Sri. Sanjay subrahmanyan, Sri. Varadarajan, Sri. Venkatesh, Purdue U, West Lafayette, IN 28th Oct. 2009
Nalina kAnthi - manavyAla, Thyagaraja
Surruti - `ankArakam AshrayAmyaham, MD, R, N, S
Jaijaivanthi - AkilAndEshwari, MD, R
RTP - Gowri manOhari
Pallavi text: "karunai varumO kandhA nammai kAththarULa UN’ in chatusra triputa
BehaG - kandU dhanayAdhE
mAlOn maruganai virrutam followed by s.Kalyanaraman’s thillana in darbari kanada
NavrOj - engum nirraindhirukkum en deivam, P.Sivan
My thoughts:
Entered the concert hall at Purdue university on a rainy, foggy, fall evening when sanjay was gushing out Saint thyagaraja’s manavyala in nalina kAnthi"¦
Then came surruti AlApanA, studded with melodic prayogas, melting into`ankArakam AshrayAmyaham’ - he brought out the composer's sensuous and melodic intensity complemented by his earnest enunciation with fleeting moments of delicacy. His musing along the line ‘deena Rakshakam poojitha vaidyanAtha kshEthram' with lilting phrasing, imbuing the work with soulful introspection, he had every note ringing true in voice and conception imparting emotional richness.
In the jaijaiwanthi alapana, the fidelity to rAga structure, the innovative application of its various facets, arresting mixes of both the generes of music however fleeting, was at play. "AkilAndEshwari’ taken at a true ambling pace, with the beauty of the lyrics, was passionately rendered with an affecting purity and tender lyricism capturing its grandeur thro poignant prayogas as the composer's imagery emerged in all glory- an intimate exploration that seemed like a meditative experience for the performer and this listener...
The evening’s melody where he hit the home run was the classic evolution of Gowri manOhari unleashing his vocal reserves with the kind of fluid phrasing that creates an illusory impression of meditative grace paving way for the grippingly intense tanam with the recitative syllables floating on the enticing melody unfolding with an expressive air over the mechanical syllables of "anantham"