Article 3
THE GREATNESS OF MUSIC
Music is celebrated the world over. Says Addison: “Music, the greatest good that mortals know And all of heaven we have below.”
Browning affirms:
Dr. T.N.R.
Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice, according to Dr.Johnson. Samuel Rogers say “(Music) is the universal tongue.” Madame de Stael says: “Among all the arts, music alonec
“There is no greater truth obtainable
By Man than comes of music.” John Logan says: “Music’s the medicine of the mind
be purely religious.” The Bard of Avon says with aplomb: “In music is such art,
Again Killing care and grief of heart.” it is he who declared:
“The man that hath no music in himself
Is fit for treasons, strategems and spoils.”
In fine, music which is divine is matchless. Mahakavi Bharati was, inter alia, a sweet-voiced singer. A passge in His Kuyil PA
runs as follows.
O creator Brahma, splendorous are your achievements.
…yet of all Thy marvels, the creation of nectarean music
Is spectacular, Oh immatchable! Heaven e’er expanding and ocean streams
Are wonders sure; but behold the marvel,
The Song! There is nought on earth to surpass this. Elements mix and fuse to usher in
Novelty; Oh, what a wonder it is! But can this be ever rated equal
To the sweet concourse of harmonious sounds?”
Quoting a Sanskrit adage Bharati reminds us of the original which says sisur Vetthi Vetthi gana vasam pani:” These days Karnatic music as well as Tamil isai stand much neglected. A good musician
: “Pasur Vetthi
is now a rarity.
We should remember that music belongs to the tamasa kala; its practitioner is one who is playing with a venomous adder. He that makes a living out of it and accumulates wealth, will invariably meet with a condign punishment. Sages like Thyaga Brahmam dedicated it wholly, solely and exclusively to God
A song, be it known, must be informed by bhakti. A mellifluous kind of singing aimed at an agreeable, well-rounded tone, an even scale from top to bottom, an unbroken legato, a nicety of intonation, an eloquence of phrase and cadence, a purity of vowels and an avoidance of shouting, nasality, harsh or crude sounds, disjointed registers, undue vehemence and any other form of vulgarity: these form not the soul of a song. aria or cantata of the printed or handwritten notes and notations can only
The mere provide a melodic skeleton or frame devised by the singer from his own repertoire or ornaments, embellishments, graces, roulades, trills, variations and cadences and so on. It is not an exhibition of vocal virtuosity that is called for. It is bhakti-sheer devotion, that should be the content. Music is both science and art. It is a hard taskmaster. Its cultivation is not easy.
Eyeing the hero who looked like a scare-crow, his friend asks: “Did you in this walled city of Madurai
Where Tamil was scanned (by scholars great) Plunge into the depths of sweet and beauteous Tamil?
Or were you drawn to the orbit of music sevenfold?
O Prince, what ails thee?”
I repeat that music is bhakti. It must melt the bones of the listener. Such music is Sivan- given. Let us thrive in it and gain at-one-ment with God.
Om Tat Sat!
சேக்கிழாரடிப்பொடி முதுமுனைவர் T.N. ராமச்சந்திரன்