From Europe to Southern India: An Abbreviated look at the Violin in Carnatic Music

Although the violin has little over 200 years of use in South Asia, there it has transitioned from existence as an instrument of European heritage, to one that both in sound and appearance seems as if it were indigenous to India. The violin is used in both Northern and Southern Indian music, but has been most widely accepted in Carnatic (Southern) music. The instrument has replaced other instruments (like the sarangi and the veena) as the stringed instrument of choice when accompanying singers. In addition, the violin has also become a prominent solo instrument in some Carnatic music settings. The popularity of the violin has helped its performers to solidify for itself a lineage within the continued development of Carnatic music and the techniques applied to enhance its performance. How did the violin become an instrument so dominant (and possibly fundamental) to Carnatic music?

The Introduction of the Violin to Southern India

The stories and myths surrounding the origins of Southern Indian violin are as rich as the history of the instrument itself. One popular story is of Baluswamy Dickshitar, a son of a famous Brahman who heard the instrument from French colonials and quickly adapted it to the Carnatic style of music. Another origin story describes the transformation of the violin from the instrument of the colonials to Carnatic masterpiece in the royal court of Tanjavur by Vaidvelieu; a man whose skills were so impressive he became personal instructor to the king. Still others stories suggest the violin was brought to India by officers of the French army, or cite the possibility of the violin’s arrival earlier than the colonial period using paintings found of a woman in a mural, and the incorporation of the Violin into the Kanadda language.
Although there are many myths and legends surrounding the introduction of the violin to Southern India, it is most often theorized that the violin was introduced to Southern India during the mid 18th century by colonial personnel from British and French countries. The violin was played by Brahmans and non-Brahmans alike, with the political opportunities for exchange serving as the mechanism by which the instrument was initially shared. Early Carnatic compositions suggest the violin was associated with fiddlers and folk music, but European influence on Indian songs suggest that the instrument was both an indication of colonial presence in Indian life and a vehicle for the translation of Western music into the Carnatic musical language.

Early Adaptation into Indian Music and into Society

The violin did not immediately find a role as an Indian classical instrument. According to Weidman, Indian musicians who played violin had been exposed to Irish and Scottish fiddling, not Western classical violin playing. This Western folk tradition became the foundation of Indian violin as a folk instrument. The evidence is further supported by the music of Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776 – 1835), a composer of prominence (sometimes along with his brother Baluswamy are referred to as the part of the “holy trinity” of Carnatic music) during the violins early history in Southern India. His compositions based on “European Airs” appear to be created in a radically different way than many compositions native to Carnatic music in that the compositions include none of the gamakas typical of the idiom. Moreover, the lyrics appear to only be implemented in a way to adapt the European based melodies into a “palatable form.” This transmission and transformation of ideas is the beginning of the incorporation of the violin into Indian musical existence. [1]

As the violin began to be discovered in India, its role also came to be redefined by its Indian hosts. The violin functioned primarily as an instrument for accompaniment of the voice. It, like the veena, was an instrument that could provide the mixture of support and competition required for Carnatic music by emulating the voice when needed, and providing contrast when necessary. The combination of the voice and violin was pleasing to the people, whether in the royal palace, or on the busy city streets. As a folk instrument the violin was used all around Southern in political or official gatherings of a court; used in dance settings or even for Harikatha (musical storytelling) combined with poetry or implemented in religious services. Folk music also included the ragas and the talas found in Carnatic music. Although these were not applied universally in Indian folk music, their inclusion allowed for the potential of the violin to be realized outside of the folk traditions, and into the classical idiom.

Transition from Fiddle to Carnatic Classical Instrument

The transition of the violin from folk to classical instrument is fairly recent, mostly occurring in the 20th century. From the time of introduction to India the violin had to begin to create a tradition, and establishing techniques for playing the instrument appropriately in Indian music was necessary. While violin technique had been long standardized in European musical traditions, Indian performers played the instrument as they saw fit; using a myriad of systems for finger and hand positions as well as unsystematic applications of the bow. During the early 1900s, when a general reformation of Carnatic music was taking place, more standard methodologies of violin performance were codified. One violinist of note, T.C.R. Johannes (1912 - ), provided a significant treatise for violin playing and violin technique within Indian music. His commentary indicates one of the primary reasons the violin may have been a natural fit for Indian music. He argued that the violin had always been an Indian instrument that the Europeans simply refined; the instrument could so naturally accommodate itself to other instruments, the human voice, and the sounds of animals. But although the instrument need to remain distinctly Indian, the violin also needed to be treated with similar disciplines required for the performance of Western music; with its system of notation, composers, compositions, conservatories, and concerts. His treatise also introduced standards for finger placement, bow technique, and performance practice that were true both to the spirit and ideals of classical Indian music.

The movement of the Carnatic music audience from the streets to the concert hall also marks a pivotal point in the violin’s transition from its folk applications to those of classical music in large venues. With concert hall performances came more opportunities for violinists to accompany singers. As vocal amplification became a necessity, it was discovered the violin was an instrument well suited to amplification, and could be played in a manner that would not impede the production of the ornamentation nor diminish the sensibilities required for the performance of Carnatic music.

Performance Practice for Carnatic Violin

The Indian violin is essentially the same instrument as the European Violin with two key exceptions; tuning and performance practice. The small fingerboard and lack of frets make it relatively easy to adapt to Carnatic style, and, in fact, earlier South Indian bowed string instruments have fallen entirely into disuse in its wake. The manner in which the Western instrument has been applied to Eastern traditions is consistent with those of Asian countries; those that have adopted western instruments but applied them in their own way.

The violin’s four strings are fixed to intervals within the range of the singer to be accompanied. To Western musicians, this tuning will seem to appear as scordatura (the cross-tuning/alternate tuning used for the open strings of a string instrument). The IV and III strings (G and D) and the II and I (A and E) strings are sa-pa pairs offset by an octave (for example: G-D-G1-D1). The tonic sa is not fixed, but variable; adjusted or tuned to accommodate the vocalist or lead player. This system of tuning best accommodates the singer, and lets the violin perform in the same role as a veena or in consort with thalam, mridangam or other accompaniment instrument.
The position of the performer is very different from those of Western Traditions. Performance position for the violinist in Carnatic tradition is seated. Once seated, the violinist will support the instrument between the chin and the foot; permitting the hand to move freely all over the fingerboard. There is no set position for the left hand, so it is important for the violin to be locked in a steady, unmoving position in order for the performer to facilitate the “the complex and manifold features of Carnatic melodic ornamentation.” [2] Modern musicians talk of this position as necessary in order for the violinist to have “complete mastery over the instrument while maintaining the ornamentation, which is essential to the Indian tradition.”

The position of the body, specifically the hand, is directly related to the motions employed in the performance of Carnatic music. “These motions are of three types. Shifts (e.g., Carnatic jaru, the slides) are made with a sliding movement of the whole hand, including the thumb to a new position. Oscillations (e.g., gamaka, the deflections) are executed by rolls or short slides with the thumb in place, though it may bend or stretch. And fingerfall (e.g., janta, the fingered stresses) is accomplished with crisp stopping and release of the string by individual fingers, the thumb remaining still.” [3]

Violin and the Aesthetics of Carnatic Music

Carnatic music is a vocal music. Even Carnatic music played instrumentally often emulates what is typically done with the human voice. In many (if not all) circumstances, the techniques used by singers of Carnatic music are implemented on the violin. For instance, in its role as an accompaniment instrument, the violinist often emulates the singer, echoing the phrases sung or playing them in unison (as with the initial statement of a full composition). The singing ability of the violin has also help to further its use as a solo instrument, where it fills the role of the singer and itself is supported by other instruments used for accompaniment. Any instrument with these unique qualities, for instance violin, has tremendous flexibility as either an accompanying instrument or as a solo instrument. In Carnatic music, the violin’s tonal quality is considered to be one that that blends well with the human voice. Its range includes 3 octaves, the normal range for vocalists. The violin is able to produce subtle nuances, graces (gamakas), modulations, and the microtones (srutis) which characterize Carnatic music. The abilities of a good violinist can provide both the intensity and subtleties required to support the voice, and to stand alone, solo, above other instruments in a Carnatic setting. “[The violin] is now [so] commonly played throughout North and South India, and accommodates the music so beautifully that many Indians assume the violin to be an indigenous instrument…Many violinists learn to sing each composition before being allowed to perform it on their instrument. In this way they learn the texts, develop a better understanding of the particular devotional mood, and master various subtleties of phrasing which are as much a function of language as of musical line.” [4]

In addition to the sound qualities of the violin in Carnatic music, it has another advantage; the ability to perform the ornamentations native to other Indian instruments. In his article South Indian Gamaka and the Violin, the author Gordon Swift notes that “On first hearing the violin played in the South Indian classical (Carnatic) style, listeners often remark how well instrument and music suit each other. The violin's unfretted fingerboard and player's relaxed left-had hold seem ideal for executing the various gliding and wavering gamaka(s) (ornaments) which characterize Carnatic raga. Investigation reveals a specific reason for this good fit: each type of gamaka matches a distinctive violin technique.” [5] Again, the position of the violin is crucial to executing these ornaments. With the violin locked between the chin and the foot, the hand is free to execute the movement needed for gamakas, microtonal kampita, and janta.

Violin as an Instrument of Musical and Social Change

In Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern: The Postcolonial Politics of Music in South India, Amanda J. Weidman discusses some of the qualities of the violin in Indian life. Because the violin was relatively new to India, it “crossed caste lines” and was not mired in the “social obligations…as acquiring a more traditional instrument like the veena would be.” [6] The violin had a great advantage over Indian counterparts like the veena and [other instruments]. It was simple to use, easily transportable, and flexible enough to meet the demands of Carnatic music. The Violin’s modern masters like P. Sambamoorthy enjoyed the violin’s “sweet and loud tone”, “its handiness”, “its plain fingerboard…” for ease and control of shruits and gamakas, “its long bow…” for a continuous tone, and the ease in which the violin could accompany singers of different pitches (high for female, low for male). By contrast, the veena was difficult to transport, was not nearly as loud as the violin and, in some cases, considered “too majestic and dignified to be used as accompaniment in vocal concerts.” [7] Further attitudes of prejudice against the harmonium and the sarangi, instruments with a much longer history of use in India music, would allow the newer violin to be more widely adapted and eventually replacing these instruments in use.

The Indian violin has become a vehicle of increased development of Carnatic music. Those performers who pioneered the violin, both as a solo and as an accompaniment instrument in the 20th century, include those who have established conventions for the performance of violin in Carnatic music. Popular performers including Vittal Ramamurthy, L. Shankar, and T.N. Krishnan are known as much for their educational efforts as well as their performances of Carnatic music; developing expansion of ragas, advanced bowing techniques, systems for rhythmic accuracy, and increasing the number of available compositions. The popularity of the violin has helped to solidify a lineage for the further development of the Carnatic music and the techniques applied to enhance its performance.

Bibliography

Higgins, Jon B. “South Indian Vocal Music by N. V. Narayanaswamy;Palghat Raghu;V. V. Subramaniam” Ethnomusicology, Vol. 13, No. 2, (May, 1969), pp. 387-392.

Mahadevan, Ramesh. A Gentle Introduction to South Indian Classical Music: Part IV. http://www.indianmelody.com/carnaticintro.htm (accessed May 18, 2008)
Swift, Gordon N. “South Indian "Gamaka" and the Violin” Asian Music, Vol. 21, No. 2(Spring - Summer, 1990), pp. 71-89.
Subramaniam, L. The Indian Violin. http://www.indianviolin.com (accessed May 18, 2008).

Tenzer, Michael. Analytical Studies in World Music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. USA, 2006.

Weidman, Amanda J. Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern: The Postcolonial Politics of Music in South India. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.

[1] Amanda J. Weidman. Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern: The Postcolonial Politics of Music in South India (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006):27.

[2] L. Subramaniam. The Indian Violin. http://www.indianviolin.com (accessed May 18, 2008).
[3] Gordon N. Swift “South Indian "Gamaka" and the Violin” Asian Music, Vol. 21, No. 2(1990): 88.
[4] Jon B. Higgins. “South Indian Vocal Music by N. V. Narayanaswamy;Palghat Raghu;V. V. Subramaniam.” Ethnomusicology, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1969): 389.
[5] Gordon N. Swift “South Indian "Gamaka" and the Violin” Asian Music, Vol. 21, No. 2(1990): 71.
[6] Amanda J. Weidman. Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern: The Postcolonial Politics of Music in South India (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006):49.
[7] Ibid, 45.