Karnatic Classical

Though less popular and visible amongst mainstream North American and European audiences than its sister style of north Indian classical music, Carnatic (aka "Karnatic" or "Karnatak") classical music from southern India is a rich, sophisticated, and very ancient form of music.

Like its Hindustani equivalent, Carnatic classical music is based on the principles and interplay of ragam (melody) and thaalam or talam (rhythm). Sometimes, listeners will hear performances of a ragam being fully explored in a three-part structure: ragam (also called alapana), an unmetered exploration of the ragam's notes and features; thanam, a metered section that corresponds to a jor in the Hindustani tradition; and pallavi, or "tail" of a ragam, which is the core of the performance. This sequence is frequently followed by a tillana, a fast and virtuosic technical display for which vocalists will use meaningless, scat-style syllables instead of a song text. More often, however, concertgoers will be treated to a recital structured the following way: opening with a varnum ("color"), a warm-up piece; a series of krithis (also spelled kritis), or Hindu devotional songs, which may be either sung or rendered on instruments; and a mangalam, a song to thank the gods and invoke blessings for humanity.

While like Hindustani music Carnatic compositions are developed monodically (that is, with a single melody line and without the harmonies of European classical music) and with incredible melodic ornamentation, Carnatic musicians often amplify melodic ideas in a slightly different way: frequently, after the main soloist has played a melodic idea, a secondary artist will play the same phrase just a couple of seconds later while the first musician continues to play on. For newcomers, it takes a little while to adjust to hearing melodies played in such a way that seems "out of time" until they understand this performance practice.

Historically, Carnatic music has been much more interwoven with temple life and with a Hindu religious identity than in the north, where for centuries many of the finest musicians and composers have come from Muslim backgrounds. The staple genre of krithis is inevitably Hindu in its content, and the three extremely popular composers known as Carnatic music's "trinity"—Tyagaraja (1767-1847), Mutuswamy Dikshitar (1776-1835), and Syama Sastri (1762-1827)—are commonly referred to as "composer-saints.

There are a great many wonderful Carnatic artists who frequently tour and whose work is well documented on recordings; among them are the late vocalist MS Subbulakshmi and the singer M. Balamuralikrishna; veena (a plucked, string instrument) player S. Balachander; percussionist TH "Vikku" Vinayakram; violinists like L. Subramaniam, L. Shankar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, and A. Kanyakumari; saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath; and mandolin player U. Srinivas. --Anastasia Tsioulcas