Kriti in Raga Lathangi

Lathangi Kriti (1995) is a Carnatic vocal recording by M. Balamuralikrishna, released on CD under the label Moment! Records. The album features a single extended composition, a kriti set in Raga Lathangi, a melakarta raga classified under the 63rd melakarta scale in Carnatic music. The performance spans 59 minutes and 25 seconds, occupying the entirety of the release as its sole track.

M. Balamuralikrishna composed and rendered the kriti, showcasing his mastery of raga alapana, neraval, and kalpana swaram. The recording captures his signature vocal technique, characterized by intricate gamaka phrasing and expansive improvisation within the raga framework. Accompaniment details remain undocumented in available sources, though Carnatic vocal conventions of the period typically included violin, mridangam, and kanjira support.

The release date is confirmed as 1995, aligning with Balamuralikrishna’s active recording phase during the 1990s. Moment! Records, a label specializing in Indian classical music, produced the CD, though distribution scope and subsequent reissues are not publicly verified. The kriti’s lyrical content—whether in Sanskrit, Telugu, or another language—is not specified in accessible references. The composition’s structural adherence to Lathangi (a shadava-sampurna raga with the ascending scale sa-ri₂-ga₂-ma₁-pa-dha₂-ni₂) reflects Balamuralikrishna’s contributions to raga development and pedagogical traditions.

This recording exemplifies the artist’s late-career emphasis on lengthy, meditative renditions, distinguishing it from his earlier, briefer commercial releases. No alternate versions or live performances of this specific kriti are cataloged, and the CD’s current availability status is unclear. The track’s duration positions it among the longer single-movement vocal works in 20th-century Carnatic discography.