M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Radhakrishnan · Post by **Radhakrishnan** » 26 May 2006, 12:08

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/05/26/stor ... 730300.htm
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/05/26/stor ... 910200.htm
I consider myself lucky to attend one concert of MDR 25 years ago at Thyagabrahma sangeetha Sabha,Thrissur.He was physically not well and concert lasted for less than two hours.When he was about to start the concert,one steet dog started barking and he started scolding it! and he told MSG' dey,talli ukkaru,ivar unne paakka varale!!' of course,nobody,including MSG, mistook him,in fact the whole auditorium burst into laughter,that is MDR for you!!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 15 Jun 2006, 09:30

Here is a talk by MDR on the Subject of Tiger Varadachar.
A wonderful glimpse into the mind of MDR ...
Hope you will all enjoy

http://rapidshare.de/files/23087496/01- ... 6.mp3.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/23090091/02- ... 6.mp3.html http://rapidshare.de/files/23090745/03- ... 6.mp3.html

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 15 Jun 2006, 10:01

Sincere thanks coolkarni!
This is a rare treat indeed....

meena · Post by **meena** » 15 Jun 2006, 10:01

Kji

geee thanks thanks a lot

ramanathan · Post by **ramanathan** » 16 Jun 2006, 11:42

Thank you very much, ji! God bless you!

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 21 Jun 2006, 07:29

ShrI mdrbalaji:
Is the composition, "Shankara sadguru caraNakamalamtannai" in dhanyAsi a composition of your father? The song is in praise of kAmakOTi AcArya and bears the mudra "varadadAsa" in the concluding line of the caraNam.

meena · Post by **meena** » 21 Jun 2006, 12:26

kmrasika

if an audio is available and its NOT commerical one can u pl. u/l .

sumram99 · Post by **sumram99** » 21 Jun 2006, 18:25

Kji:

In the lecdem on Tiger, who is the person giving the intro?

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 21 Jun 2006, 18:52

kmrasika: Would you please upload the song shankara sadguru (dhanyAsi) if you have it? Thanks.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 21 Jun 2006, 19:11

sumram99

no idea.maybe balaji can tell , if he is here ...

meena · Post by **meena** » 21 Jun 2006, 22:06

kmrasika

Acc. to Balaji:

"I think it is. But i don't have a audio version of this kriti."

ramanathan · Post by **ramanathan** » 22 Jun 2006, 00:06

The person giving the introductory speech is Sri. TS Parthasarathy, the grand old scholar and erstwhile secretary of the Music Academy (The voice is distinctive for those who know TSP mama and MDR clearly refers to "Parthasarathy Sir" when he begins the lec-dem). Past 90 and confined to his home and wheelchair now, TSP mama continues to be a one-stop source for musicians and scholars looking for reference material and authoritative information on music & dance matters. Visiting and spending time with him is a privilege. We at Carnatica have had the honour of publishing several of mama's articles.

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 22 Jun 2006, 07:23

kmrasika: Would you please upload the song shankara sadguru (dhanyAsi) if you have it? Thanks.

Sorry to disappoint you and Meena. I don't but I think I could dig up the lyrics. The song actually sounds like the tune of kanakasabhApati.

meena · Post by **meena** » 07 Aug 2006, 06:25

I hope sree mdr rasikas all enjoyed the superb lecdem on Tiger that Kji shared with us all.

Next composition of sree mdr is a lullaby

rAma rAma rAma rAma . rAgam: nIlAmbari. tAlam: Adi.

P: rAma rAma rAma rAma rAma kOdaNDarAmA rAma paTTAbhirAma rAma rAghavA
C1: rAma SrI jAnakI bharata lakshmaNa ripughna pavamAna suta sahita rAma rAgavA
C2: kausalyA vara tanaya SrI kauSika muni tava pAla acana garala pUjya rAma rAghavA
C3:daSaratha rAjakumAra daSa mukhAdi samhAra vishAdi krta carita rAma rAghavA
C4:guha SabarI AnjanEya kapivara SrI sughrIva ripu sOdarAdula brOcina rAma rAghavA
C5:sAkEta dhAma SrI sItA manOllAsa cAla bhEdana nipuNa rAma rAghavA
C6:tyAgarAjAdi nija dAsulu pogaDaga nAgaSayana SrI rAma rAghavA

(note: not used his mudra for this kriti)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=F2F6CA4C

Enjoy!

avichinnu · Post by **avichinnu** » 13 Aug 2006, 17:04

In my view, MDR will remain in our hearts forever because of three things. One is "raagabhaava" ,"excellent control over "laya" and the way he presents the krithis in "vilambakaala".Perhaps he is the best in that.His music, in contempory music world, may have been considered as not melodious[in the modern world contex],he remains to me as one of the rare gems of carnatic music.One should listen to his renditin f "janani paahi sada.." in Shudha saaveri, sung at Navarathri sangeetha mandapamwith Chalakudi and Raghu in 1968.

Here is a concert ,that I liked very much.Abhoghi and Manirangu are extraordinary...
MDR-TNK-P=UKS Padmashri Felicitation - New Delhi concert-1974

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870884/03-RA ... I.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/859144/04-Ma ... i.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870888/05-Ra ... a.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870908/06-CH ... p.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870919/07-Sr ... i.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870927/08-SLOKAM.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870930/09-RA ... E.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870934/10-Ma ... u.mp3.html

http://d.turboupload.com/d/870937/11-Hi ... a.mp3.html

Thanks to Mr.Kasthuri rangan for sharing this concert ,
avi

docfred · Post by **docfred** » 24 Aug 2006, 08:09

Greetings, friends of MDR!

I'm writing to introduce myself and to ask for your kind assistance. I've enjoyed reading your comments, and hope that you have enjoyed the short (1-hour) concert film of MDR that I made in Adyar, Madras, 1977. At that time I was the teacher of Dr. Amy Catlin, then in Madras studying Carnatic music for her dissertation on Pallavi. I'd be happy to tell you about my experiences in filming, with Carnatic Vidwans, and attending the Music Festivals yearly from 1977 to 1983 if you are interested.

I'm currently working intensely to complete the long-planned 2nd film on MDR, which includes a lengthy interview with him (Balaji has transcribed it on his MDR website), two extended lessons with disciples, an interview about MDR and others with the late Sri C.V. Narasimhan, filmed in his office at the United Nations (where the videocam lights--in those days quite powerful, blew the UN's circuit breakers!), and a couple of wonderful surprises.

You may have seen some of the raw footage, since Amy & I gave copies of everything to Balaji to show at a memorial event for MDR some years ago. (Neither Amy nor I make any profit from these videos--all profits go to the musicians or their heirs.)

I am not an advanced student of Carnatic music, but have loved it passionately since first encountering it as a graduate student, when Balasaraswati gave a dance-concert at UCLA. I became good friends with the late Viswanathan and Ramanathan, while they were teaching at Wesleyan & I was nearby at Brown U., starting a program in ethnomusicology. I was fortunate to have students such at Amy, who became a valued co-worker in making the series of films beginning in 1977. Over the years I was lucky enough to become friends with Sri T.S. Parthasarathy, scholar extraordinaire and advisor to ALL; Jayalakshi Krishnaswami, generous and musical sister of CV Narasimhan, in whose garden the MDR concert was filmed--with an amazing audience Rasikas and Vidwans, invited and entertained by her; T.N. Krishnan and his wonderfully musical children Viji and Sriram; sisters T. Brinda and T. Mukta; and many more.

Though Balaji has been extremely supportive of our efforts over the years, I have not been able to contact him for the past several weeks, either via his gmail account or at his last known residence in Knoxville or job at the Univ of Tennessee. Can anyone help with updated information? The new film would be GREATLY improved with a few minutes of introduction and reminiscence from Balaji.

While we have enough video footage, we cannot decipher all of MDR's sometimes complex Tamil (I should say Amy is having trouble with this, since I have no Tamil at all--my main research areas are East and Southeast Asia, as well as American Popular music and the Beatles.) Gita Ramanathan will be assisting, but since time is VERY short for a number of reasons, we would be grateful for any volunteers who might be able to assist with translation (and, in one or two places, identification of composition and lyrics).

I've seen quite a few photos posted here that might potentially be very valuable to enliven the film and give a broader sense of context (all our scenes with MDR were filmed at his home). If any of you can help with good quality scans of photos (either with permissions or material in public domain), it would be a tremendous help. We have no budget to pay for assistance at this point, we will be pleased to reciprocate with discounts or copies of this and other films in the series, depending on what's appropriate and fair.

I'd like to hear from any of you, even if just to hear your reactions to the earlier films, and your wishes/desires for the current one. Please contact me off-list for specific discussions that are not of general interest. You can reach me best via email <gagaku@ucsc.edu> or phone (831) 425-5014 here in Santa Cruz, CA. If you are nearby (anywhere in the Bay Area, I'd welcome a visit or a chance to visit you).

With many thanks for your wonderful work here in keeping MDR's magnificent music part of the living tradition,

Sincere regards,

Fred Lieberman
Professor of Music
University of California, Santa Cruz, 95064
res (831-425-5014), fax (831-458-5036), cell (831-588-6072)

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 24 Aug 2006, 09:59

Dear Prof Lieberman - I have a copy of the MDR video and am glad you are going to come out with another one soon. Balaji frequents this group so it is likely he will see your post.

docfred · Post by **docfred** » 24 Aug 2006, 10:36

Thanks, mohan.

By coincidence, I heard from Balaji just a few minutes after posting the previous. He's moved to Memphis--so that part of my post about locating him may be disregarded

I am, of course still interested in contacting any of you who might be willing to help with photos of MDR or Tiger, and possibly with lyrics & translations.

Regards,

Fred

------------
Prof. Fredric Lieberman
Music Department
University of California
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
<gagaku@ucsc.edu>
(831) 425-5014

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 26 Aug 2006, 14:01

http://rapidshare.de/files/28358042/Mer ... gowla_.mp3

A moving Mayamalavagoula. No one has done this krithi justice apart from MDR. Merusamana is like the Cinderella of Thyagaraja's masterpieces, often ignored or hastily rendered as filler when it is in fact one of the bard's great compositions, full of depth.

Balaji (by the way I am not Sri MDR's son. We just share the same name!)

Ramaprasad · Post by **Ramaprasad** » 26 Aug 2006, 19:33

Dear bala747 Sir,

Like so many other rasikas, MDR is my all time great male vocalist (I was fortunate to have heard many live concerts in India). In the context of the second MDR video that will soon be available, I thought I would give here a website (We have to thank Prof. Robert Garfias for this) where you can scroll down to locate an an 8 min video, and watch T. Brinda rendering Merusamana, with vocal support from her daughter Vegavahini. Many rasikas in this forum, I am sure, would have already seen this.

http://itc.uci.edu/~rgarfias/kiosk/media.html

Regards,
Ramaprasad

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 31 Aug 2006, 19:11

http://rapidshare.de/files/31430015/002 ... AIRAVI.MP3

Kaumaram .
Here is a track I promised you long long ago-
There are lots of things happening out there-some related to the laya , I Guess ,and some related to the fact that MDR is fully intoxicated with the beauty of the composition .
A very very interesting track !!

avichinnu · Post by **avichinnu** » 04 Sep 2006, 18:57

Kulakarniji,
Few years ago,I listened to a "music from the archives" programme of AIR Bangalore, featuring a recording of MDR.It contained an elaborate "Kaanada",and he sung "srikantha enagistu daya mado thandhe...." and "Saraguna paalimapa..." in "Kedaragaula"and finally a magnificient "rama katha..."in "Madhyamaavathi".
But I havent listened to them again.
Who else can sing Kedaragoula like MDR?
Avi.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 04 Sep 2006, 19:49

I understand there is a book on MDR written (in Malayalam) by Dr Madhu Vasudevan. Has anyone seen/read it? I am quite keen to get access to this book.

If there is enough interest, I would like to embark on a project to get the book translated into Tamil/English.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 04 Sep 2006, 21:21

Here is some information on this:
http://www.sruti.com/July03/nnote.html

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 04 Sep 2006, 21:27

jayaram
have read this book. this was published by DC books, Kottayam kerala. You should be able to access their website. THis is a collection of articles on MDR and his music, personal, musical etc. Then there are 2 interviews, a few lovely photos and also some beautiful sketches of MDR by Namboodiri, a renowned artist/cartoonist. Then there is a study of MDR's music by Madhu vasudevan. recently there was another book on MDR, a short story interspersed with MDR and his music. This was by krishnamoorthy of Cochin,a person who is an avid MDR fan. This is also in malayalam

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 06 Sep 2006, 22:54

Good article on MDR http://www.artindia.net/mdr.html

meena · Post by **meena** » 07 Sep 2006, 01:57

thanks for that article, chembai.

more wonderful articles on sree mdr:
http://mdramanathan.com/links.htm

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 07 Sep 2006, 09:13

http://rapidshare.de/files/32224617/5._ ... mbodhi.mp3
http://rapidshare.de/files/32224394/6._ ... mbodhi.mp3

Spellbinding Yadukula kambhoji. The krithi especially has been rendered by the great man which such feeling that it brings out all the little nuances of this Cinderella of Carnatic ragas.

MDR has taken his time with this krithi, and it encompasses a good 15 minutes. (including swaraprastara about 25 minutes) Usually this krithi takes about 5 minutes to sing but I am sure those of us who like slow, unhurried music would agree that MDR's version is special.

The swaraprastara is beautiful in the slow kaalam, and in perfect tune with the mood of the rendition.

What a rendition!

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 10 Sep 2006, 02:41

Read somewhere recently that one of MDR's favorites was Sree Gananatham bhajare in Isamanohari. But I haven't heard his rendition of this ragam. Can someone here share the recording? Thanks.

ananthaks · Post by **ananthaks** » 10 Sep 2006, 14:08

Sri Jayaraman,

One rendition of SriGananatham Bhajare could be found on the Sangeethapriya site, contributed by a gentleman who wishes to remain anonymous.

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... hajare.mp3

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 11 Sep 2006, 00:46

ananthaks wrote:Sri Jayaraman,

One rendition of SriGananatham Bhajare could be found on the Sangeethapriya site, contributed by a gentleman who wishes to remain anonymous.

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... hajare.mp3

Ananth - thank you very much. Only wish we could get a more elaborate version. This one starts abruptly and is quite brief.

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 27 Oct 2006, 11:14

I have one AIR concert of MDR with MSG. collected from Subbudu whose borther was in AIR.This concert is not in circulation.He sings a mindblowing Saveri Tulasi jaga, an enchanting Bilahari Paridana, an elegantsoulful Kanada Sukhi Evaro his own Kedaram composition and concludes with a javali in Behag.I would like to share this trove, but I need help for conversion and upload as I am a novice in such matters and need to be educated in such matters A few exclusive concerts are also availablr. Bye Venkat

meena · Post by **meena** » 27 Oct 2006, 20:56

ragjay

pl. enquire/post Re: conversion to mp3s etc. on this thread:

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1330

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Dec 2006, 06:28

MDR and the Beatles

I am sure this title evokes no less than a tinge of curiosity among the music lovers, who are familiar with â€œMD Ramanathanâ€™s musicâ€

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Dec 2006, 06:47

Thanks Meena.

>After the death of George Harrison

The author should have meant to write 'after the death of John Lennon'.

vasya10 · Post by **vasya10** » 26 Dec 2006, 10:58

I had posted this incident related to MDR in sangeetham.com long ago, and since audience has grown, want to repost. This is as recollected by my father.

It was around early 70s and one of those festivals in Triplicane (i think its called vidayatti) , where the musicians sing late unto night. It happened to be MDR's turn and he arrived at around 10 pm. Not many people were seated in the hall. MDR sat down, took a look at the audience as a batsman takes a look at the field. He then removed the mike and said 'im going to sing for my lord'. And he continued to sing for hours including a grand kambhodhi with o rangasayi that ran upto 90 minutes.

My dad still recalls that as one of the best concert experiences.

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Dec 2006, 11:09

Thanks for reposting vasya

A legend!

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 10 Jan 2007, 23:20

Interesting observations on Shri MDR's singing style:

The style of Ramanathan that made him known for what he was is marked by two conspicuous features, his very low pitch and his slow tempo. Here we confine ourselves to a discussion of only the former aspect of his style for several reasons. In the first place, the importance of voice including voice production and voice culture, to the musical content and meaning has received but little attention in the critical discourse of Karnataka music. Ever since voice production has been overwhelmingly taken over by the technology of acoustic reproduction, the listening habits of people have become insensitive and indifferent to the cherished values of vocalism of the earlier tradition. It is precisely against such a background that these apparent features of his singing voice like his low pitch and bass, had held out their appeal most to his elite audience in Kerala as those features would lend themselves to an easy approximation to their cultural correlates, while remaining unstated in the whole discourse. But what was basic to all this was that the bass as a 'quality' was the easiest to respond to for a sensibility that has been largely formed in an environment of the perception of the 'new sound' with recourse to the exaggerated aspects of tone, tonal colour and texture.

Though we do not have recordings from his earlier days, he could not have presumably sung in his debut concert, mikeless as it was, in a voice that was consistent with and anticipating his later familiar voice in a natural line of continuity of growth. In other words, his style of singing late in the day was in an affected, feigned voice which was not consistent with his natural speaking voice. (In the tradition of Hindustani music which sets great store by the calibre of voice and voice culture, this would amount to the sin of perjury that should be shunned, not a flaw that can be corrected). When asked about the inconsistency between his singing voice (sarira) and speaking voice in an interview, his answer takes recourse to the trite notion that art and reality are different. He also alludes to the quality of voice of his mentor which, according to him, would send doors and windows rattling. This obviously was what he was emulating. It is in this context that the reservations expressed by Palakkad Mani Iyer about Ramanathan's extremely low pitch (thaggu sruti), quoted earlier, have to be considered.
...
A discerning listener, if he is not prejudiced, will find how fully well these observations meet the case of Ramanathan's style. The over-concerned labouring the mandra either by an instrumentalist or by a vocalist (the worse, if it is not part of one's natural voice) has to be understood in the context of the popular associations of 'depth' and 'aristocracy' (that is, aristocracy of culture, in the sense of Pierre Bourdieu) that the culturally loaded semantic overtones of mandra are called upon to evoke.
...
The artiste's persistence with the bass without having much to communicate was another indication of a pretence of depth. The slowness of travel to a note in the mandra with the grandeur of heavy tone conquers your heart only when the pull and flavour of even a solitary sleepy note or notes gives a preview of the noble idea at the completion of the sequence.
...
Such an aspect of the mandra that is always upto prove a point about itself, as it were, when it is not sustained by the premises of its aesthetic rationale, can become a mannered affectation as much in Karnataka music as in Hindustani

citation: http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/socialhistoryofmusic.htm

Being an ardent MDR fan, I was quite taken aback by these comments, I must admit.
The article mentions that early in his career, MDR must have sung at a higher pitch. Has anyone here heard that MDR?

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 11 Jan 2007, 08:30

guess everyone is entitled to opinion and maybe he is right. Whatever it may be, I am still an mdrfan. Who cares what the article says, though a bit akward.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 11 Jan 2007, 10:37

MDR's style and Affectation

.

This guy must be joking.
This voice haunts me after decades.His renderings give that PERFECT backdrop ,against which I can assess all other renderings.
Unfortunately , for Some people , PMI is a GOD and his words are GOD's words.
Not for me though.All statements attributed to him have to be taken with a pinch of salt, like anybody else's.

MDR is fine with me, the way he was.It takes a lot of guts and conviction to project that kind of an image of a raga or krithi.
Maybe it did not suit PMI's style of playing ( I notice that in some concerts , he keeps hammering away with a violence , probably trying to nudge MDR into a faster tempo.But that is between them)

Forget , for a while Lennon Harrison or that aristocrat of Culture -Pierre Bourdieu,
A serious CM Rasika once accompanied me to a concert of Vinayak Torvi last year at Kannada Sangha.
For the first piece he was fidgeting around and wanted to excuse himself.
As Torvi took up Megh , he changed his mind and sat transfixed.

I gently nudged him , but he replied ,
Hey I am now seeing shades of MDR's Sree ,Madhyamavathi and Manirangu.I have suddenly developed a craving for these and am going back home straight , for another session with my MDR.

For folks like us who live by our EARS , there are no words to describe MDR's music.
Simple and straightforward.
Like the Salesman who was found selling various kinds of soup ladles and saying :
" No Sir, This one without any engravings is five times more expensive than the ones which have them.
You are surprised at that?It is like this.In the ones with engravings, other flaws do not show.But the plain one , it has to be perfect , otherwise the flaws would show up.."
And the HM context.Glad he did not bring up Amir Khans name.
Affectations......
Lata Mangeshkar Yes . Vani Jayaram Yes.
If I have to decide by the way they speak..

Aesthetic rationale ?? Wonder what is that???.

Picassos Mom found it out quite early when her 7 year old darling son refused to study Maths , complaining that 7 could never be a number.It always looked to him like an upturned Nose !

MDR and an affectation..

No ,Sir.
Not in my books.

divakar · Post by **divakar** » 11 Jan 2007, 11:30

MDR's music is unique both by his 'voice' and 'presentation'.

His presentation of a kriti is complete. he understands the meaning of a kriti and presents it with 'bhAva.'

His music does what it is supposed to do: 'elevate the listener' and to 'melt the mind in the moment'.

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 11 Jan 2007, 13:55

cool sir,, great post.

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 16 Jan 2007, 00:55

An esteemed author of a history paper wrote:

"Though we do not have recordings from his earlier days, he could not have presumably sung in his debut concert, mikeless as it was, in a voice that was consistent with and anticipating his later familiar voice in a natural line of continuity of growth. In other words, his style of singing late in the day was in an affected, feigned voice which was not consistent with his natural speaking voice. (In the tradition of Hindustani music which sets great store by the calibre of voice and voice culture, this would amount to the sin of perjury that should be shunned, not a flaw that can be corrected). When asked about the inconsistency between his singing voice (sarira) and speaking voice in an interview, his answer takes recourse to the trite notion that art and reality are different. He also alludes to the quality of voice of his mentor which, according to him, would send doors and windows rattling. This obviously was what he was emulating. It is in this context that the reservations expressed by Palakkad Mani Iyer about Ramanathan's extremely low pitch (thaggu sruti), quoted earlier, have to be considered."

This all seems a bit disingenuous. If MDR had changed his speaking voice to suit his singing style would that have made it better for this critic? Or is there something sacred and immutable about the speaking voice? For all the sharp criticism, all that the author has to support his position about the primacy of the speaking voice is an unattributed statement about Hindustani music voice culture and a comment from PMI. For an academic article on history of music the author seems unaware of the very tradition that he speaks authorititatively on. In the nineteenth century (and presumably earlier) male vocalists would sing somewhere in the vicinity of 4 kattai (F)! See, for example, "Musings..." by Rangaramanuja Iyengar. Presumably this was because there were no amplifiers. Now we sing around 1 kattai (C). Should we assume that our speaking voices have changed over the centuries or that our sainted forefathers did not sing with their speaking voices?

"The artiste's persistence with the bass without having much to communicate was another indication of a pretence of depth. The slowness of travel to a note in the mandra with the grandeur of heavy tone conquers your heart only when the pull and flavour of even a solitary sleepy note or notes gives a preview of the noble idea at the completion of the sequence.
...
Such an aspect of the mandra that is always upto prove a point about itself, as it were, when it is not sustained by the premises of its aesthetic rationale, can become a mannered affectation as much in Karnataka music as in Hindustani."

Anything can be a "mannered affectation"! Was GNB's resetting of the Carnatic paradigm a mannered affectation? If the author thinks that MDR was sporting more of a mannered affectation than is the norm, he should present some evidence. Did MDR ever say why he chose to sing in a low register (the remark about Tiger seems non-serious)? Are there other hints that suggest that he wanted to be snooty and hence the choice? As far as I know there are no hints either in MDR's speech or his behavior that would suggest that what the author is suggesting is remotely true -- from all reports, he was neither remote nor did he look down on his contemporaries. So I have to conclude that this is merely the author's prejudice (maybe he does not like MDR's style) masquerading thinly as informed criticism. I can imagine this kind of language in a critic's column in a household magazine but in an otherwise academically written article this part stood out as a petty rant. The author did not even bother to say if and how MDR affected history of music in Kerala!

-then paanan

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 16 Jan 2007, 01:27

echoing then paanan's sentiments, the average male speaking voice is about 1 kattai (and female is 5 kattai). I believe there is scientific data supporting this. Given that most males in earlier generations sang at much higher sruthis (and that includes HM vocalists), you have to conclude one the following:
(a) all the stars in those days were "exceptions" in terms of speaking voice pitch (i.e. way above average), or
(b) the argument that all good vocalist sang at about the same pitch as their speakng pitch is a bogus argument without any scientific backing.

Arguments of type (b) are abound when it comes to classical music

Arun

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 19 Jan 2007, 10:17

Jayaram, the earliest concert I have of MDR is in the late 50's with Palani on the mridangam. I have a few of his concerts with Pappa and PMI but those are undated.

His 50's concert he still sings at a bass voice (but maybe not the 5-5.5 kattai mandara stayi that he normally employs, maybe 5.75 or 6), and nowhere near the 'normal' 1-1.5 that most males used to sing at during that period.

Incidentally why the fuss about singing at the speaking voice? MDR's 'speaking voice' may not have been as low pitched as his 'singing voice', but there was a ringing bass note to it (just hear his explanation of the viruttam Ratnakarosti sadanam), and to believe that he managed to 'fake' his bass voice is rather silly. If one spoke at the 'singing voice' i am sure Musiri must have shattered a few crystal glasses in his day just by asking for his morning coffee!

I would like to know more about the author of the article. For all his 'criticism' of MDR in what appears to be a 'scholarly article' he doesn't present a shred of evidence apart from anecdotes and a Times of India article. The line that strikes me as odd is his claim that there was something problematic about his 'phenomenal popularity of [MDR] amongst certain social groups of Malayali elites, the most uncharacteristic of whose cultural expression was music'. '[It] was the manner in which the 'pretence of depth' and 'pretended aristocracy' derived from some explicit identity marks of his style like his famed mandra sruti, played themselves out in discursive dichotomies that were layered into their signification as a function of semantic legerdemain, thus seeking to be conflated with their cultural correlates.

Any author who hides in that much jargon probably has no idea what he is talking about and intends to confuse. First his implied statement that MDR was especially popular only amongst certain groups of 'elites'. Bovine faeces. My granduncles and other relatives were particularly active in the music scene of Trivandrum and Suchindrum (my great granduncle used to lock up TNR's booze chest till he finished performing and only then gave him the key) and their usual remarks about MDR rasikas was that he attracted a certain group of people who just wanted to hear music with bhavam. They never ever mentioned anything about a certain social class of people there. In fact my granduncle said that the 'elite' would rather attend SSI's and KVN's concerts during mandapam. MDR would sing to even 5 or 10 people in some concerts in Mumbai and Chennai. I know this is anecdotal, but it is about as much evidence Cherian presents to support his claim.

Furthermore, he says that it was MDR's bass voice that gave his singing a false sense of depth. Bovine faeces with hot-sauce. It was MDR's rendition, more so than his deep voice that gave it depth. Stressing the right syllables of compositions, stressing certain sancharas in alapanas and singing with knowledge of a composition's meaning gave his music depth. The voice probably helped better project the various moods a raga created but to attribute all of his (supposed) musical depth to that is silly.

And what kind of a cultural 'elite' seeks affirmation in bass voices?! I hope taxpayers didn't fund this 'research'. Cherian seems to be completely unaware of the politicking that kept MDR from receiving the Sangitha Kalanidhi, happily quoting that 'The Madras Music Academyâ€”that high-profile institution that functions as the arbiter of values in Karnataka musicâ€”has never honoured him by inviting him to preside over its annual session and conferring its prestigious title.' He goes on to cite instances of how critics from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu did not write good reviews of MDR. I don't know what the purpose of all this was, apart from trying to imply that the only people who gave a damn about MDR's music was 'elite' Malayalis.

I would love to go on but I think I shall just say one last line: Hiding these views behind academic sounding jargon is like coating bovine faeces in tinsel. It might dazzle for a moment but underneath it's still bovine faeces.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 19 Jan 2007, 11:05

Bala, could you please immediately edit out your swear words in your post above? Can I request you not to use such language again here?

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 20 Jan 2007, 08:40

What swear words?

Bullpoo? Bovine faeces? okay.. done. Don't be such a prude srk!

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 22 Jan 2007, 07:40

Ok you edited them out, thanks for that.

kadambam · Post by **kadambam** » 23 Jan 2007, 11:54

There need not be a direct link to a speaking voice/singing voice. Nithyashree sings at a very high pitch & that cannot be her speaking voice. The same would apply to Opera singers, who sing at a very high pitch.

MDR's music is definitely an experience and IMO his greatness comes from the ability to show the essence of a raga in very few sancharas. It will be in the Raga Alapana or during a kriti rendition or during swaraprastaras.. He will draw a sketch of the raga, so beautifully that it will stand out forever in the mind. It could be one of the ragas that has been heard for a million times from various musicians, but this sketch will be original, fresh and unique.

It is definitely a big plus that his base voice compliments his approach & like KVN, he knows the scope of his voice.

The critic seems to have a problem that MDR's music is well appreciated by a segment of people & definitely the musician's greatness cannot be blamed if it appeals to a specific section of rasikas for reasons whatsoever..

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 23 Jan 2007, 13:55

he was great no doubt. but a cello violin would have suited him best as accompaniment!