Spotlight

The Ancient Yazh: Was It A Digital Instrument?

While classifying the musical instruments into digital and analog types, K.Thyagarajan (Chellammal Natarajan Endowment Lecture, Music Academy, December 1992) drew the conclusion that the ancient yazh was essentially the same as the Western harp, implying that the yazh could not have been handled like the violin or the gottuvadyam and that it had no frets as the onesseen in the present day veena. Consequently, it is said that the production of gamaka-s was not possible in the ancient yazh. The inability of Tiruneelakantha Yazhpanar (Yazhpanar) to reproduce the vocally rendered Yazhmuri Pathigam of Tirugnanasambandar (Sambandar) on his yazh is said to be due to this deficiency of the yazh and it is claimed that Sambandarlaid the foundation for Carnatic music as it is today by incorporating gamaka-s into it.

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