With a performance that succeeds in capturing what made the virtuoso Lalgudi Jayaraman great, a duet of violinists, two percussionists and a tambura artist truly bring him back to life. While the piece, Thillana in Sindhu Bhairavi, is a wonder by itself, this rendition makes it more profound and marvellous. I will define key terms required to understand this piece of music (which is a form of Carnatic music) and then perform an in-depth style analysis using these concepts.
This piece is a thillana; a type of rhythmic composition in the South Indian Carnatic music tradition. It has its roots in Indian dance forms and is used extensively in dance performances because of its upbeat tempo and wide scope for improvisation. They are widely used to conclude a performance and usually culminate a long concert. This is a part of the Carnatic music genre, which is the dominant musical tradition of the Southern part of India. Carnatic music has been recognized at least as early as the 15th century (Bakan 122) and is based on four fundamental concepts; sruthi, swaram, ragam and taalam (Krishnan 3). Sruthi is “the smallest interval of pitch that the human ear can detect and a singer or musical instrument can produce” (Koskoff 936), swaram is the sound of a single note (there are seven such notes), ragam is “a precise melody form” (Bakan 118) similar to a musical mode in Western classical music (although it is a lot more complex) (Lochtefeld 545) and taalam is the system of keeping musical time. Carnatic music was an oral tradition for a large part of its history and the compositions were passed on from generation to generation orally. Today, notation exists, however it is based mainly on the swarams, with emphasis being placed on the way a note is supposed to be sung or performed (Krishnan 5). This piece is set in the Sindhu Bhairavi ragam and is composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman, a violinist who is considered as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. Bombay Jayashri, an Academy Award nominated vocalist, a disciple of Jayaraman and one of the leading Carnatic musicians today has a vocal rendition of this piece which is extremely popular.
Lalgudi Jayaraman was a very prominent composer, singer and violinist known for his wide array of compositions. He was also one of the key musicians in making the violin a central part of Carnatic music (Devnath 21) and is considered one of the most prominent Carnatic composers of the 20th century. He was born on 17th September 1930 in Madras (now Chennai) and learned Carnatic music from his father, V.R. Gopala Iyer. His father learned this art form in a very unusual way. It is said that a nomad visited his home when he was young and sang a Carnatic song, something which completely amazed Iyer. Eager to learn more, he went along with the nomad and returned only after two months, now knowing everything about the genre (Devnath 47). He taught his son (Jayaraman) from a very young age and was a strict teacher who was dedicated towards training his son in the best way possible. Jayaraman grew up to be a gifted musician, performing as early as 12. For his contributions to Indian music, he was awarded the third and fourth highest civilian honours in India; the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, respectively. He composed many thillanas in many ragams and was a true icon. He passed away on 22nd May 2013 at the age of 82, after performing for over 70 years. The performers of this piece are his own children; Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. They trained under him and their grandfather and went on to become successful musicians themselves.
Lalgudi GJR Krishnan followed in his father’s footsteps and became a vocalist, composer and violinist himself. He has been active since 1973, after quitting a career in accounting to focus on music full-time. His talent was recognized from a young age and he has won several awards throughout his career; one of the most significant being declared “Best Violinist” by the Music Academy of Chennai. His sister, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi also followed a similar path and she began performing in 1979. The two of them practically grew up hearing the many thillanas and kritis (another type of composition) composed by their father and embody his spirit in their performances. They frequently perform duets together (as they are in this performance as well) and have performed all over the world, from Singapore to New York.
This selection, like the majority of Carnatic music, serves a religious and spiritual purpose. Carnatic music has its origins in ancient Hindu texts and many compositions are dedicated towards praise of the many Gods there are in the Hindu religion. However, a thillana is different since it has just one textual passage since the thillana is a rhythmic exploration; with greater emphasis placed on the melody. The lyrical portion (charanam) of the Sindhu Bhairavi thillana describes the form of the Hindu God of war, Murugan and is performed in praise of his power and awe-inspiring beauty. The lyrics are in the South Indian Tamil language and depict the physical characteristics of the Lord and the benefits an individual can receive by worshipping Lord Murugan. The melody and rhythm mainly contribute to this message and capture this religious function despite the absence of vocals.
The main melody is set in the Sindhu Bhairavi ragam and is carried by the duet of violins. A ragam is similar to a melodic mode in Western music, but “has no direct translation to concepts in the classical European music tradition” (Kauffman 11). In Carnatic music, the melody is expressed through the ragam. It can be thought of “as a template for musical action that has been developed through many years of devoted study and practice” (Bakan 122). Sindhu Bhairavi is a highly complicated ragam as the ascending tones (arohanam) and descending tones (avarohanam) are different from one another. The ascending and descending versions each have their own unique pitch sequences, microtones, and ornaments on certain notes. “It is presented as a form of penance, a musical statement asking forgiveness for any mistakes or moments of impropriety—musical, spiritual, or otherwise—that may have occurred during the concert” (Bakan 138). It is performed in a middle to high register. Sindhu Bhairavi is based on a chromatic scale (known as a Bhashanga) as it uses all 12 notes, something which is seldom observed in ragams. This allows for a lot of improvisation and as is the case with most thillanas, two performances of this composition will definitely be different from one another. As it possesses a “depth and multidimensionality few ragams do” (Bakan 139), it serves the spiritual purpose of this composition very well and is carried forward by the violin impeccably.
This musical selection is based on adi taalam, which is a rhythmic eight beat cycle in the Carnatic system. Taalam is the standard meter in Carnatic music and adi taalam is the most commonly used system. It is a fast-paced song with the rhythm coming out through the mridangam (a South Indian double-headed drum) and the ghatam (an earthen pot). The tempo reduces when the charanam (lyrical section) is being performed (2:43-3:28) to express the meaning of the few lines of text there are. Since the thillana is designed to be a rhythmic exploration, the mridangam and ghatam alternate between providing a constant eight beat cycle (2:05-2:25) and matching the notes played on the violin (3:29-4:21) with their respective instruments. Strong downbeats and syncopation are ever-present (4:28-4:40), with stronger downbeats being played more noticeably on the ghatam. The beat pattern has a simple structure (recurring eight beat cycle) but is complex in nature as there are different connotations of adi taalam as observed between 1:15 and 1:36 and 1:40 and 2:06. Tempo is slow when the Pallavi is being played (0:25-0:41) and then increases almost immediately (0:43 onwards). The pallavi is a one cycle long section, often repeated to get a feel for the composition with different swarams of the ragam and is performed to give the mridangist an idea of the taalam. Towards the conclusion of the piece, following a sautille by the violinists (5:17-5:33), the time signature changes from 4/4 to 3/4, making that portion of the piece multi-metric/polymetric (5:34-5:42). The transition from sautille to the normal bowing is also accompanied by a fall in the tempo.
The harmonic facet of this music is provided by the tambura (heard throughout but more prominently between 0:16 and 0:42), an instrument meant primarily to establish the sruthi for the musicians. This instrument furnishes a drone by constantly sounding the (Do) and Pa (So) swarams throughout the performance. The drone of the tambura is, however, not monotonous. It “swirls and whirls around the fundamental pitch, bringing out different tones and overtones to create a wavelike timbral effect” (Bakan 121). Since the tambura has this effect, it provides scope for harmony despite being bitonal and of free form. The harmony provided by the tambura is a very basic but crucial element of Carnatic music as it lays the very foundation for music to stem and flourish from it.
The form of this music is thillana. Carnatic musical forms are based on the composition style and thillana is, as mentioned earlier, rhythmic composition which usually accompanies dance performances. The overall form captures the essence of the ragam and brings out the emotion associated with it. The structure of a thillana usually includes four sections; a Pallavi (the motive refrain) (0:24-1:06), an Anupallavi (second section) (1:36-2:38), a Charanam (the only textual passage) (2:43-3:27) and another portion of notes and vocables (3:28-5:11) leading back to the Pallavi. These sections serve the purpose of rhythmic exploration (something the thillana is dedicated to) and there are aptly more sections dedicated to the beat and rhythm and just one lyrical portion.
The timbre of this music can be described as “hauntingly beautiful” with the violins contributing to that. Since Sindhu Bhairavi is often performed as a form of penance and is a sombre ragam, this timbre matches the function of this music perfectly. It aims to create feelings of separation, sorrow, compassion and devotion in the mind and heart of the listener and the hauntingly beautiful timbre achieves this purpose well.
The key change in dynamics in this musical selection is observed when the charanam is being performed) (2:43-3:28). All the instruments are played in a lower register to give more importance to the lyrical meaning of the thillana and serve as a form of devotion to the Lord. At the climax of the piece, the mridangam and ghatam become much louder and stronger to wrap up the song as well as the concert (5:52-5:58). It serves as a fitting finale for both the piece and the concert.
Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Thillana in Sindhu Bhairavi is an exemplary piece of Carnatic music and the rendition by his children truly brings the composition to life in a unique manner. With a natural understanding of the message imbibed in this piece cultivated by their father, these maestros wonderfully express its musical, symbolic, and spiritual elements.
Works Cited Devnath, Lakshmi. An Incurable Romantic. Harper Collins, 2013. Print. Bakan, Michael. World Music: Traditions and Transformations. McGraw Hill Education, 2011. Print. Koskoff, Ellen. The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Routledge, 2013. Print. Krishnan, Venkatrama. Mathematics of Melakartha Ragas in Carnatic Music. UMass Lowell, 2012. Online. Accessed 26th July 2019. docplayer.net/21930818-Mathematics-of-melakartha-ragas-in-carnatic-music.html Lochtefeld, James G. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, 2 Volume Set. The Rosen Publishing Group. 2002. Print. Kauffman, Walter. The Ragas of North India. Oxford & Indiana University Press, 1968. Print.