Pancharathnams
In 1941, as part of the effort to unite the various groups that separately celebrated Thyagaraja's Aradhana in Thiruvaiyaru, the composer Harikesanallur Sri Mutthiah Bhagavatar selected five of Thyagaraja's krithis, later to become famous as the ghana raga pancharathnam, for all the attendees to sing together.
It is noteworthy that this grouping of the five krithis was not intended by the composer; the krithis were not composed at the same time as a group. In fact, the individual krithis were also not composed at once. Thyagaraja appended additional charanams to them as inspiration caught him.
It was Sri Mutthiah Bhagavatar, not Thyagaraja, who put them together as a set, on the basis that they would be easy for a large group of people to sing together. The music for the five krithis is fixed with both swara and matching sahithya for all charanams, thus minimizing the variations and sangathis from various schools and styles.
At Cleveland, following the tradition that started in 1941 at Thiruvaiyaru, the Aradhana celebration includes a rendition of the Pancharathna krithis. The krithis are performed by a large group of both local and visiting musicians, amateurs and professionals alike, all united by their devotion to the music of the great composer.
