‘A.M. CHINNASAMY MUDALIAR’
The first propagator of ‘A Hidden Treasure’ to the
World of the West.
- Dr. Arimalam S. Padmanabhan
Introduction :
It is worthy to note that the contributions made by the Christian scholars to
South Indian Music are no way less than those of which they have in the other
fields such as Education, Science, Medicine, Literature etc. As far as Music is concerned, the great
contributors may be classified into four categories (i) The Performers (Musicians) (ii) The
Composers (Vaggeyakaras) (iii) The Musicologists (Researchers) and (iv) The
Patrons. No doubt, A.M. Chinnasamy
Mudaliar is one of the great musicologists of the early period and he made the
pioneer effort in writing our South Indian Music in Western notation.
A.M.C. Mudaliar, of 19th
century, was a Roman catholic and a Master of Arts of the University of
Madras. He was a superintendent in the
Madras Secretariat. He was a great
scholar and connoisseur of both Indian and Western music. He was also a scholar of English &
Latin. Mr. Mudaliar learnt the
compositions of St. Tyagaraja directly from Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavathar and
Sundara Bhagavathar, the accredited disciples of the great composer. He had a close association with the great
musician Subbarama Dikshitar.
His Contributions : His great contribution to our music is his book entitled “Oriental
music in European Notation”. The work
was published in the form of monthly journals in Madras and the Music sheets
were later bound and it was published as a book in 1892 and the second edition
came in the year 1982. He invested all
his savings in the publication of this work.
It was this publication that later made many Western savants alive to
the beauties of Indian Music. He took
upon himself the onerous task of bringing out for the benefit of Western
musicians a series of Journals containing in Western notation some songs of the
popular South Indian composers who flourished during the 18th and 19th
centuries. But during his life time he
could fulfil only partially his ambition of publishing all the songs known in
his time in this fashion.
It was he who made an appeal to the king of Ettayapuram to
help Subbarama Dikshitar to write and publish the great work, ‘Sangita
Sampradaya Pradarsini’ in 1904. It was unfortunate for him that he could not see the
publication as he breathed his last in 1900.
Contents of his Book : An elaborate Introduction is followed by music
compositions of the great composers in European Notation popularly known as the
staff Notation. The introduction not only gives a vivid
description of South Indian Music but also explains the various systems of
Indian and European Notation. While
explaining about the Melakartha scheme, Sulathi Sapta Tala and other important
elements of Karnatic music to the Western people, he introduces the European staff Notation and other important
features of the Western music to Indians.
There is an Index of
Krities of Tyagaraja in Alphabetical order.
The second section of
the book contains Basic exercises, Two Lakshana Gitas, 63 Krities of Tyagaraja,
‘Viswanatham Bajeham’ a Ragamalika and seven other songs of Muthuswami
Dikshitar and two songs of Seshayyangar.
His devotion to Music : “I dare say, the work was undertaken with very great
responsibilities and has been accomplished with singular success, and, I
wonder, he has been accomplishing it SINGLE-HANDED. The gentleman is a Master
of Arts of the Madras University, is a fine scholar in Latin, is a master of
the Pianoforte, and has got such a keen knowledge of Hindu Music, that he would
do in no time put a GHITAM or KIRTANAM in European Notation, and thus has in
every way qualified himself to the highly arduous task has he under taken, and
has put such a large outlay of money over it, simply with the patriotic motive
of regenerating his country’s music, and such ample proofs of success have
already been put forward and yet not one of his countrymen is stirred to assist
him or appreciate his labour with true warmth.
His cry has been a cry in the wilderness and Princess and Zamindars and
landed proprietors and Judges and Magistrates have all been appealed to and
they have all remained inert and irresponsive to his call”. Thus writes Subbarama Dikshitar to ‘The
Hindu’ on 19th July 1894 while commenting upon the work of A.M.C. Mudaliar.
In his reply to Dikshitar on 29th August 1894 Mudaliar
says, “ I welcome with pride and pleasure everything that proves the
skilfulness and dexterity of our countrymen in developing and improving this
sacred science, which is so infinitely superior to every other science. I shall endeavour to immortalise all the
masterpieces of our living musicians, so far as they are worth preserving, for
the greater Glory of God and the glory of our nation”.
These above expressions
reveal Mudaliars deep love and his longingness to spread this great art to the
entire world.
It is quite interesting
to note that he always wanted to be associated with great musicians. It seems that he was frequently had the
association of Subbrama Dikshitar, Walajapet Baghavathar, Kakkarai Muthu Iyer
and the like at his residence and had discussions with them on the sacred
music.
Another fine example to
know his devotion is his Introduction.
The Introduction starts
with the immortal lines of the poem ‘Elegy written in a country church yard’ of
Thomas Grey
“Full many a gem...........................
...............................
Desert air”.
He regrets as the poet
does but he puts a question at the end, “Yet, if regrets are idle, where is the
remedy?” No doubt, he started the remedial measures through his toil some
labour to propagate our music to the Western world.
He feels that the
expressions of the poetic lines are very appropriate to explain the state of
“priceless treasures and the spice-fraught balms” of ‘Oriental Music’. He further adapts the poetic expression to
say that they lie muffled up in unapproachable recesses darker than the caves
of the ocean and deeper than the heart of the desert. “How many of these purest
gems, how many of these fragrant flowers, how many of these golden apples have
altogether ceased to exist, and have so been lost to the world forever ! - this
was his cry throughout his life time.
His Methodology : As he was the pioneer to write South Indian Music in
Staff Notation, it was Mudaliar’s prime task
to found a Methodology for writing the compositions and also to
introduce the science of native music, the ‘Hidden treasures’, in his language,
to the Western people. He was
successful, undoubtedly in his pioneer
efforts. He was not only appreciated by
his own people for his methodology and style but by Western Musicians too. Some of the comments on his journals are given below,
(i) The following is Herr
Friedenthal’s note on the work : “All works existing in Europe about Indian
Music are mere theories, and most of the writers have never heard a sound of
it. Thus, Indian Music must be described
by them as cold and without enthusiasm.
It is surrounded by the whole mysticism of their country and is almost
incomprehensible for Europeans. Now the
work of a most meritorious man A.M. Chinnasamy Mudaliar makes the first great
exception and will, when known in Europe, cause quite a sensation in musical
circles. The author is evidently not
only throughly versed in his native music, but has a perfect knowledge of
European music as well and has taken the trouble to “translate” his music into
our own, and everybody will find it easy to play or sing Hindu music after
Chinnaswami’s notation. His explanation
in the text are also of the greatest value, atleast in most cases; he
endeavours to develop thoughts in a form we are used to and so his explanations
will easily be understood. In a word
through Chinaswamy’s work Hindu music will soon lose all the mysticism in which
it has been enveloped until now and will open our ears to a new world of hearty
and deep sentiment”. (Extract from the
Madras Mail, 29th March 1893)
(ii) “The almost
insurmountable barriers of the opposing difficulties have atlast been overcome
by the unaided efforts and indefatigable energy of a single ‘individual, in the
person of Mr. Chinnaswami Mudaliyar, M.A..
The enlightened
scientific musical public is now afforded a much needed opportunity to make a
beginning in the study of the Dravidian School of Hindu Music” (Extract from
the ‘THEOSOPHIST’. February 1893).
iii) “The greatest
credit is due to the author of this monumental work both for the inception of
the idea, and the manner in which he is carrying it out. Mr. Chinnaswami really stands in the position
of the propagator of an entirely new science” (Indian Journal of Education,
January 1894).
It is not always
possible to express in written language every idea springing in the human
brain, in a manner sufficiently clear to all, nor can any written language reproduce
the thousand variations met within the articulation of the same sounds. Especially, Musicians can realise the
difficulties inherent to the task of clothing in any written language these
intricate fluctuations and indescribable flexibilities of the human voice. No Notation however complete can fully
dilineate those magnificent fore-shadowings of eternal beatitude which fill the
imagination of the composer in the moment of highest inspirations.
To make it a successful
effort, Mudaliar skilfully gives a valuable Introduction containing 20
subtitles in order to make the Western people understand the peculiarities of
South Indian Music. There is a
systematic approach in preparing his work.
He follows a method to provide appropriate indications to mark the mode
or Raga, Gamakas (Graces), Sthayi, Jaties of the Talas, the exact value, length
or duration of each note and so on.
Hence, obviously
Mudaliar has made a great contribution to the writing of Music and writing of
European Notation for native compositions through his methodology.
His Criticism :
He has made considerable contributions to the field of criticism also. One can easily find a sincere, truthful
critic in him who has no bias or preassumptions.
There are some fine
examples to prove his abilities as a critic.
Though he has great devotion to his native music, he never fails to
bringout the defects of the same wherever he finds them and to praise the
Western system as well.
‘Criticism’
In his Introduction
under the subtitle ‘why Europeans
Dislike Oriental Music’, he says, “Indian Music lies under a mask at
present. Hitherto it has never been
written or explained in a form which the Western can read or understand. Another reason for the so called monotany of
Indian Music is the inexorable law, that the order or succession of notes in the Ascending and Descending scales of each RAGA
should never be departed from, and that none but the notes prescribed therein
should be admitted into any composition even as accidentals.
“The staff Notation system the Best
Available” and “Its special
Advantages” are his other two subtitles.
“The Musical jems and
flowers of India will be better appreciated and admired in European
flower-vases. The merits of Oriental
Music will never be properly recongnized until its best compositions are
reduced to the most popular form of European Notation. One great advantage to be derived by adopting
this course is that Oriental Music will be placed permanently before the eyes
of the whole world”.
“The Staff Notation (Now
written in 5 parallel lines) is undoubtedly the simplest and best of all the
expedients hither to devised and for transcribing Oriental Music it is by far
the most suitable. With this pictorial
Notation, any one can sing or play at first sight and without the aid of a
teacher, more clearly and conveniently this system reproduces the most
intricate measurements of time in the five Indian Jatis.
This was his firm belief
about the Oriental Music and the Staff Notation. In his views, the Oriental Music is the best
of the world music and the Staff Notation is the best system of writing music.
Conclusion : No
doubt, A.M. Chinnasamy Mudaliar was the pioneer to write South Indian Music in
European Notation and a successful propagator of native music to the Western
world. His book ‘Oriental Music in
European Notation’ is a land mark in the history of South Indian Music. No one can under estimate his contributions
to South Indian Music and his name will be always associated with the history
of Indian Music as well as Western Music.
Dr. Arimalam S. Padmanabhan
M.A., M.Ed., Ph.D.,
Guest Faculty,
School of Performing Arts,
Pondicherry University,
Pondicherry.
