This instrument is "among the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instruments".[3] It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indianshehnai, but much longer, with a hardwood body, and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal.
In South Indian culture, the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition.[4] It is part of the family of instruments known as mangala vadyam[5] (lit. mangala "auspicious", vadya "instrument"). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil;[6] it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe, called the ottu.[7]
The nadasvaram is referred to in many ancient Tamil texts. The Cilappatikaram refers to an instrument called the "vangiyam".[citation needed] The structure of this instrument matches that of a nadasvaram.[citation needed] Since there are seven holes played with seven fingers, this was also called as the "eḻil". This instrument, too, is played in Tamil Nadu, and is popular among the Tamil diaspora.[8]
Construction
The nadasvaram contains three parts namely, kuḻal, thimiru, and anasu.[clarification needed]
It is a double reed instrument with a conical bore which gradually enlarges toward the lower end. The top portion has a metal staple (mel anaichu) into which is inserted a small metallic cylinder (kendai) which carries the mouthpiece made of reed. Besides spare reeds, a small ivory or horn needle is attached to the instrument, and used to clear the reed of saliva and other debris and allows free passage of air. A metallic bell (keeḻ anaichu) forms the bottom end of the instrument.
Traditionally the body of the nadasvaram is made out of a tree called aacha (Tamil ஆச்சா; Hindi अंजन), although nowadays bamboo, sandalwood, copper, brass, ebony, and ivory are also used. For wooden instruments, old wood is considered the best, and sometimes wood salvaged from demolished old houses is used.[9]
The nadasvaram has seven finger-holes, and five additional holes drilled at the bottom which can be stopped with wax to modify the tone.[10] The nadasvaram has a range of two and a half octaves, similar to the Indian bansuri flute, which also has a similar fingering. Unlike the flute where semi and quarter tones are produced by the partial opening and closing of the finger holes, in the nadasvaram they are produced by adjusting the pressure and strength of the air-flow into the pipe. Due to its intense volume and strength, it is largely an outdoor instrument, and much more suited for open spaces than for indoor concerts.
Players
Some of the greatest early nadasvaram players include:
American composers such as Lewis Spratlan[12] have expressed admiration for the nadasvaram, and a few jazz musicians have taken up the instrument: Charlie Mariano (b. 1923) is one of the few non-Indians able to play the instrument,[13] having studied it while living in India. Vinny Golia, J. D. Parran, and William Parker have performed and recorded with the instrument.[14] The German saxophonist Roland Schaeffer also plays it,[15][unreliable source?] having studied from 1981 to 1985 with Karupaia Pillai.
In popular culture
Among the Tamil movies, two released in the 1960s, namely Konjum Salangai(1962) starring Gemini Ganesan and Thillana Mohanambal(1968) starring Sivaji Ganesan, featured nadasvaram playing characters. For the Konjum Salankai movie, Karukurichi Arunasalam Pillai provided the nadasvaram music. Madurai Sethuraman and Ponnusamy brothers were employed for the nadasvaram playing duo characters Sivaji Ganesan and A.V.M. Rajan for the Thillana Mohanambal movie director AP Nagarajan dedicated this movie to legend karukurichi arunachalam
^Variously spelled as nadaswaram, nadhaswaram, nagaswaram, nataswaram, and nathaswaram.
^University, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru (25 August 2017). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 161. ISBN978-1-5381-0686-0.
^Venkatasubramanian, T. K. (2010). Music as History in Tamilnadu. Primus Books. p. 50. ISBN978-93-80607-06-1.
^"Reality show India's Got Talent - Khoj 2 winners to sing for Obama". India Today. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
^Light Isaac (1967). Theory of Indian music. Printed at Shyam Printers. p. 156. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^Vijaya Ghose; Jaya Ramanathan; Renuka N. Khandekar (1992). Tirtha, the treasury of Indian expressions. CMC Ltd. p. 201. ISBN978-81-900267-0-3. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^Percussioner International Audio Magazine. Sal Sofia Industries, Inc. 1984. p. 38. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^Ragini Devi (1990). Dance Dialects Of India. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 222–. ISBN978-81-208-0674-0. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^Nayagam, Xavier S. Thani (1964). Tamil Culture. Academy of Tamil Culture. p. 210.
^"Indian Instruments : Nadaswaram | Indian Music : Getting to know a little more about Indian music, musicians and instruments". aboutindianmusic.com. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
^O. Gosvami (1 January 1961). The story of Indian music: its growth and synthesis. Scholarly Press. p. 156. ISBN978-0-403-01567-2. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
^Andankoil AV Selvarathnam Pillai B. Kolappan (15 December 2010). "Arts / Music : An art that's still awaiting its due". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
^Sampath, Revathi (16 March 2008). "Nadaswaram". India Currents. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^Ian Carr; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (2004). Jazz: The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums. Rough Guides. pp. 99–. ISBN978-1-84353-256-9. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
nadaswaram, nadhaswaram, redirects, here, tamil, series, nadhaswaram, series, nagaswaram, note, note, nādḥasvaram, double, reed, wind, instrument, from, south, india, used, traditional, classical, instrument, tamil, nadu, andhra, pradesh, telangana, karnataka,. Nadhaswaram redirects here For the Tamil TV series see Nadhaswaram TV series The Nagaswaram note 1 note 2 nadḥasvaram is a double reed wind instrument from South India 1 It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Telangana Karnataka and Kerala 2 NadaswaramA Nadasvaram with seevaliDouble reed windOther namesNagasvaramClassificationWind instrumentsThis instrument is among the world s loudest non brass acoustic instruments 3 It is a wind instrument partially similar to the North Indian shehnai but much longer with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal In South Indian culture the nadasvaram is considered to be very auspicious and it is a key musical instrument played in almost all Hindu weddings and temples of the South Indian tradition 4 It is part of the family of instruments known as mangala vadyam 5 lit mangala auspicious vadya instrument The instrument is usually played in pairs and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil 6 it can also be accompanied with a drone from a similar oboe called the ottu 7 Contents 1 History 2 Construction 3 Players 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe nadasvaram is referred to in many ancient Tamil texts The Cilappatikaram refers to an instrument called the vangiyam citation needed The structure of this instrument matches that of a nadasvaram citation needed Since there are seven holes played with seven fingers this was also called as the eḻil This instrument too is played in Tamil Nadu and is popular among the Tamil diaspora 8 Construction EditThe nadasvaram contains three parts namely kuḻal thimiru and anasu clarification needed It is a double reed instrument with a conical bore which gradually enlarges toward the lower end The top portion has a metal staple mel anaichu into which is inserted a small metallic cylinder kendai which carries the mouthpiece made of reed Besides spare reeds a small ivory or horn needle is attached to the instrument and used to clear the reed of saliva and other debris and allows free passage of air A metallic bell keeḻ anaichu forms the bottom end of the instrument Traditionally the body of the nadasvaram is made out of a tree called aacha Tamil ஆச ச Hindi अ जन although nowadays bamboo sandalwood copper brass ebony and ivory are also used For wooden instruments old wood is considered the best and sometimes wood salvaged from demolished old houses is used 9 The nadasvaram has seven finger holes and five additional holes drilled at the bottom which can be stopped with wax to modify the tone 10 The nadasvaram has a range of two and a half octaves similar to the Indian bansuri flute which also has a similar fingering Unlike the flute where semi and quarter tones are produced by the partial opening and closing of the finger holes in the nadasvaram they are produced by adjusting the pressure and strength of the air flow into the pipe Due to its intense volume and strength it is largely an outdoor instrument and much more suited for open spaces than for indoor concerts Players EditSome of the greatest early nadasvaram players include Thirumarukal Nadesa Pillai T N Rajarathnam Pillai 1898 1956 Thiruvengadu Subramania Pillai Vedaranyam Vedamoorthy Karukurichi Arunachalam 1921 1964 Kulikkarai P Rajendran Pillai 1970 2019 Thirucherai Sivasubramanian Pillai Thiruvarur S Latchappa Pillai Acharyapuram Chinnathambillai b 1928 Kulikkarai Pichaiyappa M S Ponnuthayi 1928 2012 Kizhvelur N G Ganesan Andankoil A V Selvarathnam Pillai Thiruvizha Jayashankar b 1940 Brother teams of Keeranur and Thiruveezhimizhalai Semponnarkoil Brothers S R G Sambandam and Rajanna Dharumapuram S Abiramisundaram Pillai and his son Dharumapuram A Govindarajan 11 Sheik Chinna Moulana 1924 1999 Gosaveedu shaik Hassan sahieb 1928 2021 Sheik Mahaboob Subhani Kaleeshabi Mahaboob Namagiripettai Krishnan 1924 2001 Madurai M P N Sethuraman 1928 2000 M P N Ponnuswamy b 1932 Ponnusamy brothers Alaveddy N K Pathmanathan Mambalan M K S Shiva S R D Vaidyanathan 1929 2013 Seshampatti T Sivalingam Domada Chittabbayi 1930 2002 Injikudi E M Subramaniam Umapathy Kandasamy 1950 2017 U E Palanivel Chennai Kundala Kambar Nagercoil 1965 Sankarapandia Kambar Tirunelveli Tiruvalaputtur T K Venupilla Kulikkarai Brothers K M Daksaha Moorthi Pillai amp K M Ganeshan Pillai Pattamangalam SelvarajAmerican composers such as Lewis Spratlan 12 have expressed admiration for the nadasvaram and a few jazz musicians have taken up the instrument Charlie Mariano b 1923 is one of the few non Indians able to play the instrument 13 having studied it while living in India Vinny Golia J D Parran and William Parker have performed and recorded with the instrument 14 The German saxophonist Roland Schaeffer also plays it 15 unreliable source having studied from 1981 to 1985 with Karupaia Pillai In popular culture EditAmong the Tamil movies two released in the 1960s namely Konjum Salangai 1962 starring Gemini Ganesan and Thillana Mohanambal 1968 starring Sivaji Ganesan featured nadasvaram playing characters For the Konjum Salankai movie Karukurichi Arunasalam Pillai provided the nadasvaram music Madurai Sethuraman and Ponnusamy brothers were employed for the nadasvaram playing duo characters Sivaji Ganesan and A V M Rajan for the Thillana Mohanambal movie director AP Nagarajan dedicated this movie to legend karukurichi arunachalamSee also Edit India portal Music portalTavil Stone nadasvaramReferences Edit Malayalam ന ദസ വര Kannada ನ ದಸ ವರ Tamil ந தச வரம ந யனம Telugu న దస వర Variously spelled as nadaswaram nadhaswaram nagaswaram nataswaram and nathaswaram University Vijaya Ramaswamy Jawaharlal Nehru 25 August 2017 Historical Dictionary of the Tamils Rowman amp Littlefield p 161 ISBN 978 1 5381 0686 0 Venkatasubramanian T K 2010 Music as History in Tamilnadu Primus Books p 50 ISBN 978 93 80607 06 1 Reality show India s Got Talent Khoj 2 winners to sing for Obama India Today 31 October 2010 Retrieved 9 January 2012 Light Isaac 1967 Theory of Indian music Printed at Shyam Printers p 156 Retrieved 25 December 2012 Vijaya Ghose Jaya Ramanathan Renuka N Khandekar 1992 Tirtha the treasury of Indian expressions CMC Ltd p 201 ISBN 978 81 900267 0 3 Retrieved 25 December 2012 Percussioner International Audio Magazine Sal Sofia Industries Inc 1984 p 38 Retrieved 25 December 2012 Ragini Devi 1990 Dance Dialects Of India Motilal Banarsidass pp 222 ISBN 978 81 208 0674 0 Retrieved 25 December 2012 Nayagam Xavier S Thani 1964 Tamil Culture Academy of Tamil Culture p 210 Indian Instruments Nadaswaram Indian Music Getting to know a little more about Indian music musicians and instruments aboutindianmusic com 22 November 2011 Retrieved 9 January 2012 O Gosvami 1 January 1961 The story of Indian music its growth and synthesis Scholarly Press p 156 ISBN 978 0 403 01567 2 Retrieved 25 December 2012 Andankoil AV Selvarathnam Pillai B Kolappan 15 December 2010 Arts Music An art that s still awaiting its due The Hindu Retrieved 9 January 2012 Sampath Revathi 16 March 2008 Nadaswaram India Currents Retrieved 8 April 2015 Ian Carr Digby Fairweather Brian Priestley 2004 Jazz The Essential Companion to Artists and Albums Rough Guides pp 99 ISBN 978 1 84353 256 9 Retrieved 25 December 2012 The William Parker Sessionography 2014 Saxophone Journal Dorn Publications 1988 p 46 Retrieved 25 December 2012 External links EditImages from The Beede Gallery Shawms Ottu and Nagaswaram Southern India ca 1900 1940 National Music Museum University of South Dakota Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nadaswaram amp oldid 1132745771, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
