Guest guest Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Can anyone recommend any recordings of Shakta-oriented bhajans (devotional music)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Morning Chants by music India willendorfer <willendorfer (AT) (DOT) ca> wrote: Can anyone recommend any recordings of Shakta-oriented bhajans (devotional music)? Talk is cheap. Use Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Hi Robert: First a word on musical forms. Bhajans are generally vernacular-language songs linked to the Hindu Bhakti movement, and are derived from the Hindustani (roughly, North Indian) classical music system. The songs are overwhelmingly (though not at all exclusively) Vaisnava in nature. By contrast, the strongholds of Shakta culture are -- in this day and age, at least -- primarily concentrated in Eastern and Southern India; and their primary expressions are in powerful forms such as slokas (sung Sanskrit prayers), stotrams (Sanskrit hymns) and krithis (devotional songs in the Carnatic [south Indian classical] style, which are often composed in South Indian vernaculars as well as Sanskrit). But there are literally thousands of these songs, so obviously, you kinda have to know what you are looking for. Regarding your general request for "Shakta-oriented devotional music" suggestions, I'd recommend for starters two "Shakta 101" stotrams attributed to the legendary sage Adi Sankara -- namely the "Mahishasura Mardini Stotram" (the story of Sri Durga's battle with and defeat of the demon Mahisa [Desire]); and the "Kanakadhara Stotram" (a beautiful paean to Sri Lakshmi). You'll sometimes find these two 15-minute blockbusters packaged on a single CD together with a sprinkling of shorter, well-known "Devi devotionals" including Raja Rajeshwari Ashtakam, Lalita Pancharatnam, Annapoorna Stotram, Asta Lakshmi Stotram; and many more -- there are literally scores of them. If there is an Indian music shop or Indian grocery with a CD selection in your neck of the woods, you can probably ask the clerk to help you find such a disc. If mail order seems the more realistic option for you, a good North American source is Khazana, in Minneapolis of all places. Here is a link to my personal recommendation to you; a collection of Devi hymns (including many of those noted above) by Sowmya, a really wonderful female Carnatic vocalist of the present generation: http://tinyurl.com/yzjdpk If you're feeling energetic (and/or frugal), you can find other titles and prices here and there, all around the Web. I single out Khazana just because they're very established and reliable; and this particular recording simply because it's a great "desert island" selection of Devi devotionals. The variety of available recordings out there is pretty mindblowing. If you want a sense of that larger world, check out the Chennai-based devotional shop called Celextel <http://www.celextel.com> and click on "CDs - Sanskrit" or "CDs - Classical" to see a few hundred or so additional choices. Happy shopping ... , "willendorfer" <willendorfer wrote: > > Can anyone recommend any recordings of Shakta-oriented bhajans (devotional music)? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 One album i've enjoyed a lot is Jagjit Singh's Jai Maa. One of my all-time favorites is Ampiyannamba and also Jai Ma Jai Jai Ma on Ammachi's world tour 1994 vol II (cassette only, will be out of print soon). The chorus on the first, in Malayalam, goes, O loving Mother, pouring out your smile like a rain of honey, wipe out the darkness in my heart and stay inside there. And the last verse: O great Goddess! may your name be on my tongue, your voice in my ears, tears of bliss in my eyes, and your divine form in my heart, O compassionate One. Shree Maa has songs of Ramprasad (to Kali) and other CDs with Devi bhajans (www.shreemaa.org). Recently a friend loaned me a devotional CD by the ex-punk-rocker Nina Hagen, which has a couple beautiful Devi bhajans on it. You never know who will end up in Maa's lap... Max -- Max Dashu Art in Goddess Reverence http://www.maxdashu.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.