Muthuswami Dikshitar

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Muthuswami Dikshitar (born March 24, 1775 , † October 21, 1835 ) was a South Indian poet and composer.

Along with Tyagaraja (1767–1847) and Syama Sastri (1762–1827), dikshitar is part of the musical triumvirate of Carnatic music . His compositions, about 500 of which are known, impress with their contemplative character and the skill of the use of raga forms in the vina style, which is rich in musical ornamentation ( gamakas ). Muthuswami Dikshitar signed his compositions with the name Guruguha . The word is composed of guru , "teacher", and guha , an epithet of the god Subrahmanya : According to Dikshitar, he appeared to him as a vision and initiated him as a composer. His compositions are widely sung and played at classical concerts of carnatic music.

In contrast to the other two masters, Dikshitar did not write in Telugu , but primarily in Sanskrit . Some of his Kritis (a form of the carnatic song) are written in Maipravalam, a mixed language of Sanskrit and Malayalam .

literature

  • Emmie te Nijenhuis: Kīrtana: Traditional South Indian Devotional Songs. Compositions of Tyāgarāja, Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar and Śyāma Śāstri. (Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 2, South Asia, Vol. 26) Brill, Leiden / Boston 2011

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alois Payer: Some important poet composers of carnatic music. dated September 6, 2009
  2. ↑ guruguha.org
  3. ↑ Guruguha. In: P. Sambamurthy: A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians. Vol. 2 (G-K), The Indian Music Publishing House, Madras 1984, p. 218
personal data
SURNAME Dikshitar, Muthuswami
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South Indian poet and composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1775
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 1835