For the first time I saw TNS performing live in Singapore and this is the review.
Violin: Nagai Sriram
Mridangam: Tanjore Murugabhoopathy
The first item was the Bhairavi ata tala varnam. TNS's voice seemed to give way at spots and there were quite a few sruthi lapses in this piece (an issue that will crop up every now and then). Not a bad rendition though. He did toss out his immense mathematical wizardry in the rendition and it went well over 18 minutes including swaraprastara.
The next piece was Ganapathe in Janaranjani. In the first line of a very short alapana sketch there was a real doubt as to what this raga was with so many times the pancamam touching the suddha dhaivatham. Decent enough rendition it was.
Then followed the first major alapana in Purvikalyani. Or so it seemed. The arohana was certainly SRGMPDPS, avarohana was SNDPMGRS.. It sounded like the raga structure of purvikalyani but complete devoid of any bhava. TNS just went ballistic on the brighas and kept racing up and down the scale with no intention of conveying the beautiful karuna rasa of this raga (except in the last 30 seconds or so). I mean brigha skill has its place in the alapana but 2/3rds of it?! It was not purvikalyani. It was SRGMPDPS SNDPMGRS that he sang. There were spots of brilliance, certainly but the entire mood was killed by the "bull in china shop" approach to this sedate raga.
Nagai Sriram did a good job of his alapana. He seems to be budding into a very good violinist.
The krithi was Ekkalathilum by Ramaswami Pillai. Never heard this krithi here in Singapore (Although I wouldn't call this a rare krithi, it certainly was a refreshing change from the usual Anandanadamaduvar and Gnanamosagarada). Well rendered but I wish TNS had rendered a neraval and swaram to finish this magnificent piece. TNS's krithi rendition was near faultless. It was almost like hearing an alapana in a different raga and the krithi in a different one. It was here that I predicted a Sankarabharanam main piece. More on that later.
The next alapana was an elaborate Hindolam. Very classily rendered although the sruthi lapses were still glaring. Here the brighas were abundant but they seemed more at place. Thyagaraja's Manasuloni marmamulu followed with a neraval at "Kanikarammuto Nivela Naa" and swaram patterns. These were okay too and Sriram did a good job here.
Following this was a very badly rendered Ksheerasagara in Devagandhari. I say this because while the rendition was fairly okay the way he sang the caranam, trying to do a Balamurali on the "Taraka naama" the voice just went haywire (hitting almost every wrong swaram on the thara stayi).
Then came the highlight of the evening, Sankarabharanam. I want to digress a bit here. Why is it that ANY concert nowadays that features a Purvikalyani early, has a main item almost always Sankarabharanam or Kharaharapriya? This is the eleventh Sankarabharanam I have heard in the past 6 years in Singapore (Considering we average four concerts a year). Sure, the brighas were impressive, and the alapana itself was on the whole a very classy effort (sruthi lapses again quite abundant) but of ALL the people he was the last person I expected to sing such predictable pieces. There was a nice Sruthi bhedam into Thodi which he didn't extend too long. Thank heavens he didn't sing Swararagasudha but took up a Ragam Thanam Pallavi. The thanam was certainly the best part of the concert (hey! I am biased. I like hearing thanams).
The pallavi was "Mahima teliya tarama sri rama" in Kanda Triputa. He didn't sing the usual three kalams or anything (probably due to lack of time. Concert only started at 8:15).
Usual ragamalika swaras which ended in Kaapi amidst thunderous applause (Singaporean audiences are the same as Chennai audiences it seems.. they love a flashy rendition as opposed to a clean, chaste one. I thought the Kaapi was sung horribly but what do I know?). A thani of no great note followed.
A few thukkadas later he sang a fast thillana in Sindhubhairavi (preceded by one fantastic, beautiful line of alapana) and then mangalam.
It was a strange concert because I can't say I liked it or disliked it.
Points which I liked:
TNS seems to handle his sruthi lapses better. I came in having heard quite a few of his concerts on tape. I knew that TNS could be brilliant one minute and horrible next. This was evident today too. But on the whole the sruthi lapses did not interfere too much which was surprising (in one concert I still for the life of me can't figure out whether he had sung a ragamalika swaram or whether it was bad sruthi).
Despite the sruthi problems, some parts of his alapanas were rather spectacular, especially the last 30 seconds of the Purvikalyani alapana, and his hindolam alapana. The one line in Sindhubhairavi was breathtaking.
Points which I disliked:
The raga choice was substandard. I just find that the "purvikalyani-Sankarabharanam" set has been way overused. Besides, Sankarabharanam has been sung far too often in Singapore. It is really starting to look like artistes are starting to take audiences here for granted, a point I raised many times before.
TNS should really cut down on brighas. It is starting to sound like he's doing vocal exercises on the mike. Brighas have their place in music, but not at the expense of ragabhava. Hell even GNB didn't simply run up and down the scales of Sankarabharanam or Purvikalyani as TNS did. Purvikalyani was rank bad until the last bit when he had slowed down sufficiently. I didn't realise there was so much demand for carnatic music without bhava till I saw how the crowd applauded to these alapanas. (Although at times the applause was rather subdued?)
I did record bits of the concert on my little MP3 player. If anyone wants them, let me know.
TNS in Singapore.. Strange experience.
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coolkarni
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In the future, as a request, please pay attention and list which rAgAs feature in the rAgamAlikA swaras part. This is probably the third time i see the expression "usual ragamalika swarams" in your reviews bala!
I don't think I paid attention earlier, but from what I've heard of TNS (in concert & tape), this is the first complaint of too many brugas. Someone is welcome to prove me wrong though lol...because I am intrigued by it.
I used to think he was too nasal, but it didn't seem so obvious after I heard BJ and Unni.
I don't think I paid attention earlier, but from what I've heard of TNS (in concert & tape), this is the first complaint of too many brugas. Someone is welcome to prove me wrong though lol...because I am intrigued by it.
I used to think he was too nasal, but it didn't seem so obvious after I heard BJ and Unni.
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arasi
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Bala747,
Your review in my view just says it all. It was deja vu for me--almost as if you were delienating the one concert of TNS I attended last season, though the ragas and songs were different. You echo my feelings of that evening. I have heard his guru sing many a time--and the bhavam and depth which he embodied, kept cropping up in my mind during that concert. Then again, as you say, 'what do I know'?
Your review in my view just says it all. It was deja vu for me--almost as if you were delienating the one concert of TNS I attended last season, though the ragas and songs were different. You echo my feelings of that evening. I have heard his guru sing many a time--and the bhavam and depth which he embodied, kept cropping up in my mind during that concert. Then again, as you say, 'what do I know'?
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bala747
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Vocalist, sorry.. I think I meant to say "As usual he sang ragamalika swaras" to indicate that everyone seems to be doing it. I am not a big fan of those things nowadays. There was a time when I would like that but now ragamalika swarams after an RTP seem rather out of place and frivolous. The main raga's swaras get less exposure too often than the ragamalika swarams. Artistes like GNB in the past could afford to because his RTP would last 80 minutes so a five minute ragamalika at the end is will not eat much into the exposure of the swarams of the RTP raga (his ragamalikas were usually not more than two-three avarthanams long), but when the RTP itself is about half that duration, a 10-15minute ragamalika swara pattern at the end is a bit much. SSI used to do it best. He would just sing a ghanaraga thanam.
If I recall right (the concert was last Friday) the ragas were Reethigoula, Vasanthi, BOuli (or Revagupti, I forget), another couple of ragas and Kaapi at the end.
The best place for extempo ragamalika singing is a viruttam. Not only does it offer wider scope for the raga, it prevents artistes from just singing hackneyed phrases for applause.
If I recall right (the concert was last Friday) the ragas were Reethigoula, Vasanthi, BOuli (or Revagupti, I forget), another couple of ragas and Kaapi at the end.
The best place for extempo ragamalika singing is a viruttam. Not only does it offer wider scope for the raga, it prevents artistes from just singing hackneyed phrases for applause.
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Vocalist
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Personally, I enjoy ragamalika swarams in an RTP if they are new/unique or a terrific contrast. I know you like Tanam bala747, but I got bored of Ghanaragamalika Tanams (especially if they were natta, goula, arabhi, varali & sri!). Besides, I feel these Ragas used in ragamalika swaras are more pleasant.
Two avarthanams of ragamalika swarams are pretty tedious if in excess (GNB is guilty of this! lol). It's like giving us a crumb of every cake in a cake shop rather than a spoonful of some samples to taste. Though you don't care much for ragamalika swarams, I guess it's better than hearing Chinnanchiru Killiye or Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai again?
Viruthams however are in a totally different league, IMO. There is an art behind viruthams, that is very different from ragamalika tanam or swarams or alapana! Some think a virutham is just using words instead of 'thadarina', but the solid/real effective viruthams are a lot more than that. They require some sort of devotion and bhava that isn't necessary in the other types of manodharma. Of course, I realise that some viruthams are just learnt in one way, and whipped again and again in the same way, like a krithi. Perhaps it's another feature that distinguishes a plain, ordinary and repeated virutham from a newly conjured up one (that literally "wows" us as an audience...)
Two avarthanams of ragamalika swarams are pretty tedious if in excess (GNB is guilty of this! lol). It's like giving us a crumb of every cake in a cake shop rather than a spoonful of some samples to taste. Though you don't care much for ragamalika swarams, I guess it's better than hearing Chinnanchiru Killiye or Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai again?
Viruthams however are in a totally different league, IMO. There is an art behind viruthams, that is very different from ragamalika tanam or swarams or alapana! Some think a virutham is just using words instead of 'thadarina', but the solid/real effective viruthams are a lot more than that. They require some sort of devotion and bhava that isn't necessary in the other types of manodharma. Of course, I realise that some viruthams are just learnt in one way, and whipped again and again in the same way, like a krithi. Perhaps it's another feature that distinguishes a plain, ordinary and repeated virutham from a newly conjured up one (that literally "wows" us as an audience...)
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rajeshnat
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Bala
Your choice of liking viruttam ragamaliga over swara ragamaligai could be possibly because there is more chance of taking different ragas in viruttams, that you as an audience may not correctly speculate just before the raga has been taken.
Whereas if it is swara ragamaligai quite likely it would be a Behag/Kaapi Preclosure and a Sindhubhairavi closure , which gives a feeling that they are rendered by rote. With that feeling are you concentrating little less and may be just (not will be) keeping your ears little less appreciative and miss a new swara pattern.
Personally I would like to have a RTP swarams and viruttams/slokhams (both with ragamaliga)in the same concert.But how much I wish happens in this world????
On a side note , I always see KApi is a raga that TNS handles little longer in ragamaligai and perhaps audience feel like clapping more when they hear that.TNS generally handles KApi very well.
I appreciate all your criticism but when you say "As usual he sang ragamalika swaras", it appears to be criticism for criticism sake. Keep your lovely criticisms coming, and I will watch out for Poorvikalyani-Shankharabharanam connection , which appears little above my head at this point.
Your choice of liking viruttam ragamaliga over swara ragamaligai could be possibly because there is more chance of taking different ragas in viruttams, that you as an audience may not correctly speculate just before the raga has been taken.
Whereas if it is swara ragamaligai quite likely it would be a Behag/Kaapi Preclosure and a Sindhubhairavi closure , which gives a feeling that they are rendered by rote. With that feeling are you concentrating little less and may be just (not will be) keeping your ears little less appreciative and miss a new swara pattern.
Personally I would like to have a RTP swarams and viruttams/slokhams (both with ragamaliga)in the same concert.But how much I wish happens in this world????
On a side note , I always see KApi is a raga that TNS handles little longer in ragamaligai and perhaps audience feel like clapping more when they hear that.TNS generally handles KApi very well.
I appreciate all your criticism but when you say "As usual he sang ragamalika swaras", it appears to be criticism for criticism sake. Keep your lovely criticisms coming, and I will watch out for Poorvikalyani-Shankharabharanam connection , which appears little above my head at this point.
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mahesh3
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Concerts I attended this year in North America, with the artists/major & sub-major ragams handled:
Sanjay-1: Shankarabharanam: Sahana: Kharaharapriya RTP
Sanjay-2: Purvikalyani: Simhendramadhyamam: Kedaragowla: Bhairavi RTP
TM Krishna: Sahana/ Kamboji: Purvikalyani RTP
Sowmya: Manirangu: Thodi
Neyveli Santhanagopalan: Keeravani RTP: Shankarabharanam
Carnatica Brothers: Yadhukulakambodhi: Nattaikurinji RTP
Kiranavali: Kanada/ Kharaharapriya
Palghat Ramprasad: Vasantha/Thodi
TV Ramprasad: Kharaharapriya/Begada
Ranjani-Gayatri-1: Kambodhi: Subhapanthuvarali RTP
RG-2: Simhendramadhyamam: Begada RTP
RG-3: Kalyani: Hindolam RTP
RG-4 Simhendramadhyamam: Nattaikuriniji RTP
RK Suryaprakash: Panthuvarali: Mohanam: Saranga/Brindavana Saranga RTP
Balamurali Krishna-1: Abhogi: Thodi
Balamurali Krishna -2: Thodi: Hindolam
Qasim/Babu Nagaswaram: Keeravani: Kedaram
bALA, Nobody on this planet has ability to spell out the outspoken, provocative views/opinions that u have, as regards carnatic concerts!
I enjoy reading u're opinions!! Keep 'em coming
Sanjay-1: Shankarabharanam: Sahana: Kharaharapriya RTP
Sanjay-2: Purvikalyani: Simhendramadhyamam: Kedaragowla: Bhairavi RTP
TM Krishna: Sahana/ Kamboji: Purvikalyani RTP
Sowmya: Manirangu: Thodi
Neyveli Santhanagopalan: Keeravani RTP: Shankarabharanam
Carnatica Brothers: Yadhukulakambodhi: Nattaikurinji RTP
Kiranavali: Kanada/ Kharaharapriya
Palghat Ramprasad: Vasantha/Thodi
TV Ramprasad: Kharaharapriya/Begada
Ranjani-Gayatri-1: Kambodhi: Subhapanthuvarali RTP
RG-2: Simhendramadhyamam: Begada RTP
RG-3: Kalyani: Hindolam RTP
RG-4 Simhendramadhyamam: Nattaikuriniji RTP
RK Suryaprakash: Panthuvarali: Mohanam: Saranga/Brindavana Saranga RTP
Balamurali Krishna-1: Abhogi: Thodi
Balamurali Krishna -2: Thodi: Hindolam
Qasim/Babu Nagaswaram: Keeravani: Kedaram
bALA, Nobody on this planet has ability to spell out the outspoken, provocative views/opinions that u have, as regards carnatic concerts!
I enjoy reading u're opinions!! Keep 'em coming
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Vocalist
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mahesh3 (& others who can help), do you still have all the detailed songlists for the concerts you attended? If so, could you please send them to me? I've been trying to get detailed songlists of concerts from particular areas around the world...(eg; Singapore, USA, Canada etc.)
rajeshnat, as much as I love ragamalika swarams & viruthams, there is a clump of artists who use rote swaras. It's rare to hear something so "new/unique". I've heard TNS sing kApi at the end of an RTP on 5 occasions (including a couple of recordings). 2 of which were amazing, 2 were ordinary, and 1 was horrible, so I don't bet on it being so great anymore.
rajeshnat, as much as I love ragamalika swarams & viruthams, there is a clump of artists who use rote swaras. It's rare to hear something so "new/unique". I've heard TNS sing kApi at the end of an RTP on 5 occasions (including a couple of recordings). 2 of which were amazing, 2 were ordinary, and 1 was horrible, so I don't bet on it being so great anymore.
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Vocalist
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I listened to a chunk of the concert finally. I didn't enjoy it much at all. Quite an ordinary bhairavi. Skipping past the rest of it (will comment on it later), Kapi was not up to scratch. I've heard a very poor Kapi (in ragamalika swaras of an RTP) from TNS, and an outstanding one. This was probably somewhere in between. In the hope of hearing something fresh & exciting, I decided to listen to the line of Sindhu Bhairavi. After listening to it, I felt the praise it received wasn't accurate. Yes, it was mildly pleasant, but what's so fantastic? (not much really, if anything at all, considering that this rAgA can be handled a lot better - even by TNS!) But then again, in relation to the rest of the ordinary concert, I can see it as a facade of 'fantastic' and 'beautiful'...
Maybe he was having a bad day? Maybe that's the way he is? Well, whatever it is, a VERY average TNS indeed!!
Maybe he was having a bad day? Maybe that's the way he is? Well, whatever it is, a VERY average TNS indeed!!
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mohan
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TNS gave an entertaining Sydney concert last week with the same accompanists. He sang a Sankarabharanam main (Swararaga sudha) and then a lengthy Shanmughapriya RTP. The choice of main song was probably due to the fact that a new sabha called Swara Raga Sudha organised the concert.
He rounded off the RTP with ragamalika swarams lasting half an avartanam each. He covered around 30 ragas (at least) in the ragamalika. Concluded by a long kapi swara session and then korrapu swarams in Shanughapriya. The first half of the concert had some sruthi lapses but these were absent in the second half.
I was very impressed with Nagai Sriram, whom I was hearing for the first time.
He rounded off the RTP with ragamalika swarams lasting half an avartanam each. He covered around 30 ragas (at least) in the ragamalika. Concluded by a long kapi swara session and then korrapu swarams in Shanughapriya. The first half of the concert had some sruthi lapses but these were absent in the second half.
I was very impressed with Nagai Sriram, whom I was hearing for the first time.
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Vocal: T.N.Seshagopalan
Violin: Nagai Sriram
Mridhangam: Tanjore Murugabhoopathy
Singapore 2006
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Thanks to Balaji Narasimhan - without whom I could make my own review/analysis.
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SONG LIST
01) (Varnam) Viriboni - Bhairavi - Ata - Pachimirum Addipaiyar [r,S]
02) Ganapathe - Janaranjani - Adi - Muthiah Bhagavathar
03) Ekkalathilum - Poorvikalyani - Adi - Ramaswamy Pillai [R]
04) Manasuloni - Hindolam - Desadi - Thyagaraja [R,N,S]
05) Ksheerasagara - Devagandhari - Adi - Thyagaraja
06) (Ragam Tanam Pallavi & Ragamalika Swarams)
"Mahima Theliya Tharama" - Shankarabharanam - Khanda Triputa [R,N,S,T]
Ragamalika Swarams in Bahudhari, Reethigoulai, ?, Neelambari, Vaasanthi & Kapi
07) (Slokam) - Brindavani [r]
08) (Ashtapathi) Sancharadhara - Brindavani - Adi - Purandaradasar
09) (Thiruppugazh) Bhajana - Madhyamavathi - ? - Arunagirinathar
10) (Thillana) Aa Dhru Dheem - Sindhubhairavi - Adi - TNS? [r]
11) (Mangalam) Nee Naama Rupamulaku - Sourashtram - Adi - Thyagaraja
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When i say "little alapana introduction", i mean it was very short so the violin wasn't creating a solo alapana.
REVIEW
T.N.Seshagopalan began with a little alapana introduction in Bhairavi which was pleasant. He moved onto the predictable Ata thala varnam in the same raga, "Viriboni". It started well, but his sruthi lapses and his failed attempts to create bhava became obvious and wasn't pleasant to hear. He then moved onto second kaalam in the same fashion, but the way he handled the chittai swaras was quite extraordinary. His brugas during the charanam were a little overambitious, but was an interesting variation to the plain sangathi. The last of the ettugade swaras were sung nicely. His katpana swaras were good, but had room for improvement. Nagai Sriram's response on the violin throughout the piece (& concert) was praiseworthy.
The next piece (Muthiah Bhagavathar's Janaranjani piece, "Ganapathe") seemed out of place, but he seemed to get in tune with the piece as he progressed. The chittai swarams needed work and like the krithi itself, were totally filled with sruthi lapses - even more than for the opening item!!
A Poorvikalyani alapana followed. The majority dominated by racing up swaras - not always of Poorvikalyani either!! Seshagopalan's brugas don't clearly speak in his voice making the listen all the more frustrating. The excessive sruthi lapses made it impossible to enjoy for almost the whole way. Nagai Sriram's alapana was like nectar for the ears while reminding the audience that Poorvikalyani doesn't seem so complex or horrible. Sriram structured his alapana wonderfully, with every gamaka, bruga and facet of bhava sounding amazing. This alapana had put TNS back in tune and seemed to begin a grand rendition of Tiruvarur Ramaswamy Pillai's "Ekkalathilum" in the same ragam. His rendition fell below expectation, because of the excessive sruthi lapses. TNS' swara sthana is obviously very poor. It was getting worse as the krithi progressed and sounding less like Poorvikalyani!! About 40 minutes of the cruel performance was over by the end of this piece.
A nice Hindolam alapana followed (and what a surprising achievement that was!). I'm sure it would've had a similar fate to the alapana earlier if not for Sriram's wake up call in the Poorvikalyani alapana earlier. Although I felt again it could've been structured a little more systematically to avoid some of the unpleasant parts, and despite the obvious sruthi lapses, the alapana was a lot more balance. There was a lot more bhava in this one. Seshagopalan modulated his voice quite well here too. The violinist added more brugas to his solo alapana this time, but his still sounded ok. Personally, after hearing Sriram's Poorvikalyani, I'm sure the violinist could've done better here, but it was still very good. The way he structured his alapana is pleasing too. (Trying to explaining how to structure an alapana isn't my cup of tea, so I suggest if you're unsure what I mean, listen to it and find out for yourself - it should stare you in the face...or ear). Seshagoplan's rendition of Thyagaraja's "Manasuloni" which followed was nice too. I enjoyed this rendition quite a bit. Nereval at "Kanikarammutho" was pleasant. Swara patterns were good too. The growing speed seemed to make it more intense. I noticed that the sruthi lapses were a lot less abundant throughout this piece. 1hr+10mins of the performance was over now: finally, a sign of hope.
An ok rendition of Thyagaraja's evergreen Devagandhari item, Ksheerasagara followed. A few horrible parts reduced its worth to almost nothing. Thankfully, the main piece was next.
A good alapana in Shankarabharanam. Sruthi lapses still existed throughout, but he had better control of his voice for larger parts of the alapana (with a special exception to this "better control" when he was shouting). Nagai Sriram's was quite good. I too felt that the Thanam was the best part of the concert. A very effective Shankarabharanam indeed! The pallavi "Mahima teliya tarama sri rama" in Kanda Triputa was also nice. The swarams in Shankarabharanam were great. When it was almost 2 hours since the concert started, he launched into ragamalika swarams which included Bahudhari, Reethigoulai, Neelambari, Vaasanthi & Kapi. These were rendered especially beautifully by the violinist. TNS made a lot of mistakes in Vaasanthi, destroying a lot of its beauty. He also loaded a lot of himself into the Kapi swarams as usual, but they didn't come out outstanding, nor poorly - more in between. Of course, I was far from satisfied by this. This was followed by a thani avarthanam by mridhangist Tanjore Murugabhoopathy - plain & nothing great here. (2hrs+20mins finished)
A sloka followed. Grasping the ragam was difficult as he seemed to be changing it every few seconds - then suddenly, it was clearly a Brindavani with a lot of sruthi lapses. Dedicated to Krishna, he filled it with an excessive amount of brugas (again-not the type that are great to hear). This was followed by an ashtapathi in the same ragam, "Sancharadhara". Other than the glaringly obvious sruthi lapses, it wasn't too bad.
He rendered a fast Thiruppugazh next in Madhyamavathi, which didn't make up for the rest of the below-average/average performance.
The next and final piece was in Sindhubhairavi. The little alapana introduction certainly was pleasant, but had needed a lot more improvement. With so little sruthi slip-ups by this part of the concert, it's little wonder why this seemed so nice. The very fast Thillana that followed wasn't bad. The mangalam ended the cruel kutcheri. 2hrs+40mins, nothing left to hope for.
Overall, the accompanists were interestingly a contrast to one another. Tanjore Murugabhoopathy on the Mridhangam wasn't bad; I can only imagine how he kept up with TNS' antics. Nagai Sriram on the other hand, still in form, played the violin remarkably well. I think its his influence in the Poorvikalyani that was significant and changed TNS from 'barely worth listening to' -> 'ok' after the
first quarter of the performance. TNS voice does sound amazing at times. His sruthi (pitch) lapses were so glaringly obvious that it almost sounded cheap. His stumbling on swaras suggests that he is going too fast for himself, let alone the audience. One fresh element about his singing is that I can hardly hear the nasal component that once existed a LONG time ago.
Unless (of course) this was a one-off performance where there was a significant drop in standards, he needs to put a lot of work into his music, should consider cutting down on public performances (including internationally), or should retire from public performances completely. Hopefully, he doesn't keep losing his high standards in CM.
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Vocal: T.N.Seshagopalan
Violin: Nagai Sriram
Mridhangam: Tanjore Murugabhoopathy
Singapore 2006
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Thanks to Balaji Narasimhan - without whom I could make my own review/analysis.
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SONG LIST
01) (Varnam) Viriboni - Bhairavi - Ata - Pachimirum Addipaiyar [r,S]
02) Ganapathe - Janaranjani - Adi - Muthiah Bhagavathar
03) Ekkalathilum - Poorvikalyani - Adi - Ramaswamy Pillai [R]
04) Manasuloni - Hindolam - Desadi - Thyagaraja [R,N,S]
05) Ksheerasagara - Devagandhari - Adi - Thyagaraja
06) (Ragam Tanam Pallavi & Ragamalika Swarams)
"Mahima Theliya Tharama" - Shankarabharanam - Khanda Triputa [R,N,S,T]
Ragamalika Swarams in Bahudhari, Reethigoulai, ?, Neelambari, Vaasanthi & Kapi
07) (Slokam) - Brindavani [r]
08) (Ashtapathi) Sancharadhara - Brindavani - Adi - Purandaradasar
09) (Thiruppugazh) Bhajana - Madhyamavathi - ? - Arunagirinathar
10) (Thillana) Aa Dhru Dheem - Sindhubhairavi - Adi - TNS? [r]
11) (Mangalam) Nee Naama Rupamulaku - Sourashtram - Adi - Thyagaraja
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When i say "little alapana introduction", i mean it was very short so the violin wasn't creating a solo alapana.
REVIEW
T.N.Seshagopalan began with a little alapana introduction in Bhairavi which was pleasant. He moved onto the predictable Ata thala varnam in the same raga, "Viriboni". It started well, but his sruthi lapses and his failed attempts to create bhava became obvious and wasn't pleasant to hear. He then moved onto second kaalam in the same fashion, but the way he handled the chittai swaras was quite extraordinary. His brugas during the charanam were a little overambitious, but was an interesting variation to the plain sangathi. The last of the ettugade swaras were sung nicely. His katpana swaras were good, but had room for improvement. Nagai Sriram's response on the violin throughout the piece (& concert) was praiseworthy.
The next piece (Muthiah Bhagavathar's Janaranjani piece, "Ganapathe") seemed out of place, but he seemed to get in tune with the piece as he progressed. The chittai swarams needed work and like the krithi itself, were totally filled with sruthi lapses - even more than for the opening item!!
A Poorvikalyani alapana followed. The majority dominated by racing up swaras - not always of Poorvikalyani either!! Seshagopalan's brugas don't clearly speak in his voice making the listen all the more frustrating. The excessive sruthi lapses made it impossible to enjoy for almost the whole way. Nagai Sriram's alapana was like nectar for the ears while reminding the audience that Poorvikalyani doesn't seem so complex or horrible. Sriram structured his alapana wonderfully, with every gamaka, bruga and facet of bhava sounding amazing. This alapana had put TNS back in tune and seemed to begin a grand rendition of Tiruvarur Ramaswamy Pillai's "Ekkalathilum" in the same ragam. His rendition fell below expectation, because of the excessive sruthi lapses. TNS' swara sthana is obviously very poor. It was getting worse as the krithi progressed and sounding less like Poorvikalyani!! About 40 minutes of the cruel performance was over by the end of this piece.
A nice Hindolam alapana followed (and what a surprising achievement that was!). I'm sure it would've had a similar fate to the alapana earlier if not for Sriram's wake up call in the Poorvikalyani alapana earlier. Although I felt again it could've been structured a little more systematically to avoid some of the unpleasant parts, and despite the obvious sruthi lapses, the alapana was a lot more balance. There was a lot more bhava in this one. Seshagopalan modulated his voice quite well here too. The violinist added more brugas to his solo alapana this time, but his still sounded ok. Personally, after hearing Sriram's Poorvikalyani, I'm sure the violinist could've done better here, but it was still very good. The way he structured his alapana is pleasing too. (Trying to explaining how to structure an alapana isn't my cup of tea, so I suggest if you're unsure what I mean, listen to it and find out for yourself - it should stare you in the face...or ear). Seshagoplan's rendition of Thyagaraja's "Manasuloni" which followed was nice too. I enjoyed this rendition quite a bit. Nereval at "Kanikarammutho" was pleasant. Swara patterns were good too. The growing speed seemed to make it more intense. I noticed that the sruthi lapses were a lot less abundant throughout this piece. 1hr+10mins of the performance was over now: finally, a sign of hope.
An ok rendition of Thyagaraja's evergreen Devagandhari item, Ksheerasagara followed. A few horrible parts reduced its worth to almost nothing. Thankfully, the main piece was next.
A good alapana in Shankarabharanam. Sruthi lapses still existed throughout, but he had better control of his voice for larger parts of the alapana (with a special exception to this "better control" when he was shouting). Nagai Sriram's was quite good. I too felt that the Thanam was the best part of the concert. A very effective Shankarabharanam indeed! The pallavi "Mahima teliya tarama sri rama" in Kanda Triputa was also nice. The swarams in Shankarabharanam were great. When it was almost 2 hours since the concert started, he launched into ragamalika swarams which included Bahudhari, Reethigoulai, Neelambari, Vaasanthi & Kapi. These were rendered especially beautifully by the violinist. TNS made a lot of mistakes in Vaasanthi, destroying a lot of its beauty. He also loaded a lot of himself into the Kapi swarams as usual, but they didn't come out outstanding, nor poorly - more in between. Of course, I was far from satisfied by this. This was followed by a thani avarthanam by mridhangist Tanjore Murugabhoopathy - plain & nothing great here. (2hrs+20mins finished)
A sloka followed. Grasping the ragam was difficult as he seemed to be changing it every few seconds - then suddenly, it was clearly a Brindavani with a lot of sruthi lapses. Dedicated to Krishna, he filled it with an excessive amount of brugas (again-not the type that are great to hear). This was followed by an ashtapathi in the same ragam, "Sancharadhara". Other than the glaringly obvious sruthi lapses, it wasn't too bad.
He rendered a fast Thiruppugazh next in Madhyamavathi, which didn't make up for the rest of the below-average/average performance.
The next and final piece was in Sindhubhairavi. The little alapana introduction certainly was pleasant, but had needed a lot more improvement. With so little sruthi slip-ups by this part of the concert, it's little wonder why this seemed so nice. The very fast Thillana that followed wasn't bad. The mangalam ended the cruel kutcheri. 2hrs+40mins, nothing left to hope for.
Overall, the accompanists were interestingly a contrast to one another. Tanjore Murugabhoopathy on the Mridhangam wasn't bad; I can only imagine how he kept up with TNS' antics. Nagai Sriram on the other hand, still in form, played the violin remarkably well. I think its his influence in the Poorvikalyani that was significant and changed TNS from 'barely worth listening to' -> 'ok' after the
first quarter of the performance. TNS voice does sound amazing at times. His sruthi (pitch) lapses were so glaringly obvious that it almost sounded cheap. His stumbling on swaras suggests that he is going too fast for himself, let alone the audience. One fresh element about his singing is that I can hardly hear the nasal component that once existed a LONG time ago.
Unless (of course) this was a one-off performance where there was a significant drop in standards, he needs to put a lot of work into his music, should consider cutting down on public performances (including internationally), or should retire from public performances completely. Hopefully, he doesn't keep losing his high standards in CM.
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