Cleveland Festival 2012 on iCarnatic.org

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 10 Apr 2012, 19:39

Listening to Sriranjani Santhanagopalan's concert. Enjoyed her Evari Maata in Kambhoji

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 10 Apr 2012, 20:18

The redoubdtable Gaytri Girish now with Tamil kritis popularised by MMI, very appropriately for his centenary. She starts with the RitigowLai (what else the ever popular TatvamaRiya tharama). She is following up with the OVK thaye yasoda anotherfavourite of MMI...
Don't miss her!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2012, 22:41

A class act from Gayatri Girish. After our maNiyAna Mani fan VKV's few words, Gayatri, in MMI's honor, sang his favored tamizh kritis with apt intros. She sings with clarity, being sensitive to the meaning of words. Example: with neraval in tAyE yasOdA, she stopped with kai vaLai kulunga at least once, before going on to muttu mAlaigaL aSaiya.
I loved her jyOti svarUpiNi from her rAgam singing to the end, and Ranjani's reply was equally sweet. I bet you would have liked tUkkiya tiruaDi tuNai ena nambinEn!
Her viruttam was very appealing, leading to irakkam varAmal pOnadenna.
A shame, the streaming stopped before she ended the concert. She had just started singing the concluding thiru thANDagam verse kAdi mOdi.

Today's schedule looks like sanyAsam from samsAram

Where do have I the time to attend to my every day work?

After the vINA concert (will listen a bit and run to get the basics done at home and then be back to hear Manimaran, Raji Gopalakrishnan and the grand old (young ) man Srikantan.

The kids (torch bearers) did a fantastic job yesterday. More about it later, and what followed this morning....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Apr 2012, 08:18

Back to the kids performing yesterday. They get better and better every year! They just sang away without any pieces of paper in front of them. When some thamizh professional singers have trouble with lyrics and have to glance at their notes every now and then, the American grown crop amazed us with song after song in tamizh--not in today's tamizh

but in tamizh of earlier times. Let me not forget the quality of the music either. Credit goes to them for their hard work, to parental support and to the teachers. It was a serious, concert-length concert. With the help of equally proficient young accompanists, they sang kruti after kruti of substance--sivakAma sundari, sendil ANDavan, a mega tODi rendering of kArthikEya gAngEya gowri tanayA.
The padams had an added surprise. Was it Bragha? Anyway, we saw a dancer materialize on stage, dancing to the padams...

We could not see the after hours informal session. iCArnatic had trouble with streaming from the hotel, but have announced that they will make the sessions available from the 17th to mid-May . So, missed watching Suryaprakash's speciality last night..

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 12 Apr 2012, 08:48

Manimaran's concert was appealing. He has a pleasing voice with which he sings serenely. It was my favored flavor of an all tamizh (and all tillai) concert. His pUrvi kalyANi svarams were lilting.

Nagai was great support and so was Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan. So far, I have not heard TV playing in a noisy mode at all, and we know how even some stalwarts fall prey to more 'sound'!

I also heard three women's concerts yesterday, all of them individualistic in their own ways. Earlier in the day, Sriranjani Santhanagopalan sang very well, her developing her own style, with the core bearing the unmistakable NSG stamp. I am sure her father's valuable gift to her will guide her, whichever way she's going to sculpt her music.

Soon after, I heard Gayatri Girish whose music I'm fond of. I have already mentioned her concert in my last post and she is another individualistic vocalist.

The third one truly fits the description. Raji Gopalkrishnan is anything but a formula singer.She has such a command over her performance from minute one. I like her voice, her imagination and the rich textures she brings to her music. She expertly handles AlApanAs and svarams. Her svarams and sangathis in Ranjani were impressive. So was the dvi rAga pallavi in mOhanam and jaganmOhini.
Her rich voice sounds as if it has a built-in instrument which can get by without any instrumental accompaniment, so to speak.
Murugabhoopathy is another mrudangist who is not 'sound' crazy and as a result, his playing is always pleasing.

The evening concert of the pitAmahA was all that I expected it to be. RKS is RKS. pattarai mATRuth thangam (twenty four carat gold).
Song after song, his full-throated ease was in display.The concert was rich with traditional rAgams and also rAgams like valaji, garuDa dhvani, vijayanAgari and so on--all sung with zest and strength. Nagai M played finely.

But the two stalwarts on the mrudangam!
Only in Cleveland!
Guruvayur Dorai and Mannargudi Easwaran made it an evening of a memorable duet of mrudangams! They played with joy and of course with their expertise and it was something to hear

vidyaarthi · Post by **vidyaarthi** » 12 Apr 2012, 14:01

Thanks Arasi ji...now in Phoenix.neyveli anbudan.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 12 Apr 2012, 19:41

VVS dubbed Raji as the MLV reincarnation. No doubt Sudha won't mind sharing the Mantle with her. Her performance was spell-binding and her resonant voice as arasi points out does not need any accompaniment like that of MLV. She is also a great teacher and her shishyas will be coming on line soon. It is time that she is recognized by the CM community with the right kind of awards soon. Rajesh could spearhead the move!

icarnatic · Post by **icarnatic** » 13 Apr 2012, 03:19

Dear Rasikas,

What if iCarnatic.org stops all free webcasts, would you miss them? We would like to hear from you.

Regards

iCarnatic.org

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Apr 2012, 04:29

iCarnatic should not be asking us this now, when we have missed listening to most of Nirmala Sundararajan's concert!

I have a 'What if...?'
Is this in jest or is it a threat?
Just kidding, kidding

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Apr 2012, 04:33

Hope TNS's concert is going to be aired from the beginning! That is--when it starts!

icarnatic · Post by **icarnatic** » 13 Apr 2012, 05:40

Hello Arasi,

Smt. Nirmala Sundararajan's concert was webcasted in full. Can you please let me know what sort of issues you had? Hope you are able to view TNS concert now. If you have any issues, please reach out to us via online support ASAP.

Regards

iCarnatic.org

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Apr 2012, 06:40

Listening to TNS now--from the very beginning. No problems at all.

Well, during Nirmala Sundararajan's concert, the off line mode or 'will be back after a brief pause' message was on. The sound came on only for commercials, and that was it.Then the image came on without any sound, but I did catch the tail end of the concert.
Really looking forward to the concerts later once again after the 17th. Hope you will announce the details so that we can catch up. The missed informal sessions which we enjoyed so much last year (live) are going to be available too, I hope.Thanks!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Apr 2012, 08:56

TNS's concert just ended. It was absolutely absorbing. His grand pallavi was a fitting tribute to MMI.

VKV,
I can see tears in your eyes, tears of joy, after vidvAns and vidUshis are honoring him and Palghat Mani (another hero of yours) in music and verse the past several days. We are all happy, and are happy for you! Caught glimpses of you on the screen...

Going back yesterday, the day started for me with Bharathi, Sumitra Subramanian from India (daughter of Jayanthi Subramanian) dancing to Bharathi's Sakthi kUthu: thagath thagath thagavenRADOmO, siva sakthi sakthi sakthiyenRu pADOmO? I loved the way the abhinayam went, and her movements were fluid and refined. Wonder if Ravi could see it. I hope he sees it when they stream the programs again. Wish I knew an smidgen about dance of what he does. I am keen on seeing her again, and the other leading dancers in Jayanthi Subramanian's program on Saturday.

Alamelu Mani's concert, I heard here and there. It was in honor of the centenary of Brindamma. What a sweet voice she possesses!

Then came the two Sugunas to steal my heart away. What a pair they are! Though I've heard them individually several times in person and have admired their singing, this is the first time I hear them together--and what a terrific duo they are! Their vidvat shines, one in the other as it were, and they make a strong pair, indeed. Forgetting for a moment all that they have amassed as singers and scholars in music, let me dwell for a moment just on their singing together.They are a perfect match. With all the contained manner in which they sing, their scholarship unfolding, you also sense the amity they have as musical partners. In all the tranquilizing mood they set, the liveliness of their music comes through. suguNamuthO, the two Sugunas sang suguNamulE, following it up with PUrvi kalyANi, and the mInAkshi they sang together was something I haven't heard sung so well after my listening to MS sing it. Well, it was in honor of MMI who gave the song his own signature, of course.

As if her music couldn't pay enough tribute to the two Manis, Suguna Purushotham the composer came up with the line for the pallavi in kAmbOdi: kuralukkOr madura (i) maNi, viralukkOr mrudanga maNi!

Brinda Amma was celebrated in a lovely song too, and as I was moving around, only heard words here and there--padamAip pADa vandAi BrindA ammA...sIlamAi, tangachi sahitamAi...aparimithamAi, manadukkidamAi...nAvil gamakamigavE....
Hope I got most of it right. I think it was in chenjuruTTi. With all the rAgams swirling in my head, I'm not sure.

It was a most satisfying concert for me...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 13 Apr 2012, 19:36

iCarnatic
Can you allocate more bandwidth for audio so that even if the video is interrupted the audio which is important continues?
The occasional pauses and blackouts are indeed disconcerting..
I notice about 175 watching the 'free' webcasts. Can you tell how many from India? They will watch even ifyou charge a small fee. I wonder whether they can be recorded and watched later by the busy folks. I understand the archived ones are available only for the paid customers. Will the 'free' webcasts also be archived?

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 13 Apr 2012, 20:01

How do you get the FREE broadcasts ?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 13 Apr 2012, 20:48

Sundara Rajan,
Hope you can catch up with the last three days of the festival.Just google iCarnatic.org.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 13 Apr 2012, 20:53

Visit
http://www.icarnatic.org/livefreereg.aspx
and register yourself and then you can watch the free webcast programs.
The program schedule mutatis mutandis is
http://www.aradhana.org/schedule.html
..the ticketed programs are the paid programs...

icarnatic · Post by **icarnatic** » 13 Apr 2012, 21:14

cmlover wrote:iCarnatic
Can you allocate more bandwidth for audio so that even if the video is interrupted the audio which is important continues?
The occasional pauses and blackouts are indeed disconcerting..
I notice about 175 watching the 'free' webcasts. Can you tell how many from India? They will watch even ifyou charge a small fee. I wonder whether they can be recorded and watched later by the busy folks. I understand the archived ones are available only for the paid customers. Will the 'free' webcasts also be archived?

Dear CMlover,

In fact we are webcasting the concerts in two different qualities. The paid customers have an option of choosing a lower quality video option (You will see the option at the lower right of the broadcast window; if you are in full screen mode, you will have to shrink your window first). At lower quality video, the audio quality will be same. Paid users with poor network connections, should consider this.

As of now, we have no plans of archiving free concerts. If the plan changes, we will send an update in this forum and in our web pages.

Regards

iCarnatic.org

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 14 Apr 2012, 10:07

May I get reports on what Shri TNS and Suryaprakash sang (either live attendee or webcast attendee) in the festival and your opinions on how it was?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 14 Apr 2012, 10:44

More about yesterday...
Caught a glimpse of kuTTi (little, cute) Karthik Suresh Iyer, but he was winding up

How did he sing? Later,
from what VVS said, I gathered that he is another off shoot of the Neyveli family!

Had to miss the other winners...

Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath started with rA rAmA iNTi dAka,following it up with a nice kIRavANi rAgam. She has a pleasant sounding voice, having no trace at all of crooning or showing off. I heard her sing smara sundarAnguni in paras finely. Then we were told that she is now learning from Vegavahini!
Wish I had heard more, but folks, I have a life too

Caught Tiruvarur Girish singing a very good bEgaDa rAgam and singing Poochi's manasuna (?) neranammiti with chiTTasvaram.His varALI AlApanai had such fine touches, befitting his school. Swarnalatha's reply to that varALi was inspired. I had a KVN moment with ETi janmamidirA which followed.

Then came our forumite Suryaprakash's concert.

VVS in his intro spoke of another dear forumite VKV, the supreme fan of MMI, and how he was involved a great deal in the planning of celebrating MMI's centenary in Cleveland. VKV had suggested a concert by Suryaprakash to represent one aspect of the greatness of MMI--his dynamic aspect, he said. He added, if Suryaprakash could display one thousandth of that dynamic quality, rasikAs would be happy! An amusing statement, I thought. Those who have heard Suryaprakash more than once would have thought--one-thousandth?? !!

Suryaprakash as expected, started the concert with a ringing voice, with the prelude of the tamburA being sent backstage because it could not be fine-tuned.
Momentum (part of the dynamic quality in a concert), is an assured factor in Suryaprakash's concerts. The concert picks up the minute he starts singing, and does not wane.
His Anandabhairavi rAgam and kamalAmbA was beautifully sung.
sarasa sAma dAna followed, delivered with usual zest.

The ShanmukapriyA RTP had the usual flow of Suryaprakash's presentation of any rAgam. The pallavi line was from the song MMI had requested his dear friend writer Chitti to compose for him, after Gandhiji was assasinated: mahAtmA gAndhi vazhi naDappOm, mA perum talaivar gAndhi vazhi naDappOm, etc. A short rAgamAlikai of naLinakAnthi, kAnaDA, AbhEri...

I was happy when VVS appeared on the stage at the end (he does not speak after a concert if he has already introduced the artiste). Just as I was wondering about his previous statement about the percentage representing the dynamism of MMI, I was happy to hear him say how far the concert exceeded his expectations!
After listening to hours of high quality music and rejuvenating singing from the youngsters--and also cold weather-affected (and some old!) voices, just as in the Chennai season, it was refreshing to listen to Suryaprakash sing in his sonnapaDi kETkum kural (a voice at his bidding). To me, his concert at Cleveland this year, an MMI celebration year, was just the right thing to listen to.

Sreeni Rajarao · Post by **Sreeni Rajarao** » 14 Apr 2012, 20:36

Thanks to iCarnatic.org, I am watching / listening to Smt. Vegavahini's concert live!

(I had planned to be in Cleveland today but had to change plans in the last minute)

suma · Post by **suma** » 15 Apr 2012, 05:35

Vedavalli mami's concert today was outstanding and extremely divine.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Apr 2012, 08:52

A special note to Rajesh from a web-cast attendee

about TNS's concert, as requested by him. I did mention that it was an absorbing concert in an earlier post.
TNS started the concert with the majestic koluvaiyunnADE a nd kachEri kaLai kaTTiviTTadu (the concert took off).
Sri rAgam was etched very well. Sri varalakshmi followed. Then came PUrvi kalyAni with ninnu vinA. A ghana kAmbOdi en suite.
RTP in ShaNmukapriya which was superb in every way. Then came behAg, nIlAmbari and SankarAbharaNam, and he landed back in S.Priya .A super journey it was. The pallavi line: gAna kalAdhara madurai MaNi, and abhinava nandISa laya uttama durai maNi or something close to that to honor PMI. rAgamAlikai and svarams in all MMI's favored rAgams; bahudhARi, kAnaDA, jOnpuri, then S.bhairavi.
NAgai Sriram was at his best, accompanying him. Dorai and Karthick in support...

Rajesh, since MKR was there (you saw his pic with Seshgopalan), he can fill you in on details with authority!

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 15 Apr 2012, 09:16

Any chance of the concert recordings being available?
Also, can someone post about Vid. Vedavalli's concert?

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 15 Apr 2012, 10:33

Thank you Arasi, even though I did not hear any of the concerts, looks that vidwans and vidushis have presented a well thought out presentation. Kudos to each of them

.

Looking at the duration of the concerts in the website , appears most of them had an 1 hour to 90 mins time (no time to even sneaze and cough with no cups of water), to few 2 hour concerts (one can choose to either sneaze or cough and have one cup of water) to very very few 2 1/2 hour concert(you are allowed to both sneaze and cough and also have two cups of water) to the only 3 hour concert which Shri TNS has hit the ground with koluvai unnAde and then gone with the pallavi in shanmughapriya connecting both the mani's

May i also know apart from Smt vedavalli , what Dr Balasubramaniam,Sumitra vasudev presented and how our other forumite V Shankaranarayanan presented his concert and also many others whom I forgot to mention.

smala · Post by **smala** » 15 Apr 2012, 12:12

Sri TNS concert at Cleveland, Apr. 13th is on youtube as a series of video clips. The video is not well done, the audio is passable.

#1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaGp2EkdevM

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 15 Apr 2012, 19:32

Thanks icarnatic!
It was a memorable week as you brought Cleveland to our homes. In spite of minor glitches the webcast was a resounding success. I am sure this will be a constant feature in future with folks flooding to Cleveland in this virtual world. Again this can be a real source of income for the Festival. The performers would know even if there is sparse attendance thousands are still watching.

Hats off to VVS and friends for his informative comments and superb management of the show which is getting better every year. CM is in good hands at NA!

icarnatic · Post by **icarnatic** » 16 Apr 2012, 05:54

cmlover wrote:Thanks icarnatic!
It was a memorable week as you brought Cleveland to our homes. In spite of minor glitches the webcast was a resounding success. I am sure this will be a constant feature in future with folks flooding to Cleveland in this virtual world. Again this can be a real source of income for the Festival. The performers would know even if there is sparse attendance thousands are still watching.

Hats off to VVS and friends for his informative comments and superb management of the show which is getting better every year. CM is in good hands at NA!

Dear Cmlover,

Thank you for your kind words and support. We sure hope your wish " ... this can be a real source of income for the Festival" would come true. In this "virtual world" rasikas have come to expect everything "virtually free". We will continue to do the best we can to bring good quality programs to rasikas home.

Regards

iCarnatic.org

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 16 Apr 2012, 07:36

iCarnatic team,
That was a good pun, but it certainly is no 'fun' for organizers, as you point out.

It's easy to praise and easier to dispense criticism about a huge happening like the Cleveland ArAdhanA. After all, we are armchair rasikAs who have the facility to view dozens of performances from our homes, don't have to worry about a thousand things Cleveland crew has to--from bringing countless artistes from India, organizing every little detail from fetching the performers from the airport, lodging and feeding them, changing the configuration of the stage after every performance, and managing a group of artistes (and at times artistic temperaments?), to name a few responsibilities.

Every year the Aradhana programs at Cleveland are getting better and bigger and the art feast cannot go on year after year without financial support. Every dollar or rupee helps. I was wondering--for every free concert that one listens to, if only the price of a cup of coffee is dropped in the kitty!
As for the webcast, If each person--whether he listened to one concert, a few concerts or a dozen concerts given by choice musicians--realizes that going to a single concert would have meant spending more time and money (add gas money and the price of ticket (s) than the early bird price of sixty dollars we paid for all of the webcast.
Let sponsors give as much as they can (good for them, good for their business), but rasikAs can participate in giving too, whatever they can afford (even a token amount) when the programs are free. if there are a thousand people there--a single day brings in more than a thousand dollars!

When I started going to India regularly to the season, the ticket prices for concerts, after an absence of many years, seemed high. As the prices go up each year, I have this sobering thought: how many good free concerts do I listen to in a single season! Supposing I had to pay to get in every time, paying for one evening concert each day is no big deal--especially since the money I spend helps the sabha in offering free concerts...

I don't want to go on about it, but will share a few more of my impressions about what I listened to and saw on the webcast so far.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 16 Apr 2012, 21:22

iCarnatic!

In this "virtual world" rasikas have come to expect everything "virtually free".

That hurts.
CM Rasikas are not free-loaders
Folks spend thousands of dollars to attend personally at Cleveland and many donate liberally. If the organization is in the red they certainly should invoke support through this Forum and our membership of 6400 will certainly respond and pitch-in for the good cause! That should be discussed in a different thread.

Your services are valuable for stay-at-home CM Rasikas like us who are enthusiastic but could not attend in person. You should provide some statistics about the paid and unpaid audience. I noticed viewership around 130 to 170 peaking at 175 for the free-casts. Don't know about the Paid ones since that was not displayed.

Your advertisement effort was poor! I myself got you about a couple of paid ones through word of mouth rather late who did not mind paying still. If you had prominantly advertised that the programs will be archived and available for viewing later, many more would have subscribed!They may have misunderstood the meaning of livecasts assuming that they should watch on time or else they will miss. Many who could not attend Cleveland due to work and family pressures would have subscribed had they known that watching can be staggered. That is quite evident from the flimsy participation in this thread by none other than myself and arasi. Otherwise there would have been comments pouring from over the globe on some of the sterling performances where the local/visiting artistes have given their best. Whoever missed Vedavalli has missed a golden opportunity of hearing a vintage show as VVS says eloquently " she took us back 60 years!"

You have lot of homework to do!

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 17 Apr 2012, 11:27

Whoever missed Vedavalli has missed a golden opportunity of hearing a vintage show as VVS says eloquently " she took us back 60 years!"

Songlist please! Any recordings?

Javali · Post by **Javali** » 17 Apr 2012, 16:50

Excellent work by iCarnatic team

Kudos to the office bearers for their hard work and passion for music... by the way there are many artists who have performed... any feedback about their performances? (other than those who have been discussed).. Thanks in advance

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 17 Apr 2012, 19:44

Sorry
I don't keep notes!
Once the archive is ready one of our computer whiz can u/l her show on the U-tube.
I enjoyed the Music idols (all of them) performances (All were 'free' concerts!). There was tremendous talent displayed.
I particularly laud Ranjani Ramakrishnan (violin) and Trivandrum Balaji who efficiently assisted the young performers.
Cleveland has become the Gateway for the Carnatic Music Idols!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 18 Apr 2012, 04:16

gardhaba_gana,
CML is right. It was a gem of a concert. Didn't make any detailed notes, but here are most of the items which I scribbled down as I was doing my house work.

An emotive chalamElarA (one of my pet songs).
chinthayE mahAlingam (paras) MD
A lovely rAga AlApanA of a favored rAgam, yadukula khAmbOdi, followed by a favored song=ninnu sEvinchina janluaku PaTNam
nAyaki rAgam...followed by kanukonu perhaps?
EdO theriyAmal pOchchudE in sArangA--GKB

sowkyam, sukham...
Another favored rAgam with alApanA=mukhAri! enRaikku Siva krupai varumO?
Then sAvEri ragam! What more could we want! Sri rAjagOpAla which blossomed into a bunch of svarams.
mogoDochi pilachEDu (Brinda centenary special).

nA jAnAmi puNyam (SlOkam). Oh, so good! (CML, could you give all of the verses, please?).
PD's kELanO hari tALanO in SurruTTi.

One of the best concerts I've heard of Vedavalli. How I missed Nick!
Sumitra Vasudev is such an asset as a student who gives her guru support.

Missed Nick a few days before this concert also, when Sumitra Vasudev sang. Her kIravAni main offered us the rAgam in its essence. I was happy she also sang uruga vENDAmO?, a composition of Ambujam Krishna tuned by Vedavalli.

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 18 Apr 2012, 10:21

arasi m'am: thanks very much. Lucky indeed are the ones who were able to attend. Cleveland is luckier than Bangalore - where we I am hoping to hear Vid. Vedavalli sing sometime. Her music is indeed sublime and elevates one to another plane altogether - sowkhyam as they say. She has a thing with openers - the Mukhatai Kaati, opener that she sang in MA 2010 rings in my ear forever. I hope that cleveland releases the concert - or someone shares it

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 18 Apr 2012, 16:19

Arasi - thank you for your beautiful reports from Cleveland! I was not able to catch many of the programs you and CML were able to watch because of the timing, but finally, over the weekend, I was able to watch the tail end of Smt. Geetha Raja's concert (absolutely lovely tODi), and then, to my delight found that Smt. Vedavalli's concert was also to be streamed (as part of free streaming), so thank you iCarnatic! I did have a question for you...I had to move away from my laptop in the later part of the concert - was the slOkam with its ringing 'gati:tvam gati:tvam tvamEkA bhavAni' sung as a prelude to PD's tALanO? (I guess if that were so, the last rAga it would have been sung in would have been suruTTi).

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 18 Apr 2012, 19:26

Yes it was a beautiful SuruTTi!

arasi
That is picked and adapted from Acharya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavani_Ashtakam

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 18 Apr 2012, 20:56

CML,
Thank you for educating me...

Ravi,
Thanks! Wish I had 'scribbled' more so that I could have shared more of song lists and details of concerts, but as you know, there was barely any breathing time, let alone time for taking care of things at home with non-stop activity at Cleveland. Add to it memory lapses the two posters on this thread experience, given our age!

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 18 Apr 2012, 21:57

Vedavalli mami sang marivere (Anandabhairavi - SS) also (first song?). To me that was the most educative part of the concert - since she avoided the antara gandharam (which almost every other musician uses in that song). As you may know this occurs (when employed) prominently in the svara-sahiya portion of that krithi.

I was fortunate to interact with her later, and I asked her about it (after many moments spent mustering courage

). She said there is no antara gandharam in (presumably classical) Anandabhairavi, and it's usage originated from folk versions only, and later found its way into classical versions too.

The previous day, her disciple Sumitra Vasudev also gave an excellent concert filled with songs that I don't hear often. Main was kedaragowla (vanajanayanuDani valacitivO - T - Adi). She also sang hastivadanAya (navrOj - MD). Cant recollect other songs now.

Arun

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Apr 2012, 01:09

Arun,
Good to hear from you. I missed listing that Ananda bhairavi. Yes, it was as good as the other pieces--but your trained ear picked up her eschewing the antara gAndhAram.

Yes, Sumitra's concert was so satisfying. Several unfamiliar songs for me, but all very pleasing. She certainly is a sure fit for her guru's shoes.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Apr 2012, 05:37

Impressions on a few other concerts I listened to:

Rajesh had asked for news about Sankaranarayanan's concert (another forumite). All forumites made us proud, incidentally. He was scheduled for an eight in the morning concert--just an hour's concert at that

I was happy I didn't have to get ready and drive up to a concert hall that early in the morning!
I hear him every year and he sounds better every time. I heard him during the season too, at Brahma Gana Sabha. Couldn't stay till the very end to compliment him on his singing that day.
His Cleveland concert was so appealing. He started with vakra tuNDa and sang gAnamUrthE next, and very well too. Not easy, at the start of the concert, on a cold morning (as VKV who spoke at the end remarked).
Then came evarikai with a lot of bhAvam. Shankar has a strong voice, and he had good control over it, and delivered his concert crisply.
Next was a riveting AlApanai of the main (khAmbOdi) and the entire piece was energetically sung with feeling, with some MMI touches. He went up and down the scale with ease, not missing out on sowkyam. kANak kaN kODi vENDum, followed by sparkling svarams.
This young bank official balances his books (just an expression, you computer wizards!) and his musical career very well. We have to admire these young men and women who are dedicated enough to music which makes them manage two tough careers very well. Thanks, Shankar, I loved listening to you...

Nagai Sriram is an asset to have as an accompanist. He played for juniors and seniors and for upcoming stars like Shankar and I looked forward to listening to him every time I saw him on stage. As they did last time, R.Thyagarajan (on the flute and on the violin) and Ranjani Ramakrishnan on her violin, worked hard and sweetly at that, throughout the festival...

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 19 Apr 2012, 10:19

Very nice to hear about Vid. Sumithra's concert. I have liked her concerts the few times that I have heard - staying very true to her guru's style. There is something about the traditional way of singing/playing - the experience is so different and satisfying. Indeed big shoes to fill for her!

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 19 Apr 2012, 21:02

Folks: Enjoyed 2 days of bliss @ Cleveland--last Thursday/Friday--caught Surya Prakash,Nirmala Sundararajan,Gayathri and TNS. Will not bore you with details of songs etc(too lazy to recount!!).
TNS concert was out of the world. My impressions:
1.Caught the essence of the main theme of the Festival-the MMI/PMI centenary--the Pallavi(Gana kaladhara madurai mani Abhinvanandiswaralaya mani--kanda jati triputa-2 kalai-chatusra Nadai-eduppu in the ring finger--the purvangam in sarva laghu style reminiscent of MMI and the uttarangam in Misram/tisram style befitting PMI--testimony to TNS's intellect,innovation and flawless execution. Although there were only few pieces rendered in the concert each piece be it the MD krithi in Sriragam(pardon me I have misplaced my notes--the name of the krithi escapes me--was it Sri Varalakshmi?)) or the Ninnu Vina in Purvikalyani-- was rendered with precision and devotion--the Sriragam notable for the scrupulous avoidance of the Alpa Deivatam(a pet peeve of mine with artistes using the Pa Da Ni Pa Ma Ri Ga prayogam in kritjis like Entharo or Namakusuma where Thygaraja has avoided the Deivatham -in many versions of the Sri Varalkshmi krithi in Sriragam I have heard artistes using the deivatham prayogam and I have doubted if MD's original version had that prayogam--anyway nit picking I admit but then what else do you expect from a septuagenarian cuermudgeon like me!!! Forgot to ask TNS about it!! The Neraval in poorvikalyani was imaginative with a judicious mix of nadais in the swaraprastharams without overdoing it(my impression atleast!!)--the ragamalika swarams imitative of MMI evoked fond memories for this MMI fan!!(just substituted the Kapali temple prakaram for the Wientjen Auditorium!!)

Suffice it to say it was a very dignified performance befitting the Arangam and the audience(although I was dis appointed at the less-than-stellar-turnout with the local rasikas missing--the week day excuse is not valid because this was an evening concert).

More on other aspects of the festival later---

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Apr 2012, 04:36

MKR,
Thanks for chiming in! Was nice to see you in the pictures--especially the one where you are deep in conversation with the mahA vidvAn TNS himself.
Please write about the other concerts you listened to and about any dance performance that you took in.
After being elated with the concert of the young torch bearers, I was impressed with the way the young dancers performed the weekend you were there. Most of them did very well in the concert, and i caught the performance of one winner from last year's dance concert. Sherrin was her name.

As for the dance programs from the adults (that I watched), they all were of high quality. The only one which did not appeal to me much was the Andhra Natyam, although it got better as it went along. Valli bharatham stood out, both in dance and the music. Gayatri Girish's singing was just
right for it.
Bhargavi Balasubramanian played very well on the chitra vINA which is not easy! Her teliyalEru rAmA and the nATTaik kuRinji she played were very appealing. Her varALi was a caressing one, couched in soukyam.
I was very keen on listening to Seshampatti Sivalingam at the beginning of the festival. A shame, it wasn't streamed. I made it a point to catch at least a bit of his playing and did, a few days later. It was worth putting things on hold for that.

Two more vocal concerts which I listened to (not entire concerts) were by B.Balasubramanian and Rama Ravi.

B. Balasubramanian's singing made such an impression on me. He sang PatNam's pari dAnamichithE, then (Muthu thANDavar's?) innumoru sthalam, innum oru kOil, innumoru deivam ippaDi uNDO? I just loved it. His tODi (mora beTTithE) was so well sung. So was the pURvi kalyANi rAgam and mInAkshi, except that the two Sugunas had given us an excellent mega mInAkshi and it took the charm away somewhat when we heard it again. I think he sang OsOsi but I wasn't around much to hear it. SringArO vAma bhAgE which followed was a stunning piece, all the nava rasAs of SivA described therein (as he explained).
Rama Ravi's concert was another treat. Her bhairavi and the neraval at vatsamu veNTa in tanayuni brOva still brings a smile to my face. Her panthuvarAli (nIdu pAdamE gati), mOdi jEsE vElarA, part of the khAmbOdi I heard, were all so pleasing to the ears...

Well, now's the timefor me to thank the ArAdhanA committee for their tireless work in staging a phenomenal happening every year. Of course, everything worth its name has room for improvement.
We only got a glimpse of what goes on there on the screen. How many other logistics are involved in a mega production like this! A whole year of planning, coordinating and staging of about a hundred programs--which means dealing with hundreds of individuals from everywhere and of every age!
And the amount of time put into all this by the organizers and volunteers!
I look forward to the next ArAdhanA and wish all the strength and luck to individuals and families who make this almost impossible thing happen every year

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 22 Apr 2012, 05:20

Amen!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 22 Apr 2012, 06:15

arasi wrote:He sang T's pari dAnamichithE

Vageyyakara Arasi
This no is by patnam subramania iyer.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Apr 2012, 07:37

Yep.
RasikA supreme, I've corrected it now. Thanks

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 22 Jun 2012, 09:15

View Cleveland Aradhana 2012-Recordings from Jaya TV..
At....
http://www.youtube.com/user/bagyamananthu41

So far..Nadaswara..Suguna Varadhachari and Suguna Purushothaman-Chitra Veena Shri n Ravi Kiran-Madurai Shri TN Sesha gopalan

I am not sure whether a separate thread is necessary for this..

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 26 Jun 2012, 13:40

If any body desire, they can listen to Neyveli Shri Santhana gopalan, Smt. R Vedavalli and Dr. Shreekantan..
in the above link..