Chitrambari
| Carnatic music |
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 Tanjavur-style Tambura |
| Concepts |
| Compositions |
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Chitrambari (pronounced chitrāmbari) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 66th Melakarta rāgam in the 72 melakarta rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Chaturangini[1][2] in Muthuswami Dikshitar school of Carnatic music. It is the prati madhyamam equivalent of Naganandini, which is the 30th melakarta.[3]
Structure and Lakshana
It is the 6th rāgam in the 11th chakra Rudra. The mnemonic name for this rāgam is Rudra-Sha. The mnemonic phrase is sa ra gu mi pa dhu nu.[3] Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
(the notes in this scale are chathushruti rishabham, antara gandharam, prati madhyamam, shatshruti dhaivatam, kakali nishadam)
Since it is a melakarta rāgam, by definition it is a sampoorna rāgam (it has all 7 notes in ascending and descending scale).
Janya rāgams
Chitrambari has a few janya rāgams (derived scales) associated with it, of which Amritavarshini is very popular. List of janya rāgams contains the full list of rāgams associated with Chitrambari and other melakartas.
Compositions
A few compositions set to Chitrambari are:
- Sri rama nelami by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna
- Samaganalola by Koteeswara Iyer
Related rāgams
The theoretical and scientific aspect of Chitrambari are described below.
Chitrambari's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields 3 other melakarta rāgams, namely, Shanmukhapriya, Shoolini and Dhenuka. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam (Sa) to the next note in the rāgam. For further details and an illustration refer Graha bhedam on Shanmukhapriya.