Sanjay at IFAA, San Diego, 19 Sep 2008

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 21 Sep 2008, 05:33

Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego
Venue: Neuroscience Institute

Vocal: Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Violin: Nagai Muralidharan
Mrudangam: Neyveli Venkatesh

Approximate Songlist:

01. sAmi ninnE (Varnam) - panthuvarAli - Adi
02. vandE mAtharam- kEdAram - Adi (S @ Pallavi)
03. entha ninnE - mukhAri- rUpakam (N @ kanulAra sEvincha, S)
04. nADADinamATA- Janaranjani - mishra chApu (R, N @ thalaguvachEva, S)
05. kAyArohanEsham - dEvagAndAram - rUpakam
06. vA vElavA - thAnarUpi - khanda chApu (R)
07. rAgam thAnam pallavi - kAmbOji - Adi (T)
"shambhO mahAdEva shankara girijAramaNA"
08. nanda thanaya - bAgeshri - Adi
09. thEril ErinAn - kalyAni - rUpakam
10. orumaiyuDan ninadu- viruttam - kharaharapriyA, sAvEri, mOhanam, kApi
Same text then sung as a fast song, nearly like a javali, in kApi
11. kANa vENdum (mangaLam) - Surutti - Adi
12. nijagAdasA - sindhu bhairavi - Adi
13. pavamAna (mangaLam) - sowrashtram - Adi

A day after I landed in San Diego, Sanjay gave a really nice treat. The audience barely numbered fifty at the start, but the crowd slowly gathered midway through the concert (and even then, hardly full). The auditorium is a wonderful environment for a concert, and although big, there is great intimacy between the audience and the artiste in every seat.

Sanjay started with a crisp rendition of the rarely heard panthuvarALi varNam, and followed it up with a beautiful kEdaram, rounding it off with very melodious swaras, especially with the slides from the tAra shadjam to tAra panchamam (which the violinist unfortunately didn't reproduce in his return). The neraval in mukhAri was slow and moving. The entire janaranjani rendition was a class apart, right from the extremely imaginative and melodious rAgam, to the beautiful neraval and kalpana swaras. kAyArOhanIsam was a nice filler before the really elaborate AlApanai of thAnarUpi (which he thankfully announced, because I could only tell the swaras and that it was one of the first 10 melakarthas). To Sanjay's credit, his rAgam rendition brought out the beauty of the raga and the phrases were carefully woven (when it might be easier to just take permutations of the notes in the scale and perform aggressive brigha-centric gymnastics). I personally felt the krithi rendition seemed incomplete without swaras.

Given from the latest reviews, I was expecting an RTP in some rare vivAdhi or a HindusthAni raga, but Sanjay chose a major raga like kAmboji instead and it was yet again a masterstroke. The alapanai was thorough, spanning all the octaves, and used some rarely and never heard phrases (the organiser later said he used PMRS and SRPMG), but he was smart enough to use these phrases in quick succession with more traditional phrases, so the essence of the raga was never lost (but innovation definitely came at the cost of the aesthetics in this rAga rendition). The thAnam, too, had some atypical phrases and was a stunning display of manodharmA. Although the pallavi was simply set to Adi (with eduppu on the little finger), Sanjay sang it with so many combinations (elaborate tisram and I think, khandam demonstrations of the pallavi), and the whole team enjoyed themselves tremendously during this exercise (at one stage, Sanjay would finish the swaras at the eduppu and cram the whole pallavi in two and a half and then three and a half beats, a challenge the violinst and mrudangist responded to very well). The swaras were sung in a slower madhyama kAla and there was no cracking rapidfire kOrvai, and there was a wonderful serenity about the whole swara segment of the RTP, and the thani continued in the same vein appropriately.

Some rare Tamil songs were sung at the end of the concert, and the audience especially enjoyed the viruttam (if it can be called that) where Sanjay reproduced a line asking for more paNa or poruL nidhi, and then sang about a singAra chennai, both of which had the audience in splits.

Nagai Muralidharan did a wondeful job on the violin and he and Sanjay fed off each other regularly, especially during the swara portions. He was up to literally every single challenge and came up with some original responses during the alapanais (his thAnarupi was wonderful). I do think, however, that he missed some tricks in the kEdAram and jananranjani, where he could have emphasised more of Sanjay's innovative phrases. I also wish he had provided more complementary mandra sthAyi accompaniment, especially during the krithi renditions. I always think this is a vital trick in accompaniment, and when used appropriately, can work magic.

Neyveli Venkatesh has a very soft touch on the mrudangam, and sometimes I couldn't even hear him over the other two. His anticipation was quite good, and his responses to Sanjay's mathematical variations were also nice. I think Sanjay's aggressive style is well complemented by more soft accompanists like Arun Prakash and Neyveli Venkatesh. His thani was also very creative, including two beautiful minutes when he just played on the left side.

The organizer praised Sanjay a bit too much at the end, telling him it's time for his Sangeetha Kalanidhi, which prompted Sanjay to plead him to stop. However, there is no dispute that yesterday's concert was a wonderful one, and that Sanjay is indeed one of the genuine stars of CM at the moment. Also, kudos to the organizers for continuing to organise so many concerts in San Diego, where there isn't a substantial audience base, and for doing it so efficiently (and at a reasonable cost as well!).

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 21 Sep 2008, 07:24

Why the reason for the poor attendance? Was it because of the Friday night?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 21 Sep 2008, 09:50

The next one is in San Jose this weekend. I am guessing It will be an entirely different story there, similar to his season concerts in bringing in crowds.
Yes, Friday could have been a factor, and I wasn't even expecting a review since there isn't that much of a CM oriented crowd there, I think. It is possible that the venue was too far away for some, and since it was a work day, some did not think they could reach there in time.

Bilahari,
How did you end up in San Diego? I have a feeling you do not live anywhere near there. Am I right? Nice review. Thanks. It is nice to hear an RTP in a ghana rAgA too, once in a while! Crowds or not, the concert seems to have been a satisfying one.
Reminds me of old Hollywood movies where they would show a musician's successful tour--by old fashioned trains of course--with city names, speeding wheels on track, newspapaper headlines and so on! There is a lot of coverage of Sanjay's US tour this year. Let alone list-monging ( a good hobby, after all), there are lots of reviews of Sanjay Subrahmanyan's concerts on the forum at the moment, covering his tour in the US...

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 21 Sep 2008, 09:56

bilhari,
5.kAyArohaNEsham?
7. shambO mahAdeEva shankara girijAramaNa
10. Was it'orumaiyuDan ninadu tirumalraDi'?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 21 Sep 2008, 12:21

Thanks Bilahari for keeping up the momentum on the attention Sanjay's tour is getting on this forum - do wish other artistes also got some coverage but maybe it is a testament to Sanjay's popularity that he is grabbing all the attention at the moment! Surprised to note though, that the attendance was below par...

Sami Ninne is the standard adi tala varnam that is taught in Pantuvarali...was this some other version or did you mean that it is not often sung in concerts?

On the unconventional phrases - it is true that a Sanjay alaapanai almost always brings out some rare facet and there is a lot of melodic experimentation which reminds one of Voleti...purists often complain about a scalar approach to ragas but I often wonder whether that is not exactly the path that the inquisitive musician ought to take...

Look forward to the update on the San Jose concert as well...

jananee · Post by **jananee** » 21 Sep 2008, 15:46

Bilahari..how come you are in San Diego? Have you moved or on a visit?

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:33

I have finished my mandatory army service in Singapore and moved to San Diego for university for the next three years. That's where the reviews will be coming from hereon!

Punarvasu, thanks for the corrections for the pallavi and KAyAro, but I'm not so sure about the Orumaiyudan. Does part of the song describe Chennai (the last part)? Are there lots of references to "nidhi vEndum?"

As for the poor turnout, maybe Friday evening had a lot to do with it. As a result, working families from LA and OC probably couldn't drive down in time (there are massive jams on the highway on Fri) for the concert, and San Diego by itself hardly has a sizeable CM audience. But congratulations to the organizers for trying so hard to get artistes in SD year round, and to artistes like Sanjay for maintaining a high standard despite the obviously subpar turnout.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:40

Mandatory amry service...wow Bilahari, that must have been some experience!! All the best for university and hope to keep getting your reviews from the bay area!

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:40

Also Vijay, I meant that I haven't heard this varnam (though a common varnam) in concerts that much (my first live experience, in fact, though that's not saying much). And as for a scalar approach, I've heard some artistes do a very technical, almost systematic, alapanai with such ragas, and personally, I think that might be amenable for a private practice session to help the artiste experiment and pick out the more melodious combinations and phrases to present in a concert. But that's just my view.

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:49

bilahari, yes it says nidhi vENdum, unkruNai nidhi vENdum, darumamigu kandakOTTatthuL vaLar etc; unfortnately dont remember the full words.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:51

Punarvasu, that is the song then. Who's the composer? I liked it very much. Vijay, not many nice and decent things to say about two years of conscription, but at least it gave me time to listen to plenty of CM and start learning the violin!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 21 Sep 2008, 22:56

I do agree that Sami Ninne is relatively rare on the concert platform pretty much every performer must have learnt it. Sami Ninne, the Sankarabharanam varnam also gets relaitvely less air time (quite possibly because of the much grander Ata tala varnam in the raga)...

Oh I am all for melody too, but quickly tire of artistes propping up cutchery after another on the same hackneyed phrases (and sometimes the same hackneyed ragas/compositions). To me that is just creative laziness masquerading as tradition. Althought I do admit that any alaapana has to rest on the foundations laid by the kritis/mahavidwans, what I admire in artistes like Sanjay is their attempt to stretch the canvas within the limits of the scale - the thought they put into their music is so apparent...Of course, novelty is not synonymous with aesthetics - that calls for an additional dimension called artistic judgement.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 21 Sep 2008, 23:23

orumaiyuDan. rAgA: kApi. k/cApu tALA. Composer: Ramalingasvami.

1: orumaiyuDan ninadu tirumalaraDi ninaikkinra uttamar tam uravu vENDum
2: uLLonru vaittup-puramonru pEshuvAr uravu kalavAmai vENDum
3: perumai peru ninadu pugazh pEsha vENDum poimai pEshAdiruttal vENDum
4: peru neri piDittozhuga vENDum mathamAna pEi piDiyAdirukka vENDum
5: maruvu peNNAshai marakkavE vENDum unai maravAdirukka vENDum
6: mati vENDum nin karuNai nidhi vENDum nOyaTra vAzhvu nAn vAzha vENDum
7: dharmamighu cennaiyirkk-anda kOTTattuL vaLar talamOngughanda vELE
8: taNmukhat-tuyya maNI uNmukha shaivamaNI Sanmukhad-deivamaNI

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 22 Sep 2008, 00:32

Thanks Lakshmanji; We have a lot to learn from you in promptness.Thank you once again.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 22 Sep 2008, 01:21

Thank you very much, Lakshmanji.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 22 Sep 2008, 04:10

Bilahari
Thanks for the review. Sounds terrific.
I am now looking forward to the season 2008 and in particular Sanjays concerts. There never seems to be a dull moment in his concerts.
Kamalamba

PS: Good luck at UCSD.

jayachAmarAja · Post by **jayachAmarAja** » 22 Sep 2008, 04:48

mohan wrote:Why the reason for the poor attendance? Was it because of the Friday night?

The turnout was not poor (for starters, SD has a much lower south indian population than say LA or the Bay Area), in fact, i thought it was very well attended (Sanjay has sung here in the past @ the Shiva-Vishnu temple, and not even one half of the number of people who attended this Friday could fit into the temple; so at the very least, the number of attendees hasdoubled/ increased over the years)

arasi wrote:since there isn't that much of a CM oriented crowd there, I think

Not sure how one would "quantify" CM-oriented, but when 10 year old kids can sing O Rangasayee with its myriad sangatis <b>flawlessly</b>, and participate in group presentations of the Lalgudi Pancharatnams, then i would certainly be compelled to disagree with the above statement (unless of course, one is only taking about numbers, in which case, i have no complaints; but please see previous point..)

In any case, Sanjay's concert was a gem ! Each piece was superbly rendered..

for me, the highlight was the pallavi of the tAnarUpi composition.. just to hear Sanjay sing the opening words "vA vA vElavA" with so much feeling and the composition with such aplomb made my day..

the "viruttam-style" orumaiyuDan was another brilliant effort.. Sanjay sung the viruttam lines with several embellishments.. for eg, IIRC, the line mati vENDum nin karuNai nidhi vENDum was sung variously including as "kaRunai peRa varam vENDum" followed by just "perum varam vENDuM" with the pun on peRa/perum.. similarly as he was singing dharmamighu cennaiyil, he smiled impishly and added singaara cennaiyil.. tEril ErinAn was yet another beauty.. both these were sung in the same order and similar manner, it appears, as listed @
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=5967

throughout the concert, Sanjay's supreme confidence (and therefore the seeming ease with which he sang) and total involvement, his spontaneity and also the camaraderie among the artistes were all on evident display.. and of course, this would not be possible without such good accompanying artistes.. what to say of such senior vidwans like Nagai Muralidharan Sir..

all in all, mogambo khush hua..

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Sep 2008, 09:27

jayachAmarAjA,
I meant CM-oriented crowd in the sense of 'quantity'. There are a number of youngsters and grownups who are very much into music in your area as it is elsewhere in the US. Now i am talking of quality!