Alathur Venkatesa Iyer (1895–1958) was a teacher of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

. Venkatesa Iyer practised Carnatic music in the style of the composer

Tyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

. Venkatesa Iyer later developed a unique style that is known as the "Alathur style" of rendering ''

kritis ''Kriti'' (Sanskrit: कृति, ''kṛti'') is a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music. ''Kritis'' form the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format of Carnatic song. "Kriti" also means C ...

''. Venkatesa Iyer was also accomplished in playing the harmonium. Iyer gave the world of Carnatic music its star duo of the 20th century, the

Alathur Brothers Alathur Brothers Srinivasa Iyer (1911–1980) & Sivasubramania Iyer (1916–1965) were Carnatic vocalists. The world of Carnatic music knows them as the star duo of the twentieth century. They learnt under Alathur Venkatesa Iyer, the father ...

. This duo consisted of his son, Sivasubramania Iyer, and another student, Srinivasa Iyer of Aangarai near

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

. Following the grand tradition set by their guru, the duo excelled in the authentic version of Carnatic music bringing together its technicalities to develop a taste for this patantara in the audience, both the experts and the laymen, alike. Venkatesa Iyer accompanied the Alathur Brothers on the harmonium in their first concert, which was held in 1928 at the Tyagaraja Aradhana at Tiruvaiyaru. Veteran

mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

exponent Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai accompanied them on the mridangam on that occasion. Venkatesa Iyer was a Baktha of Saint Tyagaraja and popularized his krithis in large numbers. Venkatesa Iyer was also a great admirer of Muthuswamy Dikshitar's compositions and he constructed a memorial for the great composer in

Tiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing and mea ...

where Dikshitar's house had stood. Venkatesa Iyer was instrumental in bringing out a large number of krithis of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal of Travancore. He shined and polished rare compositions of great composers like Meesu Krishna Iyer of the preceding century. He brought such compositions out on the concert platform through the Alathur Brothers. Iyer's name is associated with acts such as Kancheepuram Naina Pillai, Konerirajapuram Vaidyantha Iyer, Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai and Pazhani Muthiah Pillai, all giants of an earlier era in Carnatic music. He sought out the nuances of their music and taught them to his students. The effect of such a training is evident in the music of the Alathur Brothers. A strict disciplinarian and an unflinching traditionalist, he taught students such Sarojini Sundaresan, Trichy J. Venkatraman, Chengelput Ranganathan, Clarinet A. K. C. Natarajan, who though numbering few, have in good stead been the torch bearers of the Alathur style.

References

Alathur style
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Alathur Venkatesa Iyer on the harmonium {{DEFAULTSORT:Iyer, Alathur Venkatesa Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers 1895 births 1958 deaths Carnatic composers Carnatic instrumentalists 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers Musicians from Tamil Nadu