The appeal of the கீர்த்தனை as a dominant musical form lies in its meaningful lyrics and its melodies that reflect this meaning. It is a highly evocative, soul-stirring musical form. This section provides an overview of the contributions of some of the great musicians of the late 18th and the 19th centuries such as ஊத்துக்காடு வெங்கடசுப்பய்யர், சியாமாசாஸ்திரி, தியாகைய்யர், முத்துசுவாமி தீட்சிதர் and கனம் கிருஷ்ணய்யர். Each sub-section tells about their personal backgrounds, their musical lineage or influences, the language of their compositions, a list of their most famous compositions, the distinguishing features of their compositions and their contributions to கருநாடக இசை.

ஊத்துக்காடு வெங்கடப்பய்யர், an ardent devotee of Krishna, composed songs with interesting sound and word constructs, which gave a fast tempo and invigorating rhythm to his songs.

சியாமாசாஸ்திரி, a devotee of Goddess Parvati, composed over 300 கீர்த்தனை filled with intense devotional feeling and set to melodious tunes.

தியாகைய்யர், whose இராம பக்தி was legendary, composed several hundred கீர்த்தனைகள் on Lord Rama. A rare musical genius, தியாகைய்யர்’s compositions have overpowering effect with their profound and moving lyrics and wonderful melodies. His பஞ்சரத்ன கீர்த்தனை are among his most famous compositions.

முத்துசுவாமி தீட்சிதர் who sang in praise of Lord Murugan, is renowned for his innovative musical structures. He incorporated elements of இந்துஸ்தானி இசை into கருநாடக இசை and added new dimensions and flavours to இராகங்கள் like யமுனா கல்யாணி, பிருந்தாவன சாரங்கா, செஞ்சுருட்டி, and சுத்த சாவேரி.

கனம் கிருஷ்ணய்யர் was a great exponent of the கனம் style of singing. கீர்த்தனைகள் of கவிகுஞ்சர பாரதியார் were marked by a feeling of ecstacy. He sang songs on the Skanda Puranam.