Shyama Shastri

Syama Sastri ( 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 Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.

Early life and career

Syama Sastri, whose birth name was Venkata Subrahmanya, was born on 26 April 1762 in a Telugu Brahmin family. He was also known as one of the trinity of carnatic music. To later generations, he is better known by his adopted name Syama Sastri or by his musical mudra (signature) Syama Krishna. He was born in Tiruvarur, in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu. He received his instruction in the vedas, astrology, and other traditional subjects early on and learned music from his maternal uncle. He was later trained in music by Adiappayya, a noted durbar musician of Thanjavur.

Although Śyāma Śastri did not compose as many ''kritis'' as his two prolific contemporaries, his compositions are still well known due to the literary, melodic and rhythmic proficiency observed in them. It is said that he composed about three hundred pieces in all.

He did not have many disciples to propagate his compositions, nor was the printing press widely accessible during his time. More importantly, the scholarly nature of his compositions made them more appealing to the learned than to the lay. Additionally, they feature a more formal form of Telugu which borrows heavily from Sanskrit. In contrast, Tyagaraja composes in generally more colloquial dialect of Telugu.

There are also a number of krithis in Tamil attributed to him. Most of his compositions propitiate the Goddess Kamakshi.

He composed ''kritis'', ''varṇa(s)'' and ''svarajati(s)'' with the ''ankita'' or ''mudra'' (signature) Śyāma Krishna. He was probably the first to compose in a new form of the ''svarajati'' musical genre, where the compositions could be rendered solely in a singing or instrumental manner. Prior to this, the ''svarajati'' was primarily a dance form, and was close in structure to the dance ''Varṇaṃ'' (''padavarṇaṃ'').

His set of three famous ''svarajati(s)'' are intended to be sung in concert rather than danced, and are sometimes referred to as "''Ratnatrayam''" (Three jewels). They are ''Kāmākṣhī Anudinamu'', ''Kāmākṣhī Padayugamē'', and ''Rāvē himagiri kumāri'', composed in the ''ragas'' ''Bhairavi'', '' Yadukula kambhoji'' and '' Todi'' respectively. The former two are set to ''Miśra Cāpu Tāḷa'', while the third is set to ''Ādi Tāḷa''.

He is known for his ability to compose in the most complex of tāḷas.

Legacy

Sastri had a number of disciples who excelled at the art. Alasur Krishna Iyer became a musician at the royal durbar in Mysore. Porambur Krishna Iyer popularised many of his guru's works. Another disciple, Talagambadi Panchanada Iyer also made his mark as a composer. Another disciple named Dasari gained fame as a noted nāgaswaram player. His son, named Subbaraaya Shaastree, was also a notable composer.

Compositions

Some of his better known compositions are listed below.

Svara Jati

Kriti

See also

* List of Carnatic composers

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Compositions of Syama Sastri

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sastri, Syama
Carnatic composers
Telugu people
Performers of Hindu music
1762 births
1827 deaths
People from Tiruvarur district