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Sax in Carnatic




The title at first glance might seem suggestive of something lurid perhaps if you have a fertile mind like mine.  Phonetically rhyming ideas like a nubile Kate Winslet on a big ship on open ocean come to mind but it is much more intriguing than that.  I recently in my early morning navigation of the WWW stumbled on this.  A dude make that a famous maestro of classical music from India playing Carnatic music on the Saxophone.  Hence the title.

To put all this in context - a brief primer on the Saxophone.  Invented by a Belgian fella called Adolphe Sax it is a wind instrument made popular in the early 20th century by the birth of jazz music.  While the Sax as the saxophone came to be referred in shorthand is largely associated with big brass bands and the music of the south it has found several artistic interpretations and use in other genres such as Carnatic.

A quick primer on Carnatic - it is the classical music of south India (result of a vague boundary) as opposed to Hindustani music of the north that includes influence from the arabian peninsula and Islamic cultures.

A lot of the compositions in Carnatic tend to be designed to provide an interpretation of prayer to the powerful lords and lordesses and sung in temples and religious venues or events.  Modern day manifestation can include any form of poetry or expression of emotion.  The south of India has many a master performer but I know of none in particular except this video that I came across.  The artist's name is Kadri Gopalnath.

Lucky for him he had a maestro father who himself played a different wind instrument in his day and the young Kadri learned at his feet.  Literally.  No sofas or couches back then.

Kadri is from the Indian state of Karnataka and recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honorary award the Padma Shri..

If the readership is inclined they can find an amazing collection of music at the below link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKkcbGM0pg0



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