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Home > Music Handbook > History of Music |
It is not easy to point to one period of history or one ancient form of music as the source of contemporary Carnatic music. Several changes in theory and practice have surely taken place from Vedic times to the present day. Historical records allow us to trace the interesting pattern of evolutionary changes in music. |
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Literary Sources |
After the Sangita Ratnakara of Sarngadeva (1210-1247), the word “Carnatic” came to represent the South Indian Classical Music as a separate system of music. A clear demarcation between Hindustani music and Carnatic music as two different forms of Indian classical music is seen around the latter half of the 14th century. Classical Indian music flourished in the southern capital cities, particularly in Vijayanagara and Tanjavur. A number of musical treatises describing the concepts of Carnatic music were written. The present form of Carnatic music is based on historical developments that can be traced to the 15th - 16th AD and thereafter. |
MYTHOLOGICAL ASPECTS |
In
India, mythology has a very important place and its influence on the art
and culture of the country is phenomenal, Carnatic music being no
exception. Owing to its spiritual and devotional aspects, Carnatic music
is associated with Hinduism, the dominant religion of India. The origin
of this art has been attributed to the Gods and Goddesses. Moreover,
individual deities are associated with different kinds of musical
instruments. We cannot conceive of Krishna without the flute or
Saraswati without the Vina. The literary sources such as the epics and
mythological anthologies also mention the close association of music
with divinity. Apart from these sources, many saints and scholars believe that music is the greatest form of tapasya (penance) and the easiest way to reach godhead or to attain salvation. Most of the musical compositions are either philosophical in content or describe the various deities or incidents from Hindu mythology. There are others who believe that music itself is divine and that the perfect synchronisation of the performer with the musical sound, Nada, is the real divine bliss. This practice is called Nadopasana. Many musicians and music lovers visualise divine forms in the Ragas or the melodic entities of Carnatic music. |
HISTORY OF CARNATIC MUSIC |
The history of Carnatic music can be studied based on three major periods of development, namely, Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Let's now look into the finer details of each. |
THE
ANCIENT PERIOD (Vedic period - 4th Century AD) |
This
was the vital period in the history of Indian music. During this period
there is no mention of the term, Carnatic music, in any of the sources,
but there is sufficient reason to believe that this period was crucial
to the original development of Carnatic music. Some important references
are cited here:
Vedas:
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Bharata's
Natyasastra (The 2nd - 4th century AD)
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This
is the earliest treatise to extensively elaborate on the science of
music and dance. Music is dealt only partly in this treatise. Yet,
various aspects like the ancient melodies (Jaatis)
which are the archetypes of Ragas, their characteristic features,
structure and the classification of the ancient instruments have been
made in this work. The notes (swaras),
their varieties, combination (varnas)
and other such aspects are also elaborately described. Bharata
has given the fundamentals of music as comprising Swara, Tala and Pada.
The music till Bharata’s period was known as Marga
(literally meaning way). In
the ancient period, the native Dravidians of the south had their own
style, which is generally called Tamil music, owing to the native
regional language of the area. The Sangam literature till 3rd
AD, in particular, has many references to this style.
Works
like Silappadikaram of Ilango
Adigal, and its commentaries, describe the logical derivations of the
important scales through the modal shift of tonic. The Tamil names of
these notes have also been mentioned. Other works like Tolkappiam,
Pattupattu,
etc. also give musical references. Some of these descriptions and
references correspond to contemporary Carnatic music concepts. |
MEDIEVAL
PERIOD (5th - 16th Century AD) |
During
this period, many important musical concepts evolved in clear terms and
in this period, more care was taken to put into record, some of the
important musical developments by several music scholars, to enable us
to have proper historical links. Several musical composers and
luminaries have also lived during this period.
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Sangeeta Ratnakara |
An
important musical treatise was written by Sarngadeva (1210-1247). This
work contains five thousand couplets in Sanskrit written in nine
chapters, comprehensively covering Swaras, Ragas, Prabandhas (musical
form of this period), Tala-vadyas (percussion instruments), Gamakas (ornamentations) and other
such aspects. This work establishes the complete growth of Indian music
from the period of the Natya Sastra
(2nd century) to the 13th century. This work
stands out particularly as a link between the two new systems that
gradually split and evolved separately after his period, namely, the
Hindustani music and Carnatic music. The music between the period of Brihaddesi
and the Sangeeta Ratnakara was
known as the Desi system. Sarngadeva’s
work inspired many later scholars who wrote musicological treatises. The
Sangeeta Sara, attributed to
Vidyaranya (1320-1380) was the first to classify ragas as Melas (Parent)
and Janya ragas. After this work, there seems to have been a lull in the
theoretical development for almost two centuries. Ramamatya wrote his
treatise, Swaramela Kalanidhi,
in the 16th century. The clear exposition of Mela, Raga and
Vina technique must be accredited to him. His effort served as a firm
and fitting foundation to the growth of the modern music system and may
be considered as the milestone in the scientific development of our
music. |
Musical
Forms |
This
period gradually traces the evolution from Gandharvagana
forms like Dhruvagana of
Bharata’s period, through the different kinds of Prabandhas,
to the present day forms. Several important forms were composed during
this period - Tevaram, Divyaprabandham,
Tiruppavai
(is a part of Divyaprabandham), Ashtapadis,
Padams, Kritis,
Gitams, apart from the Abhyasa gana,
Alankara and Swaravalis
for beginners.
Tallapakkam
Annamacharya (1425 - 1503 AD), composed in a new form called Kriti,
having three sections, namely the Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam. This
pattern became widely accepted and was popularised by later composers,
in particular, the Trinity. This stands out as an outstanding
contribution of Annamacharya to the practical side of our music. He is
credited to have composed about thirty two thousand compositions of
which around twelve thousand have been traced and some of these have
been still
preserved in copper plates. The Kritis
were not as complicated as the earlier Prabandha
forms. Purandaradasa
(1484 - 1564 AD) is known as the Sangeeta Pitamaha (the
grandfather of Carnatic music). A prolific composer, he laid the
foundation for the systematic learning of the system and he is credited
to have formulated the swara exercises for practice, apart from
composing simple songs, Gitams,
and a number of compositions (Kritis) with high philosophical import. In short, during the medieval period, one can say that Carnatic music gradually attained its individuality built over a historically strong foundation. In particular, after the 13th century, no major treatise is seen from the North. Tanjavur and Vijayanagara emerged as the major seats of Carnatic music, with a number of classic monumental works being produced in both the theoretical and practical aspects of music |
MODERN PERIOD (17th century to present day) |
The
17th century can be considered as a golden age of Carnatic
music. It marks several important milestones of Carnatic music in
diversified angles, thus, enriching this traditional art form, while
preserving the past glories. Some of the most important developments in
both Lakshana (theoretical)
and Lakshya (practical)
aspects took place during this period. |
Theoretical aspects |
The
well structured 72 Melakarta scheme was formulated by Venkatamakhi in
his treatise Chaturdandi Prakasika
in 1660 AD. This scheme is the proud heritage of our music, and is not
simply of academic interest, but also has immense practical value to all
musicians, musicologists and students. Other important treatises on
music written during this period are the
Sangeeta
Saramrita of Tulaja (1729 -
1735 AD), Sangeeta Sudha of Govinda Dikshita and the Sangraha Choodamani
of Govinda (1750 A.D). By
the end of the 19th century, notational schemes were
developed, for written representation of musical compositions. These
were published in works like Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangeeta
Sampradaya Pradarsini in
Telugu and Manikka Mudaliar’s Tamil work, Sangeeta
Chandrikai. A M Chinnasami
Mudaliar published south Indian music compositions written in western
staff notation. These early pioneers in recent times have paved the way
for a research-oriented understanding of this practical art form. While
the theoretical works were trying to keep pace with the practical music,
the practical music itself was evolving continuously and a number of
luminaries have made a tremendous impact on refinement of this art form,
to keep it fresh and alive. |
Practical aspects |
In
the 18th century, within a short period from 1763 - 1775 AD,
were born the three great composers of Carnatic music, who were later to
be celebrated as the Musical Trinity (Trimurti)
- Syama Sastri (1762 - 1827) Tyagaraja (1767-1847) and
Muthuswami
Dikshitar (1776-1835). All of them combined their immense knowledge,
deep spirituality and profound traditional musicianship with an amazing
sense of creativity and innovative spirit. This has made their
contribution to Carnatic music invaluable. The art of musical
composition was elevated to great heights at their hands. It can
confidently be asserted that all later composers have tried to live up
to the standards set by these three bright stars. Other great composers
who have contributed to the vast repertoire of Carnatic music
compositions include Swati Tirunal (1813-1847),
Vina Kuppayyar,
Subbaraya Sastri, Gopalakrishna
Bharati, Ghanam Krishna Iyer,
Patnam
Subramanya Iyer, Koteeswara Iyer,
Muthaiah
Bhagavatar, Mysore
Vasudevachar and Papanasam Sivan. |
Musical concepts |
The
72 Melakarta scheme was responsible for the transformation in the Raga
system of Carnatic music. Several new Ragas came into existence and were
popularised by means of compositions tuned by the Trinity of composers
along with others who followed the 72 Melakarta scheme. Many different
kinds of musical compositions developed, having different structural
arrangements (musical forms). These include the Varnam, Kriti, Padam,
Javali, Tillana, Swarajati and other varieties. These forms have
continued to remain popular in the 20th century. Till
the end of the 19th century, the patronage of Carnatic music
and musicians was mostly limited to the major temples and royal courts,
as also a few rich landowners, who arranged concerts for various events.
In the 20th century, the patronage has taken a different
shape, with the advent of a number of organisations (Sabhas) and
corporate sponsors who have brought a more professional outlook to this
traditional art-form. As a result, Carnatic music is now heard in all
major Indian cities, as also in major centers in Asia, Europe and
America. |
Music Education |
The
learning and teaching processes have also adopted themselves to the
changes in the living style, over the years. The traditional Gurukula
system has given way to an institutional system of training in the 20th
century. Several good musicians have taken to teaching as their
profession. Modern educational tools have been pressed into service,
with the growth of recording technology. From analog tape recorders to
state of the art computers and internet connections are being put to use
in imparting musical education worldwide. The
written musical notation system has undergone several changes over the
years and has been used as a reference material for learning. Research
oriented study and documentation of musical forms have also increased
over the years. A number of books in different languages, by musicians
and musicologists, have also been useful to understand the different
concepts of this system of music. The involvement of mass media and
communications has been a vital factor in the increase in interest of
the unexposed, to this traditional art form. Through all this change,
Carnatic music has not only gained new vigour, but has also retained its
freshness within the traditional framework of this system. |
Milestones
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