on YouTube:
youtu.be/TZxBTdjieNQ
The final episode of Carnatic Projekt series is Ramachandra of Thyagaraja Swami in Raga Surutti. I am very happy to feature two of my dearest friends in this concluding track of this series, Dr. Uma Ram on Vocals and Dr. S G Balakrishna on Mridangam.
Dr. Uma Ram is a regular collaborator and a very dear friend of mine. She runs the very popular Ragasurabhi channel and website
www.ragasurabhi.com. This song is a special one in that the release coincides with the 11th year anniversary celebrations of Ragasurabhi. If you are not already a subscriber, please do subscribe to her channel and check out the site. It is a treasure trove for indian music lovers who want to understand ragas, identifying ragas and swaras and much much more. The weekly quizzes are something that you would not want to miss out!
Credits:
Song: Ramachandra
Ragam: Surutti
Talam: Adi
Thyagaraja Swami
Vocals: Dr. Uma Ram ( @Raga Surabhi )
Mridangam: Dr. S G Balakrishna (
www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmgb8P3xtfb8zsQyuP7F4g)
Arrangement, Flute, Video: Vijay Kannan
compiled.social/VijayKannan
Special thanks: Ramasubramaniam Gurumurthy
I dedicate this series to my mother Sabari Kannan, who always wanted me to work on Carnatic music songs.
I would like to thank all of you who had supported these videos, the music with your kind words, of encouragement, appreciation and suggestions. I would like to thank Smrithi for the beautiful write-ups describing the composers and the tracks. The production for each of the tracks has been intensive but enjoyable and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
Sarvam Shri Krishnaarpanamastu. Radhe Krishna.
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Releases in Carnatic Projekt:
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Ep 1: Alaipayuthey Kanna -
youtu.be/z56_VOYA_MY
Ep 2: Mokshamu galadha -
youtu.be/yZ6H8gCpB_0
Ep 3: Mahaganapathim -
youtu.be/wKmp930_jQY
Ep 4: Shakti Sahitha -
youtu.be/kSXD-JMPnoc
Ep 5: Gaanamoorthe -
youtu.be/e4DDfOsv75M
Ep 6: Azhi Mazhaikanna -
youtu.be/8gqg1G4dPow
Ep 7: Govardhana Giridhara -
youtu.be/1jgsXp04vfU
Ep 8: Bantureethi -
youtu.be/119s931UlhI
Ep 9: Brovabarama -
youtu.be/o3rhVAzK7g8
Ep 10: Ramachandra -
youtu.be/TZxBTdjieNQ
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Saint Thyagaraja, one of the Trinity of carnatic music, was a musical genius with single minded devotion for Lord Rama. He was born in 1767 in Tiruvarur in Thanjavur district. His parents, aware of the divine predisposition of their child, named him Thyagabrahmam, after Lord Thyagaraja, the reigning God of Thanjavur, whose temple marks this place. Saint Thyagaraja's life is full of accounts of his musical scholarship (impromptu compositions and extempore singing, inimitable singing skill with a voice spanning 3 octaves) and deep devotion. Several compositions of his mark his encounters with Lord Rama.
Reference:
shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
The Saint, content in his devotion, lived a simple life free from materialistic desires, on alms given by the audience that listened to his music as he sang on streets every morning. At least two incidences are known where he eschewed the company and patronage of a king, in order to serve ONLY ONE, the one in his heart, the Supreme Spirit.
His compositions speak of his love and longing for his beloved Shri Rama, entreating Him to come to him, to end the misery of separation. These songs depict the soul's longing for the infinite spirit. Along with his musical genius, Saint Thyagaraja was a self realised soul, who knew that the misery of the mind could end only when it merges in the Divine. Some of his compositions address the mind, even chastise the mind, asking it to focus on Him who delivers the soul from its delusion of sorrows and bestows upon it infinite bliss.
He is said to have received the divine gift of musical knowledge from Devarishi Narada. Several krithis of his are known, that are in praise of this Divine Sage.
For Saint Thyagaraja, music wasn't mere technical elegance or emotional expression but the path to attain salvation by immersing oneself in its devotion. Such was his life, his music, his habit.
released August 28, 2020
Vocals - Uma Ram; Mridangam - S G Balakrishna; Everything else - Vijay Kannan
