Thread by @Raaga_Suresh

[Carnatic Music thread = Semmangudi] Yesterday happened to be the 111th birth anniversary of Semmangudi. I want to talk about some aspects of Semmangudi's music which have captivated me

The first aspect of his music that I love is the way he structures a krithi. There are many ways to sing a krithi. Semmangudi believes in structuring the krithi in such a way that it is highlights the development of a raga

By structure, I mean his selection of sangatis, how many times you repeat a line, how you phrase the words, the pauses, everything. This gives it an order. And once this order is established, it is repeatable

Many have spoken about this aspect of Semmangudi's music. R K Sreeramkumar on a lec dem on Semmangudi calls this 'chittai seiyardhu' and refers to Seetha Rajan and Padma Sugavanam's rendition of Dikshitar Navavarna krithis to highlight how Semmangudi set the structure

T M Krishna in a article, written when Semmangudi passed away, spoke about structure and repeatability. He said he was in Semmangudi's house when MS walked in and all 3 sang a Bhairavi krithi and he was surprised by the unison though they have never practiced together

R K Sreeramkumar also spoke of this. He was in US when a lady in US, who had learnt from Semmangudi wanted to sing a krithi along with him. RKS says that he was stunned when they sang in unison, without missing even a sangati. That lady had learnt from SSI 40 yrs before RKS

'avarukku anga maanaseegama namaskaram pannen' said Sreeramkumar. There was also a video published which had lot of students of PSN singing the Dvijavanthi krithi 'chetasri' and they were singing in perfect unison, though the occasion was an informal one.

The structuring also tells us about the aesthetic value the artist holds. Which sangatis come in and which don't give you an idea of the musical values of the artist. It also tells us how they would have cogitated before arriving at certain musical decisions

Not all artists are like Kishori Tai, who can clearly expound her values. We need to find out the aesthetics of artists ourselves from their art. In Semmangudi case though there are some interviews where he talks about his perception of music. Here is one:

I believe Semmangudi would have put in great effort to structure and polish certain krithis. Semmangudi learnt from Vishwanatha Iyer,Sakaram Rao. Later he also learnt from Brinda. There are some krithis, which I have a feeling he must have learnt from notation.

I am going to play some krithis, which he probably didn't learn from a guru. (I may be completely mistaken though). Anyway these krithis are brilliantly structured. I start with 'vadanyeswaram' in Devagandhari

I haven't heard anyone of the older generation singing this krithi. And as far as I know this may be the only recording of Semmangudi singing this krithi. Excellent rendition and the mridangam, especially in the start of the charanam, is top class

Next, 'rama neevadhukondhuvo' in Kalyani. Krithi starts from 7:50s. Superbly structured. Given this is a Tyagaraja krithi he may have got it from Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer or Vishwanatha Iyer but I am sure he put in his thoughts to give the final shape

The Dikshitar krithi, 'agasteeswaram' in Lalitha. I don't think any of his gurus knew this song. He probably learnt it from notation and gave it his touch. Such a wonderful krithi and rendition. Invokes a meditative mood. As usual superb accompaniments

Semmangudi is well know for setting tunes to Swathi Tirunal krithis. His disciplined approach gave good structure to Swati Turnal's krithis. He was supported well by KS Narayanaswamy and another person whose name escapes me. 'narasimha mamava' Aarabhi

Semmangudi also set tunes for Sadasiva Brahmendra's poetry. 'kelathi mama hrudaye' in Atana

A wonderful Yadhukula Kambhoji of Subbarama Dikshitar, 'parthasarathy'. I haven't heard anyone of the generation earlier than him sing this. Infact I have heard very few singing this. The structure you get is very much Semmangudi's.

I would also like to bring to attention one fact. His structuring of a krithi was very much in keeping with the spirit of the composer's structure. That means his Dikshitar kritis are structured differently than say Tyagaraja krithis.

In Dikshitar krithis, he doesn't destroy the edifice of Dikshitar. He adds value to that structure and leaves his imprint behind without changing the overall structure (DKP also did this impressively).

Syama Sastry krithis were given their due respect. The brilliant swarajathi, 'rave himagiri kumari' in Todi. Again I think he learnt this and structured this on his own from notation

'mahalakshmi karunarasa lahari' in Madhava Manohari. What a brilliant song and structure. Hats off to Dikshitar. MS I think must have learnt from Semmangudi.

This version of 'mahalakshmi' is slightly different from the DKP version. I think DKP version is in oru kalai.

Semmangudi also set to tune Tiruvempavai verses. He set 'moyyar thadam poigai' in Poorikalyani. TNK on violin and Murugaboopathy on mridangam

I spoke about the Kamalamba Navavarna krithis, which were polished by Semmangudi. They were sung by Seetha Rajan and her students. Here is the Sahana krithi. To me, Seetha Rajan rendition has been the best as far as Navarana krithis are concerned

I listen to this and Shankarabaram krithi atleast once a week and can do nothing but prostrate in front of Dikshitar every time I hear them. What amazing moving and majestic constructs.

Hats off to Semmangudi for teaching this to Seetha Rajan and for her and students for delivering these flawlessly. All I can say is that we are lucky that such music exists.

The final krithi on the list. Semmangudi's disciples singing 'chetasri balakrishnam' I am not sure but I guess Semmangudi must have learnt it from Brinda.

I wanted to talk about two other aspects of Semmangudi's singing which were top class: his first speed (mudhal kalam) swaras and sloka/virutham singing. They will have to wait for another day. (In the structure aspect itself there is so much more to speak)

cc: @hamsanandi @meerasndr for your kind consideration :)

As a bonus for staying on :) here is the Yadhukula Kambhoji swarajathi which I heard mainly Semmangudi and his shishya parampara sing. Semmangudi himself

MS singing the same swarajathi. You can see the Semmangudi lineage here (Close friends of mine, who also sing, like the MS rendition more )

And finally a group rendition by Semmangudi disciples (seems to be an informal gathering)