Accompanists:
Violin : Sri Embar Kannan
Mri : Prof. Trichy Sankaran
Kanjira : Sri Amrit
1.taruNi ninnu (kAmbhOji varNam, Tiruvottriyur Thyagaiyar)
2.varashikhivAhana (supradIpam, Adi, Thyagaraja) (A, S at pallavi)
3.yE pApamu jEsitirA (aTANA, mishra cApu, Thyagaraja) (A, N, S at nI pAdamulanu gati moraliDitE)
4.kAyArOhaNEsham (karnATaka dEvagAndhAri, rUpakam, Muthuswami Dikshitar)
5.sandEhamunu (rAmapriyA, Adi, Thyagaraja) (A, S at varamounulella)
6.kshINamai tiruga (A, T at Edi jEsina jagannAthuDu shiramuna)
7.RTP-ChArukEshi (tAnam with mri accompaniment)
pallavi - rAjE rAjayOgE rAjEshwari rAjitacArukESi pAhi
tALa - khaNDa jAti tripuTa (1 beat after samam)
rAgamAlikA swaras - lalitA, dEshAkshi, hamsAnandi, suraTi
8. started a sindhubhairavi sketch (left at this point)
The supradIpam AlApana had me guessing in the inital stages if Sri Ravikumar was singing sUryakAntam but within a couple more seconds, the rAgaswarUpa was established. This rAga seems to me to combine a touch of melancholy with a certain verve. The brothers' rendition was sprightly n "set the mood" for the rest of the concert. Sri Embar Kannan's swara sallies were par excellence. The way he played seemed to suggest that he was SOOO conversant with even a rare rAga such as this one...
The aTANA AlApana by Sriram Prasad packed a lot of energy but nowadays, I notice he sticks his tongue out a lot while singing phrases in the tArA sthAyi... Sounds kinda weird... The violinist's version was also awesome, with a few innovative phrasings... The kriti has so much wait n a majestic gait unlike many other aTANA pieces which just breeze thru... The brother's rendition was spirited n conveyed the meaning beautifully.
The rendition of the Dikshitar kriti had a pronounced Hindustani slant which is in keeping with Dikshitar's treatment of the rAga in the song. I seriously wished they'd sung an AlApana for it, esp Sri Ravikumar, who usually infuses a few soulful Hindustani touches in his rAga essays.
The rAmapriyA AlApana by Sri Rvaikumar had wonderfully unique phrases n so did the violinist's. There were plenty of panchama varja phrases which showed the rAga in a new light. Swaras at varamounulella had quite a few calculations n the violinist faithfully followed suit...
The RTP was the best I've heard in cArukEsi in a concert, live... The brothers described at being "specially" for the rasikas of BGS...
I felt the concert could have been planned better. But whatever they sing is worth it so no qualms there. But among my best concerts this season anyway...
Trivia:
1. The brothers didn't sing neraval or swaras for the "main item" thereby disqualifying it as the "main". But the Alapana was top class. Sriram Prasad's reach is mind blowing. He went all the way down to ati mandAra shaDja n yet the notes could be heard clearly. There were a few times when I cud sense sAlaga bhairavi but mukhAri would soon return unquestionably.
2. The tani lasted a clear 20 + minutes n Sri Amrit matched up to Sri Sankaran's brilliance...
3. Sriram Prasad commented abt the acoustics of the hall as being so good that they didn't feel like wrapping up the concert... Plus he said that with this kind of rasikatvam in the audience. they were inspired to give their very best. He also metioned how blessed they felt to be accompanied by a maha vidvan like Sankaran Sir.
4. BGS has this spotlight producing device attached to it's ceiling. It's pretty big n black n moves around sluggishly with a low rumble. This was put to use y'day. Smt Nathella Sampathu Chetty sponsored a gift for a member of the audience who wud be "selected" by the spotlight falling on him/her. The thing faltered for a whole minute, invariably casting it's oval white glow on the walls or seats where no one was present! The announcer was fed up n finally just asked the man on whom it fell for a couple of seconds before moving on, to come up n accept the prize... Waste of time in a concert which already had a pseudo main...
Malladi Brothers at Brahma Gana Sabha, 23rd Dec 2008
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grsastrigal
- Posts: 884
- Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 10:52
Good review. You missed another 30 min rendition. I also enjoyed every bit of it. Charukesi RTP was outstanding. I thought the concert would get over after Kshhenamai with some tukkadas. They started RTP which was a pleasant suprise. The concert was 3.30 hours, may be first of its December season. That showed their involvement.
True that they did not plan the concert. They started their Niraval in Ramapriya then jumped it to Swram. They also missed Anupallavi line of Kayarohanesham, then got it.
8) Sandu Bhairavi- Kangeya..SharavaNa Jathitam (I don't know whose vritham ?) followed by Manadhirkugandadhu..... (TSI)
proununciation like Mayai instead of Mayayai and NrRa instead of NiRai- These does not deteriorate the quality of the song or their
rendition.
9) Ramabhadra Raghu veera Ravivamsa tilaka, Nin Namame Kamadehnuvu- Anandhabhairavi (MUST BE Annamacharya !!!)
10) Ennaga Manasu ... Pannagasayee sogasu= Neelambari- Thyagaraja.
11) Tillana- both of them did sing in bullet speed. Wonderful understanding. - Nalinakanthi
12) Mangalam with the following words in betwen "....Vairagya sukaeva athivishesye prahladha....Sangeetha sahitya.. Ramamritha bana.. Thyagrajam bhaje...
After that concert, I went to Mr.Sankaran and asked whether he could experience Ksheenamai of SSI time, when he played Mridangam. He had a big laugh and said... "Beshdappa..beshdappa" in SSI style. Very interesting..
True that they did not plan the concert. They started their Niraval in Ramapriya then jumped it to Swram. They also missed Anupallavi line of Kayarohanesham, then got it.
8) Sandu Bhairavi- Kangeya..SharavaNa Jathitam (I don't know whose vritham ?) followed by Manadhirkugandadhu..... (TSI)
proununciation like Mayai instead of Mayayai and NrRa instead of NiRai- These does not deteriorate the quality of the song or their
rendition.
9) Ramabhadra Raghu veera Ravivamsa tilaka, Nin Namame Kamadehnuvu- Anandhabhairavi (MUST BE Annamacharya !!!)
10) Ennaga Manasu ... Pannagasayee sogasu= Neelambari- Thyagaraja.
11) Tillana- both of them did sing in bullet speed. Wonderful understanding. - Nalinakanthi
12) Mangalam with the following words in betwen "....Vairagya sukaeva athivishesye prahladha....Sangeetha sahitya.. Ramamritha bana.. Thyagrajam bhaje...
After that concert, I went to Mr.Sankaran and asked whether he could experience Ksheenamai of SSI time, when he played Mridangam. He had a big laugh and said... "Beshdappa..beshdappa" in SSI style. Very interesting..
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
I was there post Mukhari - paid 250 bucks for just over an hour making it the most expensive concert I've attended to date (if we discount a few Shaktis/ZAkir Hussains). But if I had known what was coming I would have paid ten times that amount.
The Charukeshi was a priceless gem. Admittedly, I have heard no more than, maybe, 10-15 elaborations of the raga but this one was so different. There were some very tricky varja phrases that seemed right out of Voleti's book. The maestro would have cut loose with his vishesha prayogas (oh, does anyone have a Voleti alaapana in the raga?!!) but although the Malladis were more cautious there was a very high level of swara gnanam on display - and always aesthetic. Along with Sanjay's Darbari, this made my day and I dare say, my season.
The "projector lottery" has to be the most dorky thing I've ever seen in a carnatic music concert. Kudos to the Malladis for smiling through it - I would not have been so tolerant if I had been in their place. I was just hoping that the spotlight would not fall on me! All this for a 100 bucks and that too right in the middle of the concert. Shame because the venue is otherwise one of my faourites.
The Charukeshi was a priceless gem. Admittedly, I have heard no more than, maybe, 10-15 elaborations of the raga but this one was so different. There were some very tricky varja phrases that seemed right out of Voleti's book. The maestro would have cut loose with his vishesha prayogas (oh, does anyone have a Voleti alaapana in the raga?!!) but although the Malladis were more cautious there was a very high level of swara gnanam on display - and always aesthetic. Along with Sanjay's Darbari, this made my day and I dare say, my season.
The "projector lottery" has to be the most dorky thing I've ever seen in a carnatic music concert. Kudos to the Malladis for smiling through it - I would not have been so tolerant if I had been in their place. I was just hoping that the spotlight would not fall on me! All this for a 100 bucks and that too right in the middle of the concert. Shame because the venue is otherwise one of my faourites.