Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian
Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with
M.S. Gopalakrishnan and
T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 2001.
His disciples included his two children
Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan,
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, his sister Lalgudi Srimathi Brahmanandam
renowned musician S P Ramh(grandson of Shri. G.N. Dandapani Iyer), musician P. Purnachander Rao, renowned Harikatha exponent
Vishaka Hari
Vishakha Hari is a Carnatic music vocalist and proponent of Harikatha, a form of Hindu storytelling. She is a mentor dedicated to instilling art and creativity within the education of children, who she believes are the torchbearer of culture.
...
, leading carnatic vocalist
Saketharaman
Saketharaman (born 24 November 1982) is one of the top performing musicians of Carnatic music in India. He is a prime disciple of Padmabushan Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. He started learning carnatic vocal from Late Srirangam Krishnamurthy Rao at th ...
,
Vittal Ramamurthy
Vittal Ramamurthy (Kannada : ವಿಟ್ಟಲ್ ರಾಮಮೂರ್ತಿ) is a violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India.
Early life
Ramamurthy began learning Carnatic music from his mother, Krishnaveni. He was introduced ...
, Dr. N. Shashidhar, Film Music Composer
Girishh G
Girishh Gopalakrishnan ( ta, கிரிஷ் கோபாலகிருஷ்ணன் ; born 26 September 1986) is an Indian music composer, music producer, singer in the Tamil film industry. He made his debut as a music director with th ...
, Padma Shankar, Kanchan Chandran, Raghuram Hosahalli, Srinivasamurthy, Pakkala Ramdas, Sankari Krishnan, Yamini Ramesh, Mumbai Shilpa, Shreya Devnath, Krithika Natarajan, Salem Sisters, the leading Vainika Srikanth Chary and the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated
Bombay Jayashri Ramnath.
Early life and background
Born in the lineage of a disciple of the musician
Thyagaraja
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 ...
, Lalgudi Jayaraman inherited the essence of
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
from his father, V. R. Gopala Iyer, who trained him. Gopala Iyer, a martinet, enforced traits of intense focus and discipline in the young Jayaraman through rigorous lessons. Though a harsh father and guru, Gopala Iyer would not allow the young Jayaraman to even sharpen pencils, believing that his tender fingers were too precious.
Career
At the age of 12, he started his musical career as an accompanying violinist to Carnatic musicians before rising as a prominent soloist.
He expanded the style of violin playing by inventing a new technique that is designed to suit the needs of
Indian Classical Music and establishing a unique style that came to be known as ''Lalgudi Bani''. Jayaraman composed several '
kriti
Kriti may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kriti (music), a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music
* ''Kriti'' (film), a 2016 Hindi-language short film
* Kriti TV, Greek TV station
People with the name
* Kriti Bharti, Indi ...
s', '
tillana
A Tillana or thillana is a rhythmic piece in Carnatic music that is generally performed at the end of a concert and widely used in classical indian dance performances. It was popularised by Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and some other musicians A Til ...
s' and '
varnam
Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...
s' and dance compositions, which are a blend of
raga,
bhava
The Sanskrit word bhava (भव) means being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, be, production, origin,Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava but also habitual or emotional te ...
, rhythm and lyrical beauty. Lalgudi's instrumental talent comes to the fore in the form of lyrical excellence. He brought vocal style into violin, and his renditions exhibit knowledge of lyrical content of the compositions. Lalgudi actively and scientifically learned to self-critique his performances and dutifully wrote detailed reviews after each concert, a habit encouraged by his father and guru.
He was loath to experiment on stage in his solo concerts and almost always planned to the last detail, leading a certain critic to tout them as being intellectual rather than emotional in spirit, but Lalgudi's spontaneity and innate musical genius were often seen when he accompanied leading vocalists.
He was always in great demand for accompanying vocalists, and has accompanied vocal virtuosos including
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (19 May 1890 – 23 January 1967), popularly known as ''Ariyakudi'', was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of ...
,
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...
,
M. D. Ramanathan,
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day a ...
,
G. N. Balasubramaniam,
Madurai Mani Iyer
Madurai Mani Iyer ( ta, மதுரை மணி ஐயர்; 25 October 1912 – 8 June 1968) was an Indian Carnatic music singer, who was famous for his unique style. He was one of the most highly celebrated carnatic vocalists during the fi ...
, Alathur brothers, Voleti Venkateswarulu,
Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
Nedunuri Krishnamurthy (10 October 1927 – 8 December 2014) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. ,
K. V. Narayanaswamy,
Maharajapuram Santhanam
Maharajapuram Santhanam, (20 May 1928-24 June 1992) was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989. He was born in Sirunangur, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu. He followed the ...
,
D. K. Jayaraman
Damal Krishnaswamy Jayaraman (popularly known as DKJ), the renowned brother of D. K. Pattammal, was a professional Carnatic music singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1990.
After learning music from his si ...
,
M.Balamuralikrishna,
T. V. Sankaranarayanan
T. V. Sankaranarayanan, (7 March 1945 – 2 September 2022) was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic vocalist (South Indian classical singer), known for his music that stems from the style of his guru and maternal-uncle, Madurai Mani Iyer. TVS ...
,
T. N. Seshagopalan and flute maestro
N. Ramani. He was forbidden from accompanying female artistes by his father, a promise that he kept. He has given concerts extensively in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as well as abroad. The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
sent him to Russia as a member of the Indian Cultural Delegation.
He was the first to bring international attention to the
Carnatic style of violin playing. He also introduced a new concept of musical ensemble with violin,
venu
The ''venu'' (Sanskrit: ; /मुरळि; ''muraļi'') is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the ...
(flute) and
veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...
in 1966.
After inviting him to play the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
in 1965,
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...
, the renowned violinist, impressed by Lalgudi's technique and performance, presented him with his Italian violin. Lalgudi presented Menuhin with an ivory dancing Nataraja when Menuhin visited India.
He has also performed in Singapore,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and East European countries. His recordings submitted to the
International Music Council
The International Music Council (IMC) was created in 1949 as UNESCO's advisory body on matters of music. It is based at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, where it functions as an independent international non-governmental organization. Its p ...
,
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, Asian Pacific Music Rostrum and Iraq Broadcasting Agency by AIR New Delhi have been adjudged as the best and accorded the first position out of 77 entries received from the various countries during 1979. He was invited to give concerts at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and France. The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
chose him to represent
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
at the Festival of India in USA, London and he gave solo and 'Jugalbandi' concerts in London and also in Germany and Italy that received rave reviews. Sri Lalgudi went on a tour in the year 1984 to
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
and
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, which was highly successful. He composed the lyrics and music for the operatic ballet ''Jaya Jaya Devi'', which premiered in 1994 at
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio (US) and was staged in many other cities in the United States. In October 1999, Lalgudi performed in the UK under the auspices of Sruthi Laya Sangham (Institute of fine arts). After the concert, a dance drama ''Pancheswaram'', composed by Lalgudi, was staged.
His biography, ''An Incurable Romantic'', by Lakshmi Devnath, was released posthumously in 2013. It contains a foreword by sitarist
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...
, and charts his 70 years in the music industry.
Awards
Jayaraman earned several titles, such as 'Nada Vidya Tilaka' by Music Lovers’ Association of Lalgudi in 1963, '
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
' by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 1972, 'Nada Vidya Rathnakara' by East West Exchange in New York, 'Vadya Sangeetha Kalaratna' by Bharathi Society, New York; '
Sangeetha Choodamani
Sangeetha Choodamani ( ta, சங்கீத சூடாமணி) is an award bestowed on selected carnatic musicians by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai (India) every year. The Sabha conducts a music festival called ''Gokulashtami Sangeetha Ut ...
' by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai in 1971; State Vidwan of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Sangeetha Natak Academy award in 1979 etc. The First Chowdaiah Memorial National-Level award was given to Sri Jayaraman by the Chief Minister of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. He also received honorary citizenship of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, US in 1994 and the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 2001.
He won the
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...
for the film ''
Sringaram'' in 2006. In 2010, Jayaraman became a fellow of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.
History
It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...
.
Personal life
Lalgudi Jayaraman was married to Smt Rajalakshmi and had two children, son
G.J.R.Krishnan and daughter
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. Both follow the footsteps of their father and are famous in their own right. Jayaraman had three sisters Padmavathy, a vainika, Rajalakshmi and Srimathi, both violinists. Srimathi learned violin from him as well. The renowned
veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...
player
Jayanthi Kumaresh
Jayanthi Kumaresh is an Indian Veena musician. Jayanthi comes from a lineage of musicians who have been practising Carnatic music for six generations and started playing the Saraswati Veena at the age of 3. Her mother, Lalgudi Rajalakshmi, was h ...
is his sister Smt Rajalakshmi's daughter.
Jayaraman died on 22 April 2013 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
.
Compositions
Most famous for his
thillana
A Tillana or thillana is a rhythmic piece in Carnatic music that is generally performed at the end of a concert and widely used in classical indian dance performances. It was popularised by Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and some other musicians A Til ...
s and
varnam
Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...
s, Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman is considered one of the most prolific composers of modern times.
His compositions span four languages (
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
), as well as a whole range of
ragas not conventionally used for varnams or thillanas. Characteristic of his style, the melody of his compositions camouflages subtle rhythmic intricacies. His compositions are very popular with
Bharathanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
dancers, even as they have become a standard highlight of every leading
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
ian's repertoire.
His compositions include:
Varnams
Pada Varnams
Thillanas
Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman also tuned the
Swathi Thirunal
( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള് രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 4 ...
thillana 'Gitu Dhunika Taka Dhim' in Raga
Dhanashree
Dhanashree is the best friend of Neha raga that also appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Raga Dhanashree appears in the Ragmala as a ragini of Malkauns and currently is a member of the Kafi ...
and set the compositions in its current form, which then went on to become hugely popular
Krithis
Apart from these compositions, Sri Lalgudi jayaraman has composed jathiswarams and swarajathis as well. The jathiswaram in
Rasikapriya
Rasikapriya is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the last (72nd) ''melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Rasamanjari in Muthuswami Dikshitar scho ...
raga is popular among Bharatanatyam dancers. He has also composed a unique swarajathi which demonstrates the concept of
Grahabhedam, using ragas
Sindhu Bhairavi, Chenchurutti,
Mohanakalyani
Mohanakalyani is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a ''janya'' rāgam (derived scale) from the 65th ''melakarta'' scale Mechakalyani. It is a ''janya'' scale, as it does not have all the seven ''sw ...
, Behag and Tilang. He was a much sought after tunesmith who set tunes to numerous songs and compositions including several krithis of
Ambujam Krishna
Ambujam Krishna (1917 - 1989) was a composer of Carnatic Kritis. She has composed more than 600 kritis in various Carnatic ragas.
Personal life
Ambujam Krishna is the daughter of K. V. Ranga Iyengar, an advocate of Madurai. She had her music ...
.
References
External links
Official site of Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaraman, Lalgudi
1930 births
2013 deaths
Carnatic violinists
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Tamil musicians
Carnatic composers
Tamil film score composers
Best Music Direction National Film Award winners
People from Tiruchirappalli district
20th-century violinists
20th-century Indian musicians