Subbaraya Sastri (1803–1862) the son and student of
Syama Sastri
Shyama Shastri (; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Syama Sastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music.
He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.
Early life and career
Shy ...
, one of the most famous figures in the history 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 ...
. He also has the unique distinction of having studied music from all the three of the musicians now acknowledged as "the Trinity of Carnatic Music": his father, and the master musicians
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 ...
and
Muthuswamy Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...
.
Early life
Subbaraya was born in 1803 as the second son of Syama Sastri. He studied music initially from his father. Later Syama Shastri asked Tyagaraja to teach his son and sent Subbaraya to him. He also had the opportunity to learn a few ''
krithi
''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 ...
'' from Muthuswami Dikshitar. He also learnt
Hindustani music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...
from Meru Goswami, a musician of the
Thanjavur
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 ...
palace, and from Ramadas Swami who was a recluse and who lived in Tiruvidaimarudur near
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...
.
Career
Subbaraya Shastry composed only a few
krithi
''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 ...
. Sastri composed most of his kritis in praise of the Mother Goddess. Some of his kritis are ''Janani ninnuvina'' (''Reetigowla''), ''Ninnusevinchina'' (''Yadukulakambhoji''), ''Venkatasailavihara'' (''Hamirkalyani'') and ''Sankari Nee'' (''Begada'')
Compositions
See also
*
List of Carnatic composers
List of composers of Carnatic music, a subgenre of Indian classical music. Chronologically they can be grouped into 4 different Eras: Pre-Trinity Era, Trinity Era, Post Trinity Era and Modern Era. Composers are listed here based on this classif ...
References
Carnatic composers
1862 deaths
1803 births
19th-century composers
People of British India
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