Rare Krithis of Syama Sastry - A recording
S Suresh
Hi,
I happened to pick up a tape of Rare Syama Sastry krithis.
These are sung by Sulochana Pattabhiraman and party. I was
initially a bit hesitant to buy this tape since I had no
clue about the singer. Since the songs were of Syama Sastry
I went ahead and bought it. It was the second time when the
surprise was pleasant. The earlier occasion was when I bought
"Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" by Sita Rajan and party.
I can beleive the "Rare" part of the title since I havent heard
any of these songs earlier. Syama Sastry was not a very
prolific composer. I think only around 50-60 of his songs
are available. Even in these 50-60 songs, only a very small subset
is sung in concerts or are available on tape. So this is a welcome
addition.
The krithis are rendered without any raga alapana or kalpanaswaras.
This is good since the idea is to have more krithis. This is a
group rendition and not a solo one. The diction is very clear and the
songs are rendered in the appropriate pace. The songs and the ragas
are very pleasing. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
in Tamil. Though I knew this fact earlier, I hadnt heard any one of
his Tamil compositions.
A brief look at the contents :
Side A :
1. Pahimam SriRajaRajeshwari - Nattai - Rupakam
A Sanskrit song. Set to a brisk pace.
2. Palayasumam - Aarabhi - Tisra Triputam
One more sanskrit song. Keeps up the pace set by the earlier song
3. Enneramum - Poorvi Kalyani _ Tisra Triputam
This is one of the Tamil songs. Steady pace. Lot of sangathis on
each line. But to me, not in the same class as NinnuviNaga.
4. Kamakshi - Begada - Adi
The best song on the tape. All the hallmarks of a Syama Sastry krithi
are present. Telugu Song. Slow and Begada unfolds very well. The
lyrics are typical Syama Sastry. Surprised that this song has not been
popular.
Side B :
1. Raave Parvata Rajakumari - Kalyani - Misra Jhampa
Telugu Song. This is also a very good song. Possibily got overshadowed
by other classics of Syama Sastry in Kalyani
2. Akilandeshwari - Kaapi _ Adi
Comes very close to being called the best of the tape. Begada beats it
by a small margin. Again a very typical Syama Sastry song. Slow development
of Kaapi. Wish this were a solo sung by someone like KVN.
3. Enneramum - PunnagaVarali - Mishra Chapu
This is the second Tamil song in the tape and has the same opening words as
the PoorviKalyani song. This sounds almost as if it had been translated from
Telugu. Lyrics are typical Syama Sastry and maybe that is the reason that
there is a Telugu "feel".
4. Kamashi Loka Sakshini - Madhyamavathi - Tisra Triputa
Excellent Madhyamavathi.
As you can see the talas are varied as can be expected from Syama Sastry's
compositions.
Definitely worth buying if you are interested in listening to only krithis.
A must buy for anyone interested in Syama Sastry. Originally a Sangeetha
release, now re-released by HMV. Costs Rs.45/-.
Warm Regards,
S.Suresh
Rms2020
Thanks for the info: re: the recording of the rare Kritisof Shyama Shastri. I
plan to buy it since I love Shyama Shastri's compositions.
As for Sulochana Pattabhiraman - since you mention you have no clue about her -
I thought I could give a little piece of Info: she is one of those vocalists
that did not rise as much to the top or forefront commensurate with her talents
and Vidwat. She is, however, quite well known among the older Rasikas (such
as myself), has been a regular All India Radio senior artist, is an excellent
instructor, and has done a lot of recordings of group singing led by her. One
of her commendable characteristics is the clarity of diction that you have
noticed.
Meena Shanker
sure...@hotmail.com
sure...@sequent.com (S Suresh) wrote:
Thanks for the post. Now can you tell us something
about the "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" tape? :-)
suresh
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Ashok
Suresh wrote:
>............. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
>songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
>in Tamil.
>
>S.Suresh
An acquaintance of mine, who is supposed to be very knowledgeable,
had told me that Tyagaraja had krithis in five languages: all four
South Indian languages and Sanskrit.
Is my friend mistaken?
Ashok
kv...@hotmail.com
ADhar...@WorldBank.Org (Ashok) wrote:
> A tangential query here.
>
> Suresh wrote:
>
> >............. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
> >songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
> >in Tamil.
>
M.Deekshita has composed kritis in ManipravaLa ( contraining Samskrita,
Telugu and Tamil). I'm not aware if he has composed any "only Tamil"
kriti.
> >S.Suresh
>
> An acquaintance of mine, who is supposed to be very knowledgeable,
> had told me that Tyagaraja had krithis in five languages: all four
> South Indian languages and Sanskrit.
>
> Is my friend mistaken?
>
Must be. Tyagaraja has composed only in Telugu and Samskrita.
On a side note, Swati Tirunal has composed in 5 or more languages.
( Samskrita, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu - There is one
song in Kannada too )
> Ashok
Ramaprasad K V
Sankara Khrishnamurthy
Is not the Enneramum song( believe the song goes like Enneramum un naamam
bhajippathuve en nemam..) a kriti by Subbaraya Sastry and not Syama Sastry?
Correct me if I am wrong.
Sankar.
sure...@hotmail.com wrote:
> In article <7c59kg$5...@scel.sequent.com>,
> sure...@sequent.com (S Suresh) wrote:
>
> Thanks for the post. Now can you tell us something
> about the "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" tape? :-)
>
> suresh
>
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I happened to pick up a tape of Rare Syama Sastry krithis.
> > These are sung by Sulochana Pattabhiraman and party. I was
> > initially a bit hesitant to buy this tape since I had no
> > clue about the singer. Since the songs were of Syama Sastry
> > I went ahead and bought it. It was the second time when the
> > surprise was pleasant. The earlier occasion was when I bought
> > "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" by Sita Rajan and party.
> >
> > I can beleive the "Rare" part of the title since I havent heard
> > any of these songs earlier. Syama Sastry was not a very
> > prolific composer. I think only around 50-60 of his songs
> > are available. Even in these 50-60 songs, only a very small subset
> > is sung in concerts or are available on tape. So this is a welcome
> > addition.
> >
> > The krithis are rendered without any raga alapana or kalpanaswaras.
> > This is good since the idea is to have more krithis. This is a
> > group rendition and not a solo one. The diction is very clear and the
> > songs are rendered in the appropriate pace. The songs and the ragas
> > are very pleasing. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
> > songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
> -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
--
Have a good day.
Sankar.
mailto:skh...@uswest.com
Home : (402) 571-4476
Work : (402) 422-5661
Donot hurry to do things that can be done some time in future..
S Suresh
Thanks for the info on Sulochana Pattabhiraman. The notes on the
tape cover gave some info.
BTW, do you have any info on Seetha Rajan. Her diction is also
very clear and she has a good voice. In my opinion she should
have been more popular. I have heard only one tape by her and I
was impressed. In the last music season reviews, he concert got
a very good review from the HINDU critic (I think it was SVK).
Warm Regards,
S.Suresh
S Suresh
>In article <7c59kg$5...@scel.sequent.com>,
> sure...@sequent.com (S Suresh) wrote:
>Thanks for the post. Now can you tell us something
>about the "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" tape? :-)
>suresh
Hi,
I had earlier posted an article on "Prahalada Bhakthi
Vijayam". I will mail you that article.
Regards,
S.Suresh
V.Chandrasekaran
Sastri's.]
The krithi is a composition of Sivan brothers viz., Ramaswamy Sivan and
MahaVaidyanatha Sivan who lived around the time when Shyama Sastry and
the other two of the trinity attained mukthi. That's around 1850's.
There is a nice page that has the life of the greater and the younger of
the two brothers' viz., Sri Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan. This article can be
found in Mohan aiyyar's carnatic music page.
-chandrasekaran.
S Suresh wrote:
>
> I can beleive the "Rare" part of the title since I havent heard
> any of these songs earlier. Syama Sastry was not a very
> prolific composer. I think only around 50-60 of his songs
> are available. Even in these 50-60 songs, only a very small subset
> is sung in concerts or are available on tape. So this is a welcome
> addition.
>
>
>
Sreeram, P.N.
> [ Pls. correct. The krithi "Pahimam Sri Raja Rajeshwari" is not Shyama
> Sastri's.]
> The krithi is a composition of Sivan brothers viz., Ramaswamy Sivan and
> MahaVaidyanatha Sivan who lived around the time when Shyama Sastry and
The one you are referring to is set to Janaranjani ragam. The one Suresh is
referring to is in Nattai.
~Sreeram, Puduhai
sure...@hotmail.com
vcha...@cisco.com wrote:
> [ Pls. correct. The krithi "Pahimam Sri Raja Rajeshwari" is not Shyama
> Sastri's.]
> The krithi is a composition of Sivan brothers viz., Ramaswamy Sivan and
> MahaVaidyanatha Sivan who lived around the time when Shyama Sastry and
> the other two of the trinity attained mukthi.
Isn't that set in Janaranjani though?
>
> S Suresh wrote:
>
> >
> > 1. Pahimam SriRajaRajeshwari - Nattai - Rupakam
> > A Sanskrit song. Set to a brisk pace.
> >
>
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
kishore...@rocketmail.com
Is is "Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam" or "Prahlada Bhakta Vijayam" ? Does anyboty
have an authentic source/explanation ? I would be interested to know.
Regards,
Kishore Meduri
In article <7c6hsr$8fa$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
sure...@hotmail.com wrote:
> In article <7c59kg$5...@scel.sequent.com>,
> sure...@sequent.com (S Suresh) wrote:
>
> Thanks for the post. Now can you tell us something
> about the "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" tape? :-)
>
> suresh
>
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I happened to pick up a tape of Rare Syama Sastry krithis.
> > These are sung by Sulochana Pattabhiraman and party. I was
> > initially a bit hesitant to buy this tape since I had no
> > clue about the singer. Since the songs were of Syama Sastry
> > I went ahead and bought it. It was the second time when the
> > surprise was pleasant. The earlier occasion was when I bought
> > "Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" by Sita Rajan and party.
> >
> > I can beleive the "Rare" part of the title since I havent heard
> > any of these songs earlier. Syama Sastry was not a very
> > prolific composer. I think only around 50-60 of his songs
> > are available. Even in these 50-60 songs, only a very small subset
> > is sung in concerts or are available on tape. So this is a welcome
> > addition.
> >
> > The krithis are rendered without any raga alapana or kalpanaswaras.
> > This is good since the idea is to have more krithis. This is a
> > group rendition and not a solo one. The diction is very clear and the
> > songs are rendered in the appropriate pace. The songs and the ragas
> > are very pleasing. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
> > songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
> > in Tamil. Though I knew this fact earlier, I hadnt heard any one of
> > his Tamil compositions.
> >
> > A brief look at the contents :
> >
> > Side A :
> >
> > 1. Pahimam SriRajaRajeshwari - Nattai - Rupakam
> > A Sanskrit song. Set to a brisk pace.
> >
JNagarajan
janaki
S Suresh
>Hi
>Is not the Enneramum song( believe the song goes like Enneramum un naamam
>bhajippathuve en nemam..) a kriti by Subbaraya Sastry and not Syama Sastry?
The song you mention is exactly the one in the Syama Sastry tape. It is in
PoorviKalyani raagam. Syama Sasty's mudra exists in the song "Syama Krsna
Sodhari". So I guess it is by Syama Sastry.
Thanks,
S.Suresh
S Suresh
Tried sending mail yesterday but it bounced.
I dont know if this is available in US. I bought this
in Bangalore. Since it is released by HMV, it should be
available in other parts of India too.
Regards,
S.Suresh