“Rāgas of Tanjore” is a work by Sir E. Clements, edited by Dr. Gowri Kuppuswamy and Dr. M. Hariharan. First published in 1920 (and reprinted in 1988), it draws on the rich musical traditions of Tañjāvūr, an important seat of music. Clements covers 52 compositions including varṇa-s, kṛti-s, jāvalī-s and other forms, primarily by composed vāggēyakāra-s like Tyāgarāja, Muttusvāmi Dīkṣita, Paṭnam Subramaṇiya Ayyar, Vīṇa Kuppayyar and so on. What makes the work unique is that all the notations are given in Western (staff) notation, accompanied by the sāhitya in English. 

This work begins with an Editor’s Preface (by Dr. Kuppuswamy and Hariharan) and Clements’s own preface. As the Journal (1994) of the Music Academy notes, Clements was “another European who, in 1920, published Rāgas of Tanjore which contains a long introduction and 52 Karnatic compositions in staff notation”. This introduction attempts covers the 72 mēlakartā framework of Śrī Veṅkaṭamakhin with European ideas of notation, harmonies and pitch. He also provides staff notation to show the basic structure of the ṣaḍja, madhyama and gāndhāra grāma-s. 

A convenient index and glossary is provided. It includes certain prominent ones like Śrī Vīṇa Kuppayar's varṇa, “Sāmi Ninnē” in Śaṅkarābharaṇam, Śrī Tyāgarāja's Nagumōmu ganalēni in Ābhēri, Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkṣita’s Vātāpi Gaṇapatim in Hamsadhvani and rare ones like compositions of Śrī Rāmaliṅgasvāmi, Aṇṇāmalai Kavi and Rāja Yōgi. The format is similar for all the compositions. First comes the sāhitya transliterated in English followed by its meaning, in a gist and then the indication of the rāga and the tāla along with the mēla's number within bracket. A line about the rāga svarūpa is mentioned for the varṇa alone. Below the staff notation, the english lines according to the karvai-s and split are given for each avarta making it easy to follow (provided, one understands staff notation).