Trichur rAmachandran@Vani Mahal on Aug 01st,2009

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 04 Aug 2009, 18:40

Trichur rAmachandran@Vani Mahal on Aug 01st,2009
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Accompaniment was M.Chandrasekaran - violin, mannArgudi easwaran - mridangam and vaikkOm gOpAlakrishnan - ghatam, with vocal support by easwar??

The concert was for 2 hours and 15 minutes,as part of GNB centenary celebrations. Carnatic Musicians have a sunrise , noon and a sunset in their career. Well I guess the challenge for any musician is to extend the n o o n and reduce the sunset in their career .

Three musicians immediately popup in my mind, semmangudi mama the foremost and perhaps the greatest example of how to give musically long innings . To an extent KVN and SanthAnam I would rate them in the same league. Semmangudi mAmA dropped chetashri more in the noon of his career, then settled for akhilAndeshwari during the sunset . KVN also went towards more subtle songs like manamirangAdhA in MM Gowlai during the sunset of his career .

SanthAnam was a master (perhaps I am more qualified to talk about santhAnam as I heard him a lot),the noon itself never was as high as say Semmangudi mAmA , but he was like an army general who planned in such a way that he won the war and lost few battles . In other words , he observed and planned during the noon of his career in such a way the settling sunset of his career was never noticed by many.

In total semmangudi-santhAnam-KVN had a beautiful and extended noon where they converted their slight dip in quality that comes due to physical ageing process , but masking that craftily and still producing spell bound music and more importantly mesemerizing the future generations to come.

Trichur Ramachandran while googling I see he was born in 1940 , perhaps one can say that his concert was not modelled strategically like the above 3. So till the tani , the classicism intent was there , but he failed by miles in delivery. But being GNB's most qualified present disciple , the tukkadAs of GNB helped him to sail thru and lift the quality considerably.

So till the tani , the classicism intent was there , but he failed by miles in delivery:
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GNB must have been an expert in producing brigAs and also had an extraordinary vocal finesse. But I am not sure if he did have the courage to take a very biggie submain and a main that is also taxing to the core . Shri TR took that ,two deadly big numbers and paid a price for that over ambition.

The submain "4. meenAkshi mE mudham (R N S)- poorvikalyAni - MD(3 mins alApanai, 2 mins violin , 8 mins each for neraval and swaras)" stated quite good in alApanai and krithi , the danger mark started from madhurA puri nilayE , at many places it was shruthi pala iDathillE nikkalayE.The swaras were also not upto mark

The main 7. upachAramoolaNu (R S T)- bhairavi - T(8 mins alApanai, 5 mins violin and 4 mins swaram) needs an exhaustive breadth control, he managed it a bit in the preceding bhiravi alApanai , but during krithi and swaras the finish was lacking.Overall I was comfortable more when the submain and submain got over,then when it was on.

Build up to submain:
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1. valachi valachi - kedaram and other ragamaligA - patnam
2. vinAyaka ninnu vinA (S) - hamsadhwani - T
2 mins swaram
3. yentha ninnu nE nidhinE (S)- chandrahasitam - GNB
1 minute swaram

Out of all the numbers I liked chandrahasitam the most it is one of the rAgas created by GNB , it probably falls as a janya between two cousins who always have overlap ,harikAmbodhi and shankarAbharanam (#28 and #29) . THe exhaustive varnam was nice in parts ,as I am always used to loads of swaras in hamsadhwani I did not like that number much.

Build up to main:
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5. teliyalEdu ramA - dhenukA - T
6. karuna jUda rAdhA thaLLi(R S) - sahAnA - GNB
5 mins alApanai , 4 mins violin return and another one minute swaram

The dhenukA was just good ,a tough number to sing immediately after submain, the sahana alApanai was very good and I loved the krithi , GNB's style is always to sing any rAga in atleast a notch higher speed than other contemporaries , the sahana was slightly fast and good. Possibly it would have been better if the sound volume did not dip much there, infact I did see Mrs charumathi talking to one of the mikeman, he did not do much he was blaming more the vidwan for not singing directly in the mike.(To an extent I also spotted this tendency of TR to sing away from the mike in the last 2 concerts inclusive of this)

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 04 Aug 2009, 18:41

The tukkadAs of GNB helped him to sail thru and lift the quality considerably:
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8. himagiri thanayE hemalathE - sudda dhanyAsi - HMB
9. sonnadai ceydida-vandhanadHarini + hindolam + devamanohari?? + mAnd - Mayuram Viswanatha Sastry??
10.kanmaniyE soLLaDi kamala nayana - sArangA?? - ??

11A. Slokham "vandE mAtaram ambikAm bhagavathim"- kharaharapriya + hameerkalyAni +ranjani + gavati+ hamsAnandi
11B. thillAnA "dheem ta dheem"+ "engum niRaiNda "- hamsAnandi - GNB

12. dhavalaroopa saraswathi - anandabhairavi - AGN
13. rAdhA samethA krishnA - mishra yaman - unknown composer
14. pavamAnA

All the tukkadas were rendered in GNB-MLV fashion, in short there was a charge and a great aesthetic finish. Paricularly liked the sonnadai seidhida and the ever untiring vaNde mAtaram , especially the start in kharaharapriyA.

ONly during SAK Durga's lecdem , I heard a fleeting glimpse of the only thillAna of GNB in hamsAnandi, the thillAna was very good and as the rAga demands very very expressive.

The best tukkadA was dhavalaroopa,I just love this a lot , only few weeks before in sriram G's concert I heard this. Very Very spell bound number , incidentally I can declare safely and confidently that this is the first thirruppugazh where I am able to get every phrase of the song , usually you get nothing but calculated cacophany ending with perumAlE in thirruppugazh. GNB has brought in another form of grand new bhAni even for thirruppugazh.

But I do know that thirruppugazh is to based on Lord muruga , it had more phrases as though it is based on Goddess rAja rAjeshwari ,the ishta devatai of GNB . But finally there was a distinct line appar vanangiya perumAlE (Just curious there am I making a mistake being ArunagirinAthar we all automatically call that as a thirruppugazh , may be AGN is known for other numbers than thirruppugazh).

About the Accompanist:
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TR talked briefly with humility to start with and introduced M.Chandrasekharan like his elder brother.The elder brother violinist stayed more closer to his younger brother and was perhaps also caught more with law of averages .The percussionist mannArgudi Easwaran and vaikkOm gOpAlakrishnan both were very good to excellent,the anticipation of easwaran perhaps being the percussionist of MLV helped a lot and he got the sense of charge and lifted the concert.

Vocal support was given by Easwar?? (not sure about his full name). He must have given a better support than what I could hear him, had he sung more by placing the mike more closer.

overall a mediocre to good concert, though all tukkadas were a one full point higher, till noon the concert was not that great but the sunset was splendid.

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 04 Aug 2009, 19:28

rajeshnat wrote: But I do know that thirruppugazh is to based on Lord muruga , it had more phrases as though it is based on Goddess rAja rAjeshwari ,the ishta devatai of GNB . But finally there was a distinct line appar vanangiya perumAlE (Just curious there am I making a mistake being ArunagirinAthar we all automatically call that as a thirruppugazh , may be AGN is known for other numbers than thirruppugazh).

"Dhavala rupa" is an early tirupugazh composed by Sri. Arunagirinathar in praise of Lord Murugan. He starts off by singing the praises of Devi and goes on to describe ambal as the divine mother that blessed this world with Lord Murugan: "sivaimanOmaNi siRsuka sundhari; gauri vEdhavi dhakshaNi ambikai; thripurai yaamaLai aRpodu thandharuL murugOnE".

I've also heard that in a few stanzas before this particular tirupuggazh, the poet describes his life before he was blessed by his chosen Lord and that, those stanzas are usually not sung in concerts as they are considered to have lyrics that are not suited for a concert platform; in other words, Sri. Arunagirinathar explains all his misdeeds in the earlier tirupuggahzs and goes on to mention the fact that a 'sinner' like him was redeemed by the Lord.
Corrections welcome...

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 04 Aug 2009, 19:57

item #12 is by Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati.

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 04 Aug 2009, 20:13

Lakshman sir,
I am almost sure dhavala rupa is a tirupugazh.
http://www.forumhub.com/indcmusic/24096.15.22.18.html has additional info...one of the posts at the end of the page.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 04 Aug 2009, 20:16

Lakshman wrote:item #12 is by Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati.

LJi
Must be meaning #10, not 12.
10.kanmaniyE soLLaDi kamala nayana - sArangA?? - ??

Also Lji is sonnadhai ceithidA by mAyuram vishwanAtha sastry

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 04 Aug 2009, 22:59

Rajesh,

According to Sri GBR, it is indeed GNB's (see post #17 http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... -gnb.html)...

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 05 Aug 2009, 09:06

rshankar wrote:Rajesh,

According to Sri GBR, it is indeed GNB's (see post #17 http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... -gnb.html)...

There was also another post that meena made somewhere indicating sonnadai cheididA is by mayuram vishwanatha sAstri. Let us wait for final jury Lji for both this and sArangA no.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 05 Aug 2009, 12:58

Really enjoyed reading this review Rajesh. Like each concert is different, I like how each of your reviews has a 'new angle'. Great job!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 06 Aug 2009, 04:36

Prashant,
Agreed.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 06 Aug 2009, 05:01

rajeshnat: My mistake on the posting. item #10 is by Mazhali Chidambara BHarati.
I still don't know if sonnadai seidiDa is by GNB or Mayuram. I have a distinct feeling that GNB himself had said that it was not his composition.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 09 Aug 2009, 08:13

"kaNmaNiyE solladi" is sung in kApi rAga by M.D. Ramanathan in one of his presentations

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 09 Aug 2009, 12:36

Sundara Rajan wrote:"kaNmaNiyE solladi" is sung in kApi rAga by M.D. Ramanathan in one of his presentations

MDR,TNS sing this in hindustAni kApi,whereas GNB school sings in sArangA.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 09 Aug 2009, 18:39

I remember attending a few TVR concerts some years back. I think his series of concerts here caused a shift in the way I saw music. first concert I didn't like at all and decided to 'change' my expectations for subsequent concerts and found, to my surprise, actually enjoying them! (This was a time when I was far more vitriolic about music than now, as some of the old timers at Sangeetham.com would testify). The first concert I attended was an all-tamil krithis concert with Purvikalyani (Anandanadamaaduvar), Simhendramadhyamam (Thai Ahi Thandayumai) and Thodi (Thaye Yashoda). I walked out disliking it. But the subsequent one I went in expecting a bad show and it turned out surprisingly well with a magnificent Sankarabharanam (Endukku pettala) and a third with a beautiful Mohanam (Bhuvanatraya) and Madyamavathi (Saravana Bhava).

Part of the reason was I didn't go in expecting the same brigha speeds, or the same fire that was there in the concerts I heard on tape from the 80's. I went in trying not to 'look' for faults and worry about them, but just to enjoy the good bits. I walked away from the Sankarabharanam almost convinced that it was one of the best Sankarabharanams I have heard in Singapore (this was when every singer here was singing that ragam). Even today when I play that Sankarabharanam cassette it sounds great.

Just thought of sharing that here.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 09 Aug 2009, 19:51

All of us have our good days and bad ones. So do artists. Yes, I have been disappointed with some of TVR's concerts, but as Bala has stated above, I have also enjoyed some of his great performances. The only pet peeve that I have of these disciples of late greats is that they keep repeating the same famous thukkadas of their mentors in concert after concert ! Can't they come up with new ones of their own for a change? Of course they will blame it on rasika requests ! They should learn this from present day younger artists .

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 10 Aug 2009, 05:54

I have a brilliant concert by TVR (a Rama Navami concert from MIT in 1998) which would rank amongst my all-time favourite concerts. The highlight in that concert for me is a short shankarAbharaNa krithi he sings with kalpana swaras using just plain notes. Brilliant. The RTP in shaNmugapriya is also excellent. Great manOdharma in that concert.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 10 Aug 2009, 07:15

TVR is one of my favourite artistes and he has sung many wonderful concerts over the years. Yes, all artistes have good days and not-so good ones and as bala747 alludes to, it also depends on the frame of mind (perception) of the rasika on the day as well.

Bilahari - is the MIT concert shareable?

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 10 Aug 2009, 09:22

Continue to discuss more about TVR in his thread
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... an-p2.html

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 10 Aug 2009, 16:28

Mohan, the MIT concert is commercial, and can be purchased from MITHAS at: [email protected]

This concert is definitely worth buying, and another one I highly recommend is Sanjay's concert from last year with a very imaginative dwijAvanti pallavi that in some places you'd never guess is even dwijAvanti! MITHAS's list of available recordings is here: http://web.mit.edu/mithas/www/cdlist12-01-08.xls

eesha · Post by **eesha** » 10 Aug 2009, 17:03

Listen to TVR's brilliant thodi followed by a nice viruttam at:
http://www.sangeethamshare.org/sridhara ... -IFAS-1988

I attended this concert (30-Dec-88) and it is still in my memory.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 10 Aug 2009, 18:26

bilahari - thanks I will check out the list when I have someone coming from USA or if I visit there.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 10 Aug 2009, 21:43

Was the Sankarabharanam krithi Entha jaluvaga mahalanu kotta girirajanu modammamma? I have been trying to find more info on that krithi rendered by TVR, the lyrics etc. In fact in that concert (I have one with a Sanmughapriya RTP, so maybe its the same one with M chandrasekharan) the thani by UKS was fantastic.