M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

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pattamaa
Posts: 749
Joined: 22 Nov 2009, 10:24

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by pattamaa »

thank you so much, i might have lecture with me, what does he talk about ?

please do keep posting !!! we can't be silent as silence is essentially his music ! meaningful pauses !! ahaa... besh besh...

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by varsha »

PART OF one of his few lectures on Tigers Music at Vani Mahal

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Varsha: Thanks for the MDR speech clip. Forumites who are vidyarthis need to follow MDR's observations. Labored and leisurely the pace might be there is perfect sruthi alignment.Shows great respect and reverence for his Guru Tiger Varadachariar. That Tiger was very sparse and miserly in commenting/applauding performers till he is satisfied that it is no mere flash in the pan has been corroborated by no less eminent a person than Lalgudi Gopala Iyer(LGG-Father of Lalgudi Jayaraman). An anecdote which my late Father told me about an interaction between LGG and TIGER(having heard it from Gopala Iyer himself:

It seems when LGJ was about about 13 or 14 and got one of his early chances to play in Thiruvaiyaru festival,LGG was eager that Tiger(who had not heard lGJ play before) should listen and offer comments. Tiger initially demurred and tried to downplay LG's request using some excuse or other. Finally due to LGG's persistence,he agreed to listen to LGJ's playing. LGG was expecting after the performance that Tiger would volunteer his opinion. Tiger was mum and despite repeated prodding's from LGG would not say one way or other. Finally when Tiger was about to leave Thiruvaiyaru,LGG accosted him again and asked what he thought of the performance of LGJ. Tiger after a brief pause commented in Tamil ;IPPO ENNA AVASARAM"--(Where is the hurry meaning LGJ has to "marinate" before expecting plaudits).
LGG I believe told my father how right Tiger was in his assessment and that's why he (LGG) was so particular that any showers of praise on LGJ by admirers be completely preempted. It seems after a performance by LGJ the next day LGG would wait at his house entrance and if he sees any of his acquaintances at the end of the street walking towards his house -- presumably to inform how LGJ had played the night before-- would preempt the visitor from complimenting LGJ profusely saying it should not go to the young man's head!!!

Likewise LGJ was also sparse in his praise of "prodigies" brought before him till such time he was convinced it was genuine.

There is something to be learned from these anecdotes that false ill-informed and premature praise can be more detrimental to a musician's progress than harsh but true criticism without bias or prejudice.

Unfortunately MDR like his contemporaries--KVN,Ramnad Krishnan,TMT--happen to form the next generation following the ARI-CHEMBAI)MUSIRI_SSI_GNB_MM ALATHUR GENERATION who dominated the music scene till the early sixties(by that time MDR et al had been in their forties--so that in their formative years their chances were scarce. Unfortunately MDR died young--so did Ramnad Krishnan.

There is so much one can learn from MDR--be it tradition or sincerity or Guru Bhakthi.

VARSHA thanks again for the clips.

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by varsha »

It was my pleasure , Sir .

kvchellappa
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Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by kvchellappa »

MDR is specific that raga and sahitya meaning must mesh together in singing; the current 'greats' differ!

MaheshS
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by MaheshS »

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote: the visitor from complimenting LGJ profusely saying it should not go to the young man's head!!!

Likewise LGJ was also sparse in his praise of "prodigies" brought before him till such time he was convinced it was genuine.

There is something to be learned from these anecdotes that false ill-informed and premature praise can be more detrimental to a musician's progress than harsh but true criticism without bias or prejudice.

Unfortunately MDR like his contemporaries--KVN,Ramnad Krishnan,TMT--happen to form the next generation following the ARI-CHEMBAI)MUSIRI_SSI_GNB_MM ALATHUR GENERATION who dominated the music scene till the early sixties(by that time MDR et al had been in their forties--so that in their formative years their chances were scarce.
Off topic, mods, feel free to move this,

So where is the line between encouraging / appreciating and premature praise? For example, your own comments from Aiswarya's concert goes against everything you say above.
It was an excellent concert --both myself and Nirmala were amazed at how fast she has improved. The repertoire of songs--vintage MS Amma's--the lalitha alapana, the Annamacharya pieces--Kamas,shanmughapriya--were all rendered with sensitivity(it is amazing how from hearsay she has imbibed the best of her Great Grandmother--Radha has done an awesome job to train her in the true spirit of the MS Amma Bani--the voice was pleasing and the sruthi suddham was perfect. As Nirmala put it, to mount the stage as MS Amma's Great Granddaughter(with all the expectations associated with it) itself is a herculean task, Even the pleasing appreciative nods at Narmada for her execution-- were reminiscent of MS Amma. Aishwarya's stage persona matched Radha 's and MS Amma's--no fuss. At every step it was evident Aishwarya was coached superbly by Radha.( Cienu, I was eagerly awaiting the meteoric flash sangathis in the Kamas and Shanmughapriya pieces that Radha used to launch,but Aishwarya downplayed it in deference to her mother-in-law!!!! ). Aishwarya will go places with her passion,sincerity and wariness of being the torch-bearer of the MSS tradition--not an easy legacy to inherit and transmit.

hnbhagavan
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Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by hnbhagavan »

It is my experience that those who are in great lineage and especially in the case of Aiswarya,praise and encouragement is plenty.Some times due to intimacy with the parents of such children,people give more credit than due.The same thing will not be the case to another equivalent artist with no lineage.
Perhaps in older days this was not so mainly because the publicity was difficult and also due to very strict evaluation.
I request you to excuse as this thread is not related Sri M D Ramanathan-the topic.

CRama
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by CRama »

pattamaa wrote: please do keep posting !!! we can't be silent as silence is essentially his music ! meaningful pauses !! ahaa... besh besh...
Meaningful pauses- There is a very good book titled Meaningful pauses on MDR compiled and edited by Madhu Vasudevan. It has got articles on MDR by UKS. T.N.Krishnan, Mrs. MDR, Vellore Ramabhadran, B.V.Raman and Lakshmanan, T.R.Rajamani, Prine Rama Varma, Krishnamurthy (ardent bhaktha of MDR who conducts MDR Remembrance day every year in Tripunithura) 232 pages in good lay out, paper and print, costing Rs.550/- Published by DCBooks, Kottayam.

Sivaramakrishnan
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Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 08:29

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Sivaramakrishnan »

Though I have not come across the book, I understand from CRama that it was published some 6 years ago. All articles are in English (many of them translations).

I wonder why it has not received wide attention.

pattamaa
Posts: 749
Joined: 22 Nov 2009, 10:24

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by pattamaa »

i do have the book, i used the title of the book deliberately !! i need to hunt for the book, may be someone took it from me :(

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by rajeshnat »

Can some one share MDR singing Deva deva kalayamithe - I have heard other mmg numbers of MDR like meru samana but not this. ??

advaitin
Posts: 103
Joined: 07 Dec 2010, 18:05

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by advaitin »

https://www.mediafire.com/?6rcq6f8ac8wczw6

lovely music, with some humor in between

Sivaramakrishnan
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Joined: 02 Jan 2010, 08:29

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Sivaramakrishnan »

varsha wrote:PART OF one of his few lectures on Tigers Music at Vani Mahal
What about the remaining parts?

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by varsha »

PART OF one of his few lectures on Tigers Music at Vani Mahal
corrected to
PART OF one of his few lectures on Tigers Music at Vani Mahal that has survived
Remaining parts not available with me, :evil:

I can compensate with a lecture at IFAS though ;)

sweetsong
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Joined: 29 Nov 2009, 16:48

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by sweetsong »


SrinathK
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Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by SrinathK »

M.D. Ramanathan's style is like that of a meandering river, a free spirit going right where the inspiration took him. From a rasika's point of view, MDR is a musician's musician and it is not so easy for even habitual listeners of CM to warm up to his style. It was my teacher who gave me a big set of MDR and told me that I must be able to listen to his music. It was unlike anything else at first, it was a test match to listen to him. I mean just listen to this 1 hour long recording of Begada : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVW2KwLk42U

Eventually I realized that beyond those meanders, those eccentric groans, sometimes wandering off to break the fourth wall and explaining stuff to the audience and sometimes extreme tempos (sometimes MDR despite being known for his slow tempos would go blitzkrieg on a krithi that could be sung more leisurely), MDR was a truly extraordinary musician who basically floated in a world where only music seemed to exist and the experience of "nadam" was above everything else -- his music was otherworldly and the usual rules and expectations wouldn't work with him.

My grandfather would also comment on the greatness of MDR's music and tell me how he had seen the respect with which accompanists would follow him. The wealth of what you could get from listening to him is invaluable to a music student, but it is not for the impatient rasika whose attention span is only a few minutes.

MDR was one musician whose level of "rakti" in his raga singing was in a class of it's own. The raga literally felt like it came alive. His unique bass voice with great power and range is a one of a kind thing, I don't think we're ever going to get that again in CM. But again, the raga bhava and colours of gamaka that he brought in his singing is incredible.

He is also a prolific composer. I also began to appreciate his creativity as a composer after I heard his own chittaswaram in kEdAram for Thyagaraja gurum AshrayE -- never heard anything at that level except the Pancharatnams. I could go on and on the more I keep listening to him....which I should be getting back to without further delay. :ugeek:

dipukaruthedam
Posts: 37
Joined: 19 Jan 2016, 13:04

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by dipukaruthedam »

Not sure if the below links is already shared here. Anyway, sharing it

https://shankarkrish.wordpress.com/musi ... amanathan/

Quite a large collection of concerts.

Just listened to the one titled "With Chalakudy Narayanaswamy & Umayalpuram Sivaraman - Listening to his bhairavi swarajati in this specific concert today is as enthralling it was almost 30 years ago". As commented already in that page, the Bhairavi alapana is something out of the world! Can't get over it at all! Try for yourself :-)

varsha
Posts: 1978
Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by varsha »

indeed !!!
mdr .. a thousand years from now , any mdr recording will unfurl as though it is about to happen.
such a nascent quality to him.

K Nagarajan
Posts: 138
Joined: 09 Jul 2015, 22:19

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by K Nagarajan »

I saw a reference to a 1955 concert of MDR in the comments by rasikas in the website given below.

Is this concert available in the public domain?

https://shankarkrish.wordpress.com/musi ... amanathan/

CONCERT: MD025 M.D.RAMANATHAN
Violin LALGUDI G.JAYARAMAN
Mrudangam PALGHAT MANI IYER
Ghatam T.H.VINAYAKRAM
Date 01-01-1955

Krithi Ragam Thalam Composer Remarks
1 VIRIBONI – (V) BHAIRAVI (20-J) ATA PACHIMIRIYAM ADIAPPIAH
2 VATHAPI GANAPATHIM HAMSADWANI (29-J) ADI DIKSHITAR
3 NINNU VINAGA MARI POORVIKALYANI (53-J) CHAPU SHYAMA SASTRY
4 BHAJANA SEYAVE O MANASA KEDARAM (29-J) RUPAKAM AANAI AYYA
5 ENDARO SREE (22-J) ADI THYAGARAJAR
6 MOKSHAMU GALADA SARAMATI (20-J) ADI – 2 KALAI THYAGARAJAR
7 R.T.P. SANKARABARANAM (29) TISRA TRIPUTA
8 T H A N I AVARTHANAM
9 SLOKAM RAGAMALIKA
10 KANAKA SABHAI SURATI (28-J) JAMPA GOPALAKRISHNA BHARATHI
11 THILLANA KAANADA (22-J) ADI
12 M A N G A L A M

K Nagarajan
Posts: 138
Joined: 09 Jul 2015, 22:19

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by K Nagarajan »

In the following concert of MDR, the kruthi in the Kalyani raga is not complete.

If anyone has the complete version of the above AIR concert, kindly share the same.

Thanks and regards.

Sri.MD Ramanathan
Sri Lalgudi G Jayaraman and
Sri. Umayalpuram K Sivaraman

1.Vanajasana - Sri - subbaraya Sastri
2.Samajavaragamana - Hindolam
3.Mohanamayi - Yajukulakambhoji - Swathi Tirunal
4.Kamalambam - Kalyani - Muthuswamy Dikshitar (incomplete)

mdrbalaji
Posts: 41
Joined: 16 Jul 2005, 00:02

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by mdrbalaji »

Dear rasikas,

We invite you in celebrating the legacy and music of Shri. MDR on June 17, 2018 at Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore Chennai.

Here are the details of the program.

“Vandeham Varadadasam”
Celebrating the music of Shri. M D Ramanathan

Sound, Music and Meaning in MDR’s art
Special Presentation by
Vidwan Dr. Sriram Parasuram

Sunday June 17, 2018 at 5:15 PM

Vocal Concert by
Shri. Ramakrishnan Murthy
Violin – Shri. Mysore Srikanth
Mridangam – Shri. J Vaidyanathan
Kanjira – Shri. K V Gopalakrishnan

Sunday June 17, 2018 at 6:45 PM

Venue : Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore

bilahari
Posts: 2631
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by bilahari »

Here, MDR elaborates his own composition in khamAs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvmVrEEguqc

A truly meditative experience.

Guruguha24
Posts: 3
Joined: 03 Nov 2018, 22:58

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Guruguha24 »

Do anyone have the clear version of the MD Ramanathan's Navarati Mandapam concert (Accompanied by Lalgudi Jayaraman). recording that I have is muffled one.

Here is list of Kriti that was presented in the concert:

varNam – nATa
pAhi sripathE – hamsadwani
smara mAnasa – darbAr
satatam tAvaka – karaharapriyA
bhArathi mAmava – tOdi
vihara mAnasa rAmE – kApi
mangalam

arunachalampartha
Posts: 3
Joined: 04 Nov 2018, 17:03

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by arunachalampartha »

In the book "Meaningful Pauses", there is a very emotional narrative on MDR, by a certain "RGK". No further details are given of this person. Any idea who this might be?


advaitin
Posts: 103
Joined: 07 Dec 2010, 18:05

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by advaitin »

A lovely 30 off minutes from Prasar bharati archives. Liked it a lot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtApFlYvDGE

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by rajeshnat »

Few days back my mother's appa( grandfather) whose initials go as NSV had his 102nd anniversary. His words to me when i was in my teens was Athilyila Ariyakudi , apparam niraya semmangudi , appappa Flute Mali , apparam ellAthayum vuttutu MDR (Roughly in English he meant in his early years ariyakudi , then lot of semmangudi , few touches of Flute mali then i dropped everything and just stuck to MDR).

My grandfather used to say a lot about MDR especially his yadhukula kambodhi kedaragowlai cluster which i did not know that well then, I am not sure if he had heard this RTP of MDR may be he was referring MDR singing popular swati krithi in yadhukula kambODhi. This is just a 26 min pallavi with no violin return in Ragam . You can get the distinct ragaswaroopam of any raga very likely from only MDR

MDR- RK Venkatarama Sastry- Palghat Kunjumani . Single Raga RTP in yadhukula kAmbOdhi. I am assuming the first musician to sing RTP in yadhukulakAmbOdhi may have been MDR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJKR_NBqBz4

musicofmdr
Posts: 27
Joined: 16 May 2020, 18:36

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by musicofmdr »

Dear rasikas,

On MDR’s birth date (20th May), I am happy to announce the release of a new website dedicated to the maestro:

https://musicofmdr.com/

This site is a humble attempt to list out some of MDR’s specialities with links to audio files which illustrate the point under discussion. I am sure that “MDR fans” will love it, and other rasikas would find it informative & interesting (and some may become MDR fans!) . Do visit, and feel free to comment directly in the site or in the posts here. Your inputs and feedback will help to make it more accurate and better. If you like the contents of the site and find it worth sharing, do spread the word.

Pointers to some of the topics discussed in the site have come from posts in this forum, and I thank members of this forum for that.

There are a good number of audio links, so, block some time during this lockdown and enjoy the great music :-)

#musicofmdr

PS: I am not sure if mdrbalaji is now active in this forum. If not, it would be great if someone in contact with him can share this site with him as well. It would be great to get his blessings and comments.

Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

@musicofmdr
Post #12 may be of help :
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5717&p=88945#p88945

musicofmdr
Posts: 27
Joined: 16 May 2020, 18:36

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by musicofmdr »

Pratyaksham Bala wrote: 22 May 2020, 19:21 @musicofmdr
Post #12 may be of help :
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5717&p=88945#p88945
@Pratyaksham Bala, thank you very much. I was able to share the site information with mdrbalaji using the given address.

#musicofmdr
https://musicofmdr.com/

musicofmdr
Posts: 27
Joined: 16 May 2020, 18:36

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by musicofmdr »

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=34547

This may be of interest to people who are reading this thread :-)

#musicofmdr
https://musicofmdr.com/

Rajan Padiachi
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Jan 2020, 11:47

M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by Rajan Padiachi »

MR Ramanathan , is a true torchbearer of the old order, purely traditional.
i was fortunate to attends his concerts from 1981 to 1985 when i lived in Madras,
i recorded over 27 AIR concerts in that time of whcih two concerts i sat with him in the AIR studio
my Guru MN Kandaswami played mridangam. Vidwan MDR gave me a piece of kalkandu before the recording i tsill preserve that piece of kalkandu till today in memory of that day.
I discoved a rare varnam composed by Great Tiger Varadachariar, great Thana varnam in Bahudai - Adi Thalam, i got the script from my other guru Smt Savathri Rajan in 1982( she was a disciple of Tiger Garu and Veena Dhanammal ) which she got from her mother Mrs Seethalakshmi who was a disciple of Vidwan TIGER, however Tiger never composed the sahityam for it as he died before that. In 1983 My guru MKN phone MDR and asked him about the varnam - he remembered the varnam, and told my guru he will composed the sahityam, shame soon he died as well,
in 1985 i composed the sahityam myself and sent the audio to Smt Savatri Rajan as i was back in South Africa, She very inspiringly approved of it and totaly loved the composition, so as at today we the only family in South Africa that has a varnam of India which India does not have SABASH South Africa , i sang it many times.
i remember Balaji his son since he was little.
Thanks Rasikas for this great site.

shreyas
Posts: 251
Joined: 03 Mar 2018, 13:16

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by shreyas »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXzJBrTfkdo

A Mysore Vasudevachar themed concert.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by rajeshnat »

MDR assisting Rajesh with Submain and Main
--------------------------------------------------------
Prelude
----------
Today I had to talk with my family about my maternal grandfather.He listened to a lot of Ariyakudi , then Semmangudi , bit of touch and go with Flute mAli then in his words when i was in early teens he has told me that I dumped every one in carnatic and only stuck with MDR. He and I have discussed about kedaragowlai and particularly he goes gA gA with MDR yadhukulaCalmBodhi.

Interactions were limited and he was in mayavaram, tippirajapuram near kumbakonam then when he came in mid to late 80s i had the interaction. Then i had go out of madras to study college some where else and then he passed away

Also to refresh your memory , once when i was travelling from bangalore to chennai by brindavan or lalbagh express an elderly mama and i picked up conversation ,This is 2005 to 2010 circa. I was talking about MMI and may be bit of SSI , That elderly gentleman had a smile and the train reached Katpadi or so . He was smiling and appreciating my interest in CM, but deep down he was feeling hey you have not listened to that artist . I told that mama sir if I am right your favorite is MDR . That maama got surprised and asked how did you know is what he asked . I said i could see a long silence and smile like my late thatha and i see that with you and I assumed all that is part of being a MDR fan.

What can one say about this phenom MDR . Every thing is corona effect standstill where even cities have some silence and natural charm which was missing . I donot think i am going to ever appreciate MDR say and put in my carnatic vocal trinity zone like MMI-SSI-GNB.But MDR the phenom teaches us how to listen intently and not lose the depth of CM.

Submain- MAyAMAlavaGowlai with T
----------------------------------------------
My kid ditched Dance class after two years and my wife put her in carnatic paatu class. She just sang sarali varisai maaya maalva gowlai . I just now put this song . She ran away, appA is this taatha singing or praying in temple all alone. No I cannot take it . I guess perhaps one has to be born like MKR Sir to like MDR in the first hearing .

All said they say 30 exact minutes a day in yoga and meditation is good . But i think that can be challenged only by this below link

Meru Samaana (R,N,S) - maayaamaalavagowlai - Thyagaraja
MDR , the yogic meditative teacher is assisted by Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palakkad Mani Iyer.(year not known)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oA--tcV_K4

Main- Bhairavi with SS
---------------------------
First of all i had to check if there is a setting as 0.5x like 1x 2x in speed . Personally far more than lower register and vilambakalam, MDR deep baritoned male voice is his prime vehicle. He liberally decides to adjust his voice but nothing disturbs the overall muse . WIth the bhairavi on, the whole house is running away. My kid is wondering what is this. I think this bhairavi swarajathi can be played in all houses so that excess covid fearing folks can go out of their homes .In this swarajathi with so much spacing between jathi and swaras , it is bit like nadaswara vidwans being given lung space by tavil vidwans . One has to give it to this legend Palakkad Raghu Sir playing with such finesse.Through out the rendition I can kind of say the taalam is bhairavi in the able hands of Raghu Sir. Chalakkudi plays brilliantly with no anAvsiyam to disturb the search of Kamakshi grace aided by the voice of MDR. Swaras in bhairavi were not as great as swarajathi, but still well done.

Kamaakshi (NS,S)- Bhairavi - Shyamasastri
MDR , the marathon runner is assisterd by Chalakudi Narayanaswami and Palakkad Raghu(1979 at Indian Fine Arts, Madras)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPkYY5nSBUU

shankarank
Posts: 4043
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by shankarank »

rajeshnat wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:43 MDR , the yogic meditative teacher is assisted by Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palakkad Mani Iyer.(year not known)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oA--tcV_K4
Thanks, I set the speed of youtube to 1.25 and got my madyama-cauka kAlam with full integrity! :D The man is scalable and the music is true to the new speed except the word "raghu" sounded a bit disproportionately quick. :lol: Just wondering what Mani Iyer would have thought if he knew we could vary the speeds like this, knowing what he thought of Mic.s not carrying his original clean sound! :mrgreen:

As regards the Alapana, I got jagan mOhini, some kamalamanOhari and a tinge of vakuLabharaNam all in one go! ;)

musicofmdr
Posts: 27
Joined: 16 May 2020, 18:36

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by musicofmdr »

rajeshnat wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:43 MDR assisting Rajesh with Submain and Main
--------------------------------------------------------
I do not think i am going to ever appreciate MDR say and put in my carnatic vocal trinity zone like MMI-SSI-GNB. But MDR the phenom teaches us how to listen intently and not lose the depth of CM.
Each form of music has its own specialities and strengths, and the same goes for musicians. Within a stream of music itself, there are different aspects that can be enjoyed and a listener may get attracted some parts more than the other based on the inherent and acquired tastes. But, this is no barrier to enjoy and appreciate something unique/interesting beyond one's primary interest. And, as you highlighted, one of the unique feature of MDR's music is the opportunity for a listener to become part of the performance - pace, pauses, gaps, conversations - all of these helps a listener to follow and instantly appreciate the music that is flowing. Listener is not numbed or swept away, but is given space to follow and to "passively" participate in one's own mind (For more details, you can refer https://musicofmdr.com/mdr-elephant-gait/, https://musicofmdr.com/mdr-meaningful-pauses/, https://musicofmdr.com/mdr-dialogues/ etc.)
rajeshnat wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:43 She ran away, appA is this taatha singing or praying in temple all alone. No I cannot take it . I guess perhaps one has to be born like MKR Sir to like MDR in the first hearing .
:) Yes, it is not easy, especially when you have been fairly exposed to the "conventional" way. It needs a complete re-alignment of "listening mindset".
rajeshnat wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:43 All said they say 30 exact minutes a day in yoga and meditation is good . But i think that can be challenged only by this below link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oA--tcV_K4
...
Personally far more than lower register and vilambakalam, MDR deep baritoned male voice is his prime vehicle.
Especially around 1:30, 2:15, 3:05-3:45 etc. LGJ's violin is a perfect partner, mirroring the style so nicely.
And the "takeoff" of the kriti is something you can hear N times and still get goosebumps! Note the way Mrudangam adds to the effect. The whole rendition is a great example of using "sound effects" to the fullest. The impact of the sudden start of the charanam after a long silent stretch is impactful.
rajeshnat wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:43 WIth the bhairavi on, the whole house is running away.
Though the audio quality is not great, a great rendition, as always. Leisurely pace that suits swarajathis also offer MDR plenty of scope to play with swara and sAhitya positioning. Sometimes, they are placed for the "sound effect", sometimes, the placement is to mirror the sAhitya and sometimes, he will be playing with the "speed". Beauty of this can be witnessed in this rendition too.

@rajeshnat, you could also get some inspiration for a "mangaLam anecdote" from one of the items in https://musicofmdr.com/mdr-subha-mangalam/ :)
shankarank wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 13:06 Thanks, I set the speed of youtube to 1.25 and got my madyama-cauka kAlam with full integrity! :D The man is scalable and the music is true to the new speed except the word "raghu" sounded a bit disproportionately quick. :lol:
As regards the Alapana, I got jagan mOhini, some kamalamanOhari and a tinge of vakuLabharaNam all in one go! ;)
Even 1.5x doesn't seem that bad! And I am sure you would have loved the swara placements :)

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rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: M.D. Ramanathan (MDR)

Post by rajeshnat »

today Jan 22, 2024 is indeed a great day for all of us to turn and establish the Lord RAmA that was missing for atleast 500 years. Sachi said in another post talked about pattabhishekam like feeling when he posted MLV in parvathi.

The originality of MDR is so different. When he takes this manirangu krithi of Dikshitar , so much of depth of india's religion and sprituality is explained just through music , even though. i dont understand sanskrit.

mamava pattabhi rama - manirangu - Muthuswami Dikshitar
sung by MDR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv4kAjK ... JoaQ%3D%3D

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