Why Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini remains the one-stop reference for Dikshitar’s compositions

In her lecdem astatine The Music Academy, Rajshri Ramakrishna analysed Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions successful publications different than Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (SSP).

Rajshri said that successful the 33 books she had gone through, determination was nary Dikshitar kriti not recovered successful SSP. She went done 21 Telugu books, of which 17 person notations. The earliest Telugu publication Sangita Sarvartha Sara Sangrahamu came retired successful 1859. The Tachur brothers brought retired 4 books. In Sangita Swayambodhini (1892), determination are 2 kritis with notation, 1 of which is ‘Vatapi’. Rajshri said that the process of introducing sangatis wherever imaginable had begun rather early. There are 8 Tamil books with notations, of which Thiruppamburam Natarajasundaram Pillai’s Dikshita Kirtana Prakasika has 50 compositions.

The raga of the kriti ‘Bhaktavatsalam’ is fixed successful Gayaka Parijatamu and different texts arsenic Mandari, but arsenic Vamsavati successful SSP. Rajshri said that Vamsavati was a scalar raga, with uneven tetrachords, making it imaginable to present different enactment to alteration the raga. This could beryllium the crushed for the notation of Mandari arsenic the raga. ‘Chetasri’ is fixed arsenic Dwijavanti successful different publications, but arsenic Jujavanti successful SSP. Rajshri said ‘Akhilandeswari’ (Jujavanti) mightiness person already been successful vogue, and to differentiate, they mightiness person fixed Dwijavanti for ‘Chetasri’.

Two philharmonic formats

From Sangita Swara Prasthara Sagaramu (1914), you tin infer that codification was taking spot and attempts were being made to enactment immoderate grammar successful place. This enactment says Dikshitar kritis travel 1 of 2 formats — ati citratama marga and citratama marga. The erstwhile has 1 melodic portion successful a kriya, and the second has two. ‘Srimahaganapathim’ (Gowla) comes nether ati citratama marga, and ‘Arunachalanatham’ (Saranga) nether citratama marga. In the Malayalam enactment Sangita Rajarangom (1928) by A.S. Renganatha Ayyar, ‘Sri kamalambike’ (Sri raga) is notated successful Ata tala. The writer has conscionable mathematically arranged the full song.

In the kriti ‘Venkateswara’ (Megharanjani), we person the words ‘Yettappa bhupati’ successful SSP, but ‘Yadava’ is utilized successful spot of ‘Yettappa’ successful different publications. SSP mentions the composer is Kumara Yettappa. ‘Venkateswara’, ‘Kamalaasanaadhi’ (Brindavani) and ‘Nikhilananda’ (Saveri) are kritis attributed to Dikshitar successful galore publications. Maybe the sahitya was by the Rajah and the euphony by Dikshitar. ‘Venkateswara’ is said to beryllium successful Megharanji successful each publications, but it is Megharanjani successful SSP.

In Cinnaswami Mudaliar’s Oriental Music successful European Notation, ‘Gurumurthe’ is simply a nottuswara, but it is simply a keertanai successful SSP. There are 5 works that person 2 other avarthas of sahitya successful the charanam of ‘Balagopala’ (Bhairavi). For ‘Sarasa dala netra’ (Atana), Cinnaswami Mudaliar gives a metronomic velocity of 144, which is the equivalent of singing 1 kalai fast. He tries to specify the kalapramanam successful a precise quantified way. He has incorporated each the gamakas specified arsenic nokku and odukkal successful the unit notation. Both Indian and European systems seemed to gully inspiration from each other. Subbarama Diskhitar had the expansive thought of reducing the fig of swaras, by introducing signs and symbols connected top, possibly to facilitate show speechmaking arsenic successful Western music.

SSP shows the contours of Mohanam successful the pallavi of ‘Narasimha agaccha’, wherever it goes to tara sthayi, comes to mandra sthayi and finishes connected ‘Sa’. But this is not seen successful different publications. For ‘Sri viswanatham’ (Sri raga), kampita gamaka is fixed for ‘ri’ successful SSP. Usually, determination is simply a kampita for ‘ri’ lone successful Madhyamavati, not successful Sri. Orikkai is fixed for gandhara successful SSP. This benignant of gandhara is usually seen successful Manirangu, not successful Sri.

Rajshri played 2 audio clippings of ‘Mamava pattabhirama’ (Manirangu), 1 by Brinda and Mukta and the different by M.D. Ramanathan. Both travel the notation of earlier publications and statesman connected ‘ri’, the mode we statesman Madhyamavati. But the notation successful SSP is different.

Sangita Kalanidhi-designate R.K. Shriramkumar observed that Mandari was not a portion of the Dikshitar parampara astatine all. He said that T.L. Venkatrama Iyer pointed retired to D.K. Pattammal that ‘Akhilandeswari’ was not a Dikshitar kriti.