Chitti Babu – Columbia - 33ESX-6008, released in 1967 (LP)
Following posts featuring the Carnatic veena master Emani Sankara Sastry (1922-1987), I present this remarkable 1967 album by Chitti Babu (1936-1996), Sastry's most famous disciple. Born in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, Babu was born into a music-loving family and was a child prodigy on the veena. As a boy, he studied under Shri Pandravada Upmakaya and Shri Eyyuni Appalacharyulu before becoming Sankara Sastry's disciple in 1948.
Babu's extraordinary skill, and his popularization of the veena for a wider audience, made him one of the most celebrated 20th-century Carnatic seven-string Saraswati veena players. Deeply rooted in Carnatic tradition, Babu’s Bani style mimicked human vocal inflections and emotions. He displayed dazzling virtuosity and showmanship through his precise and lightning-fast fingerwork and seamless meend glides, spanning several notes with a single pluck. His expressive and soulful playing produced resonant notes that shimmered with a bell-like quality.
A consummately versatile musician, Babu was fearless in his experimentation and developed his own modern approach to music. His diverse output encompassed traditional ragas, Vedic hymns, folk songs, light classical pieces, his signature cuckoo mimicry (B4), and Western-based compositions.
Après plusieurs post consacrés au maître de la veena carnatic Emani Sankara Sastry (1922-1987), j’ai le plaisir de vous présenter cet album remarquable enregistré en 1967 par Chitti Babu (1936-1996), le disciple le plus célèbre de ce dernier. Né à Kakinada, dans l'Andhra Pradesh, Chitti Babu est issu d'une famille mélomane et était un enfant prodige de la veena. Il étudie dans son enfance sous la tutelle de Shri Pandravada Upmakaya et de Shri Eyyuni Appalacharyulu, puis devient le disciple d’Emani Sankara Sastry en 1948.
A1 – Sri Ganapathini - Saurashtra
A2 – Manavyalakincha – Nalinakanti
A3 – Swara Raga Sudha - Sankarabharanam
B1 – Kowmari Gouri - Velavali
B2 – Ninnuvina - Navarasakannada
B3 – Nirupamana - Behag (Javali)
B4 – Kommalo Koila - Misra (Cuckoo Song)
B5 – Aadevu Paadevu - Sindhubhairavi
My other Carnatic instrumental posts:
Emani Sankara Sastri – HMV 7 EPE 1603 here
Emani Shankara Sastry – L'Art du Vina – CBS 80213 here
Lalgudi Jayaraman / N. Ramani / R. Venkataraman – ECSD 2494 here
Lalgudi Jayaraman – HMV 7 EPE 1614 here
Lalgudi Jayaraman – Violin Solos of Carnatic Music – ECSD 2435 here
Lalgudi Jayaraman – Melodiya C80-27225-004 here
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu – HMV EALP 1375 here
T. N. Krishnan – SEDE 3609 Columbia here
T.N. Krishnan & Kumari Viji Krishnan Inreco 2401 here
N. Ramani – Flute – HMV – EASD 1390 here
Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO here
The Great Tradition – Masters of Music EALP Part 2 Carnatic here
Ascetic (also known as a sadhu or yogi) on the banks of the Ganges:
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