This is Ragam-Thanam, a part of a traditional Carnatic way of performing called Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi (here the Pallavi is the kriti or kirtan that's mentioned in the description, but it does not appear in this video). Ragam-Thanam is a form of improvisation within a raga, which in this case is Raga Shanmukhapriya which is said to create a mood of devotion and solemnity. The Ragam part of the piece elaborates the raga, note by note, adding one note at a time to set the mood that the raga conveys. Usually the ragam part of the concert lasts much longer than the duration in this video, often ranging from 8 to 25 minutes (ragam begins at 0:03 and ends at 0:20) Then follows the Thanam, a constant melo-rhythmic strumming of the veena where the player gets to show their skill, by improvising quickly and consequently within the raga. (Thanam begins at 0:21) Finally follows the Pallavi, where the artist performs a Song or Kriti composed in the raga which contains lyrics (usually the songs are well known so the lyrics are not needed to play the piece on the veena). The Pallavi does not appear in this video and hence there is no Kriti played here, that is an error. Hope this helped!
@@jujulachlan11 My pleasure!! When I wrote this I wasn't sure anyone would see it since this video is quite old, but pleasantly surprised. If you would like to listen to another beautiful Ragam-Thanam in Raga Kapi, this is a fantastic rendition: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VWx9xRlhJD8.html hope you check it out!
I love her playing 🙏💓🙌🙌🙌🙌 Most notorious wholesome sound of any string instrument I've heard so far....it really fills you inside not just the ears in pitch
Not a "song form". Please correct it. This is improvization known as aalaapanai or "raagam", followed by free-rhythmic improvization called taanam, in the raga Shanmukhapriya. A krithi would be a song composed by someone. What was played here is not a song but a prelude to one. This segment is not composed beforehand or learnt by heart but rendered on the spot by imaginatively/creatively weaving phrases of the raga in the way that seems most logical at the moment of performance. The guru teaches the student how to do this, but what the student sings or plays is not a copy of what the guru has taught. If the artiste were to play an aalaapanai and taanam in the same raga the next day, it would not sound the same. It's like clouds - they never look the same twice, yet are still recognizable as clouds.
This takes an extreme level of concentration and skill, and the artist is supposed to embody the raga they are playing. They are playing to invoke emotions via music, their expression is hardly of any importance here. Let’s move past all the expectations of how someone should play for entertainment and focus on the music here. That’s the point and not every culture demands that the player entertain to a standard as western culture demands. Not saying this with righteousness, saying this for the truth it is.
