Talk:Swarajati

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The following actually belongs in Performances of Carnatic music (though most of it is already covered there). The following can be merged into that article.

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Form

The exact form of a concert or recital changes with time, adapting to the perceived needs of the listener and the performer. Much of the form as described here is generally attributed to the tradition established by Sri Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar.

There are two essential portions in any Carnatic Music Recital: a composed portion and an extempore portion. The composed portion is fixed (more or less) while the extempore or improvisational portion is heavily dependent on the skills and imagination of the performer. This extempore portion is thus governed by the mind and is hence referred to as manodharma sangeetham.

Parts of a swarajati

Opening

Recitals often start with a Varnam. A Varnam is a composed piece of fairly short duration usually set to Aadi or Ata taalam. It is usually performed at the start of a recital as a warm up piece. The lyrics are simple and consist mostly of long syllables and swara phrases of various lengths which bring out the essential features of the raga.

There is usually a Pallavi and an Anupallavi, followed by a Mukthaayiswaram and repetitions of a Charanam with various Chittaswarams. The Pallavi establishes a characteristic theme of the raga, typically in the lower portion or purvangam of the raga, while the Anupallavi provides a parallel or contrasting theme in the upper portions (uttarangam). The Mukthaayiswaram and Chittaswarams both consist of chains of swaras rendered using the swara syllables themselves (Sa, Ri, etc.). The Charanam is often composed on a raga theme related to the Pallavi and the Anupallavi.

Krithis or Kirthanais (songs)

The recital then proceeds with the rendition of a number of Krithis or Kirthanais (songs) in various ragas and taalams. These songs, which are the main items of performance, are composed pieces of various lengths. Most compositions are of a devotional nature due to the historically close relationship between music and religion.

Generally, a few compositions of The Trinity are included. The Trinity refers to the three great composers of Carnatic Music: Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshithar and Shyama Shastry. The three were contemporaries who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in and around Tiruvarur (near the South Indian City of Tanjore). Thyagaraja is well known for his five compositions in the ragas Nata, Gowla, Arabhi, Varaali and Shree ragam, generally referred to as the Pancharatnams. Dikshithar's most famous compositions include the Kamalamba Navavarna Kritis and the Navagraha Kritis. Thyagaraja and Shyama Shastry composed mainly in Telugu whereas Dikshithar mostly used Sanskrit. Dikshitar and Shyama Shastry have often included the name of the raga also in their lyrics. The word Thyagaraja appears in Thyagaraja's compositions to identify the composer. Dikshithar used Guruguha as his identifier while Shyama Shastry used Shyama Krishna.

Krithis formally have a Pallavi, an Anupallavi and one or more Charanams.

A Kirthanai is similar to a Krithi but has no Anupallavi. Often, a number of Sangadhis are used for each line of the song. Sangadhi is the repetition of a single line or similar short portion of the song using various melodic tunes. Initially, the tune is simple and slowly, the structure of the raga is revealed using more complicated structures. This portion is generally composed but many performers include their own variations also. A Swarajathi is sometimes included along with the Krithis and Kirtanais in the main portion of the concert. A Swarajathi is like a Krithi but its Charanam section is rendered first using the swaras and then the lyrics. One of the most dedicated Carnatic musicians of our times, Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, often used to sing Shyama Shastry's Swarajathi composition in the raga Bhairavi beginning with the words (Kanji) Kamakshi. The Charanam sections of the Pancharatna Kritis of Thyagaraja are customarily sung in the Swarajathi fashion i.e., first using the swarams and then with the lyrics.

Some of the songs are preceded by an Aalaapanai, and may include Niraval and/or Kalpanaaswaram. An Aalapanai is an improvisation in the same raga as the song. It has no lyrics and only abstract (meaningless) syllables are used (e.g. Ta, Da, Ri, Na, Nau). There is no rhythm for this portion of the performance which is essentially an extempore attempt by the performer to convey the raga swaroopam as experienced by him/her. The Aalaapanai has a formal structure, similar to the Pallavi-Anupallavi scheme. It includes movements in all the three sthaayis as the raga allows. Sthaayi is the octave or register of the swaras. The normal or middle sthaayi is termed Madhya sthaayi, the upper octave is Thaara sthaayi, the lower octave is Mandhara sthaayi. Similar names exist for further octaves. An Aalaapanai generally starts in the Madhya sthaayi, proceeds upward into the Thaara sthaayi and then downward to the Mandhara sthaayi before returning to end in the Madhya sthaayi. This structure is modified for ragas which are better exposed otherwise. For example, Aalaapanais in the raga Ataana are often started in Thaara sthaayi. Depending on the raga and the imagination and skills of the performer, an Aalaapanai can take up from a few minutes to a half hour or more. In folklore, there are stories of great performers who have rendered Aalaapanai for a week, without any significant repetition of the raga phrases used.

Niraval is similar to sangathi but performed in an extempore manner. The performer selects a single line or a similar short portion of the song and renders it in various tunes, all within the limits of the ragam and the taalam. Kalpanaaswaram is to Chittaswaram what Niraval is to Sangathi. The performer renders improvised swara phrases (in the same raga as the associated song) while repeating a selected line from the song after each chain of phrases, all the time staying within the constraints of the taalam. The empty space in the taalam for songs which have an Anaagatha eduppu allows the performer to return to a fixed short phrase at the end of each chain of Kalpanaaswarams with great momemtum, adding to the graceful structure of the performance. Successful Kalpanaaswaram rendition requires thorough study of the elements of the ragam. Madurai Mani Iyer was well known for his eagerness to sing Kalpanaaswarams with every song.

Optional Ragam-Thaanam-Pallavi

Many recitals have a major item called Ragam-Thaanam-Pallavi.

The Ragam portion is an elaborate Aalaapanai, a study in the structure of the chosen ragam.

The Thaanam portion is like an Aalaapanai but it has rhythm. The rhythm is maintained not by an explicit taalam, but by confining the voicing to syllables of more or less fixed length. Typical syllables used in a Thaanam include Ta, Na and Nom. Thaanam is an essential part of playing the veena, due to the nature of the instrument.

The Pallavi portion is often set to rare taalams and generally consists of rendering a lyrical line at various speeds so as to fit the taalam. For example, the line can be rendered once for each cycle of the taalam, twice per cycle, once every two cycles etc. This can be accomplished by keeping the rhythm at a fixed speed and varying the pace of the melody or by varying the rhythmic pace while the lyrical line is rendered at a constant speed. Pallavi rendition is intimately connected with the performer's sense of rhythm. When mentioning Pallavi singing one can hardly forget Shatkaala Govindar, a contemporary of The Trinity, whose title of Shatkaala was given due to his exceptional ability to sing at six speeds. It is also common to make the Pallavi portion into a Ragamalika (garland of ragas), meaning, a number of lines, each in a different raga. The Pallavi portion also generally includes Kalpanaswarams.

Closing

Devotional items are quite common towards the end of the recital. These include Slokas, Bhajans and compositions by or in honor of the performer's Guru(s).

A Thillaana is performed at or very near the end of the concert. The Thillaana is a composed piece intended mainly for dance. Usually, there are no lyrics and only certain syllables denoting division of the taalam are used (Ta, Deem, Thom, Takadimi etc.).

The concluding piece of the recital is called Mangalam and is generally in the ragas Saurashtram, Madhyamavati or Surati.

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Other editors, experts to look into this. VasuVR (talk, contribs) 09:08, 13 December 2014 (UTC)