The nottuswara or nottu swaras compositions (from "note swaras") are a set of 39 compositions in Carnatic classical music by Muthuswami Dikshitar (18th century), who was one of the three early composers celebrated as the Trinity of Carnatic music. They are notable as an interaction between the East and the West during Company rule, being based on Western sources, mostly simple melodies inspired by Scots and Irish tunes. They are all composed with Sanskrit lyrics in the Western C major scale, whose pitch intervals correspond to that of the Shankarabharana raga in Carnatic music, or the Bilaval that of Hindustani music. Technically, the compositions are not in Shankarabharana proper, being based on simple melodies and devoid of the ornamentation (gamaka) that is characteristic of Carnatic music. On the other hand, the lyrics (sahitya) of these compositions are entirely Indian and consistent with the rest of the stotra-literature, or other songs addressed to similar deities.
Contents
Sometimes the name "nottuswara" is used to refer to other compositions based on Western notes, not necessarily by Muthuswami Dikshitar.
Violin
According to one popular account, the violin was introduced into Carnatic music by Baluswami Dikshitar (1786–1858), the younger brother of Muthuswami Dikshitar. He encountered the instrument being played by British bands in colonial Madras, and decided to learn it. The music was mostly Irish and Scottish fiddling, rather than Western classical music. After three years of lessons, he adapted the violin to Carnatic music. It is believed that Muthuswami Dikshitar composed these lyrics to aid his brother master the plain notes on the violin.
Publication history
They were first documented in print by C. P. Brown in 1833. In 1893, Manali Chinnaswamy Mudaliar published them with European notation, and in 1905, they were compiled by Subbarama Dikshitar as 'Prathamaabhyaasa pustakamu' in Telugu. In recent years, Kanniks Kannikeswaran has researched these compositions further, found the sources of a few compositions, and given several lectures.
Examples
The European songs used as basis include Limerick, Castilian Maid, Lord MacDonald's Reel, Voulez-vous Danser?, and God Save the Queen.