The Essential Raga Collection, Vol. II (Anandabhairavi)

Ananda Bhairavi is an ancient and traditional raga of Carnatic music, which is said to have its origins in South Indian folk music. It is derived from the melakartha raga #20, Natabhairavi. Shyama Shastry, one of the very important composers in the Carnatic music tradition was largely responsible for bringing this raga to the limelight. He made significant changes to the structure of the existing Ananda Bhairavi by including additional notes and creating typical phrases. Some of his popular compositions in the raga are Marivere gati, O jagadamba, Pahi sri girirajasute and Himachalatanaya. The only varnam that Shyama Shastry composed was in Ananda Bhairavi (Samini rammanave in Atta tala). Muthuswami Dikshitar has composed a few masterpieces in this raga: Tyagaraja yoga vaibhavam, Kamalamba samrakshatu, Manasa guruguha and Anandeshvarena. Several other composers have written songs in Ananda Bhairavi: Annamacharya (Itti muddulaadi, Kanti sukravaramu, Ramabhadra raghuvira), Periyasami Thooran (Samaganapriye), Matrubhutayya (Ni mati challaga), Swati Tirunal (Pahi tarakshu puralaya) and Ramadas (Paluke bangaru). Saint Tyagaraja has composed a few minor pieces in this raga like Neeke teliyaka and Kshirasagara vihara. According to one story, Tyagaraja had been invited to listen to a great singer of the bhajana tradition who was a master of the Ananda Bhairavi raga. After the recital Tyagaraja went up to the singer and offered words of appreciation. The singer was grateful but put forth a strange request to Tyagaraja. He asked Tyagaraja not to compose any songs in Ananda Bhairavi raga because that was his means of livelihood. True to his word, Tyagaraja never touched the raga subsequently. The album starts off with “Sami ni pai”, a varnam composed by the great composer and veena player Kuppier. It is set to a 14 beat cycle called Kanda jati Atta tala. This is a technically complex piece performed by Dr. Subramaniam in multiple speeds, by dividing the beat into different pulses. Accompanying him is DSR Murthy on Mridangam and Satya Sai on morsing. The second piece is a short raga alaapana, a free style improvisation that introduces the raga. The alaapana is usually performed before the beginning of a composition. The next piece is a very popular kriti of Shyama Shastry: “Marivere gati” set to Misra Chapu tala of 7 beats and dedicated to goddess Meenakshi. This is one of the most definitive compositions in the raga Ananda Bhairavi. Accompanying him is VV Ramanamurthy on Mridangam, T. Radhakrishnan on Ghatam and Satya Sai on morsing. The final piece is “Tyagaraja yoga vaibhavam”, a kriti composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar set to Rupaka tala of 3 beats. This kriti is in praise of the saint-composer Tyagaraja. Accompanying him is DSR Murthy on Mridangam and Satya Sai on morsing. Dr. L. Subramaniam, India's foremost violinist began learning the violin at a very young age from his father Prof. V. Lakshminarayana. His guru-shishya parampara can be traced back to the three greatest composers of the Carnatic music tradition - Shyama Shastry, Tyagaraja, and Muthuswami Dikshitar. He started performing Carnatic (South Indian classical) music at the age of six and soon gained immense popularity playing with his brothers in the Violin Trio. Even as a teenager he took a great interest in different forms of music and attained mastery over Western classical violin as well. Over the years, he has created the Global Fusion idiom and composed several crossover orchestral works but his primary focus has been Carnatic music. His mastery over technique, his sensitive musicianship and his intellectual innovations have enthralled audiences around the world. He has performed in all continents and is largely responsible for the international status that Carnatic music enjoys today. In his glittering career spanning over five decades, he has several innovations to his credit, including playing a varnam in 15 speeds, playing a pallavi in a rhythmic cycle of 21¾ beats, and improvising in pancha nadai (by dividing a beat into different pulses). This album is the second in the series of “The Essential Raga Collection” - albums that Dr. Subramaniam has dedicated to the exposition of a single raga.