While growing up in the 70s, Radio and LP player at home was the main source of music; In the early 80s while staying in the US, I came into buying a bunch of Vinyls from labels like ‘Nonesuch Records’ of KVN, Ramnad Krishnan etc who were recorded during their visits to Wesleyan in the 60’s.

These records and many others that were purchased in the 70s have been sitting with me waiting thanks to my lethargy. And a couple of months ago, my daughter Kavita who spent 7 weeks in Maine returned with a couple of Vinyls (Western Classical music) that she got for a couple of dollars from a library.

That was enough motivation to look for Vinyl players which I got to see in some stores and I thought these had gone out of circulation, I looked around and found players that connect through the USB port providing digital output from the Vinyl records !

I got one of these without fretting over the quality of the cartridge which I remember was a big deal in those days. Given the age of the record and scratches I found that the output was not too shabby and for purposes of listening to what I have collected over the years, I decided to plunge into the digitization.

The process has been very nostalgic bringing back the memories behind purchase of these records – after all it was luxury to purchase the LP’s in those days. And many of these played so many times over that I am surprised at their quality after all these years. If my memory serves right the first LP that was played in our home was M S Gopalakrishnan with T V Gopalakrishnan in which he plays ‘bhavanuta’ in mohanam.

Carnatic Collection

M S Gopalakrishnan with T V Gopalakrishnan – 1973

• varNam – sAvEri
• pavanAtmaja – nATTai
• bhavanuta – mOhanam
• seetamma mAyamma – vasantA
• mAnamulEda – hamirkalyANi
• taranA – sindhubhairavi

M S Gopalakrishnan with M G Narmada and Vellore Ramabhadran – 1983

• raghunAyaka – hamsdwani
• parandAvamati – dharmavati
• nADADina mATa – janaranjani
• evaritO – mAnavati
• manavE mantrAlaya – shuddhasArang

Violin Venu Veena – Lalgudi Jayaraman, N Ramani, R Venkataraman with U K Sivaraman and TK Murthy – 1967

• mOhana rAma – mOhanam
• tillAnA – behAg

Violin Venu Veena – Lalgudi Jayaraman, N Ramani, R Venkataraman with U K Sivaraman and Vinayakaram – 1971

• rAma nee samAnamevaru – karaharapriyA
• gAnamoortE – gAnamoorti
• enna tavam seydane – rAgamAlikA
• unknown – rAgamAlikA

T N Krishnan with T V Gopalakrishnan – 1985

• sri gaNanatam bhajarE – bangalA
• mOkshamu galada – sAramati
• smara janaka – behAg
• anupama guNAmbudi – aTANA
• rAgam tAnam pallavi -tODi

Lalgudi Jayaraman with Srimati Brahmanandam, U K Sivaraman and Alangudi Ramachandran

• nA jeevAdAra – bilahari

L Shankar on Double Violin with U K Sivaraman and Zakir Hussain

Who’s to Know – ECM Records 1981

• rAgam tAnam pallavi – hEmavati
• Ananda naDamADum tillai sankarA – sAvitri (self composition)

K V Narayanaswamy with V V Subramaniam and Pallakad Raghu

• sabhApatikku – AbhOgi
• raghuvara – pantuvarALi
• gOpalaka pAhimAm – rEvagupti
• marulukonnadirA – kamAs
• tillAnA – poorvi

Ramnad Krishnan with V Tyagarajan, T Ranganathan and V Nagarajan

Nonesuch Explorer Series – Kaccheri

Recording from when the artists were at the Wesleyan University

• banTureeti kolu – hamsanAdam
• akshayalinga vibhO – sankarAbaraNam
• mEru samAna – mAyAmALavagowLa
• ini enna pEccu – sahAna
• mODi jEsEvElarA – kamAs

Ramnad Krishnan with V Tyagarajan, T Ranganathan and V Nagarajan

Nonesuch Explorer Series – Vidwan

Recording from when the artists were at the Wesleyan University

• ninnADa – kannaDA
• pAlincu kAmAkshi – madyamAvati
• abhimAnamennaDugalgu rAmA – bEgaDA
• gOvardana giridAra – darbArikAnaDA
• rAgam tAnam pallavi – bhairavi

Karaikuruchi Arunachalam – nAdaswaram

• chakkani rAja mArgamu – karaharapriyA
• mAmavatu sri saraswati – hindOLam
• rAma ninnE – husEni
• elA nee dayarAdu – aTANA
• sarasijanAbha sOdari – nAgagAndhAri
• ee vasudA neevanTi – sahAnA

Krishna Ganam by Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavathar (Karaikudi Mani & Vinayakaram)

• sri vigna rAjam bhajE – gambheeranATTai
• kALiya/kAlinga nartanam
• muttukrishna mEmudam
• veLLi nilavinilE
• naTavara taruni
• alai pAyudE kaNNA
• jayati dehitam
• madanAnga sukumAra
• ashTapadi & managlam (incomplete)

M Balamuralikrishna with M S Gopalakrishnan and T V Gopalakrishnan

• varNam – tODi
• mahAdEva sutamaham – Arabhi
• nannu kanna talli – kEsari
• sadA tava pAda sannidim – shanmukapriyA
• nannupAlimpa – mOhanam
• pibarE rAma rasam – Ahir bhairav
• tillAnA – brindAvani

K S Narayanaswamy with Pallakad Raghu

• Emi jEsite nEmi – tODi

M S Subbulakshmi with M S Gopalakrishnan and T K Murthy

• sarOjadaLa nEtri – sankarAbaraNam

M S Subbulakshmi – Kamaskhi Suprabatam + other compositions on Kamakshi

• kAmAkshi suprabAtam
• kanjadaLAyadAkshi – kamalAmanOhari
• sri kAmakOTi peeTastitE – sAvEri
• kanakasaila – Ahiri
• vinAyakuni velanu – madyamAvati

M L Vasantakumari – Cascades of Carnatic Music – 1 – 1980

with T Rukmini & Pallakad Mani Iyer

• swAminata paripAlayAsumAm – nATa
• rAgam tAnam pallavi – mOhanam
• AdalEsara – ragAmAlika

M L Vasantakumari – Cascades of Carnatic Music – 2 – 1980

with S D Sridhar, S V Raja Rao & G Harishankar

• gANa nAyakam – poorNashaDjam
• ennADu nee – vAchaspati
• lAlisadaLu – karaharapriyA
• sentamizh nADu – poorvikalyANi
• sncaradara (ashTapadi) – rAgamAlika
• slOkam – rAgamAlika

Radha Jayalakshmi – Purandaradasa Kritis – 1977

with M S Anantaraman, Palakkad Krishnamani & R S Krishnamurthy Rao

• guruvina gulama – pantuvarALi
• sakalagraha – aTANA
• srinivAsa – sriranjani
• moortienu nillisO – kamAs
• nArAyaNa ninna nAmada – suddha dhanyAsi
• ODi bArayya – bhairavi
• dharma sravaNa vijayatE – durgA
• ninyAkO – brindAvana sAranga

Yesudas – Hymns from Rig Veda

Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu – Memorable Violin Solos

• rAma neepai – kEdAram
• mOkshamu galada – sAramati
• rAgam tAnam pallavi – kalyANi
• raghuvamsa – kadanakuthoohalam
• rAgam & tAnam – Kapi & rAgamAlika
• asTapati – sindhubhairavi
• tillAnA – kAnaDA

Emani Sankara Sastry – Veena – Mahamahopadhyaya – LP – 1971

with Yella Venkateswara Rao & unknown ghatam

• gAnamoortE – gAnamoorti
• geetArtamu – suraTi
• nETiki telisi – janjooti (Self Composition)
• kiTak dhin – bhajan by soordAs

Emani Sankara Sastry – Veena

with Yella Venkateswara Rao

• mahA gaNapatim – nATTai
• mAmava meenAkshi – poorvi kalyANi
• nAma kusumamulacE – sree
• viswEswara – sindhu bhairavi
• bhajan – soordas