The Trinity of Carnatic Music, also known as the Three Jewels of Carnatic Music, refers to the outstanding trio of

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

-musicians of

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

in the 18th century

Tyagaraja Sadguru Tyagaraja Swami ( Telugu: సద్గురు త్యాగరాజ స్వామి; 4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Tyagayya, and in full as Kakarla Tyagabrahmam ( Telugu: కాకర్ల త్యాగబ ...

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar) (, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer, veena player, and a prolific composer of Indian classical music. He was the youngest member of what is re ...

, and

Syama Sastri Syama Sastri (Telugu language, Telugu : శ్యామ శాస్త్రి; ; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Shyama Shastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music. He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Mu ...

. Prolific in composition, the Trinity of Carnatic music is known for creating a new era in the history of carnatic music by bringing about a noticeable change in what was the existing carnatic music tradition. Panikkar (2002), p44 Compositions of the Trinity of Carnatic music are recognized as being distinct in style, and original in handling

ragas A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...

. All three composers were born in

Thiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja t ...

, formerly part of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

District in

Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. M. S. Subbalakshmi, D. K. Pattammal, and M. L. Vasanthakumari, who are carnatic musicians of the 20th century, are popularly referred to as the female Trinity of Carnatic Music.

Compositions

Muthuswami Dikshitar mainly composed mainly in Sanskrit and some in Manipravalam, while Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri mainly composed in Telugu and Sanskrit.

Ragas and talas

The Trinity of Carnatic music composed new ragas and talas, and had a remarkable ability to introduce innovations within the same raga. Compositions of Syama Sastri in 'apoorva' ragas like ''Chinthamani'', and ''Kalagada'' evidence his originality and genius in discovering new forms in Carnatic music. The creative ability of Syama Sastri is possibly best exampled in his concert-contest against Kesavvaya, a great Carnatic musician from

Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th c ...

. During this contest which took place at the court of the king of

, although Kesavayya sang a rare ''raga'' followed by a ''tana'' in different ''jathis'' and ''gathis'', Syama Sastri reproduced similar ''tana'' varieties, and to the delight of the audience, went further to introduce other varieties which were not known to Kesavvaya.

Notes

References

* Carnatic music {{Carnatic-music-stub

Compositions

Ragas and talas

See also

Notes

References