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Exploring Music, Travel of a Different Kind
Music to me is a soul search to inner being travelling across different emotions of love, devotion and peace. This post was triggered by a visit to a place outskirts of Chennai dedicated to Lord Sundareswarar located in Kovur near Kundrathur. The temple dates back to 7th century evident by the construction, sculptures and inscriptions. The magnitude and beauty of the temple gopuram says it all. What has this temple got to do with music must be the question in your mind now. This temple has been instrumental in bringing out 5 beautiful compositions from the great music composer Saint Tygaraja.
Know about Violin, the Solo and Accompaniment Instrument of Carnatic Music
The violin emerged in its definitive form between 1520 and 1550 in northern Italy with Milan as its centre. The first violin makers in the area included, from Brescia, Giovan Giacomo Dalla Corna (1484-1530) and Zanetto de Michelis da Montechiaro (1488-1562). The instruments of these violin makers were not all violins that had reached the final phase of their evolution. Amongst the instruments that bear a date are two violins by Andrea Amati(1500? – 1576), built between 1542 and 1546, that had only three strings in their primitive form. But from 1555 several documents testify to the existence of the four-stringed violin: the first four-stringed violin by Amati that has come down to us is dated precisely 1555.
MusicUniv, Imparting Structured Indian Classical Music Through Schools
Indian classical music, in both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, are also seen as esoteric and inaccessible, especially for the economically-challenged. And this is exactly where Chennai-based MusicUniv comes in.
The idea of MusicUniv was born when investor-entrepreneur Sudhir Rao met Dr Karaikudi Subramanian, a ninth generation veena player and founder of Brhaddhvani, a centre for research in music education supported by the Ford Foundation, and started studying Carnatic vocal music in 2008 to better understand the pedagogy for teaching it. Along with the musically-accomplished Anil Srinivasan, Rao and his wife Sadhana decided to collaborate with Brhaddhvani to take the pedagogy into schools, thus, co-founding MusicUniv.
Walk into Express Avenue for A Classical Music and Dance Festival
One month of classical music and dance festival began on 11 December.The festival organised by cultural organisation ‘Sree Anandabhairavi’ is in its fifth year. Raaga and Expressions will feature vocal and instrumental performances along with jugalbandi and dance programmes. Organisers say they chose to have the performances in a mall as an effort to popularise the classical arts among Chennaiites.
Date: 11 December 2011 to 11 January 2012.
Time : 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Venue: Express Avenue , Royapettah, Chennai