TNK-Viji-Sriram at Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha on 22 Dec 2008

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 22 Dec 2008, 23:26

Violin: TN Krishnan
Viji Krishnan Natarajan
Sriram Krishnan
Mrudangam: KV Prasad
Ghatam: Giridhar Udupa

Approximate Songlist:

01. nera nammiti (varNam) - kAnada - aTa
02. sAdinchanE - Arabhi - Adi
03. gAnamOsakarAda (R, N, S) - pUrvikalyANi - rUpakam
04. marivEragathi (R, S) - Ananda bhairavi - mishra chApu
05. azhai mazhi kannA (N, S) - varALi - Adi
06. enthavEdu - saraswathimanOhari - Adi
07. RTP (T) - thOdi - Adi
+ rAgamAliga thAnam in aTANa, bEhAg, sahAna
08. vanga kadal (sketch) - surutti - Adi
09. pavamAna (mangaLam) - sowrAshtram - Adi

PSS honoured TNK on his 80th birthday and surprised him with a birthday cake which he then cut and distributed to all on stage as Viji played Happy Birthday on the violin to the clapping of the audience. The speech giver spoke about TNK's longtime association with the sabha, dating back to when they had a music school, and mentioned TNK's accompaniment to ARI on so many occasions at the sabha, as well as his accompaniment to SSI on the 80th sabha anniversary celebrations. TNK then spoke about how concerts decades ago used to start at 4.45 in the afternoon and run until 9 in the evening with the whole hall full by 3.30! He joked that concerts spanning even an hour attracts a small audience these days. He also joked about how PSS has kept up with the times in celebrating his birthday with a cake, and pointed to his daughter and said "ivaLum odanE Happy Birthday vAsikka arumbuchuttA" (and the she also started playing Happy Birthday on the violin).

Finally, the concert began and was a really good, weighty one. The Kanada varnam sounded really special coming from TNK's silken bow, and the Arabhi pancharathna krithi was rendered in madhayama kala with an especially noteworthy rendition of the last two charanams where the three violinists started off bowing really softly and increased the bowing pressure consistently until the end of the charana and the return to samayAniki, which had a nice effect. The Purvikalyani rendition was very good, with TNK providing a faster raga delineation, setting the tone for a customarily quick rendition of gnAnamO, with a truly electric, elaborate neraval and swaras mostly shared by Sriram and Viji. The neraval was almost demonstrated as a lesson, with each violinist centering the neraval on the next successive note compared to the last violinist, culminating naturally in some razor fast exchanges around the tara gandharam.

TNK's Ananda bhairavi alapanai was lovely today, with a special elongated pause on the gandharam while returning to the shadjam, and included some innovative bhairavi-type phrases as well. The emotive capabilities of G3 in the raga were well demonstrated by TNK, who performed the raga essay by himself. The oft-heard Marive was presented and presented well, with a really delicate presentation of the chittai swaras, and just when everybody thought the rendition was over, TNK started kalpana swaras. Sriram bowed a forceful SGRGM - marivE, and TNK subtly refocused the tone he wanted everyone to take during the kalpana swaras and simply repeated SGRGM in a really soft, barely audible, tone. The ensuing swara exchanges were full of sowkhyam, with TNK and Viji exploring G3 once again in the swaras. The swaraprastharam was easily one of the highlights of the evening.

The single best highlight, however, was the surprise varALi that followed. The presentation of the thiruppAvai verse was nice, but just as we were all thinking it would be a mere filler, TNK started a neraval. The subsequent rounds of neraval and kalpana swaras were just outstanding, with Sriram using the bouncing bow to great effect in the neraval and all of them using the tara shadjam as a focus during the neraval, with excellent faster phrases with N and R in that region. I've always considered varALi to be a more delicate raga best explored in vilamba kalam but the electric presentation today opened up a wholly different perspective for me. After finishing up the varALi, TNK mentioned how he had been reminded of ARI while playing this piece.

The RTP in Thodi was good overall, with a nice madhyama kala raga expansion by TNK and Sriram, with Sriram producing some lovely Sindhu Bhairavi type phrases with a flat tara rishabam and gandharam and also using thanam-type rhythmic brigha phrases excellently in the alapanai. The thanam was very good and followed by a lovely Atana sequence where TNK played that perfect and in-pitch atana nishadam that sent many a head nodding (not into slumber). Just as TNK took a moment to retune his instrument in the midst of the Atana thanam, Viji suddenly started a Behag thanam and was duly admonished for not waiting for TNK to complete the Atana. Yet she redeemed herself excellently with a melodious Behag thanam with a slide to the tara panchamam that got praise from TNK himself. But it was Sriram's Sahana thanam that stole the show for me and the rest of the very appreciative audience as well, as he used long slides from the rishabam to nishadam very well.

The pallavi presentation was standard, but the final kalpana swaras were really excellent with the Sindhu Bhairavi connection showing up again with Sriram playing some really interesting plain phrases with Viji continuing nicely in the same vein. The concert wound up rather quickly after the thani, with TNK not really doing his usual justice to Surutti, cutting short his sketch when noticing some people exiting the hall, and remarked, "Don't worry, I'm already finishing it up and the concert will be over by the time you leave the hall. Why don't you wait!"

KV Prasad was very good and supportive on the mrudangam. He understands TNK's music very well and played with a lot of sowkhyam. Sowkhyam's the word to describe the thani as well, which was compact and interesting. I especially enjoyed KV Prasad's accompaniment for the Thodi kalpanaswaras and for the Anandha bhairavi swaras as well. Giridhar Udupa on the ghatam played quite well, though his strokes sometimes came across as muffled, maybe as a result of the sound system in the sabha. He played very nicely during the thani.

Special mention must be given to TNK's children, who really rose to the occasion every time TNK allowed them monopoly. Sriram was especially fantastic today, reproducing some TNK phrases in Thodi exactly as the vidwan himself would have played it. I wonder why neither Sriram nor Viji accompanies.

All in all, not the usual sowkhyam-laden TNK concert but it was more ARI inspired and mostly in madhyama kala, and it was enjoyable nonetheless. TNK concerts are captivating for people like me who have never seen the past masters live because his concerts are an encyclopedia of the best of each of the yesteryear vidwans and the closest we can come to experiencing their music "live."

shyam223 · Post by **shyam223** » 23 Dec 2008, 01:51

I heard Sri Krishnan at San Jose and he played the most beautiful Devamanohari I have heard. MLV's Devamanohari is another that has transported me to blissful mode.

appu · Post by **appu** » 23 Dec 2008, 09:18

Shyam223, What kirtanam did he play in Devamanohari. I love the ragam.

shyam223 · Post by **shyam223** » 23 Dec 2008, 09:24

It was Evvarikai by thyagarajar

rasika27s · Post by **rasika27s** » 23 Dec 2008, 12:18

Nice review, bilahari.

A couple of corrections in the song list:

The third item was "gnanamusakarada" in Purvikalyani
The sixth item was "entha vedukondu raghava" in Saraswatimanohari -- and a classic Iyengar rendition at that
The piece in Surutti was the Tiruppaavai "vanga kadal"

As you said, the concert was encyclopaedic in capturing the Iyengar bhani. Sri TNK was in great form, and it was truly amazing to watch him produce such wondrous melody so effortlessly at an age where most of us would be lucky to be able to sit up straight.

Viji and Sriram were also excellent in capturing their father's style and yet expressed their own style and identity vividly. I'm surprised they are not featured more in the season. They possess such a rich style, and it needs to be represented in the next generation.

It was indeed a shame that the concert ended shortly after the RTP, but I can see the artists' point of view, when the audience starts to get restless after 2 hours.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 23 Dec 2008, 16:05

Thanks, rasika 27s for the corrections!

srikrishna · Post by **srikrishna** » 23 Dec 2008, 18:01

rasika27s wrote:Nice review, bilahari.

A couple of corrections in the song list:

The third item was "gnanamusakarada" in Purvikalyani

The sixth item was "entha vedukondu raghava" in Saraswatimanohari -- and a classic Iyengar rendition at that

The piece in Surutti was the Tiruppaavai "vanga kadal"

It is gnaanamosaga raada (gnaanamu + osagarada).

ghanaragam · Post by **ghanaragam** » 23 Dec 2008, 19:46

shyam223 wrote:I heard Sri Krishnan at San Jose and he played the most beautiful Devamanohari I have heard. MLV's Devamanohari is another that has transported me to blissful mode.

what shyam 223 says is very much true, MLv has sung Devamanohari RTp manytimes ,haa what a manodharma, what a charm with glides and nice brigas, simply she has taken her rasikas out of this world.

appu · Post by **appu** » 05 Jan 2009, 00:56

bilahari wrote:Violin: TN Krishnan
Viji Krishnan Natarajan
Sriram Krishnan
Mrudangam: KV Prasad
Ghatam: Giridhar Udupa

the Arabhi pancharathna krithi was rendered in madhayama kala with an especially noteworthy rendition of the last two charanams where the three violinists started off bowing really softly and increased the bowing pressure consistently until the end of the charana and the return to samayAniki, which had a nice effect.

Any chance some one can upload this Arabhi kriti. Would love to hear it with the new modulations.