Nottuswara
{{Short description|Set of 39 South Indian compositions}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
The nottuswaram (nōṭṭusvarams, from "note" + "swaras") are a set of 39 compositions in Carnatic music by Muthuswami Dikshitar (18th c.), who is celebrated as one among the Trinity of Carnatic music. A few other nottusvarams were added later by his disciples which adhere to the original idea and intent. Nottusvarams are notable as an interaction between the East and the West during the East India company rule in Madras Chennai, being based on Western sources, mostly simple melodies inspired by Scottish and Irish tunes. They are all composed with Sanskrit lyrics in the Western C major scale, whose pitch intervals correspond to that of the Shankarabharana raga scale in Carnatic music, or the Bilaval that of Hindustani music. Technically, the compositions are not in Shankarabharana proper, being based on simple melodies and devoid of the ornamentation (gamaka) that is characteristic of Carnatic music.{{Harvtxt|Weidman|2006|p=32}} On the other hand, the lyrics (sahitya) of these compositions are entirely Indian and consistent with the rest of the stotra-literature, or other songs addressed to similar deities.
Sometimes the name "nottuswaram" is used to refer to other compositions based on Western notes, not necessarily by Muthuswami Dikshitar.[http://www.karnatik.com/c1340.shtml Carnatic Songs — English Note]: a popular composition with an unknown composer
Violin
According to one popular account,{{Harvtxt|Weidman|2009|pp=52–54}} the violin was introduced into Carnatic music by Baluswami Dikshitar (1786–1858), the younger brother of Muthuswami Dikshitar. He encountered the instrument being played by British bands in colonial Madras Chennai, and decided to learn it. The music was mostly Irish and Scottish fiddling, rather than Western classical music. After three years of lessons, he adapted the violin to Carnatic music. It is believed that Muthuswami Dikshitar composed these lyrics to aid his brother master the plain notes on the violin.[http://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art270.html East meets West: Western instruments in Carnatic music]
Publication history
They were first documented in print by C. P. Brown in 1833. In 1893, Manali Chinnaswamy Mudaliar published them with European notation, and in 1905, they were compiled by Subbarama Dikshitar as 'Prathamaabhyaasa pustakamu' in Telugu. In recent years, Kanniks Kannikeswaran has researched these compositions further, found the sources of a few compositions, and given several lectures.
Examples
The European songs used as basis include "Limerick", "Castilian Maid", "Lord MacDonald's Reel", "Voulez-vous Danser?", and "God Save the King".{{Harvtxt|Weidman|2009|p=54}}
| class="wikitable" | |
| Composition | Based on |
|---|---|
| "Santatam Pahimam" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WslVYnSX1Gc Example] | "God Save the King"/"My Country, 'Tis of Thee"/"Grand Dieu sauve le roi" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8KveQdaNmA Anthem] |
| "Vande Meenakshi" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuXMBr8Quzo Traditional setting]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5r9Biejz9M "Indo-Celtic"] | "Rakes of Mallow" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKfQtqNDlFA Leroy Anderson]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59RrWNkfuWM Live version] |
| "Kamalasana Vandita Padabje" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idbIEBZFfSw Flute] | Galopede / Yarmouth Reel / Persian Ricardo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O4kCS2ow54 Jabara]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDm7B0_28I8 Concert]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6DC0GC45II Reel] |
| "Shakti Sahita Ganapatim" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3rR0Va_q8 Traditional]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6bsfLBzshU Indo-Celtic] | "Voulez-vous danser?" |
| "Shyamale Meenakshi" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-E9BXBiJCw Video] | "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"/Mozart's variations on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" |
| "Jagadisha Guruguha" | "Lord MacDonald's Reel" |
| "Vara Shiva Balam" | "Castilian Maid" |
Notes
References
- {{citation | year=1990 | title=The European Airs of Muthuswamy Dikshitar | author=M R Shankaramurthy | publisher=Guruguha Gana Nilaya | place=Bangalore}}
- {{citation | year=2009 | last=Weidman|first=Amanda | chapter=Listening to the violin in South Indian classical music | title = Theorizing the local: music, practice, and experience in South Asia and beyond | editor1=Richard K. Wolf | publisher=Oxford University Press US | isbn=978-0-19-533138-7 | pages=49–64 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cpLTOxz0KkC&pg=PA54}}
- {{citation | year=2006 | title = Singing the classical, voicing the modern: the postcolonial politics of music in South India | author1=Amanda J. Weidman | publisher=Duke University Press | isbn=978-0-8223-3620-4 | page=32 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMg7aKE8RNgC&pg=PA32}}
External links
- [http://www.medieval.org/music/world/carnatic/lyrics/nottu.html Muthuswamy Dikshitar - nottu svara sahityas]: The (Sanskrit) lyrics of all compositions
- [http://ssubbanna.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/03/sri-mutuswami-dikshitar-and-sri-vidya-2-of-7.htm Dikshitar and western music]
- [http://www.kanniks.com/vismaya_page.htm Vismaya – An Indo Celtic Musical Journey], recordings of the Sanskrit lyrics with Western music
- [http://indianraga.wordpress.com/2007/10/25/british-raj-and-indian-classical-music/ British Raj and Indian Classical Music]: other examples of interaction