Structure of a Carnatic performance: the kritI (Carnatic Music Fundamentals I)
Nayakan
What to expect in a typical Carnatic music performance:
You will usually first hear a composition known as
a varNam.
This will be followed by several compositions,
known as kritIs. An optional feature is the
inclusion of an improvisational device known as
a rAgam-tAnam-pallavI. The composition will end
with several short pieces such as padams, viruttams,
tillanas, bhajans, etc., and end with a mangaLam.
(Don't worry if I'm introducing unknown terms here.)
Here we will skip the varNam for now, and
mainly talk about kritIs and their elaboration,
because they dominate the performance.
A kritI, also known as a kIrtana,
is the Carnatic word for a song/composition,
equivalent to the Hindustani cIz or bandish.
I will talk about varNams later, but I wish to
get the fundamentals of Carnatic musical practice
down first. So, for now, forget the first piece
you heard at the concert! :-) :)
When a musician renders a kriti, she might start
with what is known as an AlApana (Hindustani equivalent:
AlAp). An AlApana is the methodical exposition of the
notes of a rAga. The AlApana has no rhythmic accompaniment;
it is a free-form elaboration of the rAga. As in
Hindustani music, different musicians prefer different
approaches for elaboration. Some people go from the
sA of the madhya sthAyi (saptak in HCM), the middle
octave, and hit the tAra (high) sthAyi sA within a couple
of seconds, and then improvise in the middle and
higher octaves, then suddenly coming down to the lower
octave (mAndra sthAyI) and improvising there; others
prefer a note-by-note development; and then there are
others who like to spring surprises on both the
accompanists and the audience (later on that, when
we discuss recommendations.) This is known as
vistAra (baDhat) ... there might be another name
for it, but I don't recall. During the AlApana,
no words are used; the musician usually uses the
syllables 'da', 'na', 'ri', 'ta', and 'A'.
After the (optional) AlApana, the performer will
sing the kritI. Now, in Carnatic music, generally
speaking, the kritI is VERY important, in contrast
with Hindustani music. You will find a LOT of
words in Carnatic performances. The general
conception of Carnatic music performance is that
there are two parts to any performance: kalpita
sangItam (fixed compositions) and manodharma
sangItam (improvised music). The distinction
between the two is very clear. In other words,
there are parts of the performances reserved for
fixed rendering, to honor the composer, and there
are parts where you are allowed to freely improvise,
to the extent that your creativity permits.
The other important distinction between Hindustani
compositions and Carnatic compositions is that
Hindustani music consists of both religious
"ArE man rAm", "brij mE dhUm macAyE kAnhA")
and secular themes ("prIt na jAnE, nA jAne",
"piyA to mAnat nAhin rE"), Carnatic music
*almost completely* consists of religious themes.
("rAma rAma rAmA rAmA rAmA enniro", etc.)
This is because a large pecentage of the Carnatic
compositions come from saints. There are modern
composers too, but they follow the usual custom and
compose religious themes; their compositions are
modeled on those that already exist!
So, back to our main topic. What are kritIs?
A kritI consists of a pallavI (P), an anupallavI (A),
and a caraNam (C). A composition consists of
several kritIs, but usually the first kritI is
in praise of Lord ganEsha, so that the concert
may proceed with his blessings and without
obstacles.
The pallavI is the main refrain of the composition.
It is equivalent to the Hindustani sthAyI. The
anupallavI is the secondary theme of the composition;
it is equivalent to the antarA of Hindustani music.
The caraNam is the third theme of the composition.
It doesn't have an equivalent in khyAl, but does in
dhrupad (sancArI).
The composer sets (in stone :-) the main melody
and the variations that are to be sung with it,
called sangatIs. So, for example, the most popular
first composition is "vAtApi gaNapatim bhajEham"
by muttusvAmI dIkshitar, in Adi tALam (8 beats
to a cycle). It may
be sung as (I don't remember the composer's
sangatis... I am a nonconformist, but that's
another discussion!):
vA tA pi gaNa pa tim bhajE ham
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sangatis:
vA,A,A tA pi gaNa pa tim bhajE ham
(with gamaka on vA)
vA tA pi gaNa pa tim bhajE ham
(higher octave for vA)
etc., etc.,
These sangatis *have* to be sung in performance,
since they are set by the composer. This is the
kalpita sangIta part. There is also a manodharma
aspect to this. *After* you sing the composer's
sangatis, you are allowed (if you are capable of
it) to improvise your own sangatIs and add them
to the variations already there.
Once the pallavI and its sangatIs are sung,
the singer moves to the anupallavi. The
anupallavI usually explores a part of the
octave that has not been explored by the
pallavi. (BTW, this is true of dhrupad and
khyAl compositions too.) So, sometimes, the
pallavi starts on the madhya sA, and the
anupallavI starts on the madhya pA, and
shoots up to the tArasthAyI. The anupallavI,
too, has its sangatIs, and the same rule
about your own sangatIs (variations) applies.
The pallavI and the anupallavI are usually
of one or twolines each. The caraNam, which
follows the pallavI and the anupallavI,
usually has four lines. A composition
has only one pallavI and one anupallavI,
but may have many caraNams. Not all of
them are sung in practice, since they may
all be melodically similar. (Sometimes,
because of the beauty in the lyrics, the
singer will sing more than one caraNam.)
The caraNam also has its sangatis, but there
is a special feature here. Optionally,
a musician may take a line of the caraNam
text and improvise on it. For example,
in the kritI, "brocEvAre varurA" in rAgam
khamAs (please correct me if I have made
any mistakes):
P:
brOcEvAre varurA ninnu vinA raghuvarA, (nannu)
A:
O caturA nanAdi vandita nIku parAkEla naiyyA
nI caritamu pogadale ninA, cinta dirci varamu licci vEgamE
<cittasvaram: I'll talk about this a little later>
C:
sItApatE, nA pai nIku abhimAnamulEdA
vAtAtmajA arcita pAda, nA moralanu vinarAdA
Atura muga karirAjunu brocina vAsudEvudavu nivukadA
nA pAtaka mella pogotti gattiga, nA cei patti viDuvaka
<cittasvaram>
P: <repeated with final sangati that was
used in the beginning>
the lines "Atura muga karirAjunu brOcina
vAsudEvudavu nIvu kadA" are sung many
times, by elongation of words, and splitting
of words, and sometimes just singing the
phrase "Atura muga" with different variations,
using different combinations of notes.
This is called "neraval."
The neraval is comparable to the bol-AlAp and
bol-tAn of Hindustani music.
When the (optional) neraval is completed, or
when the caraNam is sung, another optional
improvisation (manodharma sangIta) is allowed.
This is called "svaraprasthAra" or "svara
kalpanA" or "kalpanAsvarams", literally
meaning, "imaginative note combinations,"
(similar to sargam tAns in hindustAni
music.) Here, the notes of the rAga are
sung in sargam fashion, i.e., sA nI dhA
pA ga ma pA dha nI , etc. Along with
the neraval, this is another opportunity
for the singer to show her creativity.
So, in summary, the performance of a kritI
consists of the (optional) AlApana (Al),
followed by the pallavI and variations on
it, and then by the anupallavi and variations on it.
The caraNam is then sung with its variations,
and the performer may sing/play a neraval
on the caranam text (optional). This is
followed by an (optional) svaraprasthAra:
Al (opt.)
P
P'
P"
P"'
(variations on P)
A
A'
A"
A'"
(variations on A)
C
C'
C"
(variations on C)
neraval (opt.)
svaraprasthAra (opt.)
P"'
So, in theory, you could give a concert with just
fixed compositions and no improvisation whatsoever,
and this is what many beginning students do, but
if you were to do this in a normal concert, and didn't
show any creative aspect of the music, you would
either be booed or the audience will simply
walk out slowly).
Now for the one item in the kritI that I said I would
explain later: the cittasvaram. The kalpanAsvaram,
i.e., imaginative note combinations, are sung after
the kritI by the singer. The cittasvaram also are
note combinations, but these are set in stone by
the composer. They are as fixed as the words of
the composition. (The presence of the cittasvaram
does not preclude the singing of kalpanAsvarams.)
So, in the kritI, brocEvArevarura, that I have
mentioned above, (composed by Mysore Vasudevachar),
the cittasvaram goes as:
sa . . sa ni dha pa dha ni sa ni ni dha dha pa ma |
1 2 3 4
pa . .dha ma ga ma pa dha ni ||
5 6 7 8
sa . ni dha pa ma ni . dha pa ma ga ma pa dha |
1 2 3 4
ma ga re sa sa ma . . ga ma pa dha ma pa dha ni ||
5 6 7 8
sa sa ri ni ni ni sa dha dha dha ni pa... dha |
1 2 3 4
ma pa dha nisa ni dha pa ma ga ma ni dha ni pa dha ||
5 6 7 8
ma . pa dha ni sa ma . . ga ri sa ri sa . ni . |
1 2 3 4
dha pa sa . ni . dha pa ma ga . ma pa dha ni
5 6 7 8
In actual performance, the cittasvaram is sung as above
the first time it is sung, and is sung in double speed
the second time. The reason for the fixed (cittasvaram)
svaras is that the composer figured there were these really
neat svara combinations, and wanted to preserve them for
posterity.
That concludes the description of kritI rendition.
Feel free to offer comments/questions/criticisms/
additions. Next time we will talk about rAgam-tAnam-
pallavI and other musical forms in Carnatic music.
So long,
Kumar
Note: In some cases, the anupallavI is chosen for
neraval instead of the caraNam. This is also acceptable.
Note 2: I will try to include sound clips and put this
on a website so people can understand the music better
instead of trying to figure out notation. But it may
be a while before that happens. Consider this a
beta-release. :-)
Nayakan
Chith Eshwaran
>...
> A composition consists of
> several kritIs, but usually the first kritI is
Perhaps you meant to say "A concert consistes of several kritIs, ..."
Regards - Chith Eshwaran