Amrutha Venkatesh: 50 Tillanas

[Sachi_R]

Dear fellow rasikas,
Quietly, every Lockdown day, Vid. Amrutha Venkatesh has been streaming a new tillana from her home. Each a gem, many many unknown to me, so many by composers like Sri. TVG, whom I have rediscovered through her renditions. A total of 50 tillanas!

Here is the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... xJRN95WCt5

Now, what does it take to accomplish such a task? One would have to be assiduous, meticulous, fully focussed and passionate about doing justice to each tillana. A tillana normally comes at the end of the concert, kind of announcing the end of the concert. The rendition is quite often a mechanical affair. Of course great vidwans make a mark there too.

This one-tillana-a-day is quite different. Launching right into the tillana and making an impact (like it did on me) within a few minutes. A breathless affair too. I remember one of Dr. BMK's teaching sessions where he says in a tillana you have to be relentless. No pauses.

The tillanas are mostly compositions of singer composers who seem to want to have some fun. Not your serious composition genre. Not too much verbal architecture. A few simple words in Charanam. But a lot of work in laya and some nice touches in raga bhava. You should be able to imagine a dancer turning, floating or sweeping across, and doing jathis furiously. The mridangam and ghatam/khanjira have a good time. Anticipation is a key aspect especially in BMK tillanas.

I request erudite rasikas to listen and tell us more. I am simply blown away by Vid. Amrutha. Once again.

[sureshvv]

Thanks for the play list. Heard the first two and had to tear myself away.

I disagree that these are "not serious compositions", but you were only looking at the lyrics.

In some ways, these may be harder to learn and execute that many "serious compositions".

At least, the 1st two I have listened to.

The recording quality is also very good to boot.

[Sachi_R]

Yes, Suresh, I meant in terms of heaviness. But I agree many of the tillanas she has sung are almost impossible to carry off. Take that Garudadhwani one for example.

[HarishankarK]

I have been following her posts everyday.
Most of the thillannas are popular once but she has also sung rare thillannas on some days including Rathipathipriya and Thilang (TVG with western solfa notes) and some other beautiful thillannas like Basant Bahar. And BMKs shruthi bheda thillanna.
Every item presented wonderfully and in apt kalapramanam

Two episodes she also did a quiz that was well received too !!

A truly gifted musician and wonderful effort.

Her DD Podhigai programme thillanna in senchurutti by Veena Seshanna I have watched many many times and still go back to it. Not to mention the opening song Sabhapathikku with v. crisp but compelling neraval and swaras

[Ranganayaki]

Amazing feat..

[hnbhagavan]

The various composers she covered are as follows:
Most prominent are Lalgudi Jayaraman,Balamurali,TVGopalakrishnan. Here is the complete list:
Lalgudi Jayaraman - 11
Balamuralikrishna - 10
TV Gopalakrishnan- 7
Veena Seshanna - 3
Mys Vasudevachar - 1
Swati Tirunal - 3
Maharajapuram Santanam -2
Sri Mushnam Raja rao -2
Muthiah Bhagavatar -2
Patnam Subramanya Iyer - 1
MD Ramanathan -5
GNB -1
tanjore sankara Iyer -1
T Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar -1

A total of 50 Tillanas.

[musicofmdr]

Lovely collection. Agree that some of these tillAnas are not that easy! Some of these tillAnas combine laya complexities, special handling of sAhitya & syllables, sweeping swaras/pitches, high energy, rAga bhAva etc. all into one! Thanks to this lockdown gift, was also able to hear some rare ones!

While Amrutha's rendition is lovely, some of these also reminded me of the original composer's versions in parallel(like BMK. MDR, Lalgudi, Santhanam etc which I have heard earlier - those versions are unique in their own ways!) - both were playing in my head at the same time! It was like a "double-treat"

#musicofmdr
https://musicofmdr.com

[rajeshnat]

Amazing feet krithis have words sometimes it is easier to remember words. When every thillna has jathis, just to completely unwind all the jathis in the last 7 days and just get a new one it is quite a mastery. In few concerts that i heard she singing TVG composed thilllanas they were exceptionally good

[makham]

Wonderful offering. I have requested the artiste to offer in a similar manner a varnam a week - 50 varnams over the next one year. These two sets would be a treasure for students of music and rasikad.

[sureshvv]

Any interest in picking the top 5? Not the rendition but the tillana itself.

We can have a nomination phase and a final polling phase.