The gems from the proud repertoire of Carnatic music never fail to awe. Be it a strictly traditional rendering or a blend of the classic and the contemporary, what shines through is the beauty of the age old compositions. Manorama online Music Shots tries to recreate the magic of one such timeless composition in this edition - the Tyagaraja kriti in raga Saramati, Mokshamu Galada.
A musical treatise on the attainment of ‘moksha’ through ‘sangita jnana’, the kriti is noted for its poignancy. The meditative piece is both a definitive expression of the rare raga and a reflection on the liberating powers of the 'sapta swaras'.
The composition has always scored high on popular appeal too, especially owing to Balamuralikrishna’s flawless rendering in the movie ‘Swathi Thirunal’. The cover version in Musical Shots takes it a notch higher and attempts to fuse it with jazz music.
Musician Rahul Raj’s fusion is but reverential in its treatment of the classic composition. Mithun Jayaraj, upcoming talent and disciple of veteran Carnatic musician V Dakshinamoorthy, sticks to a no-frills rendering. Sandeep Mohan on guitar and Joe Johnson on keyboard bring in the contemporary spin to the kriti.