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Purvi Tillana

from Four Higher by Autorickshaw

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about

Composer Tirukkokarnam Subbarama Bhagavatar (early 20th century)
Arranged by Sankaran, Hanley

Raga: Purvikalyani
Tala: Rupaka (3 beat cycle)

Tillana is a compositional form emerging from the dance genre of south India. It is usually fast-paced and rhythmically energetic, and uses south Indian solfege syllables, drum and dance syllables.

In this tillana, the composer has combined both the svara (pitch) syllables and the rhythmic solfege. The seven notes sa ri ga ma pa dha ni correspond to the western solfege do re mi fa sol la ti. Each of the swara syllables comes from the first letters of their respective individual phrases, such as ni from nishada, ri from rishaba, ga from gandhara, and so on.
In practice, one would sing only the svara syllables and not the entire phrase. Here, the composer has used all seven phrases in their entirety as part of the text of the tillana.
Furthermore, he points at the evolution of the scale that originated from Vedic chant, with 3 notes udhatta, anudhatta and svarita (a note above, a note below, and the middle note) in the text. He also refers to the powerful Indian mystic syllable OM (the Pranava mantra), the nada, or universal sound.
The rhyming and rhetorical use of the syllable ni that follows the syllabic words, epitomizes the ultimate philosophical and spiritual truth, namely the worship of Brahma, that is, beyond form, shape, religion, etc., and that which is within oneself (Brahma asmi) and not elsewhere.

Special thanks to Trichy Sankaran for translation and additional notes.

lyrics

Nisada Risaba Gandhara Madhyama Dhaivata Sadja Pancamo
Dattanudatta Svarita prajaya Pranavakara
Nitya Niramaya Nirmala Nigamanta Prati bhava
Nirupama Niravadi sukhada
Nirisa Nirasa Niranjani Nirguna Brhmasmi

credits

from Four Higher, released June 16, 2004
Suba Sankaran-voice
Ed Hanley-tabla

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Autorickshaw Toronto, Ontario

Canadian Indo-fusion ensemble Autorickshaw has been called one of the most interesting acts on the world music landscape. Their sound showcases the sultry, sophisticated vocals of Suba Sankaran, anchored by the driving bass-lines & beatboxing of Dylan Bell over a bed of intricate tabla grooves by Ed Hanley. Autorickshaw has toured extensively across Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, India & Nepal. ... more

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