Smt. Suguna Varadachari @ Nada Inbam Dec 22 2008

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
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uday_shankar
Posts: 1475
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:37

Post by uday_shankar »

Smt Suguna Varadachari - Vocal
Smt Ranjani Arun - Violin
Shri Mannarkoil J Balaji - Mridangam

6:15 PM

1. jalajAksha (varnam) - hamsadhwani - Adi - manambuchavadi venkatasubbaiyer (??)
(preceded by a little shlokam - gnyananada...sarvavidya...)
2. shri pArvati paramEshwarou vandE - bouli - Adi - MD
3. manasu nilpa shakti - abhOgi - Adi - tyagarAja
4. kIchu kIchu - bhairavi - mishra chAppu - andAl tiruppAvai
5. lambhOdara - kalyANI - sankIrna chAppu - h muthiAh bhAgavathar
6. ambanIlAmbari - nIlAmbari - Adi - ponniAh pillai
7. gaurimanOhari - gaurimanOhari - adi - papanAsam sivan
8. nannu brOchutaku tAmasa - tOdi - Adi - S Shastry (question: not sure what S stands for :-))
9. rAmakrishna gOvinda - hamIr kalyani - Adi - rAmdAs
(preceded by shlokam)
10. Tillana - behAg - thishra thriputa - Srimushnam Raja Rao
11. mananilai ariyEn - bAgeshri - adi - ???
12. nI nAma rUpa - adi - tyagaraja
13. shlokam - shri kAntAya... - sUrati

Excellent concert. Audience was kept glued to their seats by sedate music not bereft of novelty - a rare combination.

The alapana in kalyani was developed along very classical lines, reminiscent, strangely, of Smt Brinda. I haven't heard the muthiah bhagavathar kriti before, as it seemed handn't most of the others either. Before the song, Smt Suguna explained that the uncommon sankIrna chappu is reckoned as taka-taka-taka-takita (I also found it convenient mentally to reckon it as 3 sets of takita). The unusual tAla kept the the swara prasthara exciting and Ranjani Arun showed her class by her unfaltering replies to the mAmi's immaculate swaraprastharas.

The nIlambari was really sedate with a most appropriate kALapramanam.

The tOdi alapana was developed along very classical lines, without the taint of any of the modern "developments" in that rAga. Ranjani Arun must be applauded for the crisp, neat and brief alapanas. The tOdi kirtana is a well-known masterpiece (not sure which shastry composed it :-)) and the mAmi's neraval was simply superb - developed in three kAlams with many Avartanas, everything so well structured and landing so well on the beat...very satisfying.

Shri Raja Rao's tillana was very enjoyable highlighting another facet of the versatile mridangist.

Ranjani Arun, who I heard accompany the mAmi exceptionally well in Cleveland, did not disappoint. She excelled in all aspects - rAgas, swaras, laya.

Mannarkoil J Balaji's mridangam was in perfect shruti, his meetus and chappus soft and melodious and his thoppi strong and deep but unobstrusive. So the accompaniment complemented the spirit of the concert. The tani was extremely well-executed, without the slightest ottam or izhukkal (right word ?), the mOhras and kOrvai falling perfectly in place. He played some delightful thishram combinations.

Was nice to see forumite Bharat in the audience.
Last edited by Guest on 23 Dec 2008, 18:12, edited 1 time in total.

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

Post by rshankar »

Must have been an awesome concert. Thanks for sharing.

Is # 9 P. Sivan's?

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

Post by bilahari »

Thanks for that great review, Uday. First time I'm hearing of sakeerna chapu being used in a composition! And nice to hear our mridhangam played really well as well.

rbharath
Posts: 2333
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

just to add to uday:

the second piece, srI pArvati paramEsvarau also had a slokam preceding it. (vAgartAviva sandishtau... )
nannu brOchuTaku is a composition of Subbaraya Sastri
rAmakrishNa gOvindA in yamunA kalyANi was a composition of Bhadrachalam Ramadasa.
The bhAgEsrI piece is a composition of Smt. Neela Ramamurthy.

It was a brilliant concert.

PUNARVASU
Posts: 2498
Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Post by PUNARVASU »

In the kriti 'sriI pArvatI parameswarou', the rAga mudrA occurs beautifully in the second line of pallavi-'cidbimbou lIlA vigrahou'

Jigyaasa
Posts: 592
Joined: 16 May 2006, 14:04

Post by Jigyaasa »

Uday_Shankar wrote: (preceded by a little shlokam - gnyananada...sarvavidya...)
Must've been jnAnAndamayam dEvam nirmalasphaTikAkrutim AdhAram saravvidyAnAm hayagreevam upAsmahE...
rbharath wrote:(vAgartAviva sandishtau... )
Lovely choice of the starting lines of Kalidasa's KumAra sambhavam (vAgarthAviva sampruktau vAgarthapratipattayE jagatah pitarau vandE pArvatIparamEshwarau)
Kalidasa has used shlEsha alankAra (figure of speech where the same word conveys two meanings, pArvatI + paramEshwarau AND pArvatIpa + ramEshwarau)
However, I'm not sure if Dikshitar has...

rbharath
Posts: 2333
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

It was a brilliant concert. Each piece rendered with all the necessary gait. All the AlApanais were very crisp and all the phrases were very moving. Some of the vintage phrases were very enjoyable. The neraval svarams that were rendered were all very punchy also. The renditions of nIlAmbari, tODi, bauLi kritis stood out. The accompanists were good and played with good sense to add to the overall pleasing effect of the concert.

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