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At the beginning of the nineteenth century South Indian composers were still influenced by traditional religious concepts such as: temple rituals, pilgrimage and personal devotion. Tyagaraja, Muttusvami Diksitar and Syama Sastri, the three prominent composers from the Tanjore district, used the kirtana, a congregational song in praise of a deity, as a standard musical form. The compositions selected from the works of these composers show the various aspects of Hindu devotionalism. The detailed Western music notation of the editor, based on actual performances, will help the music student to understand the characteristic ornate South Indian melodic style. The introductory chapters contain general cultural information, biographical details as well as the original song texts with an English translation.With a unique MP3-CD containing all the kirtana compositions.

The Sangitasiromani, "e;Crest-jewel of Music"e;, is a major Sanskrit work on Indian musicology, composed in 1428 A.D. by scholars from all parts of India who participated in a musicological congress organized by Sultan Malika Sahi at Kada (near Allahabad). Designed as a standard text-book on music the work summarizes and explains the opinions of older and contemporary authors. It deals with all the aspects of traditional Indian musicology, such as tone-system, scale, melody, rhythm, composition, variation and vocal technique. The complete English translation and the extensive introduction will familiarize the reader with the characteristic Indian concepts of music and the problems of their interpretation.For full information on the author's current projects in the field of Indian music, see www.sarasvatibhavan.com.