Reviews Worth Reading

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

I did pay attention! ;)

coolkarni

Post by coolkarni »

a teeny weeny bit from a commercial tape -
just to illustrate my point.
http://www.badongo.com/file/2301797

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

http://www.thehindu.com/fr/2007/02/23/s ... 250300.htm
<<An angry Papa Venkatramiah openly declared that she should refuse to accept the prize. The guru explained, "You played brilliantly. But can I overlook the first phrase where you oscillated the gandhara in a manner suggestive of Kalyani?''>>
Aha, lovely read!
Do we have any audio clips of Smt Satyamurthy available?

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

Post by rshankar »

A man after Jayaram's heart!
Rama was fascinated by his kasrat and weight-lifting sessions.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/04/06/stor ... 130300.htm

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

Post by rshankar »


SSK
Posts: 119
Joined: 24 Oct 2006, 04:18

Post by SSK »

Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana released a series of books from Vidwans like T.K. Govinda Rao, T.M. Krishna, Thiruvarur Vaidyananthan, Prof. Mysore Sri. V. Ramarathnam and others as a part of the 2007 festival. The following is a video that I have uploaded to google and youtube of the release of the book "A Musician's Reminescence" by Prof. Mysore V. Ramarathnam as a part of his 90 th birth day celebration. Along with the book a CD containing select mp3 recordings of Prof. Ramarathnam's concerts from 1970 to 2004 was also released. The video is located at:

http://video.google.com/videouploadfini ... d43f5311d9
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqaX5NlsBnc

The draft pdf of Prof. Ramarathnam's book "A Musician's Reminescence" is located at:
http://www.mysorevramarathnam.org/books ... _Final.pdf
The work to create a online version of the book is currently underway.. Hope to complete it soon.

I also have video recordings of Vidwan T.K. Govinda Rao's book release (1000 Varnams..) and others. I know I can convert them to mpeg but I am not sure if I have or need the permission to upload them to google or youtube..

jayaram
Posts: 1317
Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08

Post by jayaram »

http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/30/stories ... 960500.htm
"Rasikas line up for Carnatic music" - music to the eyes indeed!

Image

Sathej
Posts: 586
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:23

Post by Sathej »

Really great for Carnatic Music!Refreshing to see this.
Sathej

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

Review of concert by the vainika couple and forum participants;
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/07/06/stor ... 090300.htm

"The sunaadham emanating from their izhaippu in the musical phrasings of Thodi alapana for the kriti, ‘Sree Krishnam Bhaja Maanasa’ took the listeners to dizzy heights."

I wish English newspapers translated terms like "sunaadham" and "izhaippu"!

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

Post by arasi »

Happy to read a good review of fellow forumites.

They may not do it in the newspapers, but here on the forum, translations are often given. For those who would like the meaning of those two words:

sunAdam=good sound, sweet sound
izhaippu=finesse in playing (sculpting) the notes

veenajj
Posts: 125
Joined: 18 Apr 2007, 11:54

Post by veenajj »

Thank you Shri Mohan for putting the review up here, and Smt Arasi for your encouraging comments.

Jeyaraaj & Jaysri

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

Post by rshankar »

Here is another of our members reviewed:
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/07/06/stor ... 260300.htm

Kudos.

Of course, the reviewer has got TM Krishna's name wrong!

The second part of the review is about a feature on the Hoysala queen Rani Shantala whose dance-prayer was famed all over the land. The late director Sri G. V. Iyer once directed a TV serial on her story - nATya rANi SAntalA. If anyone has access to the episodes please let me know. The songs chosen in this dance feature were antaHpura gItegaLu (sounds romantic - invokes sounds of mInA bazAr and the like) - a topic we have discussed before.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

A giant remembered- Concert in Mysore

[quote=" Star of Mysore"]A MEMORIAL MUSIC CONCERT

Once in an interview with a veteran Karnatak vocalist-Guru I said, “My first love is Karnatak music. Yet the more I listen to it as sung today, the more I admire the Hindustani mode. Please comment.â€

vs_manjunath
Posts: 1466
Joined: 29 Sep 2006, 19:37

Post by vs_manjunath »

DRS- sri gananAtham bhajare of MD is in Isa Manohari, is it not ?? why it's mentioned as Kaanada ?
Last edited by vs_manjunath on 17 Jul 2007, 15:37, edited 1 time in total.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

Yes Manju- even I am wondering why.

drshrikaanth
Posts: 4066
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

A review of veteran Srikantan-avhA's concert from Mysore- an ennobling feast for the body, mind and spirit.
Starofmysore wrote:BREATHING MELODIES ETERNALLY NEW

As an ardent rasika of Karnatak music for the past several decades I enjoy a live concert in five progressively ascending stages: entertainment, elevation, sublimation, transcendence and beyond. The music concert that the living legend R.K. Srikantan (1920) gave at the Vasudevacharya Bhavana of Sri Nadabrahma Sangeeta Sabha on July 20 belonged to the final stage.

Imagine at 88 this Abhinava Karnataka Sangeeta Pitaamaha singing with the virility and freshness of a youngster in his twenties! This welldeserved and timed title was conferred on RKS by H. Udayashankar, the sponsor of this concert held in memory of his mother G.N. Seetalakshmi Hosakote Anantaraman.

Srikantan�s son and disciple R.S. Ramakanth, a senior professional in his own right, lent effective vocal support to the maestro. The overall tone and tenor reminded me of Sampaati lovingly encouraging his younger brother Jataayu in their ethereal flight to Sun (read musical bliss)!

Four live wires B.N. Chandra-sekhar (violin), Renuka Prasad (mridanga), Dayananda Mohite (ghata) and G.T. Harini (tamboora) provided equally enthusiastic support. BNC with the MSG style and mood, RP and DM in tune with the spirit of the compositions and the manodharma of the vocalists and GTH with the Vasudevacharyatamboora drone enhanced the beauty of this melody meet.

Sahana varna Karunimpa (Tiruvottiyur Tyagayya) followed by Naata Gajamukhane siddhi daayakane instantaneously took us to the third stage of music enjoyment. In Sriraaga Endaro mahaanubhaavulu the concert rose to transcendental heights: an attractive confluence of raaga-bhaava-artha-laya in the ocean of melody.

The nearly one hour delineation of Kambhoji raaga imperceptibly blossoming into Evarimaata vinnaavo (Tyagaraja) with a thorough neraval at bhakta paraadheenudanuchu followed by kalpanaswaras and mridanga-ghata dialogue was reminiscent of Lava-Kusha singing in Srirama�s divine presence.

Vasanta Seetamma maayamma (Tyagaraja), Hindola Chintayaami Jagadambaa (Wodeyar), Mohana Raa raa Raajee-valochana Raama (Vasudevacharya), Reetigoula Harikatha shravana maado (Purandaradasa) and Madhyamaavati Dharma samvardhani (Dikshitar) were other equally brilliant pieces. It was a case of the listeners becoming the very artists in each of the items.

Rabindranath Tagore echoed in my mind, "O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet. Only let me make my life simple and straight, like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music."

Music Concert

H.R. Kriti, a young engineering student from Bangalore, had packed her music concert at Ganabharathi�s Veene Seshanna Bhavana (July 21) with four compositions of Muttuswami Dikshitar: Begade Vallabhanayakasya, Kalyanavasanta Sri Venkatesham bhajami satatam, Bilahari Sri Madhurapuri viharini and Nasamani Sri Rama Saraswati in tandem and a little later added Vasanta Marakatalingam chintayeham. How one wished her voice was more melodious and emotion-charged to convey the inherent terse charm in them. Yet in spirals, akars and birkas she exhibited amazing mastery.

In the detailed exposition of Thodi Dachukovalena (Tyagaraja) with a neraval at Soumitri Tyagarajuni followed by swaraprastara and the Shanmukhapriya raga-tana-pallavi Sada nee padame nammiti the concert was more absorbing. She sang all these compositions from memory. Her intonation of the text, command over raagas and tempo are on stable foundation. She will do well to restrict the number of items and concentrate on better voice culture. The teenager A.Aditi (violin) and V.Nataraj (mridanga) were the accompanying artists.

� G.T.Narayana Rao
http://starofmysore.com/main.asp?type=s ... &item=2589

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

Post by arasi »

Wish I were in mysUrU!
More power and many more years to this man who is the epitome of chaste music and impeccable rendering! Add to it his enthusiasm, commanding voice and positive energy. You can't but bow down to this pitAmahA. Someone who is truly blessed and is nourished by nAdOpAsanA...

coolkarni
Posts: 1729
Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

A lovely article by Sriram V on Dwaram

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/11/23/stor ... 540300.htm

And here is a sweet side dish to go along with this reading.
http://rapidshare.com/files/71850435/Dwaram.mp3

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

Post by rshankar »

When will these guys learn to proof-rread before going to press?
http://www.hindu.com/ms/2007/12/01/stor ... 150500.htm

Wonder when and how Sri GN Balasubramania (Iyer) morphed into Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyergar? :lol

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

Post by thanjavooran »

when a purcussion artiste slips he attracts more words on the review column. here the casuality is vaikkom Gopalakrishnan. referece --Music season HIndu dt 21st by Gowri ramnarayan.

Anusha
Posts: 124
Joined: 19 May 2006, 13:50

Post by Anusha »

Rasikas all along have pondered upon this, there have been discussions here on the forum as well.

Here's a link to T. M. Krishna's article-
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/ ... 060100.htm

vageyakara
Posts: 602
Joined: 01 Dec 2006, 20:24

Post by vageyakara »

Hallo Anusha,
Voluminuous matters of such a lenghthy article (by TMKcan) only find place in the Hindu and had it been from the pen of some TOM, DICK AND HARRY it would have been conveniently sent to some other destination for reasons best known to the "HINDU" monopolates.Only certain peoples' voice are considered as
SERMONS FROM THE LORD !!!

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

Post by arasi »

Personally, I thought there were some ' points to ponder' there, as Anusha put it. The thing about prodigies, for instance: I sometimes wonder if folks mean 'a talented kid' when they say a child is a prodigy. If they do mean it, woe unto the child if he or she is just talented. TMK makes a valid point there. The other one is the 'putting the cart before the horse syndrome' which he spells out too: ' performing' more than 'learning' is on the minds of both the parents and the young students. What TMK says about a student's imagination getting limited if he or she goes just for tailor -made presentation, is true too. Some are only after that and are not focussed on mastering music first before thinking of performances.

Ramaraj,
Of course, it is easier to break into print if you have a high profile. I should know, with my experience with rejection slips!
Last edited by arasi on 09 Jan 2008, 21:07, edited 1 time in total.

vageyakara
Posts: 602
Joined: 01 Dec 2006, 20:24

Post by vageyakara »

You have just caught the point ARASI. If one has media backing and high bannerbehind, whatever he or she does or writes becomes the Bhagavat Geetha by default. !!!There is nothing wrong in promoting one's own family Group of people by a family group of Media, that too a powerful Print media,there should be some AATMA VICHARAM to ensure equal justice to every one irrespective their affinity consideration.
Ramaraj.
Last edited by vageyakara on 10 Jan 2008, 10:57, edited 1 time in total.

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

Post by arasi »

Ramaraj,
I merely meant that TMK's points were valid, and that they are our thoughts too. Though you may think that they are not new ideas, coming from a practitioner of music, it adds to their validity. After all, we discuss our pet wishes and frustrations over and over again as rasikAs. We get another perspective to the same thoughts if performers point them out too. A lot of Atma vicAram needn't go into it, don't you think?
If the publications are more accessible to some, fine by me, so long as it is all in the interest of music.
Last edited by arasi on 10 Jan 2008, 14:39, edited 1 time in total.

vageyakara
Posts: 602
Joined: 01 Dec 2006, 20:24

Post by vageyakara »

Hallo Arasi,
I have not meant any thing against the content of the article.It all reflects some of the thoughts which ran across our musically curious minds.I have grouse against the media which more often than not is biased in not publishing articles from authoired by others.As u said rejection slips are the tags attached to non-influential ones.

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

Post by arasi »

You got me there, Ramaraj! Yes, rejection slips are not things to brag about, though I have heard that a very successful author (after years of struggling) framed rejection slips from the most successful publishers and hung them in his study. Sweet revenge :)

rbsiyer
Posts: 56
Joined: 02 Feb 2007, 19:21

Post by rbsiyer »

vageyakara wrote:Hallo Arasi,
I have grouse against the media which more often than not is biased in not publishing articles from authoired by others.As u said rejection slips are the tags attached to non-influential ones.
it is only natural the hindu would prefer to give space to prominent names. readers tend to attach more credibility to their views. personally i would too. someone like TMK is far more likely to air responsible views given his stature than some irresponsible hack who hides behind XYZ initials

Suji Ram
Posts: 1529
Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 00:04

Post by Suji Ram »

Found this review interesting.
Do we have other present performers who can whistle in CM...

http://www.starofmysore.com/main.asp?ty ... &item=2928

Chennigana Thota is a very small hamlet in Malnad near Heggodu village in Sagar taluk. Malnad is known for its natural beauty with all the forests and hill ranges. Born in such an environment, Madhava Bhat from this hamlet learnt the nuances of Karnatak music from his father, who had asked him to practise whenever it was possible.


He did not have time to sing as working in the agricultural fields demanded much of his time. Therefore, he opted for another alternative, "whistling." He says that there was nobody to object to his whistling on the deserted fields. He whistled and whistled his way through all the tunes he had learnt in Karnatak style. This practice made him an adept in that form of art and today he is capable of presenting a full-fledged concert.


He has practised whistling during both exhaling and inhaling. He has overcome the most difficult factor in Karnatak music, shruthi. He can produce gamaka flawlessly, which is the life of Karnatak music. Swaras produced by his breath are without any haziness, ragas produced without any perplexity.


He gave a performance at the Suttur Mutt branch in the foot of Chamundi Hill during the last full moon day, under the joint auspicious of Suttur Mutt and JSS Sangeetha Sabha, as part of its monthly Moonlight Music. He had chosen the compositions in such a way that there was no monotony. The Varna in Mohana was in a hurry. Ganapathe Mahapathe (Kalyani-Rupaka-Muthuswamy Dikshitar) was the next slower one. The pleasing Reeti Gowla Alapane led to Jananee Ninnu Vina of Subbaraya Shastry with a neat Swara Prasthara. A faster one Enta Muddo Enta Sogaso (Bindu Malini-Adi-Tya-garaja) was a pleasant change.


Again, an Alapane in Darbar was beautifully developed and Raghavendra Guru (Kanda Triputa – Mysooru Vasudevacharya), a rare composition was rendered. The next Janaranjani Ranjani (Jan-aranjani - Khanda Chapu-BK Padmanabharayaru), is an almost vanishing composition, came from his whistle skillfully. Equally elegant was Subram-hanyena (Udaya Ravi Chandrike – Adi –Muthuswamy Dikshitar). The main Raga of the evening, Shankarabharana, was taken up for detailed delineation. The Alapane was an excellent endeavor. The composition Saro-jadala Nethri of Shyama Shastry in Adi Taala was embellished with an admirable Swara Kal-pana. The finale Sindhu Bhairavi was a composition of Swamy Prasanna Theertha Noduva Baa. Udaya Kiran (violin) and G.S. Ramanuja (mrudanga) lived up to the reputation they have established as accompanists.


Madhava Bhat is perhaps the only whistler of Karnatak classical music in Karnataka now. However, he is not the pioneer of this art form. Vidvan Tanjavooru Kalyana Raman (1930-1994) hailing from Komal village of Tanjore Dist of Tamil Nadu had practiced whistling as a necessity. His father Komal N. Srinivasa Iyer initiated him to Karnatak music. He became a great scholar of Karnatak music, and was very famous in those days. He had performed in Mysore too in seventies, under the auspicious of Nadabrahma Sangeetha Sabha, during the days when the concerts were held at the Sahakara Bhavana on 100 feet Road. Unfortunately, Kalyana Raman lost his voice due to an ailment and failure of vocal chords, which had no cure in those days.


Nevertheless, the urge to sing prevailed on him, which gave him the thought of practicing whistling, which he eventually mastered. He had presented his whistle concert in many foreign countries, including USA. He was instrumental in publishing all the GNB’s compositions, with notation, in book form.


—S.R. Krishna Murthy

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

Suji Ram wrote:Found this review interesting.
Do we have other present performers who can whistle in CM...
There is K Sivaprasad. You can hear his tunes on musicindiaonline.

The late Tanjavur S. Kalyanaraman also started giving whistle concerts when he had problems with his voice.
Last edited by mohan on 29 Jan 2008, 09:45, edited 1 time in total.

mahavishnu
Posts: 3341
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Post by mahavishnu »

Mohan, is Sivaprasad also called Siva Kalyan?
Any relation to Kalyanaraman?

jkrks95
Posts: 1
Joined: 22 Mar 2008, 08:39

Post by jkrks95 »

Hi,

Siva Kalyan is a different person from Sivaprasad. Siva is a 16 year old. He is belongs to the musical lineage of the late Sri.Tanjore S Kalyanaraman. His teacher (and mom) was a student of Smt.Radhakrishna of Delhi then Sri. Tanjore S Kalyanaraman.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/23/stor ... 330200.htm contains a review of his concert in January 2008 in Madurai. The review has his name as Shiv Kalyan.

Ramnath Iyer
Posts: 72
Joined: 19 Nov 2007, 13:33

Post by Ramnath Iyer »

A review certainly worth reading..... I thought the sentence 'To create the same emotional appeal on an instrument without the sahitya is not an easy task but the vidwan was able to do so with ease and élan' captured the essence of what instrumental music should be.....

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/04/18/stor ... 080500.htm

martin
Posts: 68
Joined: 23 May 2008, 04:58

Post by martin »

arasi wrote:Ravi,
Several years ago, in the very same hall I heard Aruna Sairam and a french medieval musician give a performance. I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be enjoyable.
Ha! That would have been Dominique Vellard! He is something special allright. I followed a course in Gregorian chant with him in 1988 and have been singing a lot of medieval repertory - some of it to the accompaniment of a Tanpura. Dominique is a singular person in that he revived the Gregorian chant tradition by singing it with exceptional clarity, consistent and precise intonation and above all with a fluency and ductility of the voice. He was quick also to recognize the common sources of Gregorian chant and traditional near-Asian modal musical traditions. And Aruna is also top-notch, I have accompanied her on a tour in NL/BE - that's one of the nice things of being a tanpura-artist, you get to be very close to the fire.

KNV
Posts: 34
Joined: 28 Feb 2008, 19:50

Post by KNV »

Prof Alladi Krishnaswamy has wriiten a very nice article on Key features of Thyagaraja Compositions in 9th Jan Hindu Friday Review column. Log on to Hinduonline site.

coolkarni
Posts: 1729
Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

.
Last edited by coolkarni on 29 Nov 2009, 12:15, edited 1 time in total.

Niranjan Damle
Posts: 30
Joined: 18 Jan 2009, 18:37

Post by Niranjan Damle »

hello everybody, i joined rasikas.org few days back and being in mumbai, i started posting my views in one of the mumbai related topics. i was going through this post regarding madhava bhat and it drew my attention. reason's that i've listened to madhava bhat in one of the monthly programmes we organize in our school of music called 'Prapancha-The World of Music' in bangalore.

I happen to be a flautist and am learning since the last 19years. the music that madhava bhat produces through whistling is truely of a very high quality. being a flautist i'm aware of the challenge it poses to produce music through wind. the biggest challenge is shruti. madhava bhat has quite a good control of this aspect.

balakk
Posts: 130
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 06:56

Post by balakk »

Here's an article on latest edition of Kalachuvadu - a tamil magazine.

http://kalachuvadu.com/issue-113/page40.asp

Not a review as such, but more of a rant - it's a tamil translation of an original Malayalam article I gather.
Sorry if this is not the right place to post this - I'm a bit of a newb here.

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

Post by arasi »

balakk,
Thank you! Quite an article. Hope many others get to read it.

I did translate the original kAlaccuvaDu interview of Sanjay into English. It appeared in our Rasikas forum in September 2007 (?).

Rasika911
Posts: 521
Joined: 09 Mar 2009, 06:11

Post by Rasika911 »

A non-believer's guide to divine music - Do you have to be religious to understand sacred music?

Buzz up!
Digg it
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 May 2006 12.15 BST Article history

I was with a group of westerners attending a a concert of Carnatic music - south India's classical music - in Chennai. An affluent looking middle aged man in the row in front of us turned and smiled. He asked us if we liked the music. We said yes. Then he said: "But you cannot really understand it if you do not believe."

Now, it's true that the lyrics of much Carnatic music are addressed to various members of the Hindu pantheon and strongly coloured by the south Indian bhakti tradition of personal devotion. It's also true that they are written and sung in languages I don't speak (though I've read what I can in translation). But I resented this gentleman's complacent assumption that I could not understand the music. When the percussionists pumped out their rhythms and the violinist soared away with the melody, a visceral charge passed through the audience, believers and non-believers alike. A gift from one group of human beings to another. A gift that is at one and the same time intellectual, emotional, and physical.

Music is a material phenomenon, entering through the ears, pulsing in the blood, prompting the muscles. Carnatic music is sometimes seen as forbiddingly technical, but when the audience in Chennai counted the rhythmic pattern with fingers, palms, slaps on the thigh, they were moved by the same power that's tapped by rock n roll, township jazz or bluegrass. And in the miraculous alchemy of art - the only miracle I believe in - that material stimulus becomes much more than physical. It engages, soothes, sensitizes the human being as a whole. And the human being as a whole is by definition a cross-cultural entity.

You don't have to be a Christian to feel the swooning power of gospel music. You don't have to be a Muslim to be thrilled by qawalli. I'm an atheist and a materialist but I'm excited, touched and inspired by the art of William Blake, Kabir, Curtis Mayfield, Giotto - all of it saturated in faith. And I don't see that as a contradiction.

Religious art, when it's more than just a rite for the faithful, is multi-dimensional, enriched by undertones of doubt, desire, frustration, jealousy, and fear. It can be cerebral, erotic or political (dangerous as it is to generalise, I'd say that the greatest religious art tends to be protestant and prophetic, rather than orthodox). And it offers something hard to find in secular art: a fragile but somehow limitless hope, poised against all evidence to the contrary, a consoling promise, a reaching towards an ultimate peace. When this hope is given body in great art, in Bach or Tyagarajah (the Carnatic Mozart) or Hank Williams ("I saw the light, I saw the light, no more trouble, no more night...") its appeal is irresistible, even to the most die-hard sceptic.

Much as I respect sincere believers of all faiths, I'm afraid I remain convinced that human beings are alone in the universe and that it's in our individual and common interests to recognise this. I'm with the Russian anarchist Bakunin when he wrote: "The first revolt is against the supreme tyranny of theology, of the phantom of God. As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth" and with the Tamil iconoclast Periyar when he declared: "The temples are not built for gods. They have come up for the livelihood of the Brahmins and to degrade and exploit the common people."

Nonetheless, I think we atheists and materialists also have to admit that in the end there remains a mysteriousness to life that is not merely a mystification. There are basic questions which humans ask to which we cannot give definitive answers. The impulse to explore these mysteries seems to me healthily human and not inherently retrogressive or escapist. And whatever happens to religion in the future, art is certain to remain one of the prime means by which we engage in that exploration.

The song performed at the Carnatic concert that we had been told we could not understand was, in fact, Tyagarajah's Vararagalaya - a sprightly and sarcastic composition. "They chatter and blabber, pretending they're top notch experts in melody and cadence but they don't have a clue in their brains ..." it begins. "They chatter as if they're aficionados of raga and rhythm. All the while they don't know a note from a fluttering."

There's a wonderful irascibility in Tyagarajah: he's frequently impatient with his listeners, his fellow musicians, himself and at times his God. In Vararagalaya, he's angry with those who do not understand that "the sounds which arise from the body are indeed the outpouring of the divine OM". I suppose that would include me. Still, the thrust of the song is a complaint about people who substitute the form for the soul of the music, just as elsewhere he complains about people who substitute outward ritual for inner devotion. Whatever Tyagarajah himself might have thought, I feel I'm closer to him in this matter than some of his more sectarian devotees.

Rasika911
Posts: 521
Joined: 09 Mar 2009, 06:11

Post by Rasika911 »

The above isnt really a review as such but i couldnt be bothered starting a new thread- mods can do so if they feel it is appropriate.

keerthi
Posts: 1309
Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Post by keerthi »

If I remember right, this had appeared in either the Deccan herald or the Hindu sunday supplement, in 2006...

I particularly remember the vararAgalayagnulu reference..

alexson115
Posts: 1
Joined: 04 Jul 2009, 14:07

Post by alexson115 »

wonderful! thanks for the info..



pret personnel

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

Post by bilahari »

Nice article. Thanks, Rasika911!

VK RAMAN
Posts: 5009
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:29

Post by VK RAMAN »

Good article and thanks for sharing with us.

varadhukutty
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Feb 2006, 20:10

Post by varadhukutty »

Some good balanced reviews of 2009 music season are available in English here

http://unrulednotebook.wordpress.com

Each review seem to contain some demonstration audio clips and written elaborately.

More reviews in Tamil (by the same person) are available at http://ommachi.wordpress.com

MV
Posts: 454
Joined: 19 Dec 2009, 08:01

Post by MV »

Rasika 911: Now, it's true that the lyrics of much Carnatic music are addressed to various members of the Hindu pantheon and strongly coloured by the south Indian bhakti tradition of personal devotion. It's also true that they are written and sung in languages I don't speak (though I've read what I can in translation). But I resented this gentleman's complacent assumption that I could not understand the music. When the percussionists pumped out their rhythms and the violinist soared away with the melody, a visceral charge passed through the audience, believers and non-believers alike. A gift from one group of human beings to another. A gift that is at one and the same time intellectual, emotional, and physical.

To answer that: I went to Music Academy on 29/12 for Bombay Jayashree and 30/12 for Sanjay. Walking out with a group of westerners after Sanjay's concert I heard them analysing the 2 concerts. BJ has a great voice and sings to perfection but it is Sanjay who touches me and surprises me every concert and I have heard him a few times now!

So much for Hindu pantheon and tradition and all that baloney. Music is seamless...
Last edited by MV on 21 Jan 2010, 12:28, edited 1 time in total.

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

Re: Reviews Worth Reading

Post by rshankar »

A nice one! http://www.hindu.com/fr/2011/04/08/stor ... 840300.htm

Is the S. Sankar mentioned (as one of her students) vidvAn B'luru S. Sankar?

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

Re: Reviews Worth Reading

Post by arasi »

Ravi,
Thanks for bringing this to the forum. Our kind are proud (both in gender and age !).
Very well written too.

VRV
Posts: 151
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 19:03

Re: Reviews Worth Reading

Post by VRV »

Very well written article. What a cherished life she has led so far. May she live long and impart her knowledge to one and all.

Vinod Venkataraman

Post Reply