Winds of change in music

A.As Chennai prepares to usher itself into another season of music, the decision of the Academy of Music, one of the city’s leading institutions, to invite music director AR Rahman to the inauguration of its 99th annual music conference and concerts reflects a significant shift from its previous outlook on music. Blending Carnatic ragas with folk and western classical music, ‘Isaignani’ Ilaiyaraaja inaugurated the Academy’s music festival in 2017.

Changes have caught up with sabhas in many ways. Even the language of the performance is no longer a problem. Singers who once chose Telugu or Sanskrit compositions of the Carnatic Trinity and keerthanas in other languages ​​to display video In Music Academy, you now prefer Tamil songs as the main item, even Tamil songs often as the main item. ragam-tanam-pallavi.

Several factors caused this change. The old-timers, who trace their roots to the compound district of Thanjavur along the Cauvery or the courts of Ramanathapuram, Ettayapuram and villages in Tirunelveli (once living links between the past and the future) have almost vanished from the scene. The music scene is now dominated by a new generation raised in Chennai and they have a cosmopolitan outlook. Although the majority are still Brahmin and follow the traditional kutcheri format on stage, their professional lives extend far beyond these boundaries. His work is notable for collaborations with artists from other genres, experiments with new forms, and performances for new and different audiences. In the age of the internet, they no longer view Carnatic music as merely a sacred, bhakti-oriented art form. tradition and to the sampradaAs a result, it cannot be interpreted using the old methods. Carnatic music is a full-time profession today. When artists collaborate across genres, they do so not just for popularity, but with commitment and understanding.

New experiments include Band Cooum, comprising singer Susha, violinist Shreya Devnath and percussionist Praveen Sparsh (each with a strong Carnatic background), and parai artists Deepan and ‘Rocket’ Raji (Rajendran) from the band Friends Kalai Kuzhu.

Members of A Carnatic Quartet, including violinist Shreya Devnath, mridangam player Praveen Sparsh, nagaswaram player Mylai Karthikeyan and thavil player Jeevanantham, talked about how collaboration and exchange of ideas enriched their playing and deepened their understanding of music. Organized by the DMK government headed by M. Karunanidhi (2006-11) and run by MP Kanimozhi, the Chennai Sangamam also facilitated encounters between Carnatic and folk artists and brought Carnatic concerts to public parks.

Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan, in his memoirs On That NoteHe recalls how he once decided to become a purely classical singer while others, including P. Unnikrishnan, Bombay Jayashri and Nithyasree, were breaking barriers between Carnatic music and cinema. However, eventually he also sang for movies. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid proliferation of digital platforms, audiences no longer feel obliged to attend live concerts; They can listen from home. This has pushed artists to adapt their concerts and collaborations to suit an invisible, dispersed audience. Sid Sriram, like KJ Yesudas before him, balances his career as a playback singer and Carnatic vocalist. Almost all the singers of the popular music show Quarantine From Reality produced by Subashree Thanikachalam were Carnatic vocalists.

Puritans who disdain other musical genres often forget that Papanasam Sivan, often referred to as Tamil Tyagaraja, had a long and successful career in cinema as a composer. GN Balasubraniam, the trendsetter of Carnatic music, has acted and sung in films. MS Subbulakshmi and NC Vasanthakokilam also had notable film careers.

In your book, A Southern Music: The Karnatic StoryTM Krishna states that the first major change that Rahman brought to cinema was the quality of sound, be it local or instrumental. Its arrival coincided with leaps in technology that changed the way film music was produced and experienced. “Elements of Carnatic music have emerged throughout the history of South Indian film music…” he writes. “Rahman and his successors occasionally used Carnatic ragas as superficial sources of melody.”