Winds of change in music

As Chennai prepares to immerse itself in yet another music season, the decision of the Music Academy — one of the city’s premier institutions — to invite music director A.R. Rahman to inaugurate its 99th annual music conference and concerts reflects a significant shift from its prior view on music. ‘Isaignani’ Ilaiyaraaja, who blends Carnatic ragas with folk and western classical music, inaugurated the music festival of the Academy in 2017.

Changes have caught up with the sabhas in many ways. Even the language of performance is no longer an issue. Singers who once chose Telugu or Sanskrit compositions of the Carnatic Trinity and keerthanas in other languages to showcase their vidwat at the Music Academy now frequently opt for Tamil songs as the main item, or even for the ragam-tanam-pallavi.

A variety of factors has ushered in this shift. The old-timers who traced their roots to the composite Thanjavur region along the Cauvery, or to the courts of Ramanathapuram, Ettayapuram, and villages in Tirunelveli — once the living links between past and present — have almost vanished from the scene. The musical landscape is now dominated by a new generation groomed in Chennai and they are cosmopolitan in outlook. Though the majority are still Brahmins and follow the conventional kutcheri format on stage, their professional lives extend well beyond its boundaries. Their work is marked by collaborations with artistes from other genres, experiments with new forms, and performances for new and diverse audiences. In the age of the Internet, they no longer relate to Carnatic music solely as a sacred, bhakti-oriented art. Tradition and sampradaya, as a result, cannot be interpreted in the old ways. Carnatic music is a full-time profession today. When artistes collaborate across genres they do so not just for popularity but with commitment and understanding.

Among the new experiments is Band Cooum, comprising singer Susha, violinist Shreya Devnath, and percussionist Praveen Sparsh — each with a strong Carnatic background — along with parai artistes Deepan and ‘Rocket’ Raji (Rajendran) of the Friends Kalai Kuzhu troupe.

The members of A Carnatic Quartet — featuring violinist Shreya Devnath, mridangam artiste Praveen Sparsh, nagaswaram player Mylai Karthikeyan, and thavil player Jeevanantham — have explained how collaboration and exchange of ideas have enriched their playing and deepened their understanding of music. The Chennai Sangamam, organised by the DMK government headed by M. Karunanidhi (2006-11) and driven by MP Kanimozhi, also facilitated encounters between Carnatic and folk artistes, and took Carnatic concerts to public parks.

Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan, in his memoir On That Note, recalls how he once resolved to be a purely classical singer even as others — including P. Unnikrishnan, Bombay Jayashri, and Nithyasree — were breaking barriers between Carnatic music and cinema. Yet, he too eventually sang for films. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid expansion of digital platforms, audiences no longer feel compelled to attend live concerts; they can simply listen from home. This has pushed artistes to tailor their concerts and collaborations to suit an invisible, dispersed audience. Sid Sriram balances careers as playback singer and Carnatic vocalist, as did K.J. Yesudas before him. Almost all the singers of the Quarantine From Reality, a popular music programme produced by Subashree Thanikachalam, were Carnatic vocalists.

Puritans who look down on other musical forms often forget that Papanasam Sivan, celebrated as the Tamil Tyagaraja, had a long and successful innings in cinema as a composer. G.N. Balasubramaniam, a trendsetter in Carnatic music, acted and sang in films. M.S. Subbulakshmi and N.C. Vasanthakokilam too had notable film careers.

In his book, A Southern Music: The Karnatic Story, T.M. Krishna notes that the first major change that Rahman brought to cinema was the quality of sound, whether local or instrumental. His arrival coincided with leaps in technology that transformed how film music was produced and experienced. “Elements of Carnatic music have appeared throughout the history of South Indian film music...,” he writes. “Rahman and his successors have at times used Carnatic ragas as superficial sources of melodies.”