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Chitravina N. Ravikiran (born February 12, 1967 in Mysore, Karnataka, India) is a composer of Indian Carnatic music. He has been called the "Indian Mozart". He is probably most famous for his concept of "melharmony", which is harmony which stays within the melodic rules of an Indian raga (musical mode). Considered a virtuoso chitravina player, he has been described as "probably the greatest slide instrumentalist in the world today" by Radio Australia. Ravikiran has also played the slide Hawaiian guitar, and is an accomplished vocalist. He invented a variant of the chitravina called the navachitravina, which is smaller and has a clearer tone in the higher frequencies. He currently resides in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Ravi Shankar, the famous sitar player, is most impressed with his talents, and is noted as saying: "If you don’t believe in God, just look at Ravikiran."
Ravikiran is the author of several widely read books, Appreciating Carnatic Music and Perfecting Carnatic Music Level I and II. He is also the founder of the International Foundation for Carnatic Music.
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Child Prodigy
At the age of two, Ravikiran impressed scholars with his knowledge in Carnatic music. In 1969, he made his first appearance in the Malleshwaram Sangeeta Sabha, Bangalore.
Soon after that he was presented in The Madras Music Academy, Krishna Ghana Sabha where he stunned the music world with his ability to identify and render about 325 ragas (melodic scales) and 175 talas (rhythmic cycles). He was also able to answer complex technical questions on various aspects of Carnatic music when quizzed by luminaries such as Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Pandit Ravi Shankar, M S Subbulakshmi, Flute Mali, Palghat Mani Iyer, T N Krishnan, Ramnad Krishnan and Alla Rakha. The Music Academy, Madras, awarded the two-year-old, a monthly scholarship for the next few years.
Ravikiran went on to learn Carnatic music under the guidance of his father, Narasimhan. The latter’s unique teaching methods enabled Ravikiran to develop rigorous discipline and have fun at the same time. Ravikiran debuted as a vocalist in 1972, at Coimbatore, India, at age five. His ability to perform full-fledged three-hour concerts with senior accompanists, displaying rare mastery over both the melodic and rhythmic aspects (such as singing a khanda ata tala varnam in khanda eka tala in the five jati-s) of Carnatic music, amazed scholars and lovers of music alike.
Ravikiran presented concerts to packed audiences for major organisations in various cities until the age of 10, at which time (anticipating a voice change),he switched over to the beautiful 21-stringed chitravina.
However, he resumed his vocal recitals in 1999 and now presents both vocal and instrumental concerts. His masterful knowledge of Carnatic music, his musical acumen, imaginative approach, breath control and diction, have made him a much desired artiste in prominent venues both in and outside India.
From the late 1980-s, Ravikiran had the rare privilege of learning from the celebrated vocalist T Brinda, widely acknowledged as a musicians’ musician. His interaction with her added a whole new dimension to his perception of the microscopic nuances of music.
His thematic vocal recitals on works of venerated composers such as Tyagaraja and Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi have won approbation from music lovers.
Ravikiran is easily one of the most prolific composers in the world of Carnatic music now. He has introduced a number of ragas also. He discovered a raga at the age of two and named it Choodamani after his mother. He has also introduced ragams such as keshavapriya, Mohini, Snehapriya, Shivamanohari and Andhakarini. He has to his credit in excess of 500 compositions. These include, apart from over 300 conventional musical forms, several short numbers that form a part of his music-dance productions as also those created for instrumental ensembles and orchestras. His Carnatic compositions cover a range of themes in various musical forms such as varnam, krti, padam, javali and tillana.
He is the first composer to have composed in each one of the 35 talas of Carnatic music. Like most traditional Carnatic composers who used signature (mudra) for their compositions, Ravikiran signs his pieces with the phrase, Ravi-Shashi. However, many of his operatic pieces will not bear this signature and some pieces also have the word, ‘Ravikiran’ incorporated in the lyrics.
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Melharmony
Melharmony is a concept created by Ravikiran in an attempt to introduce harmony into South Indian music. It differs from western musical harmony in that musical intervals and/or chords must be created using notes (swaras) permitted in the raga. In addition, emphasis is also placed on how the harmonization positively accentuates the structure of the music.
Collaborations
Ravikiran has worked with many other performers, from various musical styles outside his native Carnatic discipline, including Hindustani music, Filmi, Western classical music, African music, jazz, and pop. Prominent amongst the Indian musicians he has worked with is Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. He has also performed collaborations with American blues guitarist Taj Mahal, Brazilian jazz pianist Jovino Santos-Neto, American frame drum player Glen Velez, and Chinese pipa player Qiu Xia He, as well as Western classical orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra. Recent collaborations include a performance with the Eli Yamin Jazz Quartet from New York, along with pianist Anil Srinivasan[1].
External links
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