Awareness & Appreciation of Carnatic Music A Music Workshop

Conducted by Maharajapuram Sri Ramachandran

At Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, PA 18353

From Aug 14 – 19, 2011 “I see music as a blessing of Isvara for the self-conscious, self-judgmental human being to survive and experience, for the time being, the reality of oneness with the total, the Lord, without having any qualification for it. I think that is what a blessing is.” – Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Carnatic music is one of the two systems of Indian classical music and it represents a rich cultural tradition that is handed down from generation to generation through the system of guru-shishya parampara. This Sampradaya commands worldwide respect, admiration, and following, as one of the most ancient music systems dating back to the Vedas. In the Indian tradition, the Lord is viewed as Nada-brahmam and music is looked upon as a manifestation of the Lord. Saint Tyagaraja describes music, in one of his kritis, as an embodiment of Lord Siva. In fact, the foundation of the traditional Indian music is traced to Samaveda. According to Sarangadeva, the author of Sangita Ratnakara, raga kharaharapriya contains all the svarams of the chants of the Samaveda. Raga is the fulcrum among the three basic elements of Indian music, namely, bhava, raga, and tala in music. A composition in classical music aims at the unification of the three elements in proper proportions. Maharajapuram Sri Ramachandran will conduct a workshop on “Awareness and Appreciation of carnatic music” and teach a few compositions including some that were popularized by his father Maharajapuram Sri Santhanam.

• The highlight of the workshop sessions will be Pujya Swamiji’s talks and interpretation of the kritis of various composers that are being taught by Sri. Ramachandran.

• Maharajapuram Ramachandran will start the workshop with Saint Tyagaraja’s Pancharatna Kriti in Nattai. In addition, he plans to teach the Pancharatna kriti in raga Sri and selected compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar (e.g., Jambhupathe, Anandeswaram), Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavatar and Papanasam Sivan.

• He will also teach selected compositions of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati. To facilitate the easy understanding and appreciation of the nuances of Carnatic music, Sri Ramachandran will dwell on the bhava, raga, and tala aspects of music, giving practical demonstrations as and when required. A question and answer session is being planned to make the workshop more interesting and interactive.

Registration/Boarding/Lodging: $250/per person

For further details, please contact: (570) 992-2339 x234 www.arshavidya.org