Ramakrishnan Murthy Nadasurabhi Annual Festival 2022, 18th Nov 2022

Vocal : Ramakrishnan Murthy

Violin : H M Smitha

Mrudangam : Arjun Kumar

Ghatam : Giridhar Udupa

List

01 shrI saraswati namOstutE paradEvatE – Arabhi – Adi – Dikshitar ( O, S )

02 kA vA vA – varALi – Adi -Papanasam Sivan

03 dhanyuDevvaDO dAsharatHE – malayamArutam – Adi – Patnam Subramanya Iyer ( A,N, S)

neraval @ ‘vara maddaLa tALAdi tampura vINa vAdyamula jErcukoni’

04 viruttam ( UrilEn kANi illai uRavu maTTravarillai )

nArAyaNa ninna nAmada – shudha dhanyAsi – khaNDa chAp – Purandara Dasa

05 padavi nI sadbhaktiyu – sALaga bhairavi – Adi – Thyagaraja

06 taLLi ninnu neranammi nAnu – kalyANi – mishra chAp – Shyama Shastry ( A,N,S,T )

neraval @ ‘shyAma krSNa paripAlini shUlini’

07 RTP – rEvati – tishra tripuTa x 2 , +2 beat eDuppu

‘rEvatidhavAnuja shrIkrSNa mAm pAhi sadA’

rAgamalika swaras at shrI and kuntaLavarALi

08 vaddani nEnaNtika ( javaLi) – kApi – Adi -Patnam Subramanya Iyer

09 suTTum vizhi cuDar dAn kaNNammA – rAgamAlika -Adi tishra gati – Subramanya Bharati ( thank you Raghunandan)

10 thillAna – dhanAshrI – Adi – Swathi Thirunal

11 mangaLam ( nI nAma rUpamulaku) – saurAStram – Adi – Thyagaraja

shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya) – madhyamAvati

Stellar concert by the team yesterday. Impressive selection and performance. The whole concert came alive with the malayamarutam kriti, a tad faster in tempo, but it did lift the concert up. Very good alapana, super neraval at the vara maddala, elaborate swaras at the second speed.

Kalyani, with usual flair. Neraval at the usual place, which I do not prefer. Short line neravals aren’t my favorites. Kalpana swaras were very good. Some interesting ‘kanakku’ and a beautifully conceived ‘karvai’ to end the swaras, despite some small mix up, were well executed.

Revati pallavi, arguably the bext part. Alapana was rather short and sweet. They duo compensated it with a brilliant tanam. Elaborate, exploring the possibilities at both higher and lower octaves, out-smarting each taking it to some mesmerising heights. The audience too seems to have liked it. Interesting ( and new to me) pallavi line, incorporating the ‘ragamudra’. Similarly ragamalika swaras were done at appropriate place. At ‘ShrIkrSNA mAm pAhi’ while singing swaras in ShrI ragam and at ‘mA(m) pA hi’ for kuntalavarali, as the swaraksharas for ‘sa ma pa dha ni’ arohana swaras.

Percussion team were as expected from Arjunumar and Udupa, at their elements. Adding the verve and vigour as demanded. Smitha played good through out,and was excellent during Tanam.

 

Ramakrishnan Murthy @ Samarasa, PES University , 06 Oct 2019

Vocal :  Ramakrishnan Murthy

Violin : Charumathi Raghuraman

Mrudangam : Sumesh Narayanan

Ganjira : Shreesundar Kumar

List

00  viribONi (varNam) – during the audio adjustments

01 shrI cAmuNDEshwari pAlayamAm – bilahari – Adi x 2  – Mysore Vasudevachar ( S )

02 vinAyakuni – madhyamAvati – Adi – Thyagaraja ( N,S )

neraval @ ‘anAtHa rakSaki shrI kAmAkSi ‘

03 janani ninnuvinA – rItigauLA – mishra chAp – Subbaraya Shastry ( A )

04 ardhanArIshvaram – kumudakriya – rUpakam – Dikshitar ( A,S )

05 chakkani rAja mArgamu – kharaharapriya – Adi x 2 – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

06 rAdhA mukha kamala – kApi – Adi – Papanasam Sivan

07 venkaTAcala nilayam – sindhubhairavi- Adi – Purandara Dasa

Final concert of the 3 day annual Samarasa Festival at PES University.

It took a while to get them set with audio,  even after that the percussion was loud ( despite the artist himself was asking to reduce the volume). However, it got set with rItigauLa.

The highlight of the evening, to me, is the rItigauLa. Classy alapana by both the artists. Very slow, involved singing of the composition. The essence of the raga and the beauty of the kriti was in full front. It was so moving that, while he was singing the first charanam, Sumesh and Shreesundarkumar decided to stop playing the percussion. The effect was so captivating, with only his voice was reverberating in the hall. That moment was one of the best experience I had in a very  very long time.  The impact of the singing of the kriti was so good, that I wished he will refrain from adding anything further to it. Luckily there were no swaras.

He started with a brisk bilahari and a slightly faster ‘vinAyakuni’. There was neraval at ‘anAtHarakSaki’, and befitting swaras. All of them were on the same speed. It was very good , but  a notch lower on speed would have made it even more appealing.

There was a chit passed on the stage, which apparently was a request for kumudakriya ( of all the choices ! ). He obliged and sang a short alapana before the only possible kriti (not withstanding the attempts from new composers) in this rAga.  It was good, considering it was an impromptu attempt. There was few rounds of swaras at ‘AgamAdi sannutam).

It was scheduled to be a two hour concert and having started 15 odd minute late, it was evident that this will eat into the overall concert planning. Main kharaharapriya had to take the beating. Alapana was short and without violin return. He started it off at high point and sort of winded it down. He decided on chakkani raja, and considering the time pressure, wasn’t sure if it was the apt choice. He sang all and more of those sangatis of the pallavi. Somewhat different at times from the familiar ‘plot’. His ‘pAtAntharam’ sounded a bit different to me at many places ( or may be I was biased with the Alathur Brothers and Mani Iyer versions). There was neraval, albeit short, at ‘kaNTiki sundarA’ and kalpana swaras.  The swaras were top class, especially the concluding kArvais were shear pleasure to listen to.

The percussion team had to do a quick tani avartanam and they continued from were RKM left and played some delectable patterns. In the middle, there was a change of mantle, and Shreesundarkumar took the lead and Sumesh followed. I guess even the mukthayi was directed by Shreesundarkumar. Concert concluded with the Sanskrit composition of Papanasam Sivan and a devarnama.

The reetigaula will remain in memory for a long time.

 

Ramakrishnan Murthy @ indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, 25th Jun 2017

Vocal : Ramakrishnan Murthy

Violin : R K Shriramkumar

Mrudangam : K Arun Prakash

Ganjira : G Guruprasanna

List :

01 viribONi ( varNam ) – bhairavi – PAchimiriumm Adiappa

02 jaya jaya jaya jAnakIkAnta – nATa – Purandara Dasa ( S )

03 smaraNE sukhamu – janaranjani – Thyagaraja ( N,S )

neraval & swara @ rAmanAma shravaNamu valla nAma rUpamE hrdayamu

04 rAmanAma pAyasakke – Anandabhairavi – Purandara Dasa

05 RTP – kalyANi – chaturashra tripuTa, 2 kaLai,  1/8 atIta eduppu?

tAnam in kalyANi, kIravANi, kannaDa and kAnaDa

pallavi  ‘ un darishanam kiDaikkumO naTarAja , dayAnidhE ‘

rAgamAlika swaras in kalyANi, nIlAmbari, aThANa, kApi and shrI

05b tani Avartanam

06 shrI vishvanAtham bhajEham – chaturdasha rAgamAlika – Dikshitar

07 shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya) – shrI

First of all, congratulations to Vidvan Ramakrishnan Murthy, for receiving the Purandara Yuva Puraskar for this year, as one of the awardees. Truly deserving for the service he is offering to the music field.

Last evening concert, evoked mixed emotions, to say the best. It did start about 30 min behind schedule, as the previous program extended by 15-20 min. He probably was not at the best of his physical ability. He was visibly distracted and was grimacing towards the second part of the evening. That aside, the entire evening was of a slow sedate mood, one slow piece after other. Some of the usual verve and vigour wasn’t at display. So, the atmosphere wasn’t of excitement.

But, taking individual pieces, I hasten to say, he sang very well. A very detailed bhairavi varnam – I guess he sang all the charanams, started of the concert very well. Nata kriti was a bit off, even the kalpana swaras were just ok.  The start of janaranjani to me was the highlight of the evening. One sangati after other came out with such elan, albeit on a slow speed, to some mesmerizing effect. Beautiful stuff. An elaborated neraval at rAma nAma shravanam added to the glow. Few round of swaras too.

Andabhairavi alapana, again was decent. Some feedback and echo issues with the amplifier disturbed the free flow a couple of times. Sriramkumar played in the similar lines. I was expecting one of the Shyama Shasthry’s master pieces. But he picked yet another Purandara Dasa kriti, presented very well.

Detailed kalyANi alapana came soon, befitting the main piece of the evening.  While nothing to talk home about the alapana, the tanam was exquisite. The easing from kalyani to keervani was classy , so was the kannaDa and kAnaDa interludes. Brilliant stuff.  Familiar pallavi line, but set to Aditalam. I think he did an ateeta eduppu, fixing ‘darishanam’ at samam, which makes ‘un’ a fraction before samam. I could be wrong here. No trikalam in the offer, but some attempts during the kalpana swaras. Very good ragamalika swaras, especially the slow aThANa was superclass. Tani Avrtanam too did not lift up the mood, a typical Arun Prakash style. Guruprasanna,did some good attempts while accompanying, though. He concluded the concert with the 14 raga garland of Muthuswamy Dikshitar.

A good concert, especially the second part of the pallavi and the janaranjani. One always expect more from Vidvans like Ramakrishnan Murthy.

 

Ramakrishnan Murthy @ Sri Rama Seva Mandali, 19th Apr 2017

Vocal : Ramkrishnan Murthy

Violin : B U Ganesh Prasad

Mrudangam : Bangalore V Praveen

Ghatam : Giridhar Udupa

List:

01 shLOkam ( sadguru gajAsyavANi) – shankarAbharaNam

02 chalamElA (varNam) – darbAr – Thiruvottiyur Thyagayya

03 budhamAshrayAmi satatam – nAtakurinji – Dikshitar

04 vAdErA daivamu manaA – pantuvarALi – Thyagaraja  ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘dhAtru vinutuDaina thyAgarAjuni ‘

05 rAmakathA sudha – madhyamAvati – Thyagaraja ( A,N,S,T )

neraval & swara @bhAmAmaNi jAnaki saumitri’

06 svAmi mukhyA prANa – yadukulakAmbOji – Purandara Dasa

07 RTP – thODI – khaNDa tripuTa x 2 kaLai +1 eDuppu

rAgamAlika tAnam in thODi,nAgasvarALi, behAg, surutti

pallavi line ‘tArayasadA rAmachandra mUrtE toDita shiva chApa kIrtE’

rAgamAlika swaras in aThANa, kApi, nIlAmbari, darbAri kAnaDa

tani avartanam

08 mAtADa bAradEnO – khamAs – Narahari Dasa

09 shAradE karuNAnidhE – hamIr kalyANi – Chandrasekhara Bharati

10 thillAna ( tOm tOm tadara) – pUrNachandrika – Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar

11 mangaLam – saurAStram – Thyagaraja

shLOkam ( mangaLam kOsalEndrAya)

Brilliant concert from the young man last evening at the Mandali. It left me with a feeling of completeness in the end. Beautifully conceived and managed concert, with every element included. Everything presented to its fullest. Very measured , very classy.  Loved it.

The pantuvarali made the change. The alapana was good, but wasn’t an awe inspiring one. But the selection of the kriti, the neraval he sang and the swaraprasthana that followed were super class. Without much ado, he launched into an elaborate madhyamavati alapana. Very well done. BUG was equally brilliant in his turn. Ramakatha was my prayers and so it was. Another top notch neraval and fantastic rounds of swaras. The percussion duo played out a rather short tani avartanam. PRaveen was in high spirits, occasionally going over the comfort zone. Udupa as in his usual best through out.

A pallavi was sure to come. But there was a devarnama just before that, set to tune ( rather nicely) by his current guru R K Sriramkumar.  Majestic thOdi alapana started soon. The alternating , multi phase alapana between vocal and violin was real treat. Pallavi was even special. He glided from thOdi to nagasvaravali ( as in grahabhedam) moved to behag and a fleeting moment of surutti. BUG did the same in his turn. Interesting pallavi line, nice round of ragamalika, no trikalam were the highlight of the pallavi. There was another short tani avartanam at the end. Post main had a very moving mAtADa bAradEno, among other things.

A complete package, beautifully presented.

 

Ramakrishnan Murthy , Seshadripuram Ramaseva Samithi, 27th Apr 2016

VocalGu : Ramakrishnan Murthy

Violin : Charumathi Raghuraman

Mrudangam : Anantha R Krishnan

Ganjira : Guruprasanna

List :

01. shLOkam ( sadguru gajAsyavANim) – kalyANi

vanajAkshi ninne kOri (varNam) – kalyANi – Pallavi Gopala Iyer

02. tuLasIdaLamulacE – mAyAmALavagauLa – Thyagaraja ( N,S )

neraval & swara @ ‘sarasIruha punnAga champaka pATala karuvaka’

03. idu bhAgya idu bhAgya idu bhAgyavayya – bilahari – Purandara Dasa ( A,N,S )

neraval & swara @  ‘vasudheyoLu purandara viThalana nAmava, hasanAgi nenenenedu sukhiyAgabEku’

04. mAyamma yeninE – Ahiri – Shyama Shasthri

05. brOva bhArama – bahudhAri –  Thyagaraja

06. mAmava pattAbhirAma – maNirang – Dikshitar ( A,S,T )

07. R T P – pUrvikalyANi – mishrajAti tripuTa x 2 kaLai , eduppu at +3/4 ??

pallavi line ‘ dasharathabAla rAmabhadrayya, dayAnidhE’

rAgamAlika swaras in aThANa, kuntaLa varALi,varALi,____, behAg, suruTTi

08. shLOkam ( ay muraLi mukunda smEra) – kApi , hamsAnandi, sindhubhairavi

rAmanai taruvAi jagad rakSaka – sindhubhairavi – Arunachala Kavi

09. tiruppAvai ( vangAkaDal) – suruTTi – Andal

10. shLOkam (mangaLam kOsalEndrAya) – suruTTi

Another top notch concert by Ramakrishnan Murthy at the Seshadripuram College Grounds, yesterday. Pallavi probably was the low point of the concert, otherwise it was musically and in selection of composition was very impressive.

There was a slight strain in his voice, which was a mild irritant.  But it did not seem to trouble the artist in any way. On a listener’s part, I wish and pray that he take care of his voice as his music is precious and we need him to enthrall  us for many many more years.  The accompanying artist measured up to the main artist and it was a delight to see some of the work done by them to enrich the experience. Charumathi, especially, was very very impressive. Nice bowing, clear tonal quality, nice mannerism, good sense of proportion. Anantha can add a lot to the overall uplift of the concert. He with able supporting percussionist did some commendable job. I loved the initial few touches he did for the ahiri song. The percussion duo had two opportunities to show case their mettle. First one for mAmava pattAbhirAma, which was good but wasn’t measuring up to their caliber. However the second, post the pallavi, was of shear brilliance. Some nice intricate patterns for a mishra triputa tALa was delectable.

Back to the main artist. Nice, brisk varnam in kalyani to start the proceedings. Beautiful mayamalavagaula with some classy neraval at sarasiruha punnaga. Very well detailed and delivered, followed by some very impressive rounds of kalpana swaras. First alapana of the evening in bilahari. Ramakrishna Murthy started in such a wonderful way, but some how did not have the same impact for the rest of the alapana. However, Charumathi played a beautiful alapana. I was humming ‘intha kannAnandamEmi’ through out the alapana, but to our surprise, he sang a dasara pada, which is tuned in similar lines. To his credit, his diction was impeccable. Each words were clearly heard. Brilliantly selected neraval line, singing the first line for most part of the early stage and extending it to the complete line ( appropriate for the completeness of meaning). The kalpana swaras in two speed was equally good.

Two fillers of little impact , before the main. Somehow the ahiri kriti sounded a bit different. Anantha was a treasure to listen here. Bahudhari was good, hoped for a quickfire swaras to set the stage for a leisurely main. Manirang alapana was far better. His deliberations at the short mandra and madhya sthayi phrases were a beauty. Charumathi was good in her return too. Predictably, it was mAmava pattAbhirAmA. To me it was a dedication, marking my return from Sri Lanka ( albeit not triumphantly as Rama). This reminded me of an outstanding manirang witness at the same venue by TMK 6-7 years ago with a mesmerising neraval at ‘chatra chAmara’ ( goose bumps). RKM sang the kriti very well, but there was no neraval. He did cover it up with some awesome swara singing. I loved the split swaras at two places.

There was a real-time review of the concert by the organisers during the felicitation. Luckily, they wound it up pretty fast. RKM started a shortish pUrvikalyAni alapana with a clear intend of a pallavi. Tanam fared better. Pallavi was done with typical neraval style , but there was no trikalam. He sang a chain of ragamalika swaras and concluded it with a nice rollback through all those ragas with such an ease and pleasure.

There was enough time for a ragamalika shlokam followed by a sindhubhairavi composition and a tiruppavai. He extended the tiruppavai to a shlokam in the same ragam to conclude the concert.