 - P.1974




Side A

A1 Parath Para — Jaganmohini
A2 Ninnu Vina — Navarasa Kannada

Side B

B1 Nathajana Pari — Simmendra Madhyamam
B2 Maadu Meikkum Kanna — Desh
B3 Ayi Giri Nandhini — Vedham


Thevur S. Rajarathnam, Thavil
Thevur S. Santhanam, Thavil


It has been brought to my attention that I have been posting far too little Nagaswaram music lately, so here on public demand is another, to my ears very good record again with The Madurai Brothers. I promise I will post some more as soon as the ones waiting in line does not complain about being pushed aside...




Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sheik Chinna Moulana - Still more Nagaswaram


Sheik Chinna Moulana - Nadhaswaram

EMI Columbia - S-33 ESX 6104 - P.1974



Side A

A1 Sri Maha Ganapathy - Gowlai 5'52
A2 Rama Bhakti - Suddha Bangaala 5'40
A3 Saraswathi Namosthuthe - Saraswati 11'09


Side B

B1 Padmanaba Paahi - Hindolam 12'43
B2 Pibare Rama Rasam - Yamuna Kalyani 3'56
B3 Thiruppugazh - (Mani Rangu) 3'42


Still more nagaswaram with Moula Sahib... The opening piece on the B-side, Padmanaba Paahi - Hindolamand the concluding Thiruppugazh are long time favourites. Hope you like them as well! I will continue posting nagaswaram later but now I think it is high time for some Carnatic Classical Male Vocal so watch out for following posts! A few of the real masters are clearing their throats and waiting to please your ears!




Music  +

Friday, March 4, 2011

Sheik Chinna Moulana - More Nagaswaram


Sheik Chinnamoulana - Nadhaswaram
EMI Columbia - S-33 ESX 6061 - P.1972




Side A

A1 Sri Ragukula - Hamsadhwani - Thyagaraja 6'03
A2 Thathwamariya Tharama - Reethi Gowla - Papanasam Sivan 11'09
A3 Mariyatha Gathayya - Bayravam - Thyagaraja 4'49


Side B

B1 Pallavi Ragamaligai - Hemavathi 15'48
B2 Kreetagi Vanamali - Sindubairavi 4'03
B3 Apagaraninthai Sakkaravalam 1'55



Favourite tracks on this Lp are Thathwamariya Tharama in Reethi Gowla, and the Kreetagi Vanamali in Sindubairavi. Hope you enjoy!





Music  +

Sheik Chinna Moulana - Nagaswaram


Sheik Chinna Moulana - Nagaswaram
EMI Columbia - S-33 ESX 6029 - P.1970




Side A

A1 Janaki Ramana - Suddhaseemanthini 5'33
A2 Valli Nayakane - Shanmugapriya 16'09

Side B

B1 Marugelara - Jayanthasri 7'51
B2 Karuninchutaku - Sindhumandari 2'33
B3 Itu Sahasamulu (Javali) - Saindhavi 3'44
B4 Thullumadhivetkai (Thirupughaz) - Hamsanandhi 6'37



I promised more Nagaswaram music and here comes another of the great masters. The profound artistry of Sheik Chinna Moulana. He was a childhood admirer of T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, and in later years emulated Pillai's approach to the nadhaswaram.


"For many in the audience, the Dalai Lama’s address was the night’s high-point. But there was a final treat awaiting us; for, at the break of dawn, the peerless nadaswaram player Sheikh Chinna Moulana made an appearance. Here was a man who embodied the Mahatma’s (and Ramu’s) ideals as well as any Indian then living. Born in a Muslim family in Andhra Pradesh, and a practicing Muslim himself, his faith was capacious enough to embrace a deep devotion to Lord Ranganatha. By the time we heard him that morning in Delhi, he had lived for 25 years at Srirangam, making his home just outside the great temple there. Thus was one of the holiest of Hindu holy spots enriched by the presence, and the music, of this Telugu-speaking Muslim."

from The Hindu here



Sheik Chinna Moulana (1924-1999)

Sheik Chinna Moulana - "chinna" (in this case meaning younger, as opposed to "pedda" elder) - might have remained a provincial musician had he not learnt to combine the Thanjavur style of music with that of his native school; in the event, he was accepted as a nagaswara vidwan of great merit in Tamil country. His hero was Nagaswara Chakravarti T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, whose birth centenary was celebrated two months ago. There was poignancy when Chinna Moula, delivering his presidential address at the Music Academy's annual festival last December, said that he would place the Sangeeta Kalanidhi title at the "feet" of the late Rajarathnam Pillai before accepting it; poignancy because the Academy had not deemed it fit to honour Rajarathnam with the title, apparently because he had thumbed his nose at the establishment.


Sheik Chinna Moulana was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, into a musical family whose ancestry goes back to Sheik Nabi Sahib of Sattalur. He received his initial training from his father, Kasim Sahib, and later from vidwan Adam Sahib of Chilakalooripeta. He received further training in the Tanjore style of playing under the Nachiarkoil brothers, Rajan and Dorai Kannu.

Sheik Chinna Moulana gave his first performance in 1960 in Tamil Nadu, India and quickly gained renown.

He was an artiste in great demand and performed extensively in India and abroad. He served as an honorary professor at the Tiruvayyar Music College in Tanjore district. He was known to be a devout follower of the Hindu deity Ranganatha, which lead him to reside in the pilgrim city of Srirangam where he established the Sarada Nagaswara Sangeeta Ashram, a school for aspiring nagaswaram players. Notable students of the ashram were his own grandsons Babu, Pedda Kasim and Chinna Kasim as well as Mahaboob Subani and Kalishabi Mahaboob.

The Music Academy in Madras chose to honour Chinna Moula for a combination of reasons. First, no nagaswara vidwan had been given the title for 37 years. Secondly, Chinna Moula was an outstanding exponent of the nagaswara, a maestro no less, with a large following. Thirdly, he hailed from Telugu country and it would be in keeping with the image of the Music Academy as an all-India organisation to go beyond the boundaries of Tamil land to honour an 'outsider', although Chinna Moula had lived in Srirangam, near Tiruchi, for many years and acquired the status of an honorary Tamil. Finally, as the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Independence, it was fitting to honour a man who symbolised not only linguistic but also religious harmony.



"Moula Saheb"

This cover below is the typical generic cover that many records were sold with when the originals were used up. This is the most "generic" of them all, with the same image on both sides. Some had the same artwork but would at least have the name of the artist and the titles of the music printed on them. The original cover would be great to see, so if someone visiting this blog has it please pass it on to me.


Music ▼ +

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.