Set to Raag Gambheera Nattai in Adi talam, Kalinga Narthana is an attention-grabber of a composition by Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyar’s (1700-1765). The esteemed Carnatic vocalist, Aruna Sairam adds powerful dimensions to it, making it the show-stopper of the evening. Giving apposite accompaniment ...

‘Varanarada Narayana’ is a composition of Saint Thyagaraja (1767-1847). Set to Raag Vijaysri in Adi talam, it is one of the fast instrumental kritis that has been composed by the doyen of Carnatic musical trinity. Laden with murkis (curly notes), gamaks and drawn-out, patient notes, Mysore A Chan...

S. Hari Kumar Sivan makes an impressive choice of this Patnam Subramania Iyer kriti, ‘Dhanyadevudo’ in Raag Malayamarutham and peppers it with the versatility of his 7-stringed violin. It is set to Adi talam and has a distinctive lilt to it. He gives a commendable performance of this masterpiece ...

The kriti ‘Mahaganapathim Manasa Smarami,’ is a composition of Muthuswamy Dikshitar (1775-1835). Inspired by the depictions of the elephant-headed Hindu deity on the walls of the Tiruvarur temple in Tamil Nadu, Dikshitar has written and given tune to at least 27 kritis defining and praising the v...

Jayanthi Kumaresh’s enthralling rendition of Raag Basanta is a carrier of joy, hope and positivity. This is the third presentation, a piece filled with youthful spirit from her concert at the Darbar festival 2013. She performs a Saint Thyagaraja composition set to Rupak talam. In the Carnatic dis...

‘Sarasuda Ninne’ is a composition by Kothavasal Venkatarama Iyer, a renowned composer, singer and also the guru of Patnam Subramania Iyer. This varnam is set to Raag Saveri in a rhythmic cycle of Adi talam. Mysore A Chandan opens his concert with this evocative piece, bringing out the flavours of...

This beautiful piece in Raag Amritavarshini is a composition by Mutthiah Bhagavatar, a renowned Carnatic classical composer from the 20th century. Bhagavatar is also credited with the creation of 20 ragas in the Carnatic system.

Before beginning her recital, Dr. Srikanth explains that Amritavars...

A structurally outstanding piece, this thillana composed by Calcutta Krishnamurthy (1921-1999) is set to Raag Hamsanandi in Adi talam. Krishnamurthy was one of Unnikrishnan’s gurus who had shaped his formative years as a musician.

Embellishing each line of the thillana diligently with an exqui...

‘Nama Vadami’ is a composition of Ganapathi Sachchidananda (born May 1942) set to Raag Salaga Bhairavi. A saint from southern India, Ganapathi Sachchidananda has been serving humanity, conducting spiritual healing for the physically and mentally distressed for many decades now. His ashram (hermit...

This composition, ‘Hiranmayim’ set to Raga Lalita was composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar (1775-1835). It is one of the shorter kritis composed by the youngest trinity of Carnatic music. Pioneering Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam brings her distinctive style to this hymn in a majestic rendition highl...

Raag Behag is the concluding piece of Jayanthi's performance from Darbar 2013.It is a contemporarily conceived folk song, also known as Kavadi Chindu in Tamil, composed by Ganesh and Kumaresh Rajagopalan. A lilting, instrumental piece, the rhythmic structure of which is set to Teeshra Gati (3-3),...

In this piece, legendary saxophonist Dr. Kadri Gopalnath plays ‘Raghuvamsasudhambudhi’, a Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845-1902) composition in Raag Kathanakuthuhalam set to adi talam. He is supported beautifully on the violin by Jyotsna Srikanth and by Bangalore Praveen (mridangam) and RN Prakash (g...

For a widely multicultural audience as Darbar’s, the delectable ragas selected by the Malladi brothers proved enthralling and hugely successful. The duo chose Raag Anandabhairavi as their central piece and gave a compelling performance with a stellar ensemble.

This piece, ends with a magical ta...

This piece, ‘Nagumomu Ganaleni’ in Raag Abheri, is a popular kirtan composed by Saint Tyagaraja (1767-1847). Dr. Kadri Gopalnath chooses this piece as his fourth presentation during his concert at the Darbar Festival in 2011.

Devotion to Lord Rama being the mainstay of Saint Thyagaraja songs, th...

Raag Dhanyasi can portray emotions like karuṇa (compassion) very effectively, just as it can convey the feeling of devotion or bhakti bhava. In this concert, the Malladi brothers bring an extraordinary choice of ragas. They perform a Saint Thyagaraja kriti - ‘Sangeetha Gyanamu,’ a gem of a compo...

Shashank Subramanyam started learning early in life - some say he could recognise all 72 Melakarta scales by the age of two-and-a-half. His first musical immersions came with singing and violin, but he fell in love with the venu bamboo flute as soon as he picked it up, focusing on it from that po...

The piece de resistance of the concert – ragam tanam pallavi - is sung in Raag Todi and comes as a refreshing twist with the beautiful composition ‘Hare Rama Govinda Murare’ set to Adi talam.

An excellent choice in the sequence of his presentations, Unnikrishnan revs up this section with a stu...

This is the opening piece of Dr. Kadri Gopalnath’s concert from the Darbar Festival 2011. Following old traditions, he begins his performance with a salutation to the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha. This Hindu deity is regarded as the harbinger of good fortune and a remover of obstacles. He gi...

Young Carnatic vocalist Bharat Sundar sings Behag, a raga imported from Hindustani Music. It is popular for tukda (‘little pieces’) and other lighter songs.

Bharat Sundar is a young Carnatic vocalist. He first studied under Gayathri Mahesh, and became the first winner of Jaya TV’s Carnatic Music...

‘Srichakraraja Simhasaneshwari’ is a famous composition by Agastyar (sage from Vedic period dating back to 1500 B.C. – 500 B.C.). The lyrics are in Sanskrit and Tamil and the song comprises of ragas Senchurutti, Punnagavarali, Nadanamakriya and Sindhubhairavi. There are four paragraphs in this so...

Aparadhamula,’ was composed in Raag Latangi by Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845-1902). A devotional kriti, this song blends beautifully with the compassionate and courageous emotions of Latangi. Iyer was a prolific and versatile composer who took ahead the musical tradition of Thyagaraja (1767-1847)....

‘Sarasijanabha’ was composed by Palghat Sri Parameshwara Bhagavatar (1815-1892), a court musician of Swathi Tirunal (1813-1846), the king of Travancore. From his teenage years, Bhagavathar had shown great promise with his sound knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of Carnatic music....

Jayanthi Kumaresh takes her audiences on a voyage of Raag Kamavardhini in this clip extracted from her performance at the Darbar 2013 festival. Also known as Pantuvarali, Kamavardhini is a 51stmelakarta raga that deploys all notes with a flat 3rdand 7th and a raised 4th. Hindustani classical enth...