Greatness of Jon B. Higgins and link to Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu By Jon B Higgins song

July 4, 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_B._HigginsJon Borthwick Higgins (b. Andover, Massachusetts, September 18, 1939; died December 7, 1984) was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of Carnatic music.

Higgins was much appreciated by Indian connoisseurs.His rendition of " Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu ( " My salutations to all the great people " ), a famous kriti (song) by Thyagaraja (a great composer of Carnatic Music) was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult kriti for even the people with knowledge of the language in which the kriti is composed (Telugu).

Other of Higgins' most famous renditions (available commercially / otherwise for listening on the Internet) include " Siva Siva Enarada, " " Krishna Nee Begane, " and " Kaa Vaa Vaa. "

Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during katcheris (concerts), which were usually crowded, there were always the critics of his times pointing out minor errors in pronunciation. Needless to say, these never deterred the master who went on to deliver quite a lot of katcheris broadcast on All India Radio, only to increase the fan population.

He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by Robert E. Brown and T. Ranganathan, and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a Fulbright scholarship to learn from T. Viswanathan. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the Tyagaraja Aradhana, an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under the renowned dancer T. Balasaraswati, and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of bharatanatyam. Higgins returned to India as a Senior Research Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely-recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet " Bhagavatar " (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984.

Listen to his Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu songhttp://carnaticdevotional.blogspot.com/2009/07/jon-higgins.html

-- Om namo Bhagavate Sri RamanayaPrasanth Jalasutram

July 4, 2009

Dear Prasanth ..

Thanks a lot... By any chance do you have the link to his wonderful rendering of " Krishna nee begane " ...I heard it many many years ago and do not have it with me now. The only CD commercially available does not include this song...

Would appreciate if you could locate a link ..

with love

ramesh

--- On Sat, 7/4/09, Prasanth Jalasutram <jvrsprasanth wrote:

Prasanth Jalasutram <jvrsprasanth Greatness of Jon B. Higgins and link to Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu By Jon B Higgins songSaturday, July 4, 2009, 3:17 PM

http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Jon_B._Higgins

Jon Borthwick Higgins (b. Andover, Massachusetts, September 18, 1939; died December 7, 1984) was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of Carnatic music.

Higgins was much appreciated by Indian connoisseurs. His rendition of "Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu ("My salutations to all the great people"), a famous kriti (song) by Thyagaraja (a great composer of Carnatic Music) was extraordinary considering the fact that it is a difficult kriti for even the people with knowledge of the language in which the kriti is composed (Telugu).

Other of Higgins' most famous renditions (available commercially / otherwise for listening on the Internet) include "Siva Siva Enarada,Krishna Nee Begane," and "Kaa Vaa Vaa."

Although he mostly won the acceptance of the general Indian public during katcheris (concerts), which were usually crowded, there were always the critics of his times pointing out minor errors in pronunciation. Needless to say, these never deterred the master who went on to deliver quite a lot of katcheris broadcast on All India Radio, only to increase the fan population.

He is also recognized as the first non-Indian to perform South Indian classical Carnatic music at a high level of proficiency. He began his Indian music studies in Wesleyan courses taught by Robert E. Brown and T. Ranganathan, and was quickly captured by the subtle beauty of the art form. He decided to fully dedicate himself to learning the language of Carnatic music, and went to India on a Fulbright scholarship to learn from T. Viswanathan. Within a short period of time he performed to great acclaim at the Tyagaraja Aradhana, an important music festival in South India. He later continued his studies under the renowned dancer T. Balasaraswati, and wrote his dissertation on the dance music of bharatanatyam. Higgins returned to India as a Senior Research Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies. He continued to perform Carnatic music, recorded several albums, and due to his widely-recognized sensitivity was honored with the sobriquet

"Bhagavatar" (scholarly musician). He was killed by a drunken hit-and-run motorist on December 7, 1984.

Listen to his Endaro Mahanubhavulu Andariki Vandanamu song

http://carnaticdevo tional.blogspot. com/2009/ 07/jon-higgins. html-- Om namo Bhagavate Sri RamanayaPrasanth Jalasutram