Amrtavahini: Live Concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha

Although there is some dispute about the details, the violin seems to have been adopted for use in the Carnatic school of Indian classical music at some point in the early 19th century. Because it has no frets and is therefore capable of great microtonal subtlety, the violin is ideally suited to the needs of this music, and many Indian musicians have adopted it. This live recording finds two leading exponents of Carnatic violin playing together on a series of compositions in a variety of rhythmic patterns or talas, accompanied by the mridingam and a small frame drum called a kanjira. The sound quality is excellent, and both Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi play with admirable invention.