S-R-G-m-P-D-N-S
Fashioned by Agra vocalist Jagannathbuwa Purohit ‘Gunidas’ (also the creator of Jogkauns and Jaun Bhairav), fusing material from Bhatiyar, Bihag, and Bhinna Shadja into an engrossing new whole. Bhatiyar forms the main base, with its phrases being reworked to match the swaras of Bilawal thaat (e.g. PGRS; SD NDP, PDPm), with Bhinna Shadja contributing phrases such as GmNDm; (N)DNSm, and Bihag appearing via GmPNS; GmG(R)S. Swarganga describes Swanandi as “a very serene, soothing melody…a complex, vakra structure”, also pointing towards Hemant and Nand for melodic similarities. Kept alive through the efforts of Gunidas’ students C.R. Vyas and Jitendra Abhiskehi, as well as others including Shivanand Patil and Vijay Koparkar (bandish transcribed below) Compare to Hem Bihag, a creation of Allauddin Khan which blends similar source materials into a distinct set of moods – as well as other members of the Bihag raganga.
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—Vijay Koparkar (2021)—
[themes, e.g. 35:48] GmP GRS, (N)DNS; GRS, GmN DPm, P(mG)RS; GmN D…
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Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):
Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+
Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM
Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS
Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: Bilawal thaat, Bilawal, Bihari, Tilak Kamod, Nat, Hem Bihag, Savani, Gagan Vihang, Maluha, Mand, Chaya Malhar, Hemant, Loom, Manjari Bihag
Also compare to other members of the Bihag raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–G–m–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmPdnS (=Bhairavi)
• Complement: SrgMdnS (=Mangal Gujari)
• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (R—d)
• Murchanas: Bilawal set
• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Sankarabharanam (mela #29)
S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Major / Ionian
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-7-9-11-0
(2–2–1–2–2–2–1)
o • o • o o • o • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Swanandi
• Transliterations: Hindi (स्वानंदी)
—Shivanand Patil (~1980s)—
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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!
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