Carnatic Music Compositions

Carnatic music is unique in that the written composition of the music embodies both the composer's creation and the musician's interpretation. This means that when a piece of Carnatic music is performed, the audience expects not only that the music will be played expertly and with precision, but also that the musician will understand the composer's intent and will interpret the meaning of the music while incorporating their own style. In this way, each performance is a new experience to the audience. This practice ensures that each performance is emotionally charged with layers of expression. Each beginning musician starts their practice by mastering the geethams and swarajatis which were created with the intent of providing a basic understanding of the art form and offers the beginner a source of a learning exercise. Once these are mastered, the musicians move on to the most common forms in Carnatic music, the Varnam and Kriti. Varnams are short pieces that contain the basic elements of a raga. Varnams are known for having an incredibly complex structure and are typically performed at the beginning of a performance as a warm-up. Kriti (consisting of three units: pallavi, anupallavi, and charana) is longer and is the song-type style of Carnatic music. Kriti is usually in Telugu or Sanskrit language and the themes may be heroic, romantic, or narrative in nature. This comprehensive book on Carnatic Music is an important resource guide for all music students and enthusiasts.