Probably, the only stringed instrument, which is universally played and also adapts itself to various music styles from all over the world, is the violin. And the core theme of universality in music is what violin maestro Dr L. Subramaniam wanted to focus on in the recent Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, where he invited violinists from different countries to perform at the festival at the NCPA last week.

In an interactive session with Dr L. Subramaniam and the international violinists, Subramaniam focussed on how the violin is utilised and adapted in all traditions. “The ornamentation of the instrument is important. Every string on the violin has a reason to be designed in a specific manner. The instrument for that matter has been developed and designed scientifically,” says Subramaniam while speaking about the development of the stringed instrument.
Its origins can be traced to its predecessors in the great epic Ramayana and it also finds a mention in Sama Veda. Subramaniam spoke in detail about many other aspects of the violin including the tonality and synthesis of the chords. “The note gets accentuated when it is raised and lowered. The triton chord is important to realise the importance of an octave and so is the study of tetra chords and the seven chords,” explains Subramaniam. He says that Indian music is an oral tradition where a lot of importance was given to manner in which it was supposed to be played. “Indian music has a microtonal approach where each raga is based on a scale. “There are such enormous possibilities when it comes to these scales. Type one is ascending whereas Type two is descending after which we have primary notes. We stress on them longer than we would on secondary notes. Everything matters about a raga. The colour, tonality and the texture of the raga make a whole lot of difference to the construction of a raga,” says Subramaniam. He also succinctly adds further about the various improvisations on the raga, which is a dynamic process.
“A rhythmic cycle of the taala will give you a clear idea about the raga. The approach to note, phrasing and colour — expression of music needs to be defined well,” he adds further. He stresses how each note should go beyond the basic note and strike an instant connect with the audience. Subramaniam says that the three most important people who have influenced the Indian violin are Thyagaraja, Shamashastri and Muthuswamy Dikshitar. They are the pillars of Carnatic music.
“All three of them have contributed immensely to Carnatic music. Dikshitar was credited with anupallavis and Charnams while Shamashastri is known for this jatis. Saint Thyagraja was known for his Panchratna kritis, which are the most five important elements. They come as a cross between kritis and varnam,” says Subramaniam. Indian compositions were not planned as this is a practice in the West where composers would generally write a piece for a symphony.
“Indian music has a very spiritual base. Music was and is considered as a medium to reach the sublime and divine being. Thyagaraja would generally sing his compositions to God in the temple and he improvised upon them everyday, maybe unconsciously, and not with the aim of composing for a particular concert or event,” says Subramaniam. He also speaks about how the violin has graduated from being an accompanying instrument to a solo instrument.
“In the past, violin was never a mainstream instrument and we have now come to a stage where one can practically think of being a violin soloist. My father Lakshminarayana has brought about immense development and he promoted it by developing various techniques. Over the years, violin soloists have emerged and taken the tradition forward,” says Subramaniam.
Another interesting question that Subramaniam paid heed to was about the fact that violin is more suited to the Carnatic music repertoire to which he diplomatically said, “Hindustani music has the other stringed instruments like the sarod and the sitar, which were used more up north and over a period of time the instruments just found their genres,” says Subramaniam.
Over the years, with the coming of technology in every sphere of life, music too hasn’t been left behind and modern techniques in music also act as backburners.
“Too much of use of technology has resulted in rhythmic reversal and has changed the dynamics of music completely. It should be used consciously and carefully,” says Subramaniam.