On a song, all day long

ARUNA CHANDARAJU

Is the idea of a 24-hour TV channel devoted to classical music viable?

Visual element: Music at any time. Photo: N. Sridharan

IT'S been a fond fantasy of many a rasika like me. Switching on TV to a channel dedicated to classical music and soaking in kutcheri after kutcheri and listening to stimulating discussions on the intricacies and nuances of the art. Yet, it has been, till now, just a fantasy. Currently, there is a radio channel but one still misses the complete audio-visual experience that TV can provide.

No doubt we'll receive rejoinders about commercial viability. However, we decided to focus only on the opinions of musicians and critics. All of whom say this is long overdue. Santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma says there is "a dire need for a TV channel dedicated to Indian classical music. Current channels allocate little or no time for classical music and much of what we see of Indian music is Indipop, remixes and film music."

"Very desirable," feels Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, while Padmabhushan T.N. Seshagopalan says he's felt the need even more after listening to 24-hour radio channel devoted to classical music. "It will make a big, positive difference to the music lovers' world. And offer viewers a healthy, classy alternative to those mega-serials," he adds, with a laugh. Pandit Jasraj points out that our classical music traditions are "proven rich both in spiritual and scientific value" and hence deserve a dedicated channel. Sangeeta Kalanidhi R.K. Srikantan feels it "is a great pity the music world hasn't managed such a facility till now. Even current channels allocate inadequate time to classical music, the authorities seem to prefer cinemas and visual arts." Bombay Jayashri long wondered why not a dedicated channel for classical music when there are similar ones for sports, animals, travel...

In favour

And there are strong arguments in its favour. First, it'd provide a wonderful added opportunity and platform for artistes. While sabhas and concert halls have increased they haven't kept pace with the growing numbers of performers. And for connoisseurs, getting their fix of music at home, at the switch of the button and at any time would be a boon, especially since many performances and lec-dems happen at inconvenient places and hours. And for those in remote areas/small towns/villages, a good concert is a pleasure for which they have to travel to a nearby town or city.

Granted, there is an excellent 24-hour private radio channel, but its cost confines it to a small number of upper or upper-middle class homes. So TV would be a great means for carrying classical music into homes nationwide. Additonally, as Ravikiran points out, there is a "huge market abroad for our music". The growing numbers of NRI connoisseurs and students too can benefit from tuning in. There is also a great advantage to an audio-visual medium like TV over radio. "The TV programme offers a sense of immediacy and closeness to the musical experience that the audio can't deliver," explains Seshagopalan. "Also, in music, nothing compares with the experience of sitting in an auditorium and live telecasts will come very close to that." Pandit Jasraj agrees that a visual element would make the performance more gripping. Equally, TV offers insights into techniques that a purely audio medium can't match. The expert and student in the audience can closely watch the differences in the meetus, how a rise in pitch, a gamaka, a change of raga in ragamalika are produced. In instrumental performances, especially veena or mridangam, one can follow the movement of the fingers for a better appreciation of the musician's technique.

Value addition

Ravikiran points out that visuals make a big value-add, in a concert or lec-dem. "It will give a live feel to concerts. In a visual medium, people can get to enjoy the interaction among the various artistes, watch techniques in close-up shots and be entertained and educated." In fact, the close-ups that TV can provide give it an advantage over even the live auditorium experience. As Jayashri says, TV's advantage is: "Besides listening to a musician, I also want to watch closely how he manages the thalam in a complicated cycle; how his expressions are during a bhava-laden composition-rendition; how his gestures vary during various stages. Finally a concert is about a fascinating chemistry between performer and accompanists and an audio-visual medium enables us to see that."

Contentwise, performances,whether live or recorded; teaching sessions; lec-dems; discussions and quizzes would make a good mix, say all the musicians. Ravikiran suggests, "Special collaborations (jugalbandi/fusion with other world artistes), star interviews (one artiste interviewing another), panel discussions (on amplification, gamakas, talas), debates (mikes vs mikeless concerts) classical ragas in film music..." Shivkumar Sharma believes such a channel would be a welcome means of passing on music traditions to the younger generation. He suggests that whoever sets up such a channel contact a wide cross-section of artists for ideas on content. Srikantan feels this channel will be a "wonderful medium for music-appreciation classes with the instructor taking up one raga/technical concept each day. We can also train audiences in understanding a good concert."

K.S. Ramnath, Bangalore's sabha-organiser doyen, wants "a regular slot for promising youngsters, the future of our music." Seshagopalan advocates a 24-hour channel so it caters to people even with odd work-timings. Most feel the channel could have a mix of Hindustani and Carnatic music though Jayashri feels separate channels might work better. Ramnath feels a mix will reinforce "classical music's reputation as a unifying force". Ravikiran believes a single channel would bring much interaction among artistes and music lovers of both systems, as long as equal importance, time wise and profile wise, is given to both." Hopefully, the right people are listening

SAVITRY NAIR

This year's Pablo Casals Festival in Prades saw a musical dialogue between Carnatic music, Western chamber music and a Catalan singer.

Music knows no barriers: The musicians during their unique attempt.

THIS year, for the first time, at the Pablo Casals Festival held in a small picturesque town, Prades, in southern France, three Carnatic musicians dialogued with a versatile western quartet and a Catalan singer in an unforgettable concert.

Nestled among the Pyrennees ranges, Prades is situated in the Catalan Country, an ancient kingdom, today split between France and Spain. The Catalan culture is marked by a special language and music, which bind the people across political barriers. Towering above the range of mountains around Prades is the 2075-metre high Canigou Peak, a sacred centre for Catalan people.

Choice venues

The festival, spread over several places within 10-20 km around Prades, is well known for its choice of venues. All the concerts are set in ancient churches, abbeys and priories, with thick stonewalls, arches and vaulted domes, which provide a uniquely peaceful atmosphere and excellent acoustics. The concerts are free from artificial electric sound systems, microphones and loudspeakers.

The festival is named after the famous Spanish cello player, Pablo Casals, who fled Spain to France under General Franco's autocratic regime. He lived in Prades, close to the Spanish frontier, and continued to play in the Baroque churches. People flocked to hear him play, and continued to visit Prades even after his death, thus paving the way for the Pablo Casals Festival.

The 54th edition of the Festival (July 26-August 13) presented a unique concert of Carnatic, Western Chamber and Catalan music, on August 1, in an unusual setting, a Ninth Century cloister called St. Michael de Cuxa Abbey. This was the initiative of the festival's Artistic Director, Michel Lethiec, a musician himself, and Andre Martin a western classical musician and a student of Carnatic music.

Chitravina N. Ravikiran, vocalist T.M. Krishna, and Satish Kumar Patri on percussion came together with four chamber musicians, David Grimal on the violin, Georges Lambert on the flute, Michel Lethiec on the clarinet and Andre Martin on the oboe. A well-known young musician, Ferran Savall, represented Catalan music. He played an ancient instrument, the Theorbo, as well as the guitar to accompany his singing.

On the evening of August 1, heavy rains poured down and temperature dropped to 15C, very unusual in the South of France at this time of the year. But still the organisers had to add more seats to accommodate the unexpected flow of people.

The concert began with the Carnatic section, first with a deeply moving Varali Raga by T.M. Krishna with the krithi "Eti Janmamu". The sangathis around "O Rama" were poignant, as he rendered the krithi with a mix of strength and subtlety.

When Ravikiran started Reetigowla on the Chitravina, the first few notes tugged at the heartstrings of the audience. He played the krithi "Dvaitamu sukhama" by Thyagaraja and ended it on a fast tempo of Kalpana swarams.

To mark the end of this session, the tamburas were stopped and Satish Kumar broke into a volley of konnakol, which was unexpected and wondrous to the western ear.

Farran Savall glided into the konnakol's music with his soft Catalan song. The third group, the Quartet introduced their characteristic music by playing a short extract from J.S. Bach's "Art of the Fugue".

Their sensitive rendition of the composition showed each one's mastery and excellence within the uniqueness and beauty of his instrument.

With a kanjira solo, Satish Kumar signalled the transition to the second half of the concert where all three styles joined to create a breathtaking finale. The Quartet improvised the notes of the raga Revagupti, each instrument showing its tonal texture. To highlight the basic difference between the Western and Carnatic music, plain notes were first given by the Western musicians and then taken up by T.M. Krishna with Carnatic gamakas. There was a moment of suspense when Andre Martin came out with a few gamakas, first on his own, and then dialoguing with Krishna. Ravikiran ended the Revagupti with a very pertinent fast alapana.

Enthusiastic response

Next, Ravikiran began the main raga, Shanmukhapriya, which Krishna then took over and elaborated with the western musicians creating unequal non-harmonic spaces in the raga for him to explore. Then the Chitravina took up on a pulsating thanam, when Krishna effortlessly rose to the Thara sthayi Panchamam with swara singing. Satish's catchy thani avartanam alternated intricate phrases of the konnakol, the kanjira and the mridangam, with ease and excellence. The Western audience, not used to any such rhythmic interlude, reacted with great enthusiasm. The finale saw all the musicians join together to play a very fast and scintillating korvai.

The audience honoured this first attempt at a dialogue of the cultures with a standing ovation. When the applause would not die down, Ferran Savall started singing a popular Catalan song called "Song of the Birds" and walked up to the middle of the stage where the other musicians joined him softly humming the notes of the raga Sindhubhairavi (which matched the basic notes of the song).

Both, the artists and the audience seemed equally pleased to share such a rare moment of brilliance and sharing. The French news paper, L' Independent, reported of the concert, "This was one of those evenings where the audience go back home with bright eyes, a smile on their face, and a quiet peaceful mind. Traditional Indian music, with extraordinary instruments and the singer with his voice full of mystery create this impact."

The writer is a dancer and musician based in Paris.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/09/04/stories/2005090400230500.htm

Staff Reporter

Musician's Level 2 of `Perfecting Carnatic Music' released

CHENNAI: Chitravina N. Ravikiran, who was rooted in the classical tradition, was not afraid of innovating and refining when necessary.

The musician had struck a delicate balance between performance and teaching, N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, said on Thursday.

He was speaking at a function to release Level 2 of `Perfecting Carnatic Music.' Published by the International Foundation for Carnatic Music (IFCM), a unit of the Ravikiran Foundation, the book is a sequel to `Perfecting Carnatic Music,' Level 1, published in 1999.

Heartening trend

Referring to a book by Allan Bloom on `The Closing of the American Mind,' he said the interest in classical performances in India was heartening and indicated that classical music was in good shape. Mr. Ram said students in small towns and rural areas should have access to the book.

B.B. Sundaram, who organises the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival annually, said Mr. Ravikiran used technology to reach the vast majority of lay people.

"With his students, he has a discerning sense for what is enduring and what is transient, " he said.

Satya Prabhakar, CEO of Sulekha.com, that hosted a string of performances in the United States, released two CDs — `The exquisite Bhairavi,' presented by N. Ravikiran and `Arpanam,' an offering by Savita Narasimhan. Both CDs have been produced by the IFCM.

Mr. Ravikiran introduced Aditya Kanukurthy, an 11-year-old from Austin, Texas, who has been taking lessons through tele-teaching classes and in person from him. Aditya's first performance has been arranged by the IFCM at Raga Sudha Hall in Mylapore on Saturday evening.

Psychological stress

Mr. Ravikiran told mediapersons that teaching music lessons in the conventional way caused psychological stress in students who often found many excuses to stop learning.

The two books introduced melody and rhythm as separate components. They aimed at achieving perfection along with self-enjoyment.

A sense of shruti and rhythm, which had universal appeal, had to be inculcated in the students, he stressed.

The book contains key phrases and information about each raga, brief write-ups on a few prominent composers and an entire chapter on the right approach and attitude to the art and the teacher.

Source : http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/15/stories/2005071515620400.htm

By Garimella Subramaniam

Ravikiran

CHENNAI, JULY 25. In the musical landscape of the multifaceted Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, the seemingly irreconcilable worlds of Indian and western classical music blend admirably. It seems paradoxical that the pre-eminent maestro of the Chitraveena, vocalist and composer of Carnatic classical music should also be the pioneer of this avant-garde musical vision. But then this prolific composer of Varnams, Kritis, Tillanas and ballets numbering over 500 has also lent his creative imagination to ventures involving the world's leading pop, jazz and blues groups for nearly two decades.

Mr. Ravikiran has always held that tradition and innovation are but two sides of a coin. It is the same philosophy that underlies his novel mission to make Indian ragas — melodic scales — accessible to western composers and audiences. The new genre is Melharmony — short for melody and harmony — a term Mr. Ravikiran coined en route to London aboard a trans-Atlantic flight in 2000. He performed the first ever concerto in the new genre in collaboration with the BBC's Philharmonic orchestra at the Millennium Festival in October that year. It was rated among the top five out of 2000 performances. Says Mr. Ravikiran: "The appeal of Indian classical music overseas has been limited to appreciating individual brilliances. It is about time the interest in the concert deepened and the concept gained recognition. The exotic appeal of Indian ragas as ethnic music may have been a good starting point. But this is not enough."

Explaining the concept, he emphasises that melody and harmony are not really mutually exclusive.

Rather, Indian classical music is pre-eminently melodic, whereas the western system is fundamentally harmonic. In a raga, notes appear in a sequence. In the western system, notes occur simultaneously in a triad and produce harmony. Melharmony creates harmony by using the melodic rules of the Indian system. This way, the nuances of the melodic system become more intelligible to those conversant with harmony. It also adds a fresh dimension to Indian music.

In its current stage of evolution, Melharmonic concertos are rendered in the instrumental format. But Melharmony is a distinct entity and stands apart from a Vadhyabrunda or a jugal bandi or other forms of fusion.

Today there are Melharmonic compositions in ragas Sarasvathi, Kapi, Chakravakam, Hamsanadham, Varunapriya, Hamsadwani, Hamirkalyani and Nattai.

The potential and scope of a vocal rendition of Melharmony is at this stage perhaps a matter of conjecture.

Harmonic music evolved in the Middle Ages as a means of attracting audiences when the influence of church music was on the decline.

The advent of a novel format on the Carnatic scene may well be the answer to growing concerns over declining audiences at Kutcheris.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/26/stories/2004072602692000.htm

For whom every system of music is an ocean

Pittsburgh, May 2 (IANS) He has collaborated with Western classical, Jazz, African, pop, South American, Chinese and Middle Eastern musicians. But for chitraveena virtuoso N. Ravikiran, Carnatic classical music is the most fulfilling.

"It is like being exposed to delicacies all over the world but returning home to good old curd rice," the maestro, who hails from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, told IANS in an interview.

"But every system of music is an ocean, each has a lot to teach us."

Ravikiran, who has been professionally playing his stringed slide instrument since the age of 12, gave his first Carnatic classical vocal performance at the age of two. By five he was into full-length concerts.

His first foray into fusion music was at a recording done at the invitation of noted violinist L. Subramaniam in Switzerland in 1987.

"There were a few American pop musicians whose names I cannot even remember now besides the Indian artistes, but the experience was nice," says the maestro, here for a Carnatic classical recital organised by SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth).

Since then he has worked with musicians with diverse backgrounds like those from the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, blues singer Taj Mahal and Iranian string instrumentalist Hussain Alizedeh.

The artiste, who has composed over 500 pieces in the Carnatic style, maintains that fusion is of two kinds. "There's one kind where musicians meet barely minutes before a performance and improvise on the spot," says Ravikiran.

"Sometimes one party may be forced to cover 80 percent while the other traverses but 20 percent. This is what we call jamming."

But he prefers collaboration at a deeper level.

"Here both sides meet halfway and through rehearsals we create music that incorporates the best of both systems, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," he maintains.

One of his most satisfying yet challenging experiences has been the creation of Melharmony, a concept that blends the raga based Indian music with the Western idea of harmony.

"I listened to a lot of Western classical music as a youngster but felt quite uncomfortable sometimes when several notes were played together as they didn't necessarily adhere to the raga of the basic melody.

"This was because I was listening to the music with an Indian ear. I then toyed with the idea of harmonizing within the parameters of the raga," he says.

Collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra at the Millennium Festival in Britain resulted in the presentation of several Melharmonic compositions.

It also left him with beautiful memories.

"I constantly used the term shabash when I appreciated my fellow musicians. They then suggested starting a new fusion music group called Shabash," he laughs.

He now plans to take Melharmony to the next level. In the pipeline is a book on the concept, written in collaboration with Robert Morris of the Eastman School of Music at Rochester, to enable other musicians to compose in the format.

Ravikiran also heads the International Foundation for Classical Music involved in diverse activities aimed at facilitating Carnatic musical education around the world.

"This is just the beginning, there's still lots to do," the virtuoso signs off with determination in his voice

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/040502/43/2cv8g.html

CHITRAVINA maestro N. Ravikiran has done a lot of research on Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi's kritis. In his vocal concert for Hamsadhwani, he brought to the fore the beauty and spiritualism of the great bilingual composer, and divine preceptor, whose only object was communion with God. Ravi Kiran had many interesting sidelights to say of this multi-faceted personality. Before every song, Ravi gave details to enable the audience appreciate and enjoy, the aesthetics in particular. It was quite interesting to learn that for every charge made by the Gopis to mother Yasodha in "Taye Yasoda" in Todi, the divine child rebutted each in raga Mohanam. Ravi Kiran did not sing this all too familiar, but exhilarating piece. He chose "Venugana Ramana" after a detailed alapana covering all the nuances of the raga. The swaras of various patterns glittered, and emphasised his musical prowess. The splitting of the words at the right place earned the artiste a special encore.

Ravikiran began his concert with the Ghambira Nattai kriti, "Sri Vignarajam Bhaje". This was followed by a brief alapana in Vasanta for "Neelamalar Kola" in Tamil. The song on Lord Muruga in Kedaram, "Gajamukha Anujam" in Sanskrit was another high point of the concert. The Ritigowla alapana was quite moving and the matching piece was "Ennapunyam Seideno Sadgurunatha". (Incidentally, Venkatakavi does not appear to have had any guru and the legend is that Lord Krishna himself took this role).

Ravikiran's next song in Kannadamaruvam, "Vandenanda Soonum" was noteworthy for the kalpanaswaras and the vocalist's duel with the violinst Sundaresan worked up interest.

Venkata Kavi visited all shrines for inspiration, one of which was Udupi. The Tamil piece, "Ennadan Inbam Kandayo" as well as the Nagaswaravali kriti, "Raghukulottama" and "Eppaditan En Ullattil" (Neelambari) were well-appreciated. The Sindubhairvai tillana in Sanskrit was a real winner. Guruvayur Durai (mridangam) and K. Srivatsa (ganjira) provided the percussion support. — KSR

Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/03/14/stories/2003031401030400.htm

Millennial twang from chitravina

RAVI KIRAN, the prodigious musician who put the chitraveena on the global music map is doing it again.

He has been invited by the Millennium Grants Commission and Kalasangam for an encore in London on December 12 this year.

The story began early this year when he collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Kalasangam's ``Global Echoes,'' presented with the Millennium Grants Commission. It was presented in London, Bradford, New Castle and Manchester. This presentation, which embraces the concept of `Arts for everyone,' was selected among the best five in the Millennium Festival in the U.K., from nearly 2000 events. Kalasangam is a multicultural organisation in the UK.

The show will be on at the Tate Modern Gallery, London. The four other projects are: Drummers of Ireland, Pied Pipers, Gospel Choir and A Rock Band. ``Global Echoes'' is the only South Asian project chosen.

This comes close on the heels of his latest effort, `Om Ganesha,' which was premiered in the US in September.

For Chennaiites, Ravikiran is no new name. The chitravina exponent has been giving concerts with the instrument since he was 12, did a full length vocal recital when he was five, made his first professional appearance when he was two and has composed more than 425 pieces in five languages.

He has been featured in major events like the Autumn Festival of France (1985), Radio France International Festival (1987), Cleveland Festival, USA (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000), World Circuit Arts Festival, London (1996), Brisbane International Festival, Australia (1996), Harborfront festival, Toronto (1997), Cal Arts Festival, USA (1999) among others.

He was honoured with his first title at the age of six and has received awards which include Sangeeth Samraat, Kalaimamani, Kumar Gandharva Samman, Sangeetha Choodamani, Chitravina Gana Varidhi, Isai Peroli and Star of India.

By R. K. Radhakrishnan

Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2000/12/03/stories/09030702.htm

In search of
authentic originals

Chitravina N Ravikiran's first
'model' compositions album is out.
But aren't ideas of 'completeness' and
'correctness' relative, we asked him

What's our music without improvisation? Ah, you'll say, nothing. So when someone claims his interpretation of a Karnatak composition is 'complete' and 'correct', you shake your head disapprovingly. But when this someone happens to have the credentials of Chitravina N Ravikiran, you listen carefully.

"The Art never reveals itself at one go, and I've set certain standards for myself in trying to approach completeness and correctness," says Ravikiran. "The idea is to present recordings of Karnatak compositions that are faithful first to the aesthetics of the raga and then to the composer."

That's the project he's now working on, and the first album in the series is just out. It's called Songs of the Nine Nights, and it's a compilation you'll treasure.

"Original compositions are handed down in broad outline. But the raga is sometimes over-simplified or vulgarised and the essence is lost," he told The Music Magazine in Bangalore.

Compositions are notated, but he feels books mostly end up propagating many musical errors. "I would like to show how even basic lessons can be perfected to express the raga essence," he says.

The first album presents ten compositions related to the Navaratri festival, each distinctly etched but with no neraval or swaraprasthara. Which means almost no ad libbing and no display of virtuoso talent, but lots of meticulous attention to the structure of the compositions. That's something learning musicians will appreciate.

"I called my musicians for rehearsals, and taught them the delicate nuances. They had to sing and play in unison, so we needed to put in a lot of practice. We went in to record only after several sessions," says Ravikiran.

The composers featured are Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Swati Tirunal and Oothukkaada Venkata Kavi, known as the Navaratri Trinity. Ravikiran's Vintage Virtuousos team comprises three singers (Savita Narasimhan, Lata Ganapathy, Salem P Gayathri), a chitravina (P Ganesh), violin (Akkarai Subhalakshmi), veena (Revati Krishna), mrudanga (A S Ranganathan) and a ghatam (S V Ramani).

Why should you want to listen to these compositions with no improvisation? For one, they are chiselled to aesthetic perfection: there isn't a single superfluous oscillation within a gamaka, not a sanchara that is overdone. Secondly, each piece stands out with a subtle but brilliant display of the raga. In the brevity and tautness of these renditions lies the greatness of Ravikiran's art and musical insight.

The group performs as one. "It's a melodic orchestra, not a harmonic one," he explains. The chitravina and the violin are not very audible but blend into the background to add resonance and texture. The emotional involvement of the group is high as it tries to bring out the beauty inherent in these songs.

'Completeness and correctness are
endeavours, not end results'

Would you say you are recording renditions which are close to the original or do you call them your interpretations of what the master composers might have had in mind?

They are close to the originals, but I have heard many versions of some of the songs by great Masters like Ariyakkudi, Semmangudi and Brinda and have taken the best from all of those -- consciously or otherwise. Equally importantly, I have eliminated any minor errors or refined them... But please understand that I hate to change the originals. I will only do the minimal amount of change required musically...

Would you concede that 'correctness' and 'completeness' are relative terms?

Obviously... Moreover, I really think that both of them are only endeavours... not necessarily end results...I have 'corrected' my own versions after a few years. The Art never reveals itself fully to us at one go. Maybe we wouldn't be able to withstand its glory if it did too.

How do you counter the claims of other musicians who may have a different point of view about how the composers meant the Navaratri compositions to be sung?

As I said, I have not changed anything major at all... I am against that. And there are not many huge differences between versions, except in some rare cases. My conviction is that any version has to be close to the core of the raga. Each phrase has to bring out its soul. And then the words have to be projected nicely, with breath-control. The rhythmic phrases, especially in the madhyamakalams of Ootthukkadu should be highlighted too... All these were real challenges because I know that very few people are even aware of these. Please understand that I am addressing issues and not personalities here...

No one's heard the composers, so who's the final judge?

But one has heard the masters. At least a few of the songs... And I firmly believe that they have inspired me. More credit to them. The Art is so great that tomorrow, my versions can be refined even further by someone. It is a living art and man is a progressing creature.

Is this the first time anyone is attempting 'model' renditions?

I'm not saying that I have attempted to particularly 'modelise' anything. I have set some parameters for myself as an artiste -- sruti, laya and sahitya shuddham, gamaka, tone, kalapramanam, contrast, variety, breath control, closeness to the raga ... All these have to be done soulfully... That is a reasonable amount of completeness.

As a musician, my first loyalty is to the raga and next to the great composers... I have to ensure that I project both in the best manner. The rest is left to God.

I have endeavoured towards that, and it is for the listeners to judge how far I've succeeded... if I have!

Are there model renditions of Bach and Beethoven accepted by all musicians? Doesn't each conductor and musician invest the composition with his own reading?

Precisely what I have attempted.

S Suchitra Lata