Varnam |
Varṇam a set study piece (somewhat like the European étude) with
which instrumentalists commonly begin a program. Such performances are usually referred to as tāna varṇam--a varṇam in which instrumental tānas (exercises or phrases) predominate. The most common tāḷas for tāna varnams are Ādi tāḷa and Āta tāḷa (14 mātrās). |
The texts are "short and floridly set; the individual svara in the pulsed melismas are sung in a distinctly emphatic and separated fashion unique to the tāna varṇam" (Powers 1980: 117b). Compositions are organized with pallavi, anupallavi, and caraṇam sections. |
References |
Powers, Harry. 1980.
Subcontinent of India. In The New Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie 9:69-166. London: Macmillan. |
Pesch, Ludwig. 1999. The
Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music. Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 184-85. |
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Selected
Performance |
Varnam in Rāga Natakur Añji and Āditāla. [3:15] |
N. Ramani (flute) with Kandadevi Alagiriswami (violin) and Vellore Ramabhadran
(mrdangam). |
Ramani: The Soul of Indian Flute (World Pacific Records; WPS-21456;
A1). |
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Rāga Natakur Añji |
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Ādi tāḷa |4 O O |
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Unidentified, varṇam "Ninnukori," rāga Mohanam |
The Chainsmokers, varṇam "Ninnukori," rāga Mohanam [3:12] |
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