ExpertDabbler

Should one have thorough knowledge in Carnatic music to appreciate it? When I last checked with someone, I was told it takes about six years to learn the basics!!

My mom, who is as sub-zero in music knowledge as me, is a big fan of Aruna Sairam. On similar lines, I think I can better appreciate the instrumental wizards: Kadri Gopalnath, Mandolin Srinivas, and the Violin and Nadaswaram Maestros than vocal artists. As an exception, I enjoyed ‘Margazhi Raagam’ by T M Krishna.

My pet theory is it’s more a question of intuition and temperament than intricate knowledge to listen to Carnatic. One can appreciate it better with more knowledge. But lack of knowledge should not be a deterrent. For sure, I will find out the Ragam only by reading it in the CD cover, but for now at least that does not stop me from appreciating a good performance. Of course, ‘idellam enakku puriyadhu, porumai illai’ attitude does not help either.

So what if one track in Ilayaraja’s ‘How to Name it’ and Vanessa Mae’s Bach street prelude are two beautiful interpretations of the same original classic? Or maybe I got it completely wrong. But I can live with that ambiguity.

By the way, here’s a list of all concerts happening in Chennai this music season

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 26th, 2009 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.