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M.S. Subbulakshmi's Pancharatna Kritis: The Voice of a Civilisation
No Carnatic music collection can be considered complete without at least one recording of M.S. Subbulakshmi (1916–2004) performing the Pancharatna Kritis of Tyagaraja. These five gems — Jagadānandakāraka (Nāṭa), Dudukugala (Gowla), Sādhinchene (Ārabhi), Kanakana Ruchirā (Varāḷi), and Endaro Mahānubhāvulu (Śrī) — represent the pinnacle of the Carnatic compositional tradition, and M.S. Amma's renditions remain the benchmark against which all others are measured.
The most widely recommended recording is from the 1963 Edinburgh International Festival, where Subbulakshmi became the first Indian musician to perform at that prestigious venue. Accompanied by her daughter Radha Viswanathan on supporting vocals, V.V. Subrahmanyam on violin, and T.K. Murthy on mridangam, this concert introduced Carnatic music to a vast Western audience. The subsequent LP release on the HMV (His Master's Voice) label brought her artistry into drawing rooms across India and abroad.
Equally indispensable is her 1966 United Nations General Assembly concert recording, which cemented her status as a cultural ambassador. Her rendering of the Bhaja Govindam and Viṣṇu Sahasranāmam from this period are also essential acquisitions, though they fall outside the Pancharatna corpus.
"When I listen to M.S., I feel as though the compositions are being sung for the very first time — such is her freshness and devotion." — Pandit Ravi Shankar
For the serious rasika, the following recordings are non-negotiable:
- MS Subbulakshmi at Carnegie Hall (1977) — A landmark concert that showcased her mature artistry, featuring sublime renditions of Kanakanaruchirā and a deeply moving Endaro Mahānubhāvulu.
- The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam recordings (1950s–1970s) — Multiple sessions captured her singing in the sacred environs of the Tirupati temple, lending the Pancharatnas an unmistakable devotional intensity.
- The 1982 Festival of India (London) concert — A later recording that demonstrates the deepening of her interpretive powers with age.
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer's Live Concerts: The Architecture of a Kutcheri
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (1908–2003) was, by near-universal consensus, the most influential male vocalist of the twentieth century in Carnatic music. A disciple of the great Umayalpuram Srinivasa Iyengar and later of Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi forged a style that married structural rigour with emotional depth. His concert format — the careful sequencing of rāgas, the expansive rāga ālāpana, the masterly niraval and kalpanāswara — essentially defined the modern kutcheri paddhati.
The recordings every rasika should seek out include:
- The 1955 Madras Music Academy concert — A legendary evening where his Tōḍi rāga ālāpana before Kaddanu Vāriki (Tyagaraja) lasted nearly forty minutes and is still spoken of with reverence by those who were present. Portions of this concert survive in All India Radio (AIR) archives.
- The AIR National Programme recordings (1960s–1980s) — Semmangudi participated in numerous National Programme broadcasts, and several have been commercially released. His Bhairavi and Kāmbhōji expositions from these sessions are masterclasses in rāga development.
- The 1969 concert with Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palghat Mani Iyer — This recording captures what many consider the finest trio in Carnatic music history. The interplay between Semmangudi's commanding voice, Lalgudi's lyrical violin, and Mani Iyer's explosive mridangam is nothing short of electrifying.
- His rendition of Śrī Subrahmaṇyāya Namaste in Kāmbhōji — This Muthuswami Dikshitar composition became virtually synonymous with Semmangudi, and multiple versions exist. The one from his 1978 Shanmukhananda Sabha concert in Bombay is particularly acclaimed.
Semmangudi's influence extends through his extraordinary lineage of students — Balamuralikrishna, K.V. Narayanaswamy, P.S. Narayanaswami, and T.N. Seshagopalan among them. Listening to his recordings is therefore not merely an aesthetic pleasure but an education in the pedagogical foundations of modern Carnatic vocal music.
Palghat Mani Iyer's Mridangam: When Percussion Became Poetry
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981) single-handedly elevated the mridangam from an accompaniment to a co-equal voice in the Carnatic concert. Born in Palghat, Kerala — a town that has produced a disproportionate number of Carnatic percussionists — Mani Iyer trained under Palghat Subramania Iyer and rose to prominence by his early twenties. By the 1940s, every leading vocalist wanted Mani Iyer on the dais.
What made Mani Iyer extraordinary was his tonal quality — a clarity and sweetness of sound that no percussionist has quite replicated — combined with an unerring sense of laya (rhythm) and an almost telepathic ability to anticipate a vocalist's phrases. His accompaniment was never intrusive, yet never merely supportive; it was a parallel creative statement.
Essential recordings include:
- Accompaniments with Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (1940s–1960s) — The partnership between Ariyakudi, the father of the modern concert format, and Mani Iyer produced some of the finest moments in recorded Carnatic music. Their performances of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar compositions reveal a mutual understanding of breathtaking subtlety.
- Accompaniments with M.S. Subbulakshmi — Mani Iyer was M.S.'s preferred mridangist for decades. The 1963 Edinburgh recordings and several Madras Music Academy concerts from the 1960s showcase this partnership.
- Accompaniments with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and G.N. Balasubramaniam — These recordings capture two contrasting vocal styles, and listening to how Mani Iyer adapted his approach to each vocalist is itself an education in the art of pakkavádhyam (accompaniment).
- Tani Āvartanam solos from the 1970s — Several late-career solo percussion segments have been preserved, including a celebrated one from a 1975 Music Academy concert where he was joined by Palani Subramaniam Pillai on a second mridangam. The mathematical complexity, rendered with apparent ease and grace, remains a touchstone for mridangam students.
"Mani Iyer's mridangam sang. That is the only way to describe it." — T.K. Murthy, mridangam vidwan
Maharajapuram Santhanam's Bhajans: Devotion Without Boundaries
Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) belonged to one of Carnatic music's most illustrious lineages. His father, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, was a towering figure of the early twentieth century, and Santhanam inherited both his father's rich, powerful voice and his impeccable adherence to tradition. Yet it is in the realm of devotional music — particularly bhajans and abhangs — that Santhanam carved out a unique and irreplaceable legacy.
While his Carnatic concert recordings are superb (his Shankarābharaṇam and Kalyāṇi ālāpanas are legendary), it is his bhajan albums that reveal a different dimension of his artistry. Drawing from the compositions of Purandaradasa, Tukaram, Meerabai, Tyagaraja, and Annamacharya, Santhanam's bhajan singing transcended the boundaries of language and regional tradition. His Tamil and Kannada bhajans are as moving as his Hindi and Marathi ones — a remarkable feat of linguistic and emotional range.
The recordings to prioritise include:
- Bhajans by Maharajapuram Santhanam (HMV, 1970s series) — A set of LPs released through the 1970s that became staples in South Indian households. Tracks such as Pibare Rāma Rasam and Kurai Ondrum Illai (a composition of Rajaji, C. Rajagopalachari) achieved extraordinary popularity.
- Concert recordings from the Madras Music Academy (1975–1990) — Santhanam was a regular and beloved presence at the December Season. His main concert pieces in rāgas like Tōḍi, Bhairavi, and Kēdāragowla demonstrate the classical rigour that underpinned his devotional singing.
- The Thyagaraja Aradhana recordings from Thiruvaiyaru — Santhanam's participation in the annual Aradhana festival, particularly his leadership of the Pancharatna group singing, is preserved in several recordings from the 1980s. His voice, cutting through the ensemble with its distinctive timbre, is unmistakable.
- AIR archival recordings of Namasankeertanam sessions — These lesser-known but deeply rewarding recordings capture Santhanam in an informal devotional setting, singing bhajans with a small group of accompanying musicians. The intimacy of these sessions reveals the depth of his spiritual conviction.
Santhanam passed away at the relatively young age of sixty-four, and there is a poignant sense, listening to his later recordings, that here was an artist whose powers were still growing. His son, Maharajapuram Ramachandran, carries forward the family tradition, but the elder Santhanam's recordings remain in a class apart.
A final note for the collector: Many of these historic recordings have been digitised and released by labels such as Charsur Digital Workstation, Amrutham Music, and the Sruti Foundation. The AIR archives, though not always easily accessible, represent an unparalleled national treasure. Investing in these recordings is not merely building a music library — it is preserving a living connection to the greatest artists of an extraordinary tradition.