Annamacharya's copper-plate songs

Tallapaka Annamacharya, who lived from 1408 to 1503, is the earliest known composer of sankirtanas in the south. His subject was almost always Venkateswara, the lord of the Tirumala hill, and the songs move between the god's morning bath and night rest, his love for his consort, and plain statements that the god belongs to everyone regardless of birth. After his lifetime the compositions were cut into copper plates and kept in a chamber of the temple. There they stayed, unread, until the vault was opened in 1922, and the songs came back into the concert and temple repertoire, where they are now among the most performed pieces in Telugu.