Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
Post Reply
kedharam
Posts: 419
Joined: 28 Sep 2008, 23:07

Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by kedharam »

Sanjay Subrahmanyan
S. Varadarajan
B. Venkatesh

Kedaram – chala ninne nammi, varnam, Tiger varadachariar
Saveri - Shankari shankuru, N @ Shyamakrishna sodhari shyamale shathodhari, S
Sahana - shri kamalambikayam, R, N@ karadhrta vina vadinyam kamalAnagara vinodinyam, MD
Thodi – sarasadala, Mayuram vishwanatha sastri
garudadhwani - thathvameruga tharama, T, S
gowri manohari – sarasa sama mridu, ST, S
Thani
Yamuna kalyani – nanda gopala, MD
RTP:
Bahudari
Kandanadi avar enakku sondamadi vanda vinai pera varam arul vadivelanadi, chatusra triputa/kanda
Swara ragamalika in shubha pantuvarali, kanada, jog, Shivaranjani
Kamas – ennamo vagayai, Ghanam krishnayyar?
Desh – lalisudalu magana, PD
Orumayudan –Ramalinga swamigal, hamsanandhi, charukesi, kapi
Mand- pagaivanukkarulvai, Bharathi
Kurinji – engum niraindhirukkum, PS

The concert had its quotient of standards and a few surprises as each piece gave plenty of opportunities to play to Sanjay’s strengths with a solid shared dynamics between the trio as Sanjay rolled out gem after gem.

He opened with a sprightly ata thala varnam, Tiger’s overlooked gem in kedaram, bursting with rhythm buoyed by the melody. It was typical and wonderful...

And Sanjay followed this with Shankari shankuru, an eloquent and affecting rendition with crisp diction enriching the antiquity of the composition, never overstated in its exuberance. Then he molded, ‘Shyamakrishna sodhari shyamale shathodhari', playing with the teeming expressivity and the rhythmic premise true to the conventions of SS and Varadarajan and Venkatesh wafted in by playing with him in perfect tandem meshing to melodic effect leading into sahana…

Sanjay inhabited sahana with impressive command, tapping into the raga's major phrases and letting himself loose in the flourishes. And Varadarajan worked his uncanny magic with probing insight that served as a prelude to Sanjay’s engrossing interpretation of shri kamalambhikayam, MD navavarnam. The defining composition in sahana unrolled, encapsulating its majesty. Then Sanjay with an unerring instinct fixated on the phrase, ‘karadhrta vina vadinyam kamalAnagara vinodinyam’, soaring with majestic richness in making every word matter and interweaving musical and emotional underpinnings. Ornamentation was elaborate yet natural and every phrase he sang was riveting and Varadarajan and Venkatesh subtly shadowed him with soft insistent rhythm. The performance was a miniature master class in the interpretation of sahana/the MD master piece.

Then a potent follow-up in thodi -
His rhythmically lilting take on Vishawanatha sastri’s swarajathi, ‘sarasa dala‘ bristling with elegant swaraksharams unrolled. And it grew in expressive ardor as he summoned penetrating power to fortify the rhythm and highlighting the underlying turbulence of the composer in his measured account while inflecting it with a lilt.

Then the trio hop scotched through the feisty athletic piece in garudadhwani with fluid Western notes/ish grace.
And Sanjay followed this with a little-heard work of Swati Tirunal in Gowri manohari –

With the full power of his voice, Sanjay ascended through the melody, deployed it with intricate details in bursts, giving every note the weight and Varadarajan, found his mooring and whipped up the melody with conviction, echoing Sanjay’s weighty take on the raga charting the journey for ‘sarasam sama mridu‘, a composition he has fostered, lavishing the diction with thoughtfulness. Then Sanjay glided through the rhythmic propulsion of swarams and Varadarajan and Venkatesh were sensitive collaborators throughout cresting with Venkatesh’s thani through an exploration of various permutations with ease.
Then he brought a shift of mood with the towering account of MD, Nanda gopala, infusing it with melody in capturing the emotional contours of the composition beautifully, giving full vent to the lyrics with expressive clarity …

Then came his formidable undertaking of the evening, RTP -

Sprawling in scope, Sanjay wooed bahudari with his voice seizing every note, deftly mapped it by distilling his influences and sculpting the notes on a large canvas and Varadarajn played with clarity and precision exuding vivid imagination, setting the stage brilliantly for tanam.
The multilayered thanam blossomed with seething tension with Sanjay reveling in the crosscurrents of the ethereal melody punctuated by rhythm with fine calibration of dynamics, bringing listeners to cheers and Varadarajan firmly anchored the melody by fleshing out beautiful tones in setting up a foreground for the pallavi.
Then came the pallavi, couched in the deceptively jaunty bahudari and mired in earnestness in evoking the protagonist’s anguish with the text, ‘Kandanadi avar enakku sondamadi vanda vinai pera varam arul vadi velanadi in chatusra triputa/kanda with melody and rhythm in proper alignment, softening the underlying rhythm with melody, with each flourish magnifying the text with playfulness aplenty in the word play. This was capped by a palette of ragas in shubha pantuvarali, kanada, jog, and Shivaranjani in the swara ragamalika as they flew one after other with ease joined by Varadarajan and Venkatesh with an intuitive interplay between them - very much an equal collaboration...

Ramaswamigal swamigal’s deeply poignant anthem, 'orumayudan ninadhu thiru malaradi' emerged with an oratorical bent in hamsanandhi, charukesi, kapi, with melody in tandem with intricate vocalizations in bringing out the dramatic arc of the composer’s poetry …

Bharathi's anguished ruminations on life, ‘pagaivanukkarulvai’ and the ineffably beautiful kurinji rounded out the evening and a hearty ovation capped a wonderful concert...
Last edited by kedharam on 03 May 2016, 06:24, edited 4 times in total.

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

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by rajeshnat »

kedaram
was this a 3 to 3 and 1/2 hour concert.how long was the concert? thank you for your review.

arasi
adi adi adi pallavi . You missed it by a day

Purist
Posts: 430
Joined: 13 May 2008, 16:55

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by Purist »

Kedharam, you made it again. A lovely review. Sanjay must have noticed you before begining the concert,
and off to a welcome 'kedharam' varnam. :)

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by rshankar »

Kedharam - a lovely, typical, and lyrical review...with a concert that started with kEdAram - no wonder your cup did 'runneth' over!
Where's the road trip taking you next??

Can someone explain the phrase 'vanda vinai pera varam aruL' from the RTP? AFAIK, people ask for vanda (and varAda, for that matter) vinai to be removed, not granted...OR am I missing something altogether here???

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by arasi »

Kedharam :)

So, you did make it to yesterday's concert :)

Your review brought to life the atmosphere of the garden state concert. Will there be more?

Missed being there, but a mean streak in me whispers, ah, but we were privy to a four hour concert here!

Precious pieces, each of them--that grand tODi which we were deprived of, then sahAnA, sAvEri :( 'kali kalmasha haraNa' nanda gOpAla of all!

Rajesh,
When an aDi, aDi pallavi turns into an aDa aDA! pallavi? Even that kandanaDi with more aDi-s, I've heard Sanjay singing it gently, without getting carried away (with his exuberance) for the aDi impact. This was a pleasing line too, and I suppose we have to take the word vinai as action (seigai) rather than fate in this context. Otherwise, we can misconstrue the meaning. Ravi, wherever he is, can chime in on this.

Hope folks elsewhere catch the concerts in their cities without their official work taking them away from home...
Last edited by arasi on 02 May 2016, 19:05, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by arasi »

Ravi,
Obviously, our posts crossed!

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by arasi »

In the other (negative) sense, vanda vinai taLLa varamaruLum??

kedharam
Posts: 419
Joined: 28 Sep 2008, 23:07

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by kedharam »

“Where's the road trip taking you next??”

rshankar, not sure. Running on sleep and fuel deficit after driving in brutal rain.
Shooting for a couple more once i align my body and mind :) Fingers crossed :)
The pallavi text I wrote down as he sang.
A bad miss for you, this concert.:(

“Sanjay must have noticed you before begining the concert, and off to a welcome 'kedharam' varnam.”
Purist, i am confident that i continue to be incognito :)

"was this a 3 to 3 and 1/2 hour concert.how long was the concert?"
rajeshnat, it should be around 31/2 to 4 hours, I think. It was kind of a 'made-to-order' concert for me :) So honestly, I didn't look at my watch :) :) :)

arasi, you would have loved it. :(
Last edited by kedharam on 03 May 2016, 01:03, edited 1 time in total.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by rshankar »

kedharam wrote:“Where's the road trip taking you next??”

rshankar, not sure. Running on sleep and fuel deficit after driving in brutal rain.
Shooting for a couple more once i align my body and mind :) Fingers crossed :)
Please do take care...fingers crossed for you, 'bated breath' for us
kedharam wrote:A bad miss for you, this concert.:(
Don't I know it. As it stands, I think I will be in town only for Aishwarya's concert in NYC - I am scared to say it, for fear that even that will get jinxed.

Lakshman
Posts: 14019
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by Lakshman »

ennamO vagaiyAi is by Ghanam Krisha Iyer.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by arasi »

kedharam,
Still dwelling on the pallavi line. vinai tIra, perhaps?

Ravi's right. Doc's order. Rest up! Have to be back at work too, I guess...

Thanks for missing me. FYI, two very kind sets of people offered to take me to NJ for the concert. I was thankful, but it's not practical. The good thing is, I can buy the recording from CMNA :)

Ravi,
Have been disappointed that we haven't had anyone write about Aishwarya's concerts in a while. Hope you do make it to her concert in NY.

MKR,
Wish I could go back in time (ha! fore so many reasons) and in this instance, could have been there with no trouble at all! Hope many tristate rasikAs attend...

kedharam
Posts: 419
Joined: 28 Sep 2008, 23:07

Re: Sanjay @ New Jersey

Post by kedharam »

Thanks Lakshmanji.

Thanks doc :)

arasi, I am pretty sure about the pallavi. I have written it down a couple of times. And they all match :)

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by arasi »

kedharam,
You were right. I see the same words in the caring, hand-written list of a very young fan which Sanjay has retweeted ...

Sundara Rajan
Posts: 1081
Joined: 08 Apr 2007, 08:19

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by Sundara Rajan »

My guess is that the pallavi line would rather be vanda vinai teera (as Arasi mentioned) or vanda vinai ahala. vinai pera makes no sense as rshankar stated.

kvchellappa
Posts: 3598
Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by kvchellappa »

Let me butt in. It may be a mistake, but as it stands it may be interpreted to mean to attain the purpose of our birth. Human birth is for moksha which is not possible conscientiously in other births. So runs Indian thought.

kvjayan
Posts: 62
Joined: 05 Apr 2014, 17:08

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by kvjayan »

kedharam wrote:Sanjay Subrahmanyan
S. Varadarajan
B. Venkatesh

Ramaswamigal swamigal’s deeply poignant anthem, 'orumayudan ninadhu thiru malaradi' emerged with an oratorical bent in hamsanandhi, charukesi, kapi, with melody in tandem with intricate vocalizations in bringing out the dramatic arc of the composer’s poetry …
'orumayudan ninadhu thiru malaradi', perhaps Vallalar's (Ramalinga Swamigal) Thiruvarutpa?

Cine version, sung by Sulamangalam Rajalakshmi in Konjum Salangai:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1e7MhlhwYs

kedharam
Posts: 419
Joined: 28 Sep 2008, 23:07

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by kedharam »

Kvjayan, it is indeed Ramalinga Swamigal’s Arutpa.
I do cringe at these typos :( Too bad I can’t edit.

Aging eyes is my defense :)
One redeeming factor is that in the song list, I have attributed the name of the composer correctly.:)

And thanks for the lovely link :)

mazhai
Posts: 50
Joined: 08 May 2009, 11:18

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by mazhai »

Hello everybody,

Came across this thread when I was looking up the gowri manohari kriti.

Does anyone at all have a recording of this concert? Particularly for the neraval in Sahana (very intrigued about the placement) and for Nandagopala (been wanting a clean audio of this song rendered by SS for a VERY long time, but no luck)

Thank you very much!

-V.

MaheshS
Posts: 1186
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Re: Sanjay Subrahmanyan @ New Jersey

Post by MaheshS »

mazhai wrote: 20 Oct 2017, 21:14 Nandagopala (been wanting a clean audio of this song rendered by SS for a VERY long time, but no luck)
Part 1
Part 2

Post Reply