LIVING LEGEND:LALGUDI JAYARAMAN
Sivaraman39
before this forthcoming memorable day,I should pay my humble tribute
to
his immortal contribution to carnatic music and recall his monumental
achievements.To this end I have presented the following tribute and
also
uploaded some select Lalgudi violin musical files from my collection
One can go on writing tomes on the musical genius,Shri Lalgudi
Jayaraman.And great vidwans,presiding over the conferring of the
"Special Lifetime Achievement Award"function,held by the Chennai Music
Academy on March,09,2008, have lavished praises galore on him.Sample a
few of these here:
Shri T.N.Seshagopalan, describing him as a "SAKALA KALANIDHI",and
"LAYABHAVA RAMAN",reminisced how, right from his school days ,he never
missed a single Lalgudi concert, and the effortless ease and aplomb
with
which Lalgudi accompanied Mudikondan Venkatrama Iyer in his Music
Academy Concert,while he demonstrated the difficult "SIMHANANDANA
PALLAVI".
Shri M.Chandrashekaran, recalled following Lalgudi's concerts right
from
1949 onwards, and he showered praises on Lalgudi's "GAYAKI" style of
violin playing,wherein his special "bani" enabled him to reproduce
with
absolute synchronization all the vocal notes of the singer on his
violin, often enriching and embellishing them with his own subtle
nuances and gamakams.Shri Chandrashekar also instructed the younger
generation of carnatic students to take up and practise with
dedication
all of Lalgudi's varnams,thillanas,krithis and padhams,as they are the
epitome of the grammar of carnatic music, and would greatly enhance
the
skills of any musician wanting to excel in his art.
Referring to him as a "'LIVING LEGEND, Shri R.K.Srikantan noted that
Lalgudi had very effectively adopted the singing style on the
violin.Calling him a true "NADOPASAKA", PERFECTIONIST AND STRICT
DISCIPLINARIAN", Srikantan said that Lalgudi's artistry is worthy of
emulation as it is a brilliant exposition of musical values.
The 78 year old maestro has been playing for over 60 years,right from
the day he accompanied Shri Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,the late
colossus
of carnatic music in his Music Academy Concert of 1948 till his
accompanying the younger generation eminent vocalists like Sanjay
Subrahmanyan,Sudha Raghunathan etc.and his music continues to be as
refreshing as ever.
If anything, it only blooms afresh day by day.
He was born in the lineage of an illustrious disciple of the great
saint
thyagaraja.
Inherited the essence of carnatic music from his father,V.R.Gopala
Iyer,
who trained him meticulously.
Started his musical career at the age of 12,accompanying leading
vocalists of the day.
Endowed with rich imagination and great inborn skills, he rose to
the pinnacle of fame quickly,accompanying all leading maestros
of the day, with an ability to adapt to the varying styles of the
different maestros, and contributing to the success of their vocal
concerts in a large measure.
He rose to be a solo violinist of rare brilliance due to his hard work
and dedication,coupled with the rich experience gained,accompanying
the maestros and his genius which gave original expression to the
musical
ideas surging within him.
It was not long before even his senior contemporaries in the violin
field recognised his genius and talent and were unstinting in their
praise and appreciation of his skills as a violinist par excellence.
Sample some of these showers of praises from his contemporary senior
violinists of those days:
Chowdiah remarked: "All of us must stop playing now that this boy has
appeared."
Attending Lalgudi's marriage, Chodiah again said: "He was born Raman;
he
took up the bow and became Kothandaraman; with his marriage he has
become Kalyanaraman; since he triumphs everywhere we can call him
Jayaraman."
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu said: "If I practise for two years
continuously I too can start playing in the Jayaraman manner."
Rajamanickam Pillai openly praised his presence of mind in supportive
play.
As for Govindaraja Pillai, he would make it a point to give Lalgudi a
word of encouragement after every radio concert.
Papa Venkataramiah appreciated the dignity with which he pursued his
profession.
Tiruvalangadu Sundaresa Iyer was ever his well-wisher.
All this shows the generosity and magnanimity of his seniors in the
field.
His revolutionary violin playing technique became a distinct school of
music
and came to be known as "LALGUDI BANI",which is characterised by
a flawless and fascinating style,soft and melodious bowing,distinctly
different from the harsh bowing techniques of his earlier
predecessors,
and yet deeply rooted in traditional classicism.
In an interview with Shruti magazine in 1990, Lalgudi characterised
his
unique and revolutionary technique of violin playing in these words:
"These new techniques I introduced brought about a revolution in the
art
of playing the violin; or you may call it a renaissance. The main
feature of this novel style is that the same response is evoked
through
the violin as through vocal music. The main feature of this novel
style
is that the same response is evoked through the violin as through
vocal
music. The changes in fingering and bowing techniques shifted the
accent
to bring out all the subtleties and intricacies of singing.
The second most important feature is that the art of accompanying the
vocalist reached a new peak. Before my tome, most violinists had fixed
a
style of their own and followed it all times, with the result that
their
playing could complement only certain vocalists. For example Papa
Venkataramiah was a perfect foil for Ariyakudi but not for GNB. But
with
my new style, I could play for anyone and everyone, I could support
Madurai Mani's sarvalaghu sukham and discrete alapana, GNB's
effortless
briga-laden sparklers, or Alathur's laya fireworks. Listeners
themselves
began to notice the birth of a new tradition of violin accompaniment.
In my style you cannot distinguish between deflected and straight
movements in bowing. The same richness of tone, the same continuity is
maintained in both. Also one will not realise that the bow is moving
over the different strings in turn because of the evenness of the
sound
produced. Jumps and breaks are completely avoided. And changes in
fingering are so imperceptible as to go unnoticed. I always followed
the
vocal method closely."
Another fascinating facet of this multi-dimensional personality is his
emergence as a forefront composer of krithis,varnams and thillanas,
which exhibit sheer lyrical brilliance coupled with
bhavam,rhythm,melody.
His compositions are in great demand with all present generation of
musicians, who perform these in most of their concerts.
As a soloist, he has performed extensively, giving thousands of
concerts
in india and abroad,receiving rave reviews everywhere, and being
honoured
by Govt. of India and also many foreign govts. and by such leading
international
violinists like yehudi menuhin, who presented him with a precious
italian violin,
after being bowled over by his genius at one of his concerts.
Awards and tributes have come to him by the dozens.
'Nada Vidya Tilaka' by Music Lovers' Association of Lalgudi in 1963,
'Padma Shri' by the Government of India in 1972, 'Nada Vidya
Rathnakara'
by East West Exchange in New York, 'Vadya Sangeetha Kalaratna' by
Bharathi Society, New York; 'Sangeetha Choodamani' by Federation of
Music Sabhas, Madras in 1971 and in 1972; State Vidwan of Tamil Nadu
by
the Government of Tamil Nadu and Sangeetha Natak Academy award in 1979
.
The First Chowdaiah Memorial National-Level award was given to Sri
Jayaraman
by the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He has also received honorary
citizenship
of Maryland, U.S. in 1994 and the Padma Bhushan by the Government of
India in 2001.
And to cap it all, The Chennai Music Academy conferred on him a
"SPECIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD" on March,09,2008, for his
monumental contribution to carnatic music, thus correcting it's
earlier
aberration of not awarding the "Sangeetha Kalanidhi" title on him,when
it had conferred the title on many musicians of lesser eminence.Sri
N.Murali,President of the Academy,conferring the onetime,commemorative
award extolled Lalgudi in these words:
"Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman is a giant among musicians, occupying a
pre-eminent position in the pantheon of all time greats of Carnatic
music. His monumentalcontribution to Carnatic music has been
multisplendoured and has earned forhim widespread appreciation,
accolades, and affection."
Another singular achievement of Lalgudi was the formation of the
concept
of Musical ensembles in 1966 and he gave many such ensemble concerts
and received great acclaim for the innovation.
To sum up, geniuses like Lalgudi Jayaraman are born once in a
millenium
and they revolutionalise and set new trends in the realm of music.
May Lalgudi Sir live upto a ripe old age and continue his great
contributions to Carnatic Music.
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Now for some divine Lalgudi Violin music files uploaded by me.Download
the links below:
01_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Nada_tanumanisam_ChittaRanjani_Thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207247/01_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Nada_tanumani\
sam_ChittaRanjani_Thyagaraja.mp3
02_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Siva_siva_ena_radha_Pantuvarali_Thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207248/02_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Siva_siva_ena\
_radha_Pantuvarali_Thyagaraja.mp3
03_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Sabhapathiku_Abhogi_Gopalakrishna_Bharathi.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207249/03_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Sabhapathiku_\
Abhogi_Gopalakrishna_Bharathi.mp3
04_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Marivere_AnandaBhairavi_Shyama_Shasthri.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207250/04_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Marivere_Anan\
daBhairavi_Shyama_Shasthri.mp3
05_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Parathpara_Vachaspathi_P_Sivan.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207251/05_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Parathpara_Va\
chaspathi_P_Sivan.mp3
06_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Koluvaiynnade_Bhairavi_Thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207252/06_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Koluvaiynnade\
_Bhairavi_Thyagaraja.mp3
07_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Kaa_vaa_vaa_Varali_Papanasam_Sivan.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207253/07_Lalgudi_Jayaraman_Kaa_vaa_vaa_V\
arali_Papanasam_Sivan.mp3
08.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Adamodi.Charukesi.thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207254/04.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Adamodi.Charu\
kesi.thyagaraja.mp3
09.Lalgudi_Jayraman.Innum_en_manam.Charukesi_Varnam.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.mp
\
3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207255/05.Lalgudi_Jayraman.Innum_en_manam\
.Charukesi_Varnam.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.mp3
10.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Nanati.Revathi.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141207256/12.Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Nanati.Revath\
i.mp3
11.Lalgudi_Jayaraman..Na_Jeevadhara___Bilahari..mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216275/26.Lalgudi_Jayaraman..Na_Jeevadhar\
a___Bilahari..mp3
12. lalgudi_jayaraman_violin_-_theeradha_vilayayattu_pillai.ra_1.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216276/lalgudi_jayaraman_violin_-_theerad\
ha_vilayayattu_pillai.ra_1.mp3
13. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Gathi_Neevani.Thodi.Adi.Thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216277/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Gathi_Neevani.Th\
odi.Adi.Thyagaraja.mp3
14. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Lalithe.Bhairavi.Adi.Thyagaraja.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216278/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Lalithe.Bhairavi\
.Adi.Thyagaraja.mp3
15. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Nannu_palimpa.Mohanam.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216279/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Nannu_palimpa.Mo\
hanam.mp3
16. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Sri_Mahaganapathi.Goula.M.chapu.Dikshitar.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216280/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Sri_Mahaganapath\
i.Goula.M.chapu.Dikshitar.mp3
17. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Varnam.Reethigoula.Veenai_Kuppaiyer.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216281/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Varnam.Reethigou\
la.Veenai_Kuppaiyer.mp3
18. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Varnam.Valaji.rm
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216282/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Varnam.Valaji.rm
19. Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Violin_-_maara_vairi.Nasikabhushany.thya_1.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216283/Lalgudi_Jayaraman.Violin_-_maara_v\
airi.Nasikabhushany.thya_1.mp3
20. lalgudi_jayaraman.violin.padhathi..mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/141216284/lalgudi_jayaraman.violin.padhathi.\
.mp3
Shri
Wow! Thank you for the wonderful write-up!! Indeed, Lalgudi sir is a
remarkable genius who has touched the hearts of millions with his
soulful music. Thank you also for sharing the audio files... many of
the pieces are not commercially available.
Best wishes,
Shriram.
On Sep 4, 11:33 am, Sivaraman39 <sivarama...@gmail.com> wrote:
<<...>>
Sivaraman39
Thanks for the appreciation.Indeed,Lalgudi Sir is a genius and a
legend, who has touched the hearts of millions of rasikas with his
creative music.It has been a pleasure,sharing the my music collection
with you.You can expect more such articles and music sharing with me
to follow.
Best wishes,
Sivaraman.