Archana & Samanvi @ Nadasurabhi Youth Festival, 15 Feb 2020

Vocal : Archana & Samanvi

Violin : Anirudh Bharadwaj

Mrudangam : Trichy G Aravind

Ghatam : Sharath Kaushik

List :

01 viribOni ( varNam ) – bhairavi – aTa – Pachimiriam Adiyappa

02 kancadalAyadAkSi – kamalAmanOhari – Adi – Diksitar ( A,S )

03 nanda sukumAra krSNa – darbAr – Oothukkad Venkata Kavi

04 apamAnavAdadE oLLidu ?? – pUrvikalyANi – Adi – Purandara Dasa ( A,S )  – set to tune by Prof. Aravida Hebbar

05 smarAmi sadA kSitijA ramaNam – gambhIravANi – Adi – Chitraveena Ravikiran

06 nanu pAlimpa – mOhanam – Adi x 2  – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @ ‘karamuna shara kOdaNDa kaNTitO’

07 eShTO kAla hambalisiyu?? ( kavana) – khamAs – rUpakam – Subraya chikkadi  ( set to tune by Prof. Aravinda Hebbar )

08 kAnaDa rAja puNDarIcha ( abhang ?) – hindOLam – Adi – ??

09 thillAna ( tana dhImta dhImta dhiraNA) – mAND – Adi – Lalgudi Jayaraman

10 ugAbhOga ( naguvu sahajada dharma ) – bihAg & kAnaDa

ellarigu eega nama ? – bihAg – Adi – from mankuthimmana kagga ??

11 nI nAma rUpamulaku – saurAStram / madhyamAvati – Adi – Thyagaraja

The young girls definitely made an impact yesterday. The  competence, maturity and confidence were beyond their age. The duo presented a brilliant concert yesterday to start the 2 day Annual Youth Festival of Nadasurabhi.

I understand that they hail from South Canara and was under the tutelage of Prof. Aravind Hebbar and now taking advance training under Chitraveena Ravikiran. Their music indeed shows that they had been in good hands. It was evident from the way they sang the varnam. Even the stage composure, the sharing of parts, the smooth takeovers, the sense of proportion shown , selection and detailing of kritis were all noteworthy. I’m sure we will see them more often in the years to come.

Poorvikalyani was the first test of their mettle for me. They sang a measured alapana, the elder one ( they are not sisters by birth) sang the early stages and most of the lower and mid registers and the younger one did a splendid second part.  Anirudh had some good phrases in his return, but thought he should play it a little slower. Purandaradasa devarnama, set to tune by their Guru was very good. Good rounds of swaras too.  Ravikiran’s influence was shown through the Oothukadu composition and one of his own creation in Gambheeravani. Apart from the Thyagaraja kriti ‘sadA matin’ and a thillana of T K Govinda Rao, I’ve not heard any other composition in this ragam.

Mohanam alapana was again very well done. As in the previous case, the early part was done by the elder one and the later half by the younger ( and some bit of back and forth towards the conclusion). Anirudh did a good return , especially with some fast paced plays, in his turn. Skillful neraval and very good kalpana swaras in two speeds as expected. Trichy Aravind and Sharath ,after a slow start to adapt to the scene, had covered a great bit. They percussion duo also played a nice little tani avartanam.

post main had a poem of Subraya Chikkadi tuned in a style of a javaLi by their Guru. A marathi song, played in line with the Ranjani&Gayathri style. They concluded the concert with what I guess is a kagga from the ‘mankuthimmana kagga’ of DVG.

The young ladies sang a brilliant concert, and all the wishes to them for a great musical career.

 

Sriranjani Santhanagopalan 2 SAMYOGA, Ranjani Fine Arts Annual Festival, 09 Feb 2020

Vocal : Sriranjani Santhanagopalan

Violin : Charulatha Ramanujam

Mrudangam : Sai Giridhar

Ghatam : S Karthik

List

01 tAmasincu (varNam) – asAvEri – Adi – Patnam Subramanya Iyer ( O )

note : She announced it as a composition of Kothavasal Venkataramana Iyer. I’m not sure, which is right.

02 rAmA nI pai – kEdAram – Adi – Thyagaraja ( O,S )

03 ugabhOga  ( nitya upavasittu hasidu) – shuddha dhanyAsi

nArAyaNa ninnA nAmada – shuddha dhanyAsi – khaNDachAp –  Purandara Dasa

04 bhajanasEya rAdA – dharmavati – rUpakam – Mysore Vasuevachar ( A,N,S )

neraval & swaras @ ‘niravadhi sukhadAyakuni paramAtmuni bhaktapAluni’

05 Edayya gati – chalanATa – Adi – Koteeswara Iyer

06 kArtikEya gAngEya – thODi – Adi x 2 – Papanasam Sivan ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swaras @ ‘viravu kOl mayUrApuri vaDi vEl maruvum amalakara kamala’

07 viruttam ( namyaum selvamum ) – mAND

rAmanai bhajitAl – mAND – Adi – PApanasam Sivan

08 thillAna ( ni ri ni ri ga ma ga ri sa ) – pUrvi – rUpakam – Thirugokarnam Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar

09 sUryamUrtE namOstutE – saurAStram- chaturashra dhruva – Dikshitar

10 nI nAma rUpamulaku – saurAStram – Adi – Thyagaraja

shLOkam ( ArOgya pradava?) – saurAStram

She has progressed leaps and bounds since the last time I’ve heard her live. The confidence , poise and control was evidently improved.  The team presented a very good concert yesterday at Ranjani Fine Arts.

The significant improvement was observed in her swara singing. It was moulded in the familiar TNS/NSG style, phrases landing and culminating at a point, the intricate variations of laya oriented exercises, measured karvai and the conclusions ; each had the marks of the school, which I always liked.

Very good dharmavati alapana. Charulatha’s return was even better ( as I told her later, that was the best moment for me in the concert ). Very impressive singing of kriti and neraval. Build beautifully and concluded with some class. So was the swaras.  The conclusion was equally brilliant. I wanted her to give the chance for Charulatha to do her turn ( since she was brilliant through out the dharmavati), but it wasn’t to be. I could see Karthik indicating the same to the main artist, so I wasn’t the only one, who thought so.

Impressed with her chalanata, which came before the main. Thodi alapana was good, karthikeya gangeya was also very good. It had been a while since I listened this in a concert.  Interesting line for neraval. A mix of two lines from charanam, not sure if this make any better literary or musical sense ( or completion). However, it was done competently well. Another well executed kalpana swaras for main.

The percussion team had a field day. At times, one felt if they are somewhat overdoing things. But Sai Giridhar and Karthik did enhance the concert experience with their active play. The tani avartanam also was good. She had to conclude the post main pieces fast as there was a follow on dance performance, which she did well within the time and scope.

 

Kumaresh & Jayanthi Kumaresh @ SAMYOGA, Ranjani Fine Arts Annual Festival, 08 Feb 2020

Veena : Jayanthi Kumaresh

Violin : Vid. Kumaresh

Mrudangam : K U Jayachandra Rao

Tabla & Morsing : Pramad Kiran

List :

01 Own Composition  – chakravAkam – Adi ( O,S )

02 paripAlayamAm – rItigauLa – rUpakam – Thyagaraja ( S )

03 mA jAnaki – kAmbOji – Adi – Thyagaraja ( A, S )

04 sari evvaramma – bhairavi – khaNDa tripuTa – Shyama Shastry ( A )

05 rAgam & tAnam – pantuvarALi

tani Avartanam – Adi

own composition – pantuvarALi – mishra chAp ( S )

…… the End …….

‘We are extending our conversations at home’ , musical conversations he hastened to add, ‘to the listeners’, said Kumaresh after the first piece of the evening. It indeed sounded so, with the deliberations over the compositions , especially those which are composed by them for ‘strings attached’, – as they are promoting it now.  Those conversations, if one might call it so, were enthralling to the audience, going by the reception they received at the end. There were deliberations, those fast paced to and fro ( or the question and answers ) between the two, those sweet passing of the mantle from one artist to the other, those little add-ons to the part being played by the other, those ‘if you do that, I can also do this’ type of showmanship , those collective crescendo and exhilaration that seems to have taken over the music of late.  There was exhibition of skills, knowledge and capabilities of both the artists as well as instruments they handle at galore, which connected with the audience immensely,  or that is what was evident going by the standing ovation and the applause and appreciation they received.

Beyond these, exuberance and high octane playing, there were indeed many moments of brilliance, to please my musical aesthetics. Leaving aside the first piece, the reetigaula was very traditional and played with such a pleasing ‘bhava’. Kamboji alapana had some mesmerizing phrases, especially on the veena. Tanam for pantuarali was again exquisite. As is expected, the Veena had some delectable playing of tanam. So, the traditional compositions were played withing the usual norms, and the improvised compositions of their pursuit had the highs and lows that titillate the listeners. Personally,  my tastes are with the former.

Interestingly, immediately after the tAnam, the percussion duo took up their solo. Jayanthi had announced the composition to be in mishra chAp, however the tani avartanam was in Adi. Jayachandra Rao and Pramad Kiran was really superb in their turns.  During his turn, Jayachandra Rao even played the arohana-avarohana scale on the ‘thoppi’ perfectly in unison with Veena. Pramad kiran started with Table, switched to Morsing, combined both, settled back to Tabla and played some impromptu duet with mrudangam by alternating sides – both a vusual and musical treat. Pramd’s Table accompaniment was top class through out.

The concert closed with the main piece, with no winding down at the end. MAy be they could have given 5 mins or so for a proper close down. One must also extend the credit to the organiser who spoke eloquently, adding wits and humour in right measure, summing up the ‘strings’ &  ‘ beats’ attached duos performance. Seldom we hear such a commendable effort from the organisers.

* ————–

In the follow on concert, Vidhushi Sangeetha Katti sang a brilliant Bhoop for an hour and a melodious ‘nAyaki kAnaDa’ for nearly 30 mins.

 

Vijay Siva @ Gayana Samaja for Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira , 25 Jan 2020

Vocal : Vijay Siva  ( supported by Arun Shankar & S R Vikneswaran )

Violin : R K Sriramkumar

mrudangam : Manoj Siva

Ghatam : S Krishna

List :

00 shLOkam ( sadA bAla rUpApi )

01 nIlAyatAkSi – paras – tishra tripuTa – Shyama Shastry

02 dinamaNi vamsha – harikAmbOji – Adi x 2 – Thyagaraja ( N,S )

neraval @sharva vinutA nanu samrakSincunu

swaras @ dinamaNi vamsha

03 prEma svarUpA sarasa lOcana – Anandabhairavi – mishra chAp – Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi ( A,S )

04 shrI cAmuNDEshvari  – kannaDa – Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar

05 kOrinavara mosagumayyA –  rAmapriya – rUpakam – Patnam Sbramanya Iyer ( A,N )

neraval @ sarivArilOna nanu chauka sEya valaDu nIdu’

06 cinna nADEnA – kalAnidhi – Adi – Thyagaraja

07 akSayalinga vibhO – shankarAbharaNam – mishra chAp – Dikshitar ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara@ badarI vanamula nAyikA sahita’

08 RTP – jayantasEna – chturashra jhumpa, 2 kaLai , samam eDuppu

pallavi line : sEnApatE shaktipANE jaya jayAnanta-‘

tani Avartanam

09 shLOkam ( kalyANOllAsa sImA ) – bihAg, dhanyAsi, yadukulakAmbOji

svAmi mukhya prANA – yadukula kAmbOji – rUpakam? – Purandara Dasa

10 verses from Narayaneeyam(rukmini kalyanam) – rAgamAlika – Malpattur Narayana Bhattathiri

11 mAlE maNivaNNA – kuntaLavarALi – Adi – Andal

12 tirupugazh (kUrai pagutha?? )  – madhyamAvati – Adi tisragati -Arunagirinathar

13 nI nAma rUpamulaku – surAStram- Adi – Thyagaraja

shLOkam ( swasthi prajabhyA paripAlayantAm)

There was a person standing at the gate, handing out a paper to every one. It did not look like a typical paper insert of an advertisement. Curious enough, I collected a copy for us. Interestingly, it had the list of ragams in sequence and the composers listed, which one would be listening in the evening’s program. now, that is an interesting development. Since, it did not reveal the composition, it is not a 100% give away, there is some amount of suspense maintained. For example, it said Shankarabharanam and Muthuswamy Dikshitar. While, one can still narrow it down, it still has a few possibilities. Does this also mean that, in case I did not like what is expected in the list, I can turn back and go ? In any case, the paper did not mention ‘kalyANi’ as main anywhere, and I did not back out 🙂

Leaving that aside, it indeed was a very fulfilling concert by Sri Vijay Siva and the team. Shankarabharanam was a super duper affair. I loved every bit of it.  The tarasthayi phrases ( where he is very strong ) in the alapana were very very good. That arguably, overshadowed the other parts to some extend. Brilliant neraval and badarivana. Very elaborate, fabulously constructed and expanded, some breathtaking singing at the higher octaves. The swara patterns, followed the neraval, was stupendous. Some of the early slow speed takes were of shear excellence and beauty. Sriramkumar added his bit to it with some innovative returns. That probably was the best of the evening.

Jayantasena pallavi was a shortish affair, lasting around 20 odd mins. Short alapana, decent tanam. There was an attempted trikalam, but did not extend it, and there was no ragamalika swaras.

Earlier in the evening, he had a detailed neraval and swaras for dinamani vamsha, which sort of set the things in motion.  nice little alapana of Anandabhairavi followed, for Oothukadu composition, added with a few rounds of swaras.  Submain in the form of Ramapriya was again a stellar affair. Solid alapana bu both, Patnam’s composition was very good. He sang a neraval at sarivarilona as expected, which was splendid.

Post pallavi had a devarnama preceded with a ragamalika shlokam ( dhanyasi part was awesome) and few verses from the Narayaneeyam. It was presented in a unique way , I thought.

Fabulous concert , especially the shankarabharanam, rAmapriya and Anandabhairavi. I find his music is ‘rushing to me’ ( not sure if I make sense here), similar to what I find with Saketharaman’s singing.  That aside, the concert was very very good.

 

Abhishek Raghuram @ Gayana Samaja, Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira Annual Festival , 15 Jan 2020

Vocal : Abhishek Raghuram

Violin : Vittal Ramamurthy

Mrudangam : N C Bharadwaj

Gnjira : G Guruprasanna

List:

01 tyAgarAja gurum AshrayE – kEdAram – rUpakam – M D R ( S )

02 budhamAshrayAi satatam – nATakurinji – mishra jhumpa – Dikshitar

03 ennaDO rakSincitE – saurAStram – Adi – Thyagaraja ( O )

04 nI bhajana gAna – nAyaki – Adi – Thyagaraja ( A-vocal,S )

05 suguNamulE – cakravAkam – rUpakam – Thyagaraja ( O,S )

06 durmArga carAdhamulanu – ranjani – rUpakam – Thyagaraja ( A )

07 rAkA shashivadana – takka – Adi – Thyagaraja ( A-vocal )

08 nijamuga nI mahimulu – sahAna – Adi – Thyagaraja ( A,Nx2, S,T )

neraval @ ‘bhajana sEyu maNi palikiri dAni’

and @ ‘buddhiyanu talli nI viSaya viTulaku’

09 sItAnAyaka shrtajana pOSaka – rItigauLa – mishrachAp – Thyagaraja

10 balamu kulamu – sAvEri – Adi – Thyagaraja

11 gItArthtHamu – suruTTi – Adi x 2 – Thyagaraja

12 nI nAma rUpamulaku – saurAStram – Adi – Thyagaraja

On the ‘Thyagaraja Aradhana Day’, you cant give a better tribute to the Vaggeyakara, than what was offered by Abhishek, yesterday at the Gayana Samaja.

He was in an exploratory mood yesterday.  Despite stretching my limits, at many times, I thought he gave a splendid concert.  Started off with MDRs salutations to the Guru – an apt way on this specific day  followed by the ‘vAra kriti’ of Dikshitar. The rest was all the way of Thyagaraja. Many of the shorter alapanas were done only by him, starting with nAyaki.  First major ‘break out’ happened with the chakravakam swaras, some brilliant takes and a tremendous karvai to finish. Percussion duo, lead by Bharadwaj, reproduced the same in his ‘theermanam’ to conclude. I loved that.

Ranjani alapana ( and the kriti) was done in a changed shruti and sounded very different. Nice little alapana of Takka was also interesting, but difficult to decipher ( beyond a janya of Mayamalavagaula ) while it was sung.

The evening belong to the grand sahana. Very loooooong alapana, stretching in every possible way, many a times beyond the ‘comforts’ of my sahana imagination, but again bringing out some of the beautiful sahana phrases that I am familar with. Which is why, I repeated it as an exploratory mood of the artist. I was expecting a Giripai to come. Very surprised with the choice of the kriti, listening for the first time in a concert.  Detailed neraval at two places, at the anupallavi and the first line of charanam’ one after the other, both superbly done. Fabulous swara prasthana too. N C Bharadwaj and Guruprasanna were on sublime form. The Tani Avartanam was very very good.