A Happy New Year to all those who celebrate it today! I wish you the very best for a year of personal, professional and spiritual achievement!
Can we divorce the musician from the music he/she creates? This question has been buzzing in my brain since I read some comments in a music group that I follow in Facebook. There were some pithy comments about the politics of a particular musician and the resulting rejection of his music by some. Others seemed to think that his politics had nothing to do with his music. As I walk the shores of Lake Léman on this cold spring day, this question seems an important one to address in this blog.
This is not a new question; it has arisen a number of times over the years. I remember my father making disparaging comments about a flautist from yesteryear whose love for alcohol was well-known. And yet, my father would never miss his concerts! I remember my own goggle-eyed reading of the crazy antics of a great Bollywood playback singer whom I admired very much. ‘How am I to see this man?‘ I used to wonder, ‘As a madman or a genius?‘. I remember my friend from Berlin describing her experiences with helping host very famous Hindustani musicians – the amazing vocalist who came so drunk to the stage that he almost fell off, the very senior maestro of the topmost echelon and his unusual sleeping arrangements with his much younger lady disciple and so on. ‘Stop‘, I had cried out to my friend ‘I don’t want to know!!‘. I was right, every time I listen to their music I have this annoying niggle at the back of my mind which I just don’t want to have. And what of those wonderful musicians from the Western world of the sixties whose music came from a drug-induced haze? And then we come back to this musician whose politics and even ideas on music don’t sit well with me, but oh, his singing is so divine!
This is not limited to music alone, of course. Van Gogh is well-known for having insurmountable mental health issues. I still spent hours in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, drooling over his canvases. The great Michelangelo’s scorn and misbehaviour towards his young rival Raphael is well know, yet I worshipped at his creations as I did at Raphael’s. And who can top my very favourite Caravaggio who murdered someone and came to an untimely death! But it was in front of his canvas that I unshamedly shed tears in appreciation to a master of his craft.
So it comes back to the question, can we admire the art without admiring the artist? It should be stressed that I am not making a quality judgement here in as to who is admirable and who is not; that is for you to decide. The pragmatic part of me thinks that only the most delusional amongst us can afford to cast the first stone. And where do we draw the line? Alcohol is ok but not drugs? Socialism is ok but communism is out? Are we not venturing into McCarthyism and the Hollywood Blacklist ? But what do we do with this feeling of distaste that we have for certain artists? I categorically refuse to watch Woody Allen films; I just cannot disassociate the art from the man.
Dear readers, don’t look to me for answers, I only have questions today! But for myself, I have a theory that the musician is just another instrument, a pathway between Nada Brahmam and the listener. The songs I hear have started their journey a long time back, as a germ in the mind of a composer, in a raga which may have originated hundreds of years before even he was born, a composition heard and sung by disciples generation after generation until finally it is there in front of me and I am listening to it. The creativity the musician adds to it is just one more step in a long process of creation. Inside my head, heart and soul it reaches completion, added on to all the music I have ever listened to, in this life and all the lives I have lived before, like a mountain stream which has joined the ocean. Who worries about what pen a story was written in? Why would I worry about the musician when all I wish to hear is the Nada? Tyagaraja says ‘Attain supreme bliss by being immersed in the Nada‘ in the composition I have selected to present today. I take his advice and concentrate on the Nada alone.
My first and last love in Carnatic Music will always be Lalgudi Jayaraman, who cajoles and beguiles with the violin which bows to his mastery. I fell for his Kalayana Vasantam eons ago and still turn to him for a ‘fix’ when I have a longing. Here is his short 7 min rendition.
Alternate Link : Click here
For an immersion in the beauty of Kalyana Vasantam for 30 minutes, listen to this vocal rendition by Maharajapuram Santhanam. The alapana gently sweeps and ushers us into the lyrical kriti. How can a voice be both majestic and sweet?
Alternate Link : Click here (needs free membership to Sangeethamshare)
Lastly, any post on Kalyana Vasantam is incomplete without a rendition by Kadri Gopalnath who has made this raga his very own. On his Saxophone, the raga takes almost a strident note, demanding immediate attention.
Alternate rendition (I could not find my version online) : Click here
Footnote (Lyrics and Translation) :
Composer : Tyagaraja
Raga : Kalyana Vasantam
Language : Telugu
(I do not speak Telugu and the information below is dependent on various web sources)
पल्लवि
नाद लोलुडै ब्रह्मा-
नन्दमन्दवे मनसा
अनुपल्लवि
स्वादु फल प्रद सप्त
स्वर राग निचय सहित
चरणम्
हरि हरात्म भूसुर पति
शर जन्म गणेशादि
वर मौनुलुपासिञ्च रे
धर त्यागराजु तॆलियु
Transliteration
pallavi
nAda lOluDai brahmA
nandamandavE manasA
anupallavi
svAdu phala prada sapta
svara rAga nichaya sahita
charaNam
hari harAtma bhUsura pati
shara janma gaNEshAdi
vara maunulupAsincha rE
dhara tyAgarAju teliyu
Translation
O Mind, attain (andavE) the rapture of absorbtion on the Brahman (brahmAnanda) by immersing (loluDai) in music (nAda, literally sound), which includes (sahita) the seven (sapta) svara (notes) and a multitide (nichaya) of ragas (rAga) that bestow (prada) sweet (svAdu) results (phala).
Vishnu (hari), Shiva (harA), Brahma (Atma bhU – self born), Indra (sura pati – Lord of the Gods), Kartikeya (shara janma – born in reeds), Ganesha, great sages (vara maunulu), etc (Adi) workship (upAsincha) nAda (implied), of this Tyagaraja is aware (teliyu) on this earth (dhara).
Music To My Ears 
Very good advice for at the right time. Thanks
Not advice, just my perspective 🙂 Cheers. Suja
I offer a perspective that all performing arts are an experience. The experience is rarely the pure form of the art alone. It has to encompass the performer, the setting, our own state of mind, and probably a multitude of other things which are unique to each person.
I think it would be very rare to disassociate the artist from the performance, be it explicitly or subtly. In my case, I will not go to a concert of the artist you have hinted at. Not for his political views or for his ideas on music which I care two hoots about. But on the stage he simply emanates waves and waves of arrogance, scowls at the audience, berates them and in general considers them beneath his dignity. That does not make for a good musical experience, irrespective of the voice or the song. The experience is such a hit and miss, based on moods, somewhat similar to the flautist you have referred to. Its simply not worth the effort to go to such a concert.
Having said that there is probably only a fine line that separates the genius from the mad. It is therefore natural to expect the extremely creative to also display a streak of madness. If it does not come in the way of the totality of the experience, I suppose its OK. If it does, we’ll probably move on.
May I recommend that you try your hand at creating a composition. You have nice perspectives and ideas, you know the grammar of music, you know the intricacies of a raga …….. Why not ? If I extend the theme of the post to say the a song cannot be disassociated from the composer, then it is guaranteed that I would listen to your composition a few hundred times 🙂
There is no questioning the validity of your perspective Ramesh. As you rightly say, experiencing art encompasses far more than the musician. But should not our goal still be to concentrate on the music, the Nada? In practical terms that is difficult to achieve given that we cannot really shut down all our other senses. If a musical experience is such that it hinders your being able to concentrate and meditate on the music, then such an experience is right to be rejected.
Suja the composer? A good joke 🙂
Cheers. Suja
i like your view of seperating art from the artist..i love very much that ‘artist’s’ sangeetham.he is taking the music to the next level and he stands alone with his outstanding renditions in a crowd.i ignore his idiosyncrocies and his social /political views and still enjoy his music.
I live in far away Switzerland and generally listen to music only in the recorded form. This degree of separation helps me disassociate with the idiosyncrasies of artists; it would be harder in a live performance I guess. As to the artist in question, I love his voice and his creativity; indeed he is outstanding. But it easy for me to reject all the extraneous distractions and immerse myself in pure music as I pick and choose what I listen to. Perhaps one day I will go to a live performance and come back with an alternate viewpoint.
Cheers. Suja
i am a listener of all type of music well over for five decades and mostly listen carnatic music at home and attend kutcheris a lot.this particular artist was singing like any other top ranking artist for so many years..then suddenly there is a major shift in his approach/methods/ contents of his music.his viruosity/creativity presented impressed me very much..the depth ..the passionate singing ..the unhurried way he develops..visits the cotours /crevices of the raga..he has changed the core of his agenda in kutcheri format..he has broken the tradition..randomly sings the thanam..picks up different raga at the end of thani.etc.inspite of this major change which the tradionalist rejects summarily…but the fact as per me is the melody ,the suganubhavam is very much there ,which according to me is the purpose of singing.so i wonder can we ignore the ‘silence ‘ his music brings to the listener’s mind? irrespective of his persona? his concert is always a house full one (which may consist of the listeners who are the detractors.)
‘so i wonder can we ignore the ‘silence ‘ his music brings to the listener’s mind?’- Indeed we cannot for that is the goal we must strive towards by Tyagaraja’s words. If it works for you, you are very lucky.
Cheers. Suja
Suja,
It is great to see that you have started posting after a hiatus. Congratulations to your daughter on her new journey.
Art itself is paramount. Viewing it through our sometimes prejudiced lenses does not serve the art well. It is interesting that you have chosen to introduce some famous names without mentioning them – but the reader probably knows these characters. It is amazing how fast we jump to conclusions or are led to believe these narratives. Once they are out there, it tends to accrue and mixed with folklore tales with no basis that and we the masses, abandon any critical thinking and join the bandwagon of vox populi and pass hasty judgments on the unfortunate victim: the art.
In the theme of celebrating art, you and your readers should listen to this padam by a great lyricist P Bhaskaran. Essentially, it pays homage to art – that art which takes a stone and converts it to a sculpture, that which takes a reed and with a kiss transforms it to the melodious murali,…
cheers!
jay
Hello Jay! Thank you for your kind wishes. I referred to incidents concerning some nameless artists which were experienced directly either by my father or my very dear friend. I assure you that I was not spreading rumours! My point is that artists now and historically often have feet of clay; they are but human. Whether the artist is admirable or not, the art is always admirable. I believe you and I are in concurrence here. Thank you for the music link, I will listen to it.
Regards, Suja