R Visweshwaran

[rajeshnat]

Perhaps Sreeni raja rao can add more than what is written here.

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article2368538.ece

[srikant1987]

I'm looking forward to attending his lecdem for Shabda next week! http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17099

PS: His photo in the article resembles actor Alok Nath so much!

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Rajesh,

Thanks for starting the thread!

Prof. Visweswaran is an eminent vaiNika and a vAggEyakAra from the old school of Mysore, and like his siblings, he is also accomplished in many areas.
He is a an engaging speaker as well.

Recently, I have enjoyed his concerts available on Sangeethapriya (thanks to TVG sir) and the one broadcast regularly on Sunaadaradio.com

I particularly enjoy his leisurely and elaborate versions. I have not had a chance to attened his conerts in recent years, but I have memories of attending them when I was a kid.

I enjoyed the time I spent with him in July 2009. His radiance was striking (in kannaDa we call it kaLe) - I will post some pictures and I think that will make it clear what I mean.

I hope Keerthi would be able to write on the technical aspects of Professor's style of veena playing.

I will attempt to write about his family background and a bit more over the weekend.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

This is one of the pictures I had in mind when I wrote about the radiance on Sri. Vishweshwaran :

[keerthi]

What better way to spend a sunday morning than write about Prof.Visweshwaran?
[That is how he spells his name, We should change it in the thread title too, so that it shows up in google searches etc.] I have the greatest regard and admiration for him, both as an artiste and a thinker/ communicator of music.

Supposedly,it is rare that the sensitivity and creativity of a poet/ artiste and the incisiveness, analytical approach of a logician manifest in the same person. vEdAnta dEsika and the appayya dIkSita-nIlakaNTA dIkSita family proved this to be wrong. In my opinion, Prof. Visweshwaran most eminently fits the bill.

As a senior vaiNika, vocalist, teacher, vAggEyakAra and musicologist from Mysore, he has taught several generations of students at the music department at the University of Mysore. Prof. Visweshwaran holds a degree in Indology, and has used his training in the study of Indian culture to illuminate his musical investigations.

Lakshya


I don't know a lot about his teachers. His mother, Smt. VaralakSmi was his first teacher, and he must have studied with other teachers, but most of RV's music arises from his deep and intense effort and contemplation about the practice and principles of music. He has assimilated and processed the music of several generations of vidvAns, and crafted his own brand of vInA-vAdana and singing.

He has a fondness for the traditional rAga-s, but has used several interesting rAga-s from North Indian Classical Music, to great effect in his songs. He has created several new rAga-s and given us compositions in those.

Prof. V's music is marked by a wholesome approach combining the meditative with the graceful; demonstrating the greatest innovation and originality, within the frame of the most classical.

Some who have heard his music say that his style is much influenced by that of S.Balachander. I agree insofar as both had remarkable virtuosity and control over the instrument; and both took a deliberate well crafted approach to rAga delineation. Both are exemplars of the best combination of tradition and innovation; and both have done an immense amount of work in researching techniques in plucking and fingering, and in the use of amplification for the vINa.

As a result, he does amazing things like play 6 notes on one fret of the vINA - I have seen him play dnsrgM in varALi,all on the d fret of the mandra P string. He can play on the fret board alone, without plucking with the right hand, for long passages, creating a seamless gAyaki effect.

The landscapes he paints in elaborate AlApas and well-crafted neravals in rAga-s like bauLI, mukhAri and kEdAragaULa, are matched by the technical talks he can give on rAgalakSana - about what the limits are, and where and how much one can tweak the limits of lakSana.

I remember the first concert of his that I heard live, at a vAsavi temple in Malleswaram, bangalore. The three hour concert had three pieces - srIgaNapatini in SaurASTRa, ranganAyakam in nAyakI and RV's own composition on tyAgarAja in rItigaula.

He built up the rAga atmospheres like temple gOpura-s and the air was thick with the rAga, while he played it. More importantly, there are sancAras I heard for the first time in each of those rAgas, on that day, which I am yet to hear again, and which I still remember, they are firmly etched into my memory.

[keerthi]

LakSaNa

Having deeply studied the history and the practice of Carnatic music, Prof. RV always aspires to check the relevance of,reconcile and identify the relationship between the textual tradition and music as it is in practice.

He will talk about the names for the 22 shrutis, but more importantly tell us which rAgas each one features in, while demonstrating how there are five gAndhara-s being used in tODi. He will talk about rUpakAlipti and AkshiptikA while demonstrating their cognates in the singing of tAnaM.

He will talk about the ancient shuddha and kUTas tAnams, and show their existence in the varasai-s, in some of the varnams, their potential applications in tAnam and kalpanaswaras.

His ability to take a rAga, spend time fleshing it out with the help of the lakSana gItam and the composition(s) and then present it in a fashion that will make the form as simple and comprehensible as a mohana or a shuddha sAvERi is amazing.

He can explain ARdadESi with simplicity, and then expound the layered complexity of mOhana.

It is our fortune to have a great thinker and practitioner of SI music of his calibre in our midst. We should try and systematically archive his music, as well as his observations on musical matters.

His brother R. SathyanArAyaNa is an unparalleled one-stop source for ideas related to the history of classical music, theatre and dance in India. He holds the legacy of Bharata muni.


If my account appears like a hagiography, it is only because of the fact that I have experienced the melody and wisdom of the music and the expositions respectively. That is the source of my unmitigated admiration and respect.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Keerthi,

Many thanks!

I knew I was doing the right thing when I brought your name into this discussion.

Quoting Keerthi here :
"As a result, he does amazing things like play 6 notes on one fret of the vINA - I have seen him play dnsrgM in varALi,all on the d fret of the mandra P string. He can play on the fret board alone, without plucking with the right hand, for long passages, creating a seamless gAyaki effect"

I believe I have seen video clips of this on YouTube - we need to track it down again and publish the link here.

I will try to do that later today.

Sreeni Rajarao

[keerthi]

http://www.mediafire.com/?em4by6t61orh4qv


is a link to a recent concert of his. The artiste and the hosts of the concert [ESSAE foundation Bangalore] have permitted us to use the concert. I also acknowledge with gratitude, our anonymous friends who recorded and edited the concert.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vinodgk1?bl ... MZHIsfPHOE

vinodgk1's is the sole youtube channel with a few recordings of Prof. Visweshwaran's.

I forgot to mention, the vINa he uses is a special one, with an Urdhvamukha yAli (upward-facing dragon face) at one end, like mutthuswAMi dIKSitar's vINa.

[narayan]

Thanks to all for pointers to this remarkable personality. Much to learn and observe and even admire.

[rajeshnat]

I remember the first concert of his that I heard live, at a vAsavi temple in Malleswaram, bangalore. The three hour concert had three pieces - srIgaNapatini in SaurASTRa, ranganAyakam in nAyakI and RV's own composition on tyAgarAja in rItigaula.

keerthi
You are meaning that he played only three numbers right , possibly a pavamana to end up . Not that you recollect only three of his many numbers in his concert. When was this? Your writeup is very nice.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Keerthi,

Thanks for that lovely muKhAri (and other items in that recording) - thoroughly enjoyed it!

I hope you can convince ESSAE foundation to upload it on YouTube (they have previously uploaded Bangalore Shankar's full concert).

Time for me to listen to Professor's elaborate Durbar (tyAgaraja dhanyam nA, Dikshitar's composition) and Arabhi (tApamu jEsite phalamEmi, Professor's own composition) from the album "Gravely Beautiful Ragas"

There are only these two items in the album brought out by Sangeetha (The Master Recording Company). I was delighted to find this album in a music store in Jayanagar 4th block (Bangalore) during my trip in 2006.

[keerthi]

Rajeshnat,

Yes, I mean there were only three songs in the concert. Thanks for the compliment.

Sreeni,

'Gravely beautiful' is a good description for most of RV's music!

[vasanthakokilam]

Thanks Keerthi. That is quite a beautiful Mukhari.

[ravir]

Thanks to Keerthi for his note on Prof.Visweshwaran and I venture to add my 2 cents to it. It would be in the fitness of things to savor the music of the Professor through his interpretation of two Dikshitar compositions namely ‘mAye tvam yAhi’ in raga Tarangini and ‘tyagarAjAd anyam na janEham’ in Durbar, which are luckily available to us. It’s no secret why I choose these two renderings of the Professor, for each of the ragas is unique in their own way.

First the raga Tarangini and the Dikshitar kriti ‘Maye’. It was a mere skeleton - a melody derived by Muddu Venkatamakhin to be head of the clan for mela 26 in the asampurna scheme, till perhaps Dikshitar composed ‘Maye’ and gave it flesh, blood and life. We do have versions of this composition as rendered by Prof S R Janakiraman, Dr B Rajam Iyer, Dr S Ramanathan (and his disciple Vidushi Sowmya) and Vidushi R Vedavalli. It’s my humble opinion that all current editions of the kriti ‘Maye’ are interpretations based on the notation in the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini and I doubt if there was a orally transmitted version of this composition as per the SSP lakshana which survived into the 20th century.

For me Prof.Visweshwaran’s interpretation is remarkably different for more than one reason. Additionally the rendering being on the veena enables one to compare the version with the notation of the composition found in the SSP and helps us in understanding the nuances of the original conception of the raga by Dikshitar. Here is first the Professor’s interpretation of this gem of a raga followed by the rendering of the Dikshitar composition.

http://sangeethamshare.org/tvg/UPLOADS- ... shitar.mp3
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In his alapana, Prof.Visweshwaran highlights the core skeletal structure of Tarangini i.e SRGPDs/sDPGRS with the additional PDNDP murrcana with emphasis on the gandhara & pancama (not madhyama as one could observe in all other versions). The RGPD murccana dominates and PDNDP is also given prominence. But the GMGGR murccana and consequently madhyama is relegated to the background. The madhyama note too, whenever it is rendered in his sangathis, seems to be intoned more as an anusvara of the gandhara and not prominently.
Moving over to the kriti, in almost all other interpretations cited supra, one can notice that the Pallavi “Maye” is started off as a svarakshara on madhyama itself. The notation is GMG in the SSP, with the nyasa/take off note being gandhara. The Professor’s interpretation rightfully so, including the four additional variations/sangathis to the Pallavi line that he plays, avoids the madhyama note being the takeoff/nyasa. The Professor in fact tellingly uses GPDNDPGRSR with variations for the Pallavi refrain/sangathis without utilizing madhyama note. Attention is invited to the variations in the Pallavi after rendering the anupallavi and the carana segments. As one can note, the first sangathi (of all the sections of the composition) is always completely cued to the notation in the SSP but the subsequent sangathis are improvisations based on his interpretation he outlines in his alapana. Perhaps the only place where the madhyama note is conspicuously heard is at the fag end of the carana line UpAye before it loops back to the pallavi line.

In sum here is what makes the Professor’s creative interpretation of the raga/composition, stand apart from the rest:
1. Gandhara and pancama notes are the chosen pivots in the Professor’s interpretation while madhyama is very rare & is used an auxiliary note at best and never a takeoff note/nyasa.
2. The dhaivatha & nishada are sharply intoned and in sum the Professor emphasizes the uttaranga portion of the raga much more than in other editions of this composition/raga.
3. The skeletal structure emphasized throughout is SRGPDS/SDPGRS with a good usage of PDND. The madhyama note and the murccana GMGGR is kept to the very minimum.
Gravely beautiful and beseeching is the emotion of this raga and no wonder the bard of Tiruvaiyaru chose this raga for his heart wrenching ‘Nenendu vedhakudura’! And so this is the pen picture of Tarangini as painted by the Professor with its own shade and texture reminding us of the noveau raga Vasanthi (in which there is a tillana composed by Sri Lalgudi G Jayaraman). And it is rightfully so within the framed lakshana of the raga as documented in the SSP. As a contrast, the madhyama laden version of Tarangini can be heard from Prof S R Janakiraman wherein he outlines the raga by singing them as svaras.
http://guruguha.org/blog/2010/04/tarang ... int-beauty
Can one fault this interpretation, given the primacy shown for the madhyama (and for GMGGR murccana) in the notation (the cittasvara section actually begins on the madhyama note and the composition’s dhatu is littered with quite a few GMGGRS) for the composition? But that’s what artistic creativity is all about. One can comprehend that within the four corners of the raga’s stated lakshana, by emphasizing certain notes/murrcanas while de-emphasizing a few others different flavors/facets of a raga could be derived. And that’s the evidence of the consummate skill and artistic genius/virtuosity of a musician even while he maintains fidelity to the musical intent of the composer and the laid down lakshana.
As an aside , Prof Vishweshwaran’s equally illustrious brother Prof. Satyanarayana ran his own ‘Anna’esque crusade to resurrect the correct version of Tarangini with suddha dhaivata more than half a century ago. Read it here: http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/09/28/stor ... 020300.htm

[ravir]

I move over next to Durbar and the interpretation of the rare Tyagaraja vibakti kriti of Dikshitar. Durbar’s raga lakshana as handled by Dikshitar has always been subject to an element of mystery in relation to the usage of the murccana GMRS, the so called ‘Kanada ang’. It has been like the Loch Ness monster, having a speculated/rumored existence but never seen in flesh & blood, atleast during our times. The SSP documents the Durbar with GMRS usage and some of the older musicians too seem to have heard it but as of today we do not have a version through oral tradition to support the formal usage of GMRS in Durbar, much like the Tarangini with suddha dhaivata.
The kriti is a beautiful one and Dikshitar builds Durbar, block by block. And in the SSP this raga & the composition is one of the heavily ornamented ones in terms of notation, along with ragas such as Atana, Sahana and Yadukulakambhoji.
http://www.muzigle.com/album/gravely-beautiful-ragas
In this commercial recording, the professor has rendered a very succinct alapana of Durbar, a compact & beautiful version of the composition followed by a few rounds of kalpana svaras for the pallavi line. The version of the composition is aligned more or less to the standard version (normalized?) available to us today such as those of Vidushi Kalpakam Svaminathan, Vidushi Suguna Varadachari and Vidvan B Krishnamoorthi. I should confess I was looking forward to a creative interpretation much on the lines of Tarangini but was a wee bit disappointed. Alas for me there is no trace of the GMRS in the Professor’s interpretation and it has the signature of modern Durbar written all over it! Indeed it would be eye opening to elicit the Professor’s views on the lakshana of the older/now extinct version of the Durbar one finds documented in the SSP. Notwithstanding, the Professor’s edition is a thoroughly satisfying rendering without doubt.
Without being presumptuous it’s worth noting here that Professor’s style of alapana building is a veritable lesson for a student of music, as Keerthi has pointed out in his post. The way he steadily builds the melodic outline employing the key phrases is a stand out. Readers are invited to hear out both his Tarangini and Durbar alapanas. The progressive buildup, the positioning of the karvais and the halts in between (silence is sometimes music as well) truly marks his ‘cerebration’ of the raga’s lakshana. Needless to add here that, unique is the Professor’s style of rendition, not even an occasional staccato note, seamless/continuous is his meetu as is obvious from the long kArvais he weaves perhaps with fewer plucks and so one would like to know what other improvisations he had done to his veena ,which as Keerti alludes to is structured much like Dikshitar’s.
PS: The Professor apparently can coax the veena to produce melody by playing with just his left hand, without using the right hand for meetu !
http://archive.deccanherald.com/Content ... 106732.asp
Wish he were a denizen of Madrasapattinam…sigh !

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Yet another link to the same mukhari mentioned earlier in the thread......

https://archive.org/details/KshINamaiTi ... Viseswaran


And some recent discussion from the Kacheri Reviews section:
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic ... 13&t=27641

[vilomachapu]

Gravely beautiful and beseeching is the emotion of this raga and no wonder the bard of Tiruvaiyaru chose this raga for his heart wrenching ‘Nenendu vedhakudura’!

ravir, do you mean to say that Thyagaraja composed nEnendu vedakudureA in tarangiNi and not in what we call karNATaka begAg?