Vijay Siva at KGS on 18 Dec 2008

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 18 Dec 2008, 21:42

Vocal: Vijay Siva
Violin: Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
Mrudangam: Trichy Sankaran
Khanjira: N Amrith

Approximate Songlist:

01. pAhimAm srI - janaranjani - Adi
02. nI bhakthi bhAgya (N @ nAda pramEya sadhA, S @ pallavi)- jayamanOhari - mishra chApu
03. mAyuranAtham (R, S @ pallavi) - dhanyAsi - mishra chApu
04. inkE varu nAru - sahAna - Adi
05. srIpathE nI (R, N @ rAjAdi rAja ravikOti tEja, S) - nAgaswarAvali - Adi
06. padavinI - sAlaga bhairavi - Adi
07. abhayAmbA jagadAmba (R, N @ Ashrutha mA vANi kalyANi, S, T) - Kalyani - Adi
08. sAmikku sari evvarE - kEdAragowLa - mishra chApu
09. peruthalAm (?) thavam pEdhamai - phAras - Adi
10. kAnthamAm kadirkAmam - sindhu bhairavi - Adi
11. Viruttam - yadukulakAmbOji, hamIrkalyAni, kharaharapriya
pAdi madi nadi (thiruppugazh) - kharaharapriya

My first listening experience - live or otherwise - with Vijay Siva begged the question of why I have not listened to him yet and why he does not draw crowds like TMK and Sanjay. Today's concert at KGS was an excellent exposition of the ideals of music and concert presentation.

The choice of pAhimAm srI in janaranjani to start the concert was a true prognosticator of the emphasis laid in the rest of the concert: bhavam and melody. The jayamanOhari krithi was rendered exceedingly well with a rather elaborate slower madhyama kAla neraval and swaras in the same speed, preserving the dignity of the composition and raga. The Dhanyasi rAgam was a masterpiece and well-tailored to the krithi as well, with several phrases from the song interwoven into the alapanai, and VS's ending of the alapanai with a moment dwelling on the mandra panchamam and nishadam was very evocative. VS's swaras at the end of the Dhanyasi piece were excellent, with smooth upward glides to the panchamam and shadjam used to great effect. I am not at all familiar with the ragam nAgaswarAvali but VS did good justice to it with an alapanai with plenty of imagination but without the sacrifice of melody. The krithi was rendered quite well but the neraval at rAjAdi rAja was truly something else, filled with sowkhyam, and the subsequent kalpana swaras were excellent.

The main item, Kalyani, was a masterpiece with a sublime alapanai that didn't often venture into tried and tested prayogas yet retained the full body and character of the raga, and his tara sthayi brigha sequences were well done (he had some trouble earlier in the highest octave), with a brief Hindusthani brush on the tara madhyamam where he sang it plain. The krithi was rendered very well and the neraval was most elaborate in two speeds, with a very smooth transition between speeds. All the tukkadas were rendered carefully with bhavam, and were well- chosen.

Vijay Siva really impressed me today on account of the following: (1) his clean rendition of krithis, without unnecessary brigha-laden sangathis and theatrics, (2) his supple, but not overpowering voice, which has good reaches in the lower octave, (3) his serious use of the lower octave when concluding alapanais, in an environment where 95% of artistes simply brush the nishadam and maybe dhaivatham/ panchamam for a few seconds before moving back to the shadjam, (4) his thorough neravals where the artiste really seems to reflect on the lyrics and brings out their full beauty using the musical skills he has at disposal, rather than just singing one or two rounds for the sake of neraval singing and then moving on to kalpana swaras, and (5) his rather unique style of kalpana swara singing, where he does not necessarily use wildly innovative patterns but ensures he sings each swaram with an appropriate and musical gamakam, thus giving individual importance to swaras in the context of the passage he's singing at the moment.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, on the violin, was rather fantastic today, accompanying fluidly during krithi renditions, using the different octaves aesthetically, and really proved herself a capable accompanist in reproducing phrases from the vocalist's alapanai with great precision. Her Dhanyasi was mostly a highlights package of the vocalist's effort (and a good highlights package!), her nAgaswarAvali was innovative and maybe even better than the vocalist's for her excellent use of the lower octave, and her Kalyani was just sublime, especially in her highlighting the madhyamam and nishadam of the raga. Neraval and swara responses were good as well. Only wish her bowing had been a little more limpid.

Trichy Sankaran delivered a standout performance today, filling the gaps nicely in krithis, providing a very vigorous and strokeful accompaniment to the faster neraval passages in Kalyani (this was just brilliant accompaniment), and the thani he and Amrith shared was top-class stuff. It was exciting, it was interesting, and it was engaging. Amrith's playing was otherwise rather good and with good azhuttham.

I fear this review is getting over-exuberant and shall stop by saying that this was really just a masterclass by every artiste on stage today of how to produce a satisfying and successful concert.

Side notes:
(1) Two pests were sitting at the back just a couple of rows in front of me and were so loudly appreciating the artistes, I wanted to strangle them both to death (and I don't usually have such violent temptations). Every 2 minutes, you could really count on them to holler out, AHA and BESH and SABASH and OHO and whatever other exclamations one can think of. Add to that vigorous clapping of tala and very expansive arm-waving and you have the perfect recipe for people who can spoil your concert experience by intruding obnoxiously into it. There's no better way to spoil a nice moment where you're just completely dissolved in the music on stage and hear and see nothing else only to have your bubble burst with a loud proclamation: SABASH!

(2) For the second evening in the row, the useless caterer at KGS ran out of food at 7 PM! Is this normal for such a popular sabha and prestigious sabha? Do these caterers even know how to run a business?

Jigyaasa · Post by **Jigyaasa** » 18 Dec 2008, 21:58

3. it's mAyUranAtham
4. was just too beautiful... it's a rare Annaswami Shastri kriti which Smt. DKP used to render...
7. the complete line actually... abhayavaradapANi aLivENi AshritamAvANi kalyANi
8.sAmikku sari evvarE is a composition of Papanasam Sivan. It is indeed in kEdAragowLa...
9. was in phAras...
11. viruttam was in yadukulakAmbhOji, hamIrkalyANi, kharaharapriyA...

WONDERFUL review... Thank u so much... I was jus gonna post the song list cuz I don't really feel qualified to write anything beyond that for such a sublime concert...

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 18 Dec 2008, 22:13

bilahari wrote: I fear this review is getting over-exuberant and shall stop by saying that this was really just a masterclass by every artiste on stage today of how to produce a satisfying and successful concert.

Not at all , it was right exuberance , just like vijayashiva.

basukrish · Post by **basukrish** » 18 Dec 2008, 23:54

bilahari wrote:
08. sAmi krusari evari (srI krishna sAmi...) ? - kEdAragowLa? - rUpakam

ITs Saamikku Sari Evare... Not rupakam ,, ITs MISra ChApu... Papanasam Sivan's Composition

rajaglan · Post by **rajaglan** » 19 Dec 2008, 00:27

Hi bilahari,

I am also at loss to understand why the crowd is missing for Vijay Siva. Such a great singer. Thanks for the elaborate review.

Your notes on KGS : KGS has flat level , no level change or very less (no gallery). I donot know which engineer designed this for such a prestigeous sabha. So it is very likely that you will keep moving your head depending on the people before you (not giving the view). And one more thing, the tickets are very expensive here. I bought a reasonably priced ticket and had to sit far away. Couldnot see the artist well. And about the canteen, it is more for name sake, unlike MA and Naradha Gana Sabha. You get something to eat, not an elaborate menu.

sankark · Post by **sankark** » 19 Dec 2008, 09:36

Joined only as he was closing the dhanyasi piece. I much rued missing that as dhanyasi is one of my favorites. Haven't been bored listening to that raga, yet. IMO though, compared to the MA performance, I would say this was a notch down.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 19 Dec 2008, 09:42

Thank you for the corrections and information, Jigyaasa and basukrish. Jigyaasa, the sahAna composition was indeed rendered very well. I especially loved the lines in the mandra sthayi.

Rajaglan, KGS has been all in all rather disappointing so far (add to that sudden switching off and on of ceiling fans, power cuts on Wed's concert) and I remember someone had labelled it the koLLai gAna sabhA last year. I really didn't feel I was getting my money's worth.

vanamali · Post by **vanamali** » 19 Dec 2008, 09:52

rajaglan wrote: Your notes on KGS : KGS has flat level , no level change or very less (no gallery). I donot know which engineer designed this for such a prestigeous sabha. So it is very likely that you will keep moving your head depending on the people before you (not giving the view). And one more thing, the tickets are very expensive here. I bought a reasonably priced ticket and had to sit far away. Couldnot see the artist well. And about the canteen, it is more for name sake, unlike MA and Naradha Gana Sabha. You get something to eat, not an elaborate menu.

i think the best place to sit in KGS is the stage! The ticket price last year was about Rs 50 for stage, and you can happily sit squatting on the floor and also have a good view of the artistes!

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 19 Dec 2008, 09:56

vanamali wrote:i think the best place to sit in KGS is the stage! The ticket price last year was about Rs 50 for stage, and you can happily sit squatting on the floor and also have a good view of the artistes!

Agree - the stage ticket is always the best deal if one does not mind sitting on the floor for a couple hours. Always my preferred choice!

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 19 Dec 2008, 10:14

bilahari- The canteen ran out of food because it was anticipating excellant "music food" inside the hall !!!

In MFAC, it was different, after the concert was over, when I came out after 15 minutes taking to the artists, the canteen was full. May be "Sevikku uNavilladha podhu......"

raslkan · Post by **raslkan** » 19 Dec 2008, 11:01

I also attended the concert. Thoroughly enjoyable concert. Vijaysiva's impeccable style with sruthi sudham and azhutham are awesome. I really enjoyed Dhanyasi ragam and nagaswarali. Trichy sankaran's naatham was amazing. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi's accompaniment had the complete Lalgudi bhani. As regards to KGS, i want to say that the chairs are same old and very inconvenient to sit. Even the coffee was worst in the canteen.

Dhanavendra · Post by **Dhanavendra** » 19 Dec 2008, 11:24

thought i badly missed the concert. Thanks Bilahari for the excellent review. I feel as though I listened to the concert. Crowd is a mirage irrespective of the Sabhas. Vijay Shiva is one of the best around yet sometimes the crowd goes by media and a few critics in reputed dailies. A rasika needs to judge with an independent frame of mind. The other day Jayanthi Kumaresh gave an elevating recital at Music Academy. But where was the crowd who stand in serpentine queues for some others. So rasikas also want popularity which they will get only when they visit currently popular artists.
Thus rasikas who missed the concert missed it because of lack of discerning attitude and probably because of logistics. KGS is not ideally located to reach well in time on a working day. So discerning rasikas alone can put the right artist at the right place. Even temples have their time to be famous and not so famous is it not? Cultivating rasika base is a difficult art and not all are good at it. Its not their fault but it is the fault of us rasikas who expect to be herded by artists themselves both by their talent and PR skills.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 19 Dec 2008, 13:03

It is all in the marketing - be it 'style ambassadors', or a few, well written and controversial op-ed pieces, or a blog - some thing seems to be necessary these days to pull crowds - mere virtuosity alone is probably perceived as 'boring'.... Just my view!

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 19 Dec 2008, 13:18

very true.. i have heard from some organizers that they don't call certain artist because they don't have "market"....

-hari

ganeshkant · Post by **ganeshkant** » 19 Dec 2008, 13:25

Hi Bilahari,

About the canteen at KGS.The caterer told a long story without much provocation yesterday.He is suffering losses to the tune of Rs.6000 every day.That morning he was asked to make 30 meals @Rs.80 each and showed me more than half remaining.The problem is with the location and so he can't judge the exact no.of eaters unlike in other sabhas where out side crowd comes just to eat.

So,pl.do empathize with the caterer

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 19 Dec 2008, 13:28

Bilahari,
Great review. You cover all bases about Vijay Siva's gifts and capabilities. When I hear him, I am filled with a tranquil feeling and with admiration for his gifts of clarity, solid scholarship, and for his treasure trove of compositions.
You don't sound jet-lagged at all. Keep the reviews coming.,
As Rajesh says, you write with the right amount of exuberance a la Vijay Siva...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 19 Dec 2008, 17:05

inkevarunnAru in sahAnA is a masterpiece indeed. The Brinda-Mukta School, DKP School, and Kalpakam mami have always rendered it.

The list looks too good. Sri Vijay Siva renders the sindubhairavi piece very soulfully always.