Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

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gajamukhu
Posts: 19
Joined: 31 Mar 2010, 10:29

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by gajamukhu »

S Sowmya — DKP Mémorial Concert
BU Ganesh Prasad
Neyveli Narayanan
N Guruprasad

viribONi — bhairavI varNam — aTa — pachchimiriam Adiappayya

vADEra daivamu — pantuvarALi — Adi — tyAgarAja (NS @dhAtR vinutuDaina)

mInA lOchanA — dhanyAsi — mishra chApu — shyAma shastrI (R)

raghuvamSha sudhAmbudhi — kadanakutUhalam — Adi — paTnam subrahmaNya ayyar

tsanitODi tEvE — harikAmbhOjI — Adi — tyAgarAja (R NS @patitula brOchE paTTAdhikArini T)

yArukkAghilum bhayamA — bEgaDa pAdam — mishra chApu — subbarAma ayyar?

neyyamuna kailAsa — ghaNTa padam — mishra jhampa — kShEtrag~na

samayamidE — bEhaAg jAvaLi — paTnam subrahmaNya ayyar?

kunnitta kuruvamum (viruttam)/chidambaram pOgAmal— senchuruTTi — gOpAlakRShNa bhArati — Adi

adi nI pai marulu — yamunAkalyANi — Adi — dharmapUrI subbarAyar

gIta dhunikO — dhanAshrI tillAnA — svAti tiruNAL/LGJ — Adi

pavamAna — mangaLam

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Gajamukhu,
I am glad you came up with the complete list of the concert. I missed a few items .
Wish I had heard that ghanta padam.
viribONi often signals a wholesome concert in the offing. She sang it so well. Sounded as though her guru were singing it. vADErA had a brisk beginning and she sang it so elegantly. Many lovely brighAs there. The svara cascade was pleasing. She played around the notes with abandon. Ganesh Prasad's reply was neat.
As for the accompanists, until almost the end, I don't think Guruprasad had much of a chance to play. I thought it would have added more texture to the concert.
HarikambhOdi had some very nice piDis. There were some beautiful passages in her singing it. It would have been even better, had her voice cooperated a bit more. Svarams had some lovely passages and they just flowed...

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

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by rajeshnat »

gajamukhu wrote: 21 Apr 2019, 08:17
gIta dhunikO — dhanAshrI tillAnA — svAti tiruNAL/LGJ — Adi
gajamukhu,
is there any connection to LGJ for this swati tirunal tillana

gajamukhu
Posts: 19
Joined: 31 Mar 2010, 10:29

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by gajamukhu »

rajeshnat wrote: 21 Apr 2019, 09:17
gajamukhu wrote: 21 Apr 2019, 08:17
gIta dhunikO — dhanAshrI tillAnA — svAti tiruNAL/LGJ — Adi
gajamukhu,
is there any connection to LGJ for this swati tirunal tillana
It was tuned by LGJ, as discussed here:

viewtopic.php?t=4080

gajamukhu
Posts: 19
Joined: 31 Mar 2010, 10:29

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by gajamukhu »

Since this was a DKP memorial concert, it had many of DKP’s favorite ragas (Bhairavi, Pantuvarali, Dhanyasi and of course Harikambhoji) and pieces (mInA lOchana, tsanitODi). The Dhanyasi and Harikambhoji ragas were done especially well, I thought. tsanitODi was brilliant in that “reNDukaTTAn” kAlam (brisk 2-kalai Adi), which made for a lively tani. In fact I saw hardly anyone walk away during the tani; the hall was quite full before and after.

I felt that a Jaganmohini could have been squeezed in somewhere and also perhaps a Dikshitar and Papanasam Sivan kriti each, but I’m obviously asking too much for a 2.5 hour concert of which an hour was occupied by Harikambhoji!

RSR
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Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

Some queries!..(1) Thiruvaiyaru Thyagaraja Araadhanaa concetrs ,,,,, Do the musicians render kritis of Thyagaraja Swami only or by other composers as well? What is the tradition?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) The Cleveland festival is known as Cleveland Thyagaraja Araadhana!
http://www.aradhana.org/
Distressed to find that only a few kritis sung there during the current season, are by Thtagaraja Swami. A lot of 'items', unrelated to the theme and spirit of Thyagaraja Swami. kritis. Is it because the musicians 'could not' find 'suffiucient kritis by the Saint? Has Thyagaraja sung 'javaLis'?
----------------------------------
3) If this is just another usual 'sabha' concert held in Cleveland, why not rename it as Cleveland Carnatic music festival instead of invoking the name of the saint? paying lip service to the saint and bringing in a lot of unrelated kritis and practices? Is it not an insult to his memory?

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Wonder why one kept quiet about it all in case of the sabhas in india with Tyaga Brahmam's nAmA in their names. And, Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Shanmukhananda Sabha and all others with such names, not restricting the song lists only to those particular gods.
Again, why don't we start a new thread on the subject of naysaying any good thing which doesn't particularly appeal to us? Those who are interested might find them, and get engaged in them. Fair enough. Otherwise, we may have to wonder if high jacking a thread is a kind of sport when it comes to that... :(

Sorry for airing this, harsh as it may seem :(.

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

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shankarank »

The pancharatnam day celebration is on youtube it seems. Is it a new venue? looks like a stadium!. Tailored to nadasvaram. Next what a river front? :D

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

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

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by rajeshnat »

Shankarank
Thanks for the link.

All,
Just put a small post on Cleveland V V Sundaram Sir after hearing the small snippet of the speeches
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=23779&p=350795#p350795

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

arasi wrote: 21 Apr 2019, 23:21 Wonder why one kept quiet about it all in case of the sabhas in india with Tyaga Brahmam's nAmA in their names. And, Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Shanmukhananda Sabha and all others with such names, not restricting the song lists only to those particular gods.
Again, why don't we start a new thread on the subject of naysaying any good thing which doesn't particularly appeal to us? Those who are interested might find them, and get engaged in them. Fair enough. Otherwise, we may have to wonder if high jacking a thread is a kind of sport when it comes to that... :(

Sorry for airing this, harsh as it may seem :(.
----------------
(1) To repeat my query again...Is it allowed tradition to render kritis not of Thyagaraja swami in Thiruvaiyaaru festival? (2)
Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Shanmukhananda Sabha
Thses are just names of sabhas. So, not relevant. (3) True. There are some sabhas conducting 'thyagaraja music festival' but allowing javalis. !
A padam is also structured around love and shringAra, but a jAvALi is very earthy, and possibly more lewd. While padams bring out the rAgaswarUpa very well, I am not sure that jAvaLIs do the same. They are definitely fluffier in content than a padam. The theme, language, and message of many a jAvaLI would make a sailor blush!
...
viewtopic.php?t=2325 ( post #3)
many thanks to ..by rshankar » 15 Mar 2007, 00:08
(4) If the name of Cleveland music festival is just that ( without mentioning Thyagaraja), that is ok. Here is a concert said to honour Smt. D.K.P, and as if DKP had not rendered dozens of famous Thyagaraja kritis, I find just only one kriti by him!
Even granting that kritis of the other composers may be considered, why no kritis by Muthuswamy Dikshithar? Was not Smt.DKP renowned for her renditions of MD kritis>
As far as I know, Smt.DKP was not much of an admirer of Patnam Subramanya Iyer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A general sabha concert I suppose allows all kinds compositions, ( even there, there is a decided veto on padams, javalis, tillanas ( except by instrumenrtalists)...but a festival in Cleveland 'proudly' displaying the painting of Thyagaraja swami as its emblem, should have ensured that all the concerts ( vocal) were Thyagaraja kritis only.
My points are absolutely valid. and very much relevant to this thread. And am still awaiting 'enlightenment' on the tradition in Thiruvaiyaaru festival.
----------------------------------------------
There is no
'hijacking a thread'.
. Creating meaningful posts takes a lot of time and labour. and I am not interested in this type of 'sport' !
My tribute to Smt.DKP is more relevant and respectful.
https://sites.google.com/site/dkpattammalsongs/

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by rajeshnat »

RSR,
Thyagaraja Aradhana is a dedicated half day where usual Pancharatna krithis were sung with other Sadguru krithis like sri ganapatini etal . Also sadguru rama idols is also taken around in cleveland , i recollect that it is done in dallas festival and some kind of unchavritti is also done in cleveland too.

Festival should have a name associated with personalities whom we worship/venerate (like sadguru thyagaraja) or just respect the contributions (like say chembai festival held in kerala). There is no rule that only those krithis have to exclusively sung .

Thaygaraja aradhana in tiruvayaru is not the same as Thyagaraja festival in cleveland . The obeisance is there yes in both places and for sure I know that festival and aradhana are not just english and tamil equivalent words .

Sowmya has sung a grand Thyagaraja main and also the submain which is another thyagaraja krithi. She sang bit more count of javalis and padams as her lineage of veena dhanammal bani was also represented .She also ended with nee nama roopamulaku. You could have just stated in one line as follows

I wish DKP centenary concert of sowmya could have had atleast one Muttuswami DIkshitar krithi as vidushi DKP is known for Dikshitar krithis.

You stating that the whole festival has to be exclusive sadguru Thyagaraja concerts for 2 weeks is excess extrapolation.
Last edited by rajeshnat on 22 Apr 2019, 21:37, edited 2 times in total.

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

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

.
It is time we take up with Murugan Idli Shop not to sell dosa, uthappam, pongal, bajji, etc.

Similarly, we should advise Indian Coffee House not to offer dosa, vada, cutlet, soups and juices.

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

rajeshnat wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:56 RSR,
Thyagaraja Aradhana is a dedicated half day where usual Pancharatna krithis were sung with other Sadguru krithis like sri ganapatini etal . Also sadguru rama idols is also taken around in cleveland , i recollect that it is done in dallas festival and some kind of unchavritti is also done in cleveland too.

Festival should have a name associated with personalities whom we worship/venerate (like sadguru thyagaraja) or just respect the contributions (like say chembai festival held in kerala). There is no rule that only those krithis have to exclusively sung .

Thaygaraja aradhana in tiruvayaru is not the same as Thyagaraja festival in cleveland . The obeisance is there yes in both places and for sure I know that festival and aradhana are not just english and tamil equivalent words .

Sowmya has sung a grand Thyagaraja main and also the submain which is another thyagaraja krithi. She sang bit more count of javalis and padams as her lineage of veena dhanammal bani was also represented .She also ended with nee nama roopamulaku. You could have just stated in one line as follows

I wish DKP could have included atleast one Muttuswami DIkshitar krithi as vidushi DKP is known for Dikshitar krithis.

You stating that the whole festival has to be exclusive sadguru Thyagaraja concerts for 2 weeks is excess extrapolation.
---------------------
No issues if the name of the festival is changed as ' Cleveland CM festival'.
I wish DKP could have included atleast one Muttuswami DIkshitar krithi as vidushi DKP is known for Dikshitar krithis.
.. I suppose, you mean to say 'the singer' coulkd have...
----------------------------
Chembai music festival is named after Chembai and is dedicated to CM in general.
Now it is run by Guruvayoor Dewaswam board. and hundreds of musicians contribute as indidividual concerts. No comparison with Celeveland.
-----------------------------
I am still curious. Does the tradition allow creations of MD and Shyama Sastrigal to be rendered at Thiruvaiyaaru araadhanaa concerts?

RSR
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Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

Pratyaksham Bala wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:57 .
It is like having a 'kabadi' match after announcing World Cup Cricket match.

shankarank
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Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shankarank »

RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34 (1) To repeat my query again...Is it allowed tradition to render kritis not of Thyagaraja swami in Thiruvaiyaaru festival? (2)
Many tyAgarAja aradhana festivals initially had this rule. But since these were at one point the only instance of music coming to town (especially for Cleveland residents ) as well as other small town attendees, the rules were relaxed.
RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34A padam .. but a jAvALi
Look. we have had discussions post TMK and his book on this so many times. Once handed down via a SiShya parampara all of this is sacred! Going into the details of this and making anthropological comments ( giving special status to humans first and then look at them as mere "creatures") is against the very ethos of the country!
RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34 A general sabha concert
There is no general sabha or special sabha. All sabhas of traditional grounding are his or her sabha , the sabha in Chidambaram!

RSR
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

Here is a fine upload ( by shankar rajasekaran) of what a concert in Thiruvaiyaaru araadhana should be...This is by Smt.MS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTtvsIEVlWE
MS Subbulakshmi-Tiruvayyaru Thyagaraja Aradhana- 1978 Concert
List:
1. yela nee dayaraadhu in the raag Atana.
2. Bantureeti- Hamsanadham
3. Durithamu-Mukhari
4. Shobillu- Jaganmohini
5.Rama ni samanu- Kharaharapriya
6. Evari mata- Kambhoji
7. Tava Dhosam- Punngavarali
8. Challare- Ahiri
9.Ennagu Manasukku Rani- Neelambari
(M.S.Amma's concert relayed at the very first time by A.I.R...a comment )

shankarank
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shankarank »

It would do us well, if we can offer our grand interpretation of the Mueller report before we venture into heritage interpretation. :evil: . Just look at the amount of ways it has been spoken about!! :o :shock:

Once a friend , exasperated by lawyers and their ways , suggested there must be a plain English amendment to the constitution - I wondered how that amendment would be written up :twisted: :lol:

Sundara Rajan
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Joined: 08 Apr 2007, 08:19

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

April 22, 2019
Before I venture to write about the concerts, I have a complaint !
At the end of today's excellent concert by Neyveli Santhangopalan, Mr. Sundaram spoke for more than 15 minutes. It was like watching Laurel & Hardy's silent movies. I could not hear a single word of his, even at the highest setting of my lap top's speakers, while I could hear loud and clear Santhagopaln's response :" Sathyam, sathyam, gurunathar's blessings, etc,." Either his mike was off or was not amplified enough and I do notice that he always kept his hand held mike closer to his chest and not close to his mouth, as he should. I would expect him to know better. It is frustrating that this is the case most of the time he speaks. I am sure most of the listeners of the live streaming would agree.
I will write about the recent programs soon.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

How right you are! The frustration of not hearing him came to a head tonight.
Though we hear him (or not :() after almost every concert-this year has been particularly hard. When I watch the children, his cheering words are something worth listening to. The festival started because of the love for CM among south Indians who settled here, but how it has taken viSvarUpam--especially in encouraging a whole new generation of not merely rasikAs but CM singing, playing youngsters, and their getting to be so good at that!
Yes, Mr. Sundaram, please let us hear you. Oh, those who think the compliments are repetitive, please realize that if we were one among them performing on stage, we would need it all and appreciate it.

Sundara Rajan,
Please start posting...

RSR
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Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

shankarank wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 21:07
RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34 (1) To repeat my query again...Is it allowed tradition to render kritis not of Thyagaraja swami in Thiruvaiyaaru festival? (2)
Many tyAgarAja aradhana festivals initially had this rule. But since these were at one point the only instance of music coming to town (especially for Cleveland residents ) as well as other small town attendees, the rules were relaxed.
RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34A padam .. but a jAvALi
Look. we have had discussions post TMK and his book on this so many times. Once handed down via a SiShya parampara all of this is sacred! Going into the details of this and making anthropological comments ( giving special status to humans first and then look at them as mere "creatures") is against the very ethos of the country!
RSR wrote: 22 Apr 2019, 18:34 A general sabha concert
There is no general sabha or special sabha. All sabhas of traditional grounding are his or her sabha , the sabha in Chidambaram!
1) No need to bring innames here as if he is THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY.
2) look! Vulgarity is just that vulgarity whether it is padantharam or ' padu mosam.'
padams and javaLis sometimes have racy tunes but unmentionable lyrics in decent company.That is why we avoid 'singing' them but play the tunes in instruments.
3) The craze for live or telecast 'kutchery' is totally misplaced and anachronism in modern world. If I want real classical music, whether vintage or middle age or modern , one can get everything in soundcloud and tube videos ( HD).
4) a dozen music lovers can always create a sabha and give it fancy name. Long established sabhas have a venerable tradition. A few names that come to mind are rasikaranjani sabha, tamil isai changam, music academy, nellai sangitha sabah. and so on. sabha has nothing to do with chithambaram. It just means among other things an assembly.
LOOK
http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mod ... &direct=au

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Sundara Rajan and others,
Waiting for your posts on the concerts. GKB's one song comes to mind at the moment..Let it not hinder you...

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Let me resume my coverage of earlier concerts.

April 20, 2019 Sandeep Narayan, VVS Murai, Trichy Sankaran, KVG.
1. Started with Thyagaraja's HamsanAdam piece Bantureethi Kolu.
swaram at rAma nAma manE for 2 min.
2.KarNaranjani alApana & violin return for 8 min. It took me a 2 minutes to identify the raga. He also announced it at the end. HMB's vachanathOnu with chittaswaram 8 min
3. T's nAdOpAsana in bEgada
4. KOteeswara Iyer's SingAra kumAra en jeevAdAra. Sandeep announced the rAga as VaruNapriya-24 th mELa 7 min
5.thOdi rAga alApana & violin return 12+8 min.( I believe there was a touch of neelAmbari at the end of vocal alApana ?)
T's Enduku dayarAdura- neraval & swara at thArakacharitha thyAgarajavinutha 16 min
Thani Avardanam for 18 minutes. Needless to say that it was marvelous.
6. Paras jAvaLi of Darmapuri smarasundarAnguni sari evvarE.

This was a short but sweet concert that enjoyed, foregoing my usual after noon nap !

I saw Sri Sundaram complimenting the artists, but as has now become normal, I could not hear what he said !

Next4-20-2019 evening concert by Sowmya has already been reported by another Rasika.

April 21, 2019
Rajesh Vaidya- VeeNa & Vijayagopal Flute

1. I missed most of the varNam, was it in kAmbodhi ?
2. P. Sivan's Gajavadana karuNA sadanA in srirnjani
3. Ragam & thAnam in Amrithavarshini 13 minutes followed by HMB's SudAmayee for a total of 22 min.
4. T's ManavyALa in NaLinakAnthi
5. RTP in raga VakuLAbaraNam Pallavi: " vA vandaruLpuriya vA" swaram in rAgamAlika 37 min
5a. Thani Avardanam 12 min.
6. ChandrasEkarA eesA in Sindhu bhairavi ( Anai Vaidyanatha Iyer's ? )

I liked the program, especially since
Rajesh did not use his usual (unusual?) ensemble of key board ,Large drums, cymbals, guitars etc. )

The vote of thanks was by "Asareeri ", that is invisible ! Some one substituted for Sundaram. The camera was still on the stage only, so we could not see the speaker. He did not announce his name either !

V.V. Subramanyam and VVS. Murari- violin duet

I missed the first items, since the program started almost "on time"
1. ParAth parA paramEswara of P. Sivan in VAchaspathi raga 12 min
2. Anandabhairavi followed by MarvErEgathi of Syama SAstri 12 min
3. missed it too ! on the phone from India
4. kApi rAga T's mEEvalla guNa doshamEmi
5. Elaborate aLapana of ThOdi rAga. I could not identify the composition. extensive neraval and swara exchage between the two violinists that was really enjoyable for a total of about 30 min.
5a. Thani for 21 minutes .
6,7,8 A desh raga , sindhubhairavi rAga compositions. Thiruppugazh in Hamsanandi, finished with Surati raga.

A very good concert.

shankarank
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shankarank »

RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 1) No need to bring innames here as if he is THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY.
Not in the sense of authority. Big names who have dwelt as insiders already raised questions surrounding such things before.
RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 padams and javaLis sometimes have racy tunes
Thought their tunes were slower than usual. Even if as a fast pace, their construction has such a viSrAnti in them. Why don't you for once treat the letters and words as music first? By saying vocal music, we have already privileged ourselves with our supposedly acclaimed intellect. You think a mother would pass this on to a daughter if it is against dharma? AvALA viDa namakku dharmam teriyumA?

The narrative that instruments try to mimic vocal in our music is an atrocious violence on Indian civilization. We ipso facto acknowledge the Western definition of music as fundamental and lose our senses.

We seem to have bought into this "pure forms" of Plato - the ideal gas and a friction less plane, so goes pure music!

https://twitter.com/sanjeevsanyal/statu ... 8238868480
RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 3) The craze for live or telecast 'kutchery' is totally misplaced and anachronism in modern world. If I want real classical music, whether vintage or middle age or modern , one can get everything in soundcloud and tube videos ( HD).
Hello!! Smt MSS's manavyALA still rings from a late night telecast when my mother played it from TiruvaiyAru, as we went to sleep. We wouldn't have known her otherwise.
Yup! that damn dictionary finally! That you would resort to it at the end - Says it all!

Just a few years back, tirukkurAL was "set to music" and released with much fanfare in that very sabha. It would behove us to just a pay a bit of attention to what it says about language and music together!

And from Sanskrit and pANiNi - I find similar thoughts expressed:

https://twitter.com/avatans/status/1117042393021284352

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Hyderabad Brothers at noon on April 21, 2019

1. Bhairavi VarNam 7 min.
2. Ithi samayamurA of T in chAyanAta 5 min
3. T's lAvaNya rAma in poorNa sgadjam 6 min.
4.PanthuvarALi alApana followed by T's nAradhamuni vetalina, neraval and swaram at nArayaNa nAmamulanu 15 min
5. Bhairavi rAga alApana & violin return for 14 min followed by T's ChEtulArA. Neraval and swaram at pallavi for a total of 28 min. Thani Avardhanam 12 min.
6,7,8,9,10 ThukkadAs: mAkElara in Ravichandrika, nEE bhakthi bAgyasudha in Jayamanohari, Paras JAvaLi ThArumAru, Theruvil VArAnO in KhamAs, YemEmo in Sowrashtram , Surati and SAvEri items for a total of 25 min.

I was personally disappointed. I looked forward to a better program from the brothers. Of one hour 55 min. program,only two items stand out as concert worthy, The PanthuvarALI and Bhairavi piece for a total of 55 minutes. The restone hour are thukkadas or JavaLies. Poor planning or no planning as they were searching for items during the concert. Four jAvalies ?!
However ,all the rest were ThyagarAja krithies, that is appreciated.
Last edited by Sundara Rajan on 23 Apr 2019, 20:22, edited 1 time in total.

rajeshnat
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by rajeshnat »

Sundara Rajan wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 19:13 Next4-20-2019 evening concert by Sowmya has already been reported by another Rasika.
Sundararajan Sir,
gajamukhu gave the songlist but Arasi went ahead with her subjective review of Sowmya concert. Before the next few concerts that gets into your head , if you still can I(We) would also like to read your subjective review of even this concert.
As always like last few years, looks like you are getting into full form. Looking forward to read more..
Last edited by rajeshnat on 23 Apr 2019, 21:00, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Sundara Rajan,
Yes, as you say, Deep Sand as he's known to us at Rasikas.org, gave a marvelous concert. In my short December sojourns in Chennai the past few years, I have missed his concerts. Have enjoyed hearing him on You Tube, but it gave me pleasure to hear him in person as it were at Cleveland. BanTu rIti was a pleasing curtain opener. KarNa ranjani from note one was ranjakam to the ear. HMB brings in the bhAva of the rAgA with the very first words--so moving, pleading it is, which Sandeep brought out with feeling. How his sense of bhAva has grown in the last few years! He sang the chittasvara beautifully. Tiruchy Sankaran's playing added grandeur to Sandeep's singing whose tani after an impressive SankarAbharaNam by Sandeep (enduku peddala) was simply great. Sandeep's nAdOpAsana made a big impression. Varunapriya kriti by Kotiswaraiyer was delightful to hear. His tODi , enduku daya rAdura had beautiful svarAs dripping with bhAva.
tani is always tani (a stand out) with Sri.Sankaran. Gopalakrishnan, as usual pleased us with his khanjira playing. Murari is a seasoned violin player, but this concert didn't bring out his merits that much, whereas the duet he played with his father later was delightful to the ear.
Sandeep's smara sundarAnguni sari evvarE had a second sangati which was so appealing...
Last edited by arasi on 24 Apr 2019, 07:02, edited 1 time in total.

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

I could hear Mridangam only of Bharat Sundar's concert now at 4:40 p.m. !!!

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

It came back soon after, didn't it? Only thing is, I could only hear part of the concert. How was the concert on the whole, from the one among a few front runners?

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Ah, the kids! They gather at Cleveland from every part of North America after learning their songs at home with their assigned teachers, practice rigorously, come to the festival early, and spend many hours to meet and practice what they learnt at home, in order to present it together on stage in Sustainig Sampradaya. No mean feat, and how well they do perform! Without Cleveland, this wouldn't have happened.
Tyagaraja festival was started by a few south indian immigrants to keep the tradition going, in some cities, in a humble way. Also their wanting to listen to 'real' music in person and not on tape recorders alone was the beginning of it all. I don't think we ever dreamt that it would get to this point of becoming a flourishing musical culture where the future generations are also being drawn into it.
Sustaining Sampradaya is Cleveland phenomenon's darling child, and so, the best in the music business in India are asked to get involved in it. Then starts a rigorous exercise for the kids, their parents and teachers here and masters from India. So, Sustainng Sampradaya is no mean achievement...

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

The first segment was the concept of the inimitable NSG.
They opened with the kEdAragowLa varNam sAmi daya jUDa softly and flowingly. The mridangams were good, but a tad loud to start with (soon rectified). Then they sang kOri sEvimpa rArE in Kharaharapriya flowingly, flawlessly! In tODi, kali tIrka vandAi murugA by Kotisvaraiyer--a new one for me. Then Bilahari, all of them singing svarAs (toli janma). Then the heavy weight, kAru bAru in mukhAri, investing a lot of bhAva in it. Heartening to see the young mridangists do a very good job there! A pUrvi Kalyani song by SS(?), Sri Sankara guruvaram, enduku peddala and a great tani.. I had to leave post at that time, but the lovely but not easy pieces by any means that I heard made me proud and happy. More singing of choice pieces, I am sure...

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

April 22, 2019. Evening
Neyveli Santhanagopalan and party- MDR Remembrance Concert
1. Started with a Kedara rAga VarNam by MDR 8 min
2. Monday vAra Kriti of Dikshitar- Chandram Baja in raga asAvEri 8 min
I was shocked to note that NS needed to constantly look at the lap top for the lyrics for such a common place composition
3. Own composition, influenced by MDR's composition, in Hamsadwami - pAsabajanamE aruL pAvani & swaram 11 min
4. SarasAngi raga alApana for 7+3 min followed by PattaNam S. Iyer's "manavinchE konavayya"
neraval and swaram at last charaNam at Varada VenkatEsa 12 min
5.AtukAdara in Manoranjani- T's 4 min
6. One of GKB's pancharatnams in Sri rAgamm alApana 8+5 min maRavAmal eppadiyum ninai manamE. Very well presented with raga elaboration, neraval and kalpana swarams. Enjoyed very much- total 20 min.
6a.Thani Avarthanam for 23 min. dominated by two mridamgams (GuruvAyur & disciple)and Ghatam by Vaikom Gopalakrishnan. This song was new to me and I liked the presentation.
7. Slokam: mAtha maragathasyAma followed by MDR's thillana in Kapi raAga.
MangaLam

I very much enjoyed this program except for my disappointment at the senior VidvAn's need to use a lap top for lyrics.

shripathi_g
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shripathi_g »

"4. SarasAngi raga alApana for 7+3 min followed by PattaNam S. Iyer's "manavinchE konavayya"
neraval and swaram at last charaNam at Varada VenkatEsa 12 min
5.AtukAdara in Manoranjani- T's 4 min
6. One of GKB's pancharatnams in Sri rAgamm alApana 8+5 min maRavAmal eppadiyum ninai manamE. Very well presented with raga elaboration, neraval and kalpana swarams. Enjoyed very much- total 20 min."

I don't get how this is a MDR remembrance concert. This is just a regular concert except maybe for the Sri elaboration. An MDR remembrance concert would have included some of his trademark krithis like Amba Kamakshi, Vanajasana, Kamalambam Bhajare, Giripai, etc or his favorite ragas - Yadukulakamboji, Sahana, etc. I'm sure the concert was a very good one other than the krithi selection.

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

April 23, 2019
BHARAT SUNDAR and Party
Initially there was no streaming available for a few minutes and then ONLY Mridangam was audible. later corrected. I must have missed the first song.
2. paripAlaymAm in reetigowLa of Swathi ThirunAL.
3. I lost my internet connection !
4. Thankfully my internet was restored at the end of previous song !
Bhairavi rAga alApana 11+8 min. followed by Syama sAstry's Bhairavi Swarajati KAmAkshi, ambA anudinamu----15 min of bliss !
neraval and swara at Amaba bhakthajana kalpalathikA for 6 min.
4A. Thani for 17 min.
5. ThuLasammA in dEvagAndhAri- T's 5 min
6. slokas and pAsurams karAravindEna padhAravindam--- Kapi
OOrilEn kANi illai--- Sindhu Bhairavi
pAchaimA malaipOl mEni----Bhimpalas (?)
followed by MDR's sAgara sayana vibhO in BAghEsri rAga total 16 min.
7. RamaNa maharshi's composition: appaLam ittuppAru- rAgamAlika 6 min
ThillAna- BrindAvani(?)

An excellent 2+ hour concert that I will remember for a long time .

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

April 23, 2019 Evening

SHERTALAI RANGANATHA SARMA, Nagai MuraLidaran, Murugaboopathi & Cleveland Balu

Program started ON Time !

1. VanajAksha, Behag VarNam 8 min
2. KaruNA nidhiyE kadaikkaN- karaharapriya-P.Sivan 11 min Heard after a long time
3. sAlakalla in Arabhi rAga- T's pancharatnam
4. HamsAnandhi rAga alApana & violin return 13 min followed by rare HMB composition "sAchAmara"
with neraval & swara at pallavi 15 min
5. Enthani nE ninnu Sabari bhAgyamu in mukhAri - T's 6 min
6.BEgada rAga alApana 10+6 min Dikshitar's composition that I had not heard before: Srimatha Sivabhava
neraval and swara at Sri chakra roopa thAdanghE for 45 min followed by Thani for 16 min.
7. nE mAru mE roopamE (?) a jAvaLi in sAvEri rAga 7 min
8. avathAram seidhiveerE of AruNAchala kavi in Jonpuri rAga 6 min
9. theruvil vArAnO- khamAs rAga padam of Muthu ThAndavar 4 min
10.Baja baja mAnasa in Sindhu Bhairavi

All in all a very good concert for exactly 2.5 hrs.
Last edited by Sundara Rajan on 24 Apr 2019, 20:36, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Did he sing tsAla kallana or sAdhincanE? I was not around close enough to listen. I did hear the hamsAnandi of HMB which was new to me and sounded very good. Wish he had loosened up a bit more. I have heard him sing even better elsewhere. With Nagai by his side, it would have been even more appealing.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

It was Sri mAtE,?

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Arasi: He did sing tsAlakalana , but that was not one of the pancharatnas. I stand corrected.
The Begada composition of Diksitar was Sri mAtah Siva vamkE and not as I wrote. It is sometimes difficult for me to identify the exact lyrics from the vocalist's pronunciation.
I too expected a better selection of compositions &performance, based on prior experience.

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

!:02 p.m No video, Only audio !!

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

It is 1;12 First song is over Still no Video. What is the problem ?

Surya PrakAsh and party

After the first two songs, the video transmission started.

1. SeethApathy nA manasu in kamAs rAga, short neraval and swaram at "prEmasoochi nApai" 8 min
2. Evarani of Thyagaraja in dEvAmrutha varshini 6 min
Now the Video is on
3. alApana in a rAgam that he announced as "swarnAngi" 47 th mELam 4+2 min
"mahAraja rAjEswari pArvathi", swaram at mEru rAja 8 mn. Composer ?
4. Short alApana in dEvaghAndAri followed by 'nAmorAlakimpavE" of T 12 min
5.kA vA vA in varALi rAga of P.Sivan swaram at paZhani mali urayum 8 min
6. kAmbOdhi rAga alApana 8 min followed by GKB's "thiruvadi saraNam. neraval & swaram at the usual
aduthuvanda ennai 20 min.
When thani Avardanam started at 2:30 p.m., I could not control my after noon nap !

Other rasikas may fill up the thukkadas that followed he Thani for a few minutes.

Surya was in good from and gave a good presentation well supported by young female accompaniments.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

My day of other commitments, :(but I managed to hear bits and pieces, The rare mahA rAja Rajeswari, pArvathi in swarnangi is by Mayuram Viswanatha Shastry.
He sang krishnA nI bEganE bArO and parulanna mATa namma vaddu from the anu pallavi mOmu chinna pOyina maramEmirA before that...

RSR
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

Let us forget for a moment that the concerts are from Cleveland festival. and imagine that it is from a Chennai festival. If so, the programs leave much to be desired. and am not the only person who feels that way. ( fortunately). (1) Technology gitches (2) special concerts honouring the greats like Smt. DKP being allootted to a vocalist not singing any MD kritis. Could they not find a suitable disciple of Smt.DKP? Just 2 kritis by Thyagaraja . in a festival with priority to the saint. (3) M.D.Ramanathan memorial concert also has the same defect.
Sri.Sundararajan has rightly dismissed the 'thukkadas'. and criticized too many 'javaLis'.
Quite a few programs were devoted to Mrudhangam and Tavil. Layam experts like Sri.ShankaranK could have offered their impression.
The festival is nearing its end and it has been poorly organized.
I am looking forward to the report on program by Kalki's grand daughter Smt.Gowri.

RSR
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

shankarank wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 19:54
RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 1) No need to bring innames here as if he is THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY.
Not in the sense of authority. Big names who have dwelt as insiders already raised questions surrounding such things before.
RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 padams and javaLis sometimes have racy tunes
Thought their tunes were slower than usual. Even if as a fast pace, their construction has such a viSrAnti in them. Why don't you for once treat the letters and words as music first? By saying vocal music, we have already privileged ourselves with our supposedly acclaimed intellect. You think a mother would pass this on to a daughter if it is against dharma? AvALA viDa namakku dharmam teriyumA?

The narrative that instruments try to mimic vocal in our music is an atrocious violence on Indian civilization. We ipso facto acknowledge the Western definition of music as fundamental and lose our senses.

We seem to have bought into this "pure forms" of Plato - the ideal gas and a friction less plane, so goes pure music!

https://twitter.com/sanjeevsanyal/statu ... 8238868480
RSR wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 15:35 3) The craze for live or telecast 'kutchery' is totally misplaced and anachronism in modern world. If I want real classical music, whether vintage or middle age or modern , one can get everything in soundcloud and tube videos ( HD).
Hello!! Smt MSS's manavyALA still rings from a late night telecast when my mother played it from TiruvaiyAru, as we went to sleep. We wouldn't have known her otherwise.
Yup! that damn dictionary finally! That you would resort to it at the end - Says it all!

Just a few years back, tirukkurAL was "set to music" and released with much fanfare in that very sabha. It would behove us to just a pay a bit of attention to what it says about language and music together!

And from Sanskrit and pANiNi - I find similar thoughts expressed:

https://twitter.com/avatans/status/1117042393021284352
--------------
Hello!! Smt MSS's manavyALA still rings from a late night telecast when my mother played it from TiruvaiyAru, as we went to sleep. We wouldn't have known her otherwise.
Unable to understand what you are trying to say! Would surely like to learn more! mention the year. and how your mother came to be present there, Was she a vocalist?

shankarank
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by shankarank »

Obviously - it was a AIR relay from Tiruvaiyaru. And she was with us. She is no vocalist. Sometimes you have to read with context , not just with Wren and Martin and a dictionary!

RSR
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by RSR »

shankarank wrote: 25 Apr 2019, 17:55 Obviously - it was a AIR relay from Tiruvaiyaru. And she was with us. She is no vocalist. Sometimes you have to read with context , not just with Wren and Martin and a dictionary!
M S Subbulakshmi - Nenarunchinaanu - Maalavi - Tyagaraja Swami .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtElqTEGscA
upload by V.Stinivasan. with the following note:
Smt M.S.Subbulakshmi and Smt Radha Viswanathan render a blitzkrieg version of Tyagaraja Swami's famous composition "Nenarunchinaanu annitiki" in Maalavi raga. The chittaswaras have been sung at an incredible speed! This song has been sourced from a live concert performed c. 1964
you mean to say that your mother was with you some place not in Thiruvaiyaru and was listening to the kriti mentioned by you ( by Smt.MS) (/manavyala' .
M. S. Subbulakshm - Manavyala - Nalinakanthi
Thiruvaiyaru Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana 1984https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaGSo7ZKSms
and she woke you up to listen to it. Am I right? "
otherwise, we would not have heard about her'
. Who is that 'her'? Smt.MS?
Rarely have I come across any of your posts which are coherant and related to the topic.
I had mentioned some wonderful Thyagaraja kritis sung by Smt.MS in the Thiruvaiyaaru Aradhana, -1978,in the hope that present-day musicians will emulate her. What struck me was that all the kritis are slow-paced unlike the one quoted by you. Thank you.
Last edited by RSR on 25 Apr 2019, 22:19, edited 4 times in total.

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

4-25-2019 Thursday
VeeNa, vENu, Violin concert

Pleased that the veeNa and Flute are loud and clear. Violin volume also is good, But When all three are played together the violin is completely drowned. Should it be raised a bit ?

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Sundara Rajan,
Good that you are listening to this vibrant recital. Violin sound has been taken care of now. After the NATTaikuRinji varNam, I heard hamsdhvani at the end when the energy and abandon with which Nirmala Rajashekar was playing drew me in. What kriti did they play? Murari's rAga playing for dEva dEva kalayAmi was sweeter than ever. svarAs from all of them were crisp and appealing...

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

sorry, repeat post, and so deleted...
Last edited by arasi on 25 Apr 2019, 23:39, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

The katanakutUhalam of Poochi, I haven't heard before. Did you catch the words of it as Nirmala announced it?
Now they are playing Janani ninnuvinA which was picked up by more than one performer this year at Cleveland.Enough emotingin their playing it....

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Arasi: That was Poochi's imitation of Patnam S Iyer's kathankuthookala. The name of that rAga is Swara Ranjani. The Hamsadwani piece was vAthApi Ganapthim bajEham. Kanyakumari plays Swara Ranjani often.
Last edited by Sundara Rajan on 25 Apr 2019, 22:49, edited 1 time in total.

arasi
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Re: Cleveland Aradhana April, 2019

Post by arasi »

Ah, so? But, Poochi needs to imitate? :)
Just catching up with the kids singing (tAnam) at Gowri's program.

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