THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

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CRama
Posts: 2939
Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by CRama »

Sarvani Sangeetha sabha celebrated its anniversary and Thyagaraja Aradhana for five days in the Infosys Hall, Ramakrishna Mission School, Bazulla Road, Chennai. Each day, the respective Pancharathna Kriti formed part of the fare. On the last day, Thrissur Bros presented the concert with Sayi Rakshith on the Violin, Thrissur Mohan on the Mridangam and Nerkunram Sankar on the Ganjira. List of songs.

Sarasijanabha- Kambodi varnam
• Endaro Mahanabhavulu- Sree –T
• Bagayanayya- Chandrajothi- T (R,S)
• Sree Vaidyanatham- Athana- MD
• Nadaloludai- Kalyanavasantham- T (R,S)
• Nan oru vilayattu bommaya- Navarasakannada- PS
• Namam nalla namam- Janasammodini- B.A.Chidambaranathan
• Janakipathe- Kharaharapriya- PS (R,S)
• Tani
• Parulannamata- Kapi- Dharmapuri Subbarayar
• Pahi Ramadoota- Vasanthavarali- T


The concert is scheduled to start at 6.15. As usual, the mike adjustments went on till 6.35 and the concert really took off at 6.35. This loss of 20 minutes in the beginning really affected the concert. The brothers may come sufficiently earlier to have the mike adjustments as by now it is known that they are bound to take much time for this exercise.

The concert had a solemn start with the celebrated varnam in Kambodi followed by the pancharathna kriti Endaro mahanubhavulu. Ragams Chandrajothi, Kalyanavasantham and Kharaharapriya were presented in detail shared by both the brothers bringing out the raga bhavam quite well and in a structured manner. Their voice felicity, jnanam, laya expertise and stage presence contribute a lot in making their concerts much enjoyable. Sree Vaidyanatham in Athana – I have never heard this song. All the kritis were rendered in the authenic kalapramanam and no loss of aesthetics. Namam nalla namam was popularised by Yesudas and later sung by many frontline singers. There was vigour, planning and kanakku in the swara prastarams. Since they lost twenty minutes initially, they skipped neraval for the entire concert. Since it is a Thyagaraja Utsavam concert, they could have chosen a Thyagaraja kriti for the main. The previous day Akkarai Sisters presented a wholesome concert comprising exclusively Thyagaraja kritis.

Sai Rakshith played well- but with some restraint. Thrissur Mohan and Nerkunram Sankar embellished the concert with their long experience and expertise. A very good concert.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by rajeshnat »

vTrichur Brothers@Sarvani sangeetha sabha on Jan 30th,2019
-----------------------------------------------------
Day/Duration: Wednesday, 2 hours and 25 mins
Concert Type : Free and Nirvana
Hall : RKM School North, T Nagar
...
3. Bagayanayya- Chandrajothi- T (R,S)
13 mins alapana and 6 mins violin return
7 mins swaras
...
5. Nadaloludai- Kalyanavasantham- T (R,S)
8 mins alapana and no violin return
7 mins swaras
..
7A. Janakipathe- Kharaharapriya- PS (R,S,T)
15 mins alapana and 7 mins violin return
13 mins swaras
7B.tani for 10 mins
...
11.narayanathE namO namO - behag- AC
12. slokham - sayeeshwaraya + sree venkatesha - madhyamavati

I was also there for the whole concert , crama left before the behag start. Few impressions

# The brothers have this usual gameplan for sound. They say Cut all the feedback , reduce the violin and mrudangam feedback by some percentage, they say 40 percent .Then the sound knob gets down and up to their satisfaction. Usually one brother sings then the second brother, then mrudangam and violin and kanjira and all of this is done. All this takes time , I wish they did this trailer much before then starting at 06 15. The bit fussy point is srikrishna did all this adjustment and then went down the dias and rechecked asking the ensemble to do that again. THe best move is he asked ramkumar to move to srikrishna seating postion and also test it , that sound was actually high and he corrected it. We rasikas lost the muse but I still think what they are doing is right . MY only crib is that they could have done all that before 06 15 pm and started at sharp 06 15 pm. For their sound test they used a yamunakalyani raga and sang few phrases of ninnukOri varnam . They did not use brindavana saranga kamlapta kula krithi to sound test.

# The usually brilliant and very responsive periya annA Trichur Mohan was not in best of form , atleast his mrudangam tone was not settling well for the first few songs . Usually he runs like a father carrying his two sons :P but this mrudangam anna Mohan did not demonstrate his usual sarvalaghu excellence.

# Sreekrishna Mohan usually leads sets the direction and he was very much there in the same mould. The starting varnam was quite yadukulakambodish to start and did not appear too much of a distinct kambodhi. Did you feel that way Crama . Sreeragam masterpiece entarO was sung well , semmangudi racy padantharam was evident but they did not hit the ground running, the mrudangam tone was not gelling well

# Chandrajothi alapana was very elaborate , i guess this raga has a bit limited scope for extensive elaboration. So kind of repetition was there but the medlay game of alapana singing was quite enjoyable . After a nice krithi ,the swaras were well done and they just got their distinct usp there. Atana raced well and I liked this krithi a lot , it was a bit of non usual mudduswamy dikshitar Typecast . The krithi was bit racy like subramanyena in suddha dhanyasi not the usual dikshitar slow gait.

# Kalyanavasanatham alapana was well done and the krithi was sung exceptionally well with lovely swaras . THe Am I a toy krithi ?- nanOru vilayattu bommaiyya was sung just like mould of last 75 years . This continues to nearly have the same toy status but the words of this sivan krithi is quite catchy and easy for all. There were two mamas and mamis who sang together alaruvadhal kettu ... ammA ammA , the perils of singing a little easy thamizh krithi creates an unwanted chorus .

# The racy style of medlay again started with kharaharapriya and it was a mixed bag for me . THE krithi was sung well and the swaras and alapana were only progressively better. The main without neraval or in this case no neraval concert did disappoint me.

# kApi parulanna mAta was semmangudi import and well done . The last anjaneya krithi was sung in vasantavarali the varali tinge was more pronounced there with vasanta bit more hiding there. The last behag krithi was well done and they ended with different sangathis with narayana narayana , that was a bit of namasankeerthana bhajan narayana chanting to me . Crowd that melted a lot post tani would have enjoyed this more .

# Young Sayee Rakshith plays with lot of azhuttam. His best play was chandrajothi , i noticed a little extra tentativeness with kharaharapriya. Sayee Rakshith has lovely shruthi suddham , azhuttam . Most importantly he is very watchful, you can see a dash of seriousness that his guru A kanyakumari always gives to each of her student. Kanjira artist Dr Nerkunam Shankar was best only in tani and he gelled well with Mohan.

# Sarvani sangeetha sabha is a sabha that is run by telugu native organizers settled in madras or may be organizers are from Nellore area (not sure exactly). They conducted 5 concerts in the last 5 days and they did with the banner thyagaraja aradhana celebrations,. IT is not that they were insisting only thyagaraja songs to be sung. In the advertisement they only said each of the pancharatna will be sung on each day, this concert being conclusive concert of the series the brothers took the sreeragam pancharatna.

Overall a very good concert for 2 hours and 25 mins.

bhakthim dehi
Posts: 539
Joined: 24 Feb 2014, 21:28

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by bhakthim dehi »

The last anjaneya krithi was sung in vasantavarali the varali tinge was more pronounced there with vasanta bit more hiding there.
I have heard their recording in YT. If the version matches with this one, this can be better called as Shadvidamargini as Vasantavarali is totally a different ragam.

thanjavooran
Posts: 2972
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by thanjavooran »

C Rama and Rajeshnat,
Thanks for the beautiful review.
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
31 01 2019

yeshprabhu
Posts: 39
Joined: 04 Apr 2017, 04:26

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by yeshprabhu »

Trichur Brothers:
Rajeshnath wrote, "The racy style of medlay again started with kharaharapriya and it was a mixed bag for me."

In the last seven Trichur Brothers concerts I attended, I have observed that when the brothers sing alapana together, some where in the middle of the alapana, they start singing sangathis alternately: Ramkumar Mohan sings a sangathi, but before he finishes the sangathi, Srikrishna Mohan starts singing another sangathi, and even before he finishes that sangathi, Ramkumar intervenes and starts singing another sangathi. This results in sangathis overlapping each other, with no vishranti (pause) between them. So it sounds like a long segment of alapana with no vishranti at all. It happened in this concert also, when they sang Kharaharapriya raga alapana. The audience seemed to like that breathless style of singing, however, and gave them huge applause. Vishranti between sangathis is a necessity. When my Sangeetha acharya, the late Sri T N Bala and I sang alapanas together during my lessons, when I finished a sangathi, Balamama (To those who have not heard of T N Bala, or do not know anything about him, he was a very senior disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Madurai Mani Iyer) waited at least two to three seconds before he sang a sangathi. He explained that there should be vishranthi between two sangathis: "Between two breaths there is vishranti; between two heart beats (pulse throbs) there is vishranti; between two sangathis there must be vishranti. The reason is to give the mind some time to appreciate the melody, and for the beauty of the melody to sink in. Mind takes a little bit of time to process this, it does not do that instantaneously like a computer. When there is very little vishranthi or no vishranti at all, it's like pouring water on a granite boulder; water just flows away leaving no imprint." Also, vishranti contributes immensely in creating and maintaining sowkhya bhaava, which calms the rasicas' mind. Thrichur Brothers, however, are not the only duo who sing like this. When Ranjani and Gayathri sing alapanas, they often do not allow vishranthi. When they sing abhangs together, this becomes especially noticeable and glaring. When Abhishek Raghuram and Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna sing together, they do the same thing also. But I have also observed that this type of singing: Singing alapanas very fast, and then singing a torrential flow of kalpanaswaras at the end of a krithi, is exactly what modern day rasikas seem to admire and demand. There is always huge applause when vocalists sing like that. And I wish to say this: The vocalists are giving rasikas exactly what the rasikas want. So I don't blame the musicians for singing like that. Vocalists who sing in that manner also tend to garner a huge following, and a large group of admirers.There are, of course, always a few exceptions.
Just as plants, animals, and humans have been evolving, and are still evolving, on this planet, Carnatic music, too, has been evolving, and is still evolving. Before writing this comment, I heard the recordings of concerts of three very famous and much admired and respected vocalists of the past: Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt Brindamma, whose name is synonymous with singing with sowkhya bhaava, in unhurried manner, and not indulging in gimmicks and excesses, and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt D K Pattammmal, also known for singing with sowkhya bhaava, and Sri Ramnad Krishnan, whose bhaava laden singing and sense of proportion is much admired even now.(Some sabhas have celebrated his centenary this year.) There is a discernible difference in the way these three vocalists sang, and the way young and upcoming vocalists, and even some established vocalists of today sing. Singing very fast with an over abundance of kalpana swaras to excite the audience is given a priority, and singing with sowkhya bhaava is given much less importance. Well, as our Bhaagavatha Purana famously has said, "Idam ittham". That is the way it is.
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

arunsri
Posts: 249
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 13:07

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by arunsri »

Why is a wonderful aspect of manodharmam --- neraval --- completely absent in a 2.5 hr concert?

If not 2 or 3, atleast 1 neraval must find a place. IMO, it is far more challenging than singing Ragam or kalpanaswaras

adambakkam
Posts: 25
Joined: 27 Jan 2012, 09:26

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by adambakkam »

@yeshprabhu Nice explanation on vishranti. While you compared theirs with DKP, Ramnad and Brindamma

How does it fare when compared to Alathur brothers or Hyd brothers or Bombay sisters? Wouldn't that provide a more Apple to Apple comparison? Solo singers invariably have a breath management aspect to deal with more than the duet singers.

Neraval missing is definitely unusual for mainstream concert!!

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by rajeshnat »

adambakkam wrote: 18 Feb 2019, 03:09 How does it fare when compared to Alathur brothers or Hyd brothers or Bombay sisters? Wouldn't that provide a more Apple to Apple comparison? Solo singers invariably have a breath management aspect to deal with more than the duet singers.

Neraval missing is definitely unusual for mainstream concert!!
Brilliant adambakkam nice observation .

I think Trichur brothers wasted aleast 15 mins or so for microphone setting , resetting and resetting (I was there and i wrote this review so I know for sure what went wrong). They lost their time to sing a neraval in janakipathE. That is all.

All problems in carnatic music is only related to the absolute time of the concert , only one musician is able to get a fairly standardised time. Having said that these brothers can take less time for sound adjustment, it is ok for them to do it in Austin which I heard as the absolute time is not cropped , in chennai the time lost for microphone adjustment is not usually given .

All said these brothers are pro swara and pro neraval and you are right to say not that much of slow paced krithis . But they have their appa who controls the volume and who only plays only for his two sons. Mohan is their trump card and incidently his mruduangam was not tuned perfectly it just happens once in 25 concerts . In the last meenakshi college that I attended Mohan rocked in Mudhra he could not rock . Period....

Sabhas can do the following

1. They can ask musicians to come 20 mins before the usual start and adjust atleast for the concerts which are purely one per evening . I know for sure in meenakshi college they came much before the start but the dias was given just 5 mins before the start of the advertised time of the concert . As such they apologiesed for 10 mins to `15 mins adjustment and then the sound was balanced .In meenakshi college it worked , here in mudhra it backfired .

2. Also more importantly 99.5 % of the musicians are fearing that singing bit more than 2 hours past 08 :30 or 9 PM will make them lose the next concert opportunity as they may antagonise the organizers. One or two just escape the absolute time dictum. Time for sabha patrons to empty their bladder around 30 mins of the start of the concert instead of taking to 90 to 120th minute absolute time of the concert.

adambakkam
Posts: 25
Joined: 27 Jan 2012, 09:26

Re: THRISSUR BROS FOR SARVANI SANGEETHA SABHA- 30/1/19

Post by adambakkam »

@rajeshnat
True that lost time is difficult to make up in Chennai concerts where the time windows and audience inconvenience is a factor that you would lose a bunch of them beyond a certain time. As Trichur brothers are becoming more and more sought after, one would expect them to be able to time manage on the fly to rearrange certain aspects to even avoid such observations from rasikas

As far as the musicians who require more time to set the sound, they should have a standard template and use that as the starting point and go from there to make te sound test more efficient. For example,
Vocalist(s) 100% , provide high, mid, low levels, provide monitor channel level
Violinist 70% of it
Mridangam right vs left etc.
all prior to the concert so they can start from there during the sound test. When I setup sound, even before I start sound test, I ask the artists their preference for the frequency ranges and then go from there. Obviously every hall, mixing board, mics behave differently but a headstart helps.

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