Musical Trinity

The legendary Carnatic musicians, Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Shastri who lived during the Tanjore Maratha period, are popularly known as the classical trinity of Carnatic music. These three contemporary composers were associated with temples of the Vaishnava sect. Their compositions form the major part of South India's music system and during their period Carnatic music reached the peak of its glory.

Tyagaraja: Kakarla Tyagabrahmam (1767 --1847), commonly known as Tyagaraja was a music genius and highly influential in the development of Carnatic music. He made vital contributions to the compositional form of Krithi, which is an advanced form of Carnatic music. He introduced the concept of sangatis i.e. melodic variations to the music system. Sangatis, a part of Krithi, are used to render finer aspects of music.

Muthuswami Dikshitar: Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776-1835), the youngest member of the Carnatic music trinity, is also known by his signature name of Guruguha. This noted musician had made tremendous contributions to the development of modern South Indian music system. The South Indian poet cum composer is known for integrating Hindustani musical themes into Carnatic style of singing. He also composed about forty songs known as Nottuswara Sahitya. Though Muthuswami Dikshitar created the majority of his krithis in Sanskrit and Telugu, Nottuswara Sahitya were songs composed on western tunes. These compositions are regarded as a new genre of music and a pointer to the relatively unknown realms of the cultural interactions between the East and the West in the 1800s.

Syama Shastri (1762-1827): He was the eldest among the trinity of Carnatic music and has composed three hundred krithis. Compared to the volume of compositions done by his inexhaustible colleagues, Syama Shastri's compositions are less, but are equally well known. His compositions of swarajatis are known as ratna traya.
It was the trinity, particularly Tyagaraja, who refined the krithis, one of the important styles of singing in Carnatic music.