Book Description

“I too have a dream”, says V.S. Narasimhan, author of this book. Someday the sound of St. Thyagaraja’s compositions should be heard in places like Carnegie Hall! It is my desire and vision that cello should become a prominent instrument of Carnatic music both as solo and accompanying instrument just as the violin is. The grandeur of the tone of a cello in Carnatic music is something I hear in my head. Similarly bass players could incorporate Carnatic music ornamentation techniques. Viola should also become a featured component of Carnatic music as a solo and as accompaniment. If these instruments which cover a wide range of frequencies get into the hands of skillful artists, the result would be a novel symphonic style of arrangement that would gain a broader international audience and would be a transformative event bringing new dimensions to Carnatic music. What I hear in these tracks is the voice on the other side of the world, seemingly divergent yet at the same time oddly familiar, using the same classic instrumentation to provide yet another compelling new musical paradigm in the continuing evolution of the string quartet form. One can only wonder what Papa Haydn would have thought if somehow by a miracle of time travel he were to hear this music!…Grammy award winner, David Balakrishnan, Founder/ Member of Turtle Island String Quartet: Together, the musicians of the Madras String Quartet played authentic, grace oriented Carnatic music, setting off its beauty against the harmonic richness of the Western classical idiom. It was beautiful. Bangalore Mirror, March 1, 2010 A Capella twist to Thyagaraja kriti “Brova Bharamma” gets a new sound, thanks to ace violinist V. S. Narasimhan The Hindu, Chennai, Friday, July 22, 2016