While the music is of the highest quality, what I want to talk about here is the the design of the inlay card.
- The front cover shows Dikshitar's picture with a prominent veena. The artiste's picture is shown in very small size on the back. There is an underplayed grace that's missing in so many of today's CD packs.
- The writeup gets the highest marks, in my opinion. Obviously it's been written by people who are very knowledgeable in CM. There's also great sensitivity and attention to detail. It is very informative and at the same time free of any style/spelling/grammatical errors.
- Just the right amount of detail is provided against each kriti. I reproduce below an example as an illustration:
How I wish others bring out CD sets at least half as well-made as this one.Pahimam Ratnacala - Mukhari - Adi
This composition is a masterpiece of Dikshitar in the raga Mukhari. The use of a dignified and relaxed tempo establishes a rich melodic picture of the raga.
This kriti is on Lord Siva as the deity Ratnagirisvara near Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu. The phrase Sadyojatadi pancamukha, referring to Lord Siva with five faces such as Sadyojata, and the phrase Arisadvargarahita, a reference to His being devoid of the six psychological enemies, have been beautifully juxtaposed as Sadyojatadi pancamukhari Sadvarga rahita, thus embedding the raga mudra. The kriti mentions the name of the Goddess Aralakesi. It also contains a reference to a practice specific to this shrine, of the Lord's being anointed with abhiseka tirtha brought uphill from akhanda kaveri, the widest point in the course of the river kaveri, by the representative of a particular social group. (The six psychological enemies referred to in Arisadvarga comprise of lust-kama, anger-krodha, greed-lobha, delusion-moha, pride-mada and jealousy-matsarya.)
(By the way, a special attraction in this CD set is her exquisite rendering of three closely allied ragas: Bharavi, Manji and Mukhari. Simply brilliant!)