South India: Ranganayaki Rajagopalan—Continuity in the Karaikudi Vina Style

Vīṇā player Ranganayaki Rajagopalan (b. 1932) is a much-honored master of a South Indian classical (Karnatak/Carnatic) instrumental style named after the town of Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, South India. She apprenticed from early childhood with Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, a prominent member of a long lineage of court musicians. In this two-disc set, she is brilliantly accompanied by the eminent mridangaṃ (double-headed barrel drum) player Srimushnam Raja Rao. This album includes a complete concert cycle of rāgam and tānam expositions and compositions by much beloved composers Tyāgarāja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, and others. The subtleties and complexities are illuminated by extensive explanatory notes by Richard K. Wolf. 2 discs, 2 hours 17 minutes, 24 pages of notes.

This album is part of the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music. More than 125 albums are being released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to make the series publicly available, including a dozen never-released albums of musical traditions from around the globe.

Track Listing

101	Rāga: Gauḷa / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	00:56
102	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:15
103	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	00:55
104	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / madhyamakāla sāhitya (1)	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	00:29
105	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / colkaṭṭu svara	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:39
106	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:24
107	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / svara kalpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:10
108	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / svara kalpana, second speed	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	03:10
109	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / madhyamakāla sāhitya (2)	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	00:27
110	Kriti: “Śri Mahāgaṇapati” / colkaṭṭu svara, third speed	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	00:51
111	Rāga: Valaji / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	05:16
112	Kriti: “Jālandhara” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:13
113	Kriti: “Jālandhara” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:32
114	Kriti: “Jālandhara” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:55
115	Kriti: “Jālandhara” / svara kalpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	05:52
116	Rāga: Pūrvikalyāṇi / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	08:07
117	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:46
118	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:41
119	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / madhyamakāla sāhitya (1)	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:16
120	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	02:02
121	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / madhyamakāla sāhitya (2)	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:56
122	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / niraval	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	04:58
123	Kriti: “Mīnākṣi Me Mudam” / svara kalpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	06:44
124	Rāga: Bēgaḍa / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	04:35
125	Kriti: “Nādōpāsana” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	02:47
126	Kriti: “Nādōpāsana” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	02:38
127	Kriti: “Nādōpāsana” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	03:29
201	Rāga: Hamsavinōdhini / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	00:35
202	Kriti: “Caraṇam Bhava” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:15
203	Kriti: “Caraṇam Bhava” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:43
204	Kriti: “Caraṇam Bhava” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	02:15
205	Kriti: “Caraṇam Bhava” / svara kalpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	02:31
206	Rāga: Kharaharapriya / ālāpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	07:49
207	Rāga: Kharaharapriya / rāgamalika tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	04:59
208	Rāga: Nāṭā / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	03:04
209	Rāga: Gauḷa / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	02:14
210	Rāga: Arabhi / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	02:14
211	Rāga: Varāḷi / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	01:53
212	Rāga: Srī / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	03:14
213	Rāga: Kharaharapriya / tānam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan	01:05
214	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / pallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	06:05
215	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / anupallavi	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	03:26
216	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / caraṇam	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	03:52
217	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / niraval	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	04:25
218	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / svara kalpana	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	05:08
219	Kriti: “Ĉakkanirāja” / tani āvartana (drum solo)	Raja Rao	05:07
220	Bhajan: “Krīḍata Madhubana”	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	03:18
221	Mangaḷam: “Pavamāna”	Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Raja Rao	01:03