Sanjay at South India Fine Arts, San Francisco Bay Area

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 22 Sep 2008, 00:51

Sanjay - Nagai Muralidharan - Neyveli Venkatesh

1. Sami Ni Rammanave - Pada Varnam - Kedaram - Tiruvottiyur Thyagayya
2. Sattaleni - Naaganandini - Thyagaraja (S)
3. Nannu Vidachi - Reethigowla - Thyagaraja (R)
4. Siva chidambarame - Nagaswarali - Muttuthandavar (R,S)
5. kAyArohanEsham - dEvagAndAram - rUpakam
6. Koluvamaregadha - Thodi - T (R,N,S,T)
7. Aarukkum adangadha - Begada - Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar
8. RTP - Bhagesri - Tisra Triputa
Pallavi - "Ka Va Va Vala Va Then Pazhani malai urayu Muruga"
Ragamalika Swaras - Hameer Kalyani, Sahana, Varali, Sri

I had to leave after the Thani. Someone can fill in the rest of the songs.

Sanjay was returning to the Bay Area after two years and a good-sized crowd turned up with great expectations. After a breezy Kedaram varnam, where he handled the S-P-S phrases beautifully, he launched into Sattaleni in a sprightly manner. Sanjay's expert handling of vivadhi ragas has been widely discussed here and I shall refrain from singing his glory on that aspect here. Suffice it to mention that as someone who enjoys vivadhi ragas, I loved the way he projected the raga rather than just going up and down the scale.

The Reetigowla alapana that followed next had the right 'pidis' (phrases?) and Nannu Vidachi was rendered well. I like his exposition of this krithi better than the other Reetigowla krithis that I've heard him sing. I would love to say that the Nagaswarali alapana was awesome but can't since I didn't recognize the raga, having never paid close attention to the filler (Sripathe niPada)s

that I've come across. When he started Siva chidambarame, I was curious to find out the raga and searched from my phone and the first search result was http://rasikas.org/viewprintable.php?id=5730

The krithi list matched very closely with his Hyderabad concert in May. After he started Thodi, my interest wavered. Unpredictability is one of the aspects I enjoy in Sanjay's music and to see the concert list reproduced was a bit of letdown. But the artist is not to blame, given his tight schedule and also the fact that I was not present in the other concert. Moving on from my whining, I actually enjoyed the Thodi alapana which had a different hue to it. The neraval was good but seemed to have been cut short. The swara prastharas had some interesting passages with a few kanakkus centered around M P D. I will not embarass myself further by discussing about the thani but again, as with the other parts of the concert, it had the right phrases and Venkatesh did a fine job of keeping the tempo alive.

Sanjay brought out his famed Bhagesri RTP next and showed us why it had become popular . He deftly managed to retain the delicate nature of the raga without Hindustanizing it and not moving away from his alapana-rendering style. The thanam and the pallavi were good. As with the neraval, the Pallavi was rationed inexplicably. A note about Nagai Muralidharan's playing. In my opinion, it was probably not his day. The violin sounded squeaky at times and his responses were nothing to write home about.

I had to leave at this point having made other plans for the evening. Overall, it was a satisfying concert in my opinion but definitely not the best of the season. The best was probably TM Krishna's followed closely by Mysore Nagaraj and Manjunath two weeks back.

komalangi · Post by **komalangi** » 22 Sep 2008, 06:07

Sripathi, I am quite impressed that you remembered a concert list from a few months back. I am also impressed that you let a concert list decide whether you will feel letdown or not. I am most impressed by the fact that you liked Krishna's concert. I especially liked Krishna's song list as well since they were mostly inspired by Sanjay's list . Song lists can make or break a concert for me despite how well or badly they are sung.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Sep 2008, 09:04

Sripathi,
Thanks for the review and the song list. Wish you had stayed on and had listened to the rest of the concert and had given us a complete list

Komalangi,
As someone who used to wonder why folks were so particular about a song list, I gradually came to realize the value of it. To me, it meant getting familiar with the krutis, rAgAs and composers I had no idea about, and in refreshing my memory about certain long-forgotten songs. And there it stops, and it should, in my view. Beyond that, a list has no value.
In Sanjay's case, a song list helps us, because he does not sing the same old songs in every concert. One of the several reasons his fans look forward to his concerts is his choice of rAgAs and songs. But then, the list fades to the background and the way he handles them becomes the focus. A busy musician singing a few songs of what he sang three months ago in a concert one attended does not matter. There have been dozens of concerts he has given during that interval with a variety of other songs--well known and unfamiliar ones--sang a particular rAgA in different ways. If we asked, 'you sang a hindustAni rAgA yesterday, why not today?', the performer could ask us, 'why were you not there yesterday when I sang it?'.
However innovative the artiste, a judicious mix of the known and the unknown items in a concert is the way to go. In that department, Sanjay excels.
Sripathi mentioned that Nagai was not at his best yesterday. It happens to all performers, some time or other. It happens to rasikAs too for that matter, as to how receptive we are on that day.
The interesting thing is, Sanjay 's involvement in his music comes through, whether it is a standing room only concert in a huge hall or a small hall in a remote venue.
By the way, I have heard Sanjay sing nannu viDaci, and would like to hear it again...

yadugiri_nivasa · Post by **yadugiri_nivasa** » 22 Sep 2008, 22:05

While I am a big rasika of Sanjay's music, the Bhagesri RTP was a let-down. We have paid and bought tickets to listen to a Karnataka Sangeetha concert. While he did present pure CM pieces, and while I do not want to get into a HM/CM contest here, why Bhagesri? Arent there sufficient ragas in the CM world for an RTP that we have to go for a borrowed raga?

ps: In a HM concert, do we ever hear any CM raga?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Sep 2008, 23:41

yadugiri,
I have heard shaNmukhapriyA and hamsadhwani in HM concerts. The HM musicians haven't been quick in picking up CM rAgAs, I agree. A pity, since rarely do we hear a CM concert without a tukkaDA at the least, in sindhubharavi, behAg, bhImplAs, jOnpuri or mAND. Who is the richer? To me, it is almost like saying, 'why should there be tamizh (or telugu, kannaDa, malayALam songs in a concert--the language dependent on your preference).
If we are celebrating MSS's birthday this month, we celebrate diversity in CM. She set the tone for embracing all good music, music in languages from all parts of India. The only criterion is quality in music. We need to expand our horizons without sacrificing quality (the oft-used expression is--' without diluting')...

manikand28 · Post by **manikand28** » 22 Sep 2008, 23:56

This essentially puts me off too. I am for sticking to carnatic ragas. HM puts me to sleep easily and I get bored very esaily with hindustani raagas, I guess it is a matter of tastes, my wife likes HM

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 23 Sep 2008, 01:27

I could attend only parts of the concert and enjoyed it very much. I was there for nAgaswarAvaLi, abhEri and parts of tODi. I had never heard the nAgaswarAvaLi kriti before.

Todi was good, and unfortunately had to leave in between

-Ramakriya

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 23 Sep 2008, 09:22

Arasi,

Stumbling upon the concert list during the concert was entirely my mistake but it was more of an accident. Being a die-hard fan of Sanjay and the unpredictability of his music, I was just curious to see if he would change the list. Going to a concert is like watching a cricket match for me. If I already know the result, I might still watch the game to see how it was won but it won't be the same. Anyway, just grumble grumble whine whine.

The Sahana swaras in the ragamalika had some Ri Gaa Ri Sa phrases similar to Mali's Sahana Pallavi - http://sangeethamshare.org/mpmohan/Sri. ... Sahana.mp3 which made it quite enjoyable.

Komalangi,

I didn't remember the concert list. I searched for Siva chidambarame's raga from my phone and stumbled upon the concert review of the earlier concert.

Member_First · Post by **Member_First** » 23 Sep 2008, 09:54

The pallavi should have been " Kaa Vaa Vaa vEla vaa ..'

Sanjose · Post by **Sanjose** » 24 Sep 2008, 09:13

Here is the concert list as noted by my 10 yr old son

9.Mathada baratheno
10. Urilaen Kanni Yillai (Virutham) followed by Brindavanam idhuvo
11. Thillana
12. Maya

Please feel free to add /correct missing information .

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 24 Sep 2008, 22:01

#12 is Maye in tarangini - a dikshitar composition?

-hari

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 24 Sep 2008, 22:10

Wonder if he would have sung the tarangiNi song after tillana; may be 'mAyanai mannu'?

sridharan · Post by **sridharan** » 25 Sep 2008, 03:09

11. Thillana in Dvijavanti by LGJ, I believe
12. Thiruppugazh, might have started with Maya
13. Mangalam

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Sep 2008, 08:35

12: Yes, I guess it is a tiruppugazh verse I have heard Sanjay sing. Wish I could remember all of the first line. It has vIrA, kaTOrA , SUrA and vElA--around which he lingers on for a while. I remember hearing 'AnaikkAvu' before the perumAnE (conclusion). So, it is about murugan In tiruvAnaikkAvu. Was it in jONpuri?

annapoorne · Post by **annapoorne** » 25 Sep 2008, 10:20

Arasi Madam

Is it Malasai kopam?

annamalai · Post by **annamalai** » 25 Sep 2008, 10:28

Malasai Kopam in Jonpuri is a Thirupugaz composed on Lord Subramanya at Viralimalai.

Viralimalai raja perumale ....
This temple on the Trichy - Madurai Road.

This Tirupugaz is also another one Alathur Brothers' classic renditions.

Sanjay also sings some of the other classic Thirupugaz

Paniyin Thuliragave - Chenchurutti
Theruvinal Madava - Surati
Iyal Isayil - Huseni

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 25 Sep 2008, 11:18

As far as dvijAvanti tillAnAs go, Sri Sanjay usually sings the one by Tanjavur Sri S. Kalyanaraman.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 25 Sep 2008, 17:35

arasi: The words you mention are in mAlAsai kOpam.

mAlAsai kOpam. rAgA: mAND. Adi

1: mAlAsai kOpam OyAde nALu mAyA vikAra vazhiyE sel
2: mA pAvi kALi tAnEnunAda mAtA pitAvum ini nIyE
3: nAlAna vEda nUl AgamAdi nAnOdhi nEnum ilai vINE
4: nALpOi viDAmal ArAru mIdil jnAnOpadEsham aruLvAyE
5: bAlA kalAra AmOda lEpa pAtIra vAga aNimIdE
6: pAtALa bhUmi AdhAra mIna pAnIya mElai vayalUrA
7: vElA virAli vAzhvE samUkha vEdALa bhUta pati sEyE
8: vIrA katOra sUrAriyE sevELE surEshar perumALE

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Sep 2008, 20:50

Thanks to all for the clarifications!
Annamalai,
I see the virAli vAzhvE! clearly in the text!

Yes, Lakshman,
This is the song!

I have heard Sanjay sing it in jOnpuri. Is my mind playing tricks?

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 25 Sep 2008, 21:11

He does sing it in jONpuri, arasi

SangithaRasika · Post by **SangithaRasika** » 27 Sep 2008, 00:10

shripathi_g wrote:The violin sounded squeaky at times

Well the violin sounded squeaky too when the team performed in Aurora, IL ! But when I posted my comment I was not sure whether it was just me or anyone else heard it too. But your comments has given some support to my comment.

SR

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 27 Sep 2008, 04:50

I too have heard Sanjay sing Maalasaikopam in Jonpuri. In fact, it used to be my favorite thukkada at one point in time.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 27 Sep 2008, 08:41

Could have been a favorite of some in the audience too. Sometimes an artiste sings what is requested.