Dikshitar's Vara kritis presented by 6 kids-Composers Day-Bu

Yazh · Post by **Yazh** » 26 Nov 2009, 07:14

The Composers Day event at Buffalo, NY, on Nov 7th, 2009 saw six students of Carnatic music from two different cities (Philadelphia and Buffalo) come together to sing the formidable Vara kritis of Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar. It is well known that in general Dikshitar kritis are of a very high order, and pose considerable challenges on the performer. The Vara kritis are especially challenging because they're in core Carnatic ragas such as Sowrashtra, Asaveri, Surati, Nattaikurinji, Athana, Paras and Yadukulakambhoji, and are also set in the Sooladi Sapta Talas (Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa, Ata and Eka). What was highly gratifying was that these students of Kiranavali Vidyasankar, ranging between ages 12 and 16, not only learnt these songs thoroughly (and sang them without referring to notes which is a common practice among many in North America), but also delivered them in an almost flawless manner. Equally impressive was the fact that although they live in different cities, they were able to sing in complete unison after only a couple of rehearsals together. It is definitely a testimony to the disciplined rigor and quality training that Kiranavali has been giving them over the last few years. They were beautifully supported on the mridangam and khanjira by Sri Raja Bala (Rochester) and Karthik Venkataraman respectively, and drew rousing appreciation from the Buffalo audience. I have uploaded the videos of this performance on Youtube (please see links below) so that the Rasika community worldwide can enjoy this humble effort by the kids and also provide their feedback. Please note that the audio/video are not of professional quality and do not fully reflect the richness and grandeur of the live performance.

Yazh · Post by **Yazh** » 26 Nov 2009, 07:24

Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWN6BiXRlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH13xxUK4Jg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EDgweLzlOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZS0JRCbLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6U8KVGeKTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IygyJUcPo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkfIVlN8maA