Vidwan: Music of South India -- Songs of the Carnatic Tradition

Ramnad Krishnan

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005IW7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,267 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Classic, February 2, 2002

By A Customer

Another review mentioned "violin, tanpura and tabla". There is of course NO TABLA on this record, which is south Indian classical; the drums are mridangam and kanjira. By the way, this is much better than the trend today towards mridangam only, and does wonders for the drum solo, which is actually exciting, very much so.

This is simply a classic album. The first recording of a south Indian classical singer released on LP in America, and not only was it a top-level singer, but a performance where everything clicked - singing, accompaniment, material selection, everything is top-notch. The song chosen for ragam-tanam-pallavi elaboration (long, main item) is catchy even in the Western sense and with its fantastic drum solo will certainly appeal to many more listeners than the average recording in the genre. Track subdivision and liner notes are also very good and pedagogic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Erudite renditions, February 4, 2003

By	"gsriram" (Ames, IA United States) - See all my reviews

All of the renditions in this album are erudite. The musicianship of the lead vocalist Ramnad Krishnan is exemplary. The ragam-tanam-pallavi is of course excellent; but the piece "Abhimana" in Begada deserves special mention. Ramnad Krishnan was an outstanding exponent of such rakti ragas (melodic modes).

The extensive sleeve notes by Prof. Jon Higgins (himself a Carnatic performer) should be very informative to Indian and non-Indian listeners alike.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classy Classic, February 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Vidwan: Music of South India -- Songs of the Carnatic Tradition (Audio CD)

I think this was the first recording of south Indian classical singing that came out on LP in the USA. And it's a fantastic recording. Three short songs (kritis) and one long piece, the ragam-tanam-pallavi. The latter is a complicated form, where ragam and tanam are long improvisations (a bit like alap/jod in north India), and pallavi is a structurally complex form of elaboration on melodic lines of a kriti. It also contains a drum solo. Now, this form (RTP) in concert can run up to three hours; the feat on this album was to condense it into half an hour and the way they did it was so succesful it has been a recording norm ever since.

Ramnad Krishnan was a singer from the top level, and the accompaniment is also top-notch. Violin and kanjira playing especially. In some ways, this album is better than many being recorded today, since it features both mridangam and kanjira drums, instead of the current unfortunate trend towards mridangam only.

The three kritis, sweet as they are to the south Indian ear, are probably bitter fodder for beginner foreigners, but, and this is important about this groundbreaking release, the RTP is catchy even in the Western sense, and with its long and fantastic drum solo (remember, mridangam AND kanjira) it will certainly appeal to many, many more listeners than the average recording in the genre. It is also divided into tracks for the various sections, which is rare but absolutely examplary for someone who hasn't even heard an RTP before but wants to understand how it works.

Liner notes are also very good, and extensive enough to convey a little more than basic background information.