INDIA – INDE Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO

INDIA – INDE

Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO, reissue of a 1955 release recorded by Alain Daniélou (LP)

Recorded in stereo by Alain Daniélou* between 1950 and 1955 using the most advanced technology available at the time, these classic tracks of Carnatic music present such luminaries as vocalists D.K. Pattamal (1919-2009) (A1-A3) and Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer (1897-1975) (B5); a veena duet with Devakotai Narayana Iyengar (1905-?) & Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar (A4); a large, intense double-reed nagasvaram played by K.S. Pichiappa (1913-1979) and usually played during marriages and temple rituals; T. Viswanathan (1927-2002) on the flute (B1-B2); Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri (1894-1978) on the fretless 21-string gottuvadyam (B4) and more.

 

Enregistrées en stéréo par Alain Daniélou* entre 1950 et 1955 à l'aide de la technologie la plus avancée de l'époque, ces plages de musique Carnatic présentent notamment la grande chanteuse D.K. Pattamal (1919-2009) (A1-A3) et le chanteur Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer (1897-1975) (B5) ; un duo de veena avec Devakotai Narayana Iyengar (1905- ?) et Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar (A4) ; un grand nagasvaram à anche double joué par K.S. Pichiappa (1913-1979) et habituellement joué lors de mariages et de rituels dans les temples ; T. Viswanathan (1927-2002) à la flûte (B1-B2) ; Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri (1894-1978) au gottuvadyam fretless à 21 cordes (B4).

A1 – The Varali mode

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal [pictured below]

Violin – Tiruvallur Subrahmanyam

Mridangam – Palghat Kunjumani & Shiva Pattamal

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A2 – Ninyako

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal 

Violin – Tiruvallur Subrahmanyam

Mridangam – Palghat Kunjumani & Shiva Pattamal

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A3 – Javali, in the Paraj mode

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal 

Veena – Kalyan Krishna Bhagavatar 

Mridangam – Karaikudi Muttu Aiyar

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A4 – Sadhincene for two veenas (Tyagaraja)

Veenas – Devakotai Narayana Iyengar [pictured below] & Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar. 

A5 – Alapana in Kambodhi mode for nagasvaram 

Nagasvarams by K.S. Pichiappa [pictured below] & K.M. Dakshinamurti

Violin by T. Subrahmanya Pillai

Thaval drum by Muthu Kuramam Jhalam.

B1 – Javali in the Khamas mode for flute

Flute by T. Viswanathan  

Mridangam by T. Ranganathan.

 

B2 – Sandehamunu in the Ramapriya mode for flute         

Flute by T. Viswanathan 

Mridangam by T. Ranganathan.

 

B3– Jatisvaram

Bala Sarasvati Orchestra.

 

B4 – Ganesha Kimaram for gottuvadyam

Gottuvadyam by Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri [pictured below]

Violin by Varahur Muthusvami Aiyar

Mridangam by Tinniyam Venkatarama Aiyar.

B5 – Pallavi in the Bhairavi mode 

Vocals by Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer [pictured below]

Vocal accompaniment by Velore Gopalachari

Violin by M. Chandrashekharan

Mridangam by Karakudi Mutha Lyer.

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*Alain Daniélou (1907-1994) was an eminent French Indologist and musicologist who lived in India from 1937 to 1958. During his time there, he acquired an unparalleled knowledge of Hindu philosophy, especially Shaivism, as well as Indian religions, languages, music, architecture and the arts.

 

Daniélou undertook a comprehensive study of Indian classical music, mastered the veena, and made extensive field recordings of Indian classical music, capturing performances by renowned musicians. 

 

Upon his return to Europe in 1960, he was appointed an advisor to the UNESCO's International Music Council, which led to a series of recordings of traditional music that are documented in UNESCO's collections: A Musical Anthology of the Orient, Musical Atlas, Musical Sources, and Anthology of Indian Classical Music. In 1963, he became the founder and director of the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation (IICMSD) in West Berlin. 

 

Daniélou served as a bridge between India and the West, and his legacy continues to inspire musicians, scholars, and music lovers around the world.

* * *

Another excellent compilation of Carnatic music:

The Great Tradition – Masters of Music – HMV – EALP 1453/1452, Part 2 Carnatic Music here

Photographs below are from the Walters Art Museum here and The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purse, Thames & Hudson, 1980:

Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning, is depicted as plucking the veena while holding a palm leaf manuscript in one of her four hands. The manuscript alludes to sacred knowledge that is safeguarded by the goddess. The sculpture (c. 10th or 11th century) is carved from sandstone native to the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, reflecting a long history of stone carving in India. This craft has been used to adorn the country's temples, forts, and palaces for centuries.

 

Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists revere Sarasvati, having adopted her from earlier traditions that espouse the concept of a spiritual essence inherent in all natural objects. Named after a (now dry) river in India, Sarasvati is an ancient goddess who embodies the river's abundant gifts, including water for irrigation. According to legend, she also bestowed knowledge, words, and sound upon humanity, particularly in the Hindu tradition. Her powers are celebrated in stories throughout India.

“The great Serpent King of the underworld is one of the Nagas who embodies in Indian mythology the life energy, the powers of earth and waters. Guardians of the threshold, the snakes, like the labyrinth, coil round creating and protecting the 'treasure' at the centre, which is the sacred pearl of wisdom and divine knowledge. By harmonizing his natural energies, man can transmute these creative coils and 

endless rounds of existence to reach the axis and still centre of his being.

”

 

Carved cave ceiling at Badami, Karnataka, India, 6th century A.D.

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