Kāpi is a bhāṣāṅga janyai of the 22nd mēḷakartaii Kharaharapriya. It is an auḍava-vakra sampūrṇaiii rāga. The svarasiv occurring in this rāga are ṣaḍja, chatuśruti riṣabha, śuddha madhyama, pañchama, kākali niṣāda in ascent. In addition, kaiśiki niṣāda, chatuśruti dhaivata and antara gāndhāra occur in descentv. Kākali niṣāda, śuddha dhaivata and antara gāndhāra are notes that are not present in its own parent rāga Kharaharapriya. Its ārōhaṇavi and avarōhaṇavii are
S R2 M1 P N3 Ṡ – Ṡ N2 D2 N2 P M1 G2 R2 S.
In Western music notation, if C is taken as the base or tonic note, then the scale is
C D F G B C – C A# A A# G F D# D C
It is a rakti rāga or a rāga which pleases instantaneously.
Riṣabha, gāndhāra (both varieties) and niṣāda (both varieties) are rāgachāyā svarasviii. Riṣabha, pañcama are nyāsa svarasix. Sa-ma, sa-pa, ri-da, ri-pa, ga-ni, ma-ni are vādi-samvādi svaras (consonant notes).
It can portray rasasx like hāsya (amusement), śānta (tranquil) and śṛṅgāra (romantic) very effectively, just as it can convey the feeling of devotion or bhakti bhāva. It is the same or similar to Raga Pilu in Hindustani Music tradition.
Some of the signature phrases of this rāga are
N P G, R, – R G R G R S Ṇ3, – R M P N P G, – R M M P, – R M P N P Ṡ N P G, R, – R M P D, – P D N Ṙ Ṡ P, – R M P N3, – M P N3 Ṡ Ṙ Ġ, Ṙ Ṡ, – N3 Ṡ Ṙ,ĠṘ Ṡ N D N, P, – M P N3 Ṡ Ṙ Ġ, Ṙ, – Ṙ Ġ Ṙ Ṁ Ġ Ṙ Ġ, Ṡ Ṙ, N3, – N3 Ṡ Ṙ Ġ3 Ṁ, Ġ3, – Ġ3 Ṁ Ġ3 Ṁ D N D N Ṁ, Ġ Ṙ, – N3 Ṡ Ṙ Ṗ Ġ, – Ṙ Ṡ N3 Ṡ N D N P, – M P Ṡ, N P G, R, – R G R G R S Ṇ3, S,
A few compositions in this rāga are-
Śrī rājarājēśwarī (daru varṇam)
Tiruvoṭṭiyūr Tyāgayyar
Mīvalla guṇadōṣa
Tyāgarāja
Inta soukhyamani
Tyāgarāja
Anyāyamu sēyakurā
Tyāgarāja
Pāhi paramadayāḷō
Tyāgarāja
Jagadōddhārana
Purandara Dāsaru
Kṛsṣṇa bāro
Purandara Dāsaru
Jānakī ramaṇa
Vāṇamāmalai Jeeyar Swami
Enna tavam
Pāpanāsam Sivan
Bibliography
Hariharan, M. and Kuppuswamy, Gowri. 2011. Comparative Music- Fundamentals of Western Music. Nagercoil: CBH Publications
Keshavamurthy, R.R. 1964. Rāgalakṣaṇa mattu Rāgakōśa. Bengaluru: Gāna Viśārada Biḍāram Kṛṣṇappa Smāraka Saṅgīta Vidyālaya
Rajarao, Mysore L. 2003. Saṅgīta Śāstra Chandrike. Bengaluru: Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy
Rao, B. Subba. 1980. Raganidhi. Madras: The Music Academy
Sambamoorthy, P. 2018 (reprint of eighth edition published in 1998). South Indian Music (Volumes 1 to 6). Chennai: The Indian Music Publishing House
Web Links
Sisters Ranjani and Gayatri sing Raag Kapi
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