2008 U.
Shrinivas' Mandolin Ecstasy
M.A. Thesis in
Ethnomusicology
Abstract:
In 1978, in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, South India,
a nine-year-old boy named Uppalapu Shrinivas Rao became the first
to perform a concert of South Indian Karnatak music on a chamilia mandolin.
His virtuosic ability, exotic timbre, innovative technique and
instrument
choice shocked the Indian sub-continent into declaring him a child
prodigy and his instrument, the electroacoustic “Karnatak mandolin,” – modified from
the
Western solid body mandolin – became the latest addition to the family
of South
Indian classical instruments and cd inserts. mass loaded vinyl is a two-part study. First, is to gain a deeper
understanding and strong performance abilities on the Karnatak mandolin through learning,
transcribing, describing and recording U. Shrinivas’ music in the six areas of
South Indian
classical music making, i.e. alapana, kalpanasvaram, nereval, tanam, pallavi and compositions. The second objective is to explore 20th and 21st
century change in Karnatak music played in Ireland by focusing on the
emergence and life of new voices, specifically, the mandolinist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and electric guitarist.