neelA rAmgOpAl@nadopasanA on April 04th,2010

[rajeshnat]

neelA rAmgOpAl@nadopasanA(PS high School) on April 04th,2010
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Vocal : neelA rAmgOpal
Vocal Support : young vidushi??
Violin : chArulatha ramanujam
Mrudangam : Trivandrum VaidyanAthan
Concert duration : 2 hours and 20 minutes

1. chalamela -nAttaikurinji -rangaswAmy nattuvanAr(I was late did not hear this varnam )
2. tulasi jagath janaNi(R N S) - sAveri - ST
? mins alApanai
4 mins neraval in "charaNam yugam bulU nadulagu??"
swaras for 4 mins

3. shreepathE (R N S) - nAgaswaravali - T
9 mins alApanai , 4 mins violin return
3 mins neraval in "rAjAdhi rAja ravi "
3 mins swaras

4. nArada guru swAmi(R) - darbAr- T
7 mins alApanai and 4 mins violin return
5. satilEni guruguha - poorvikalyAni - tanjore Ponniah pillai
6. bhOgEEndra sAyinAm - kuNtalavarAli - ST

7A. sadA nEE pAda (R N S T)- tOdi - spencer venugOpAl
9 mins alApanai , 6 mins violin return
7 mins neraval in "sudhA madhUryadu bhAshiNi sundari ambA"
7 mins swaras
7B.8 mins tani

8A. viruththam "seerArum pOONkamala thEramuthE" - kalyANi?? + bEgaDa
8B. iDineeku mariyAthaga yEraNa swami?? - bEgaDa-??
9. niraimathi mukham "thirruppugazh" - hamsAnandi - AGN
10. pavamAna

Went late by 5 mins and missed the first varnam . As I entered she was singing the sAveri alApanai with a right touch that makes it serene , the krithi rendition was in line with the alApanai she built it well with a nice neraval , swaras could have been with a little more punch.

The contrast of nAgaswaravAli was a top pick , a really gripping alApanai with a lovely krithi rendition ,if sAveri was contemplative with its slow moving and more circular gamakas, nAgaswaravali was brigha filled true to its name ,had its own inbuilt swirl . Neraval was well done with a nice aesthetic swaras.Overall the combo of sAveri and nAgaswaravali just showcased two musical styles a brigha and a gamaka based.

Smt NeelA appears as a true follower of kutcheri paddhati with the submain she jumped to quite an elaborate rAga of darbAr and she sang nArada guru swami , I just felt she lost a bit of voice but it was still intensely classical. 2 Rounds of cittaswaras greeted satileni and was quite well done , here too she lost a bit of strength in her voice .THe premain filler of kuntalavaravali was slightly tad slower especially very noticeable in the second half of the krithi where it is bit pepped up .

Even though this was my first concert of hers , not heard any of her recordings too ,this musician does not have a very melliflous voice and to an extent the voice and assertion is bit more classy tending to slide towards Smt DKP, konjam karudu moradAna voice(voice that is bit rough). In tOdi that thought became more pronounced and she sang a very pracheena tOdi in the alApanai. I have not heard this spencer venugOpal krithi at all but this krithi though had a lot of touch points like a shyamA saStri number had 3 or 4 swara aksharams especially one sangathi mA da sA ... sOdhari was nice. The neraval did not have the gripping punch like the krithi in the second half but for the first half it was really well done. Swaras were bit drooping did not match the krithi and neraval in excellence.

Tukkadas were just OK , the start of the viruththam was in kalyAni?? was detailed and well done and with she following with begadA just did not have the right aesthetic sequence(kalyAni-begada) , then a rare bEgaDa tukkadA came out just ok. Thirruppugazh was quite well done.

Accompanist:
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CharulAtha ramanujam was good more in the second half , her Alapana return was well done when compared to return. The mridangist was perhaps being extra defensive to this senior vocalist , I felt he was giving too much of light touch to the mridangam, he never pepped that much the concert ,tani was just ok .The vocal accompanist , a young vidushi was heard more in the tOdi, could not form much impression as most of the time I did not hear her much.

Overall keeping with her id , smt neelA gnanam came out well , sangathi was all classical but the voice was bit drooping especially she sings at times little down to the head of the mike.Overall a good to very good concert for 2 hours and 20 minutes, atleast came out with a impression that she is a very paddhathi oriented musician.

[prashant]

If you have not heard sadA nI pAda before, check out a DKJ recording which Kji had posted on this forum before. It is simply outstanding with Raghu Sir on the mridangam. If no one else reposts it, I will do so in a couple days when I am done traveling.

[Lakshman]

#9 is by Patnam Subramania Iyer.

[arasi]

Rajesh,
I am very happy you were there at the concert (NIck too) and not so happy that Neela Ramgopal's voice was not in its best form to sweep you off your feet You could not hear her forays into richly imaginative music this time. A bad voice day, perhaps?
Hope you can hear her again soon to have a glimpse into why I think so highly of her.
I am listening to her mEla kartA rAgAs now and you have to hear them to know how this traditional artiste (as you see her) can handle all the intricacies (slippery slopes) in CM. She knows an amazing lot and it shows.

[rajeshnat]

#9 is by Patnam Subramania Iyer.

Lji ,
You must have meant 8B. iDineeku mariyAthaga yEraNa swami?? - bEgaDa-??
What are the exact starting lines for this bEgaDa , is this a javali?

[keerthi]

You must have meant 8B. iDineeku mariyAthaga yEraNa swami?? - bEgaDa-??
What are the exact starting linesfor this bEgaDa , is this a javali

idi nIku mariyAdagA - begada jAvali - dharmapuri Subbarayar

[rajeshnat]

If you have not heard sadA nI pAda before, check out a DKJ recording which Kji had posted on this forum before. It is simply outstanding with Raghu Sir on the mridangam. If no one else reposts it, I will do so in a couple days when I am done traveling.

Tx prashant, I just heard this downloaded yet unheard DKJ krithi (1972 veeraraghavan-raghu accompanied) , lot of touch points like a tOdi ShyamA sAstri.A kind of number that just forces any musician to be intensely carnatic.

[jagan]

I was wondering why there was no posting on this memorable concert.
The serene mood of the Saveri, the briskness of Nagasvaravali came through excellently.

The crown piece, however, was the magnificient raga alapana of Durbar . Her sublime rendering of Narada GuruSwamy reminded me of her Guru N M N. That was how he used to sing it. And like him, she did not offer any swaras for this krithi. The impact was total..

About her voice. To those of us in the first few rows, it was quite fine. But the problem of her occasional singing just below the mike was there. But Voice is not the only thing in Carnatic Music. Great music always transcends the vagaries of the voice,. Her abundant Vidwath, and poise was on show to let one to savour the extraordinary music.

The vocal accompanist, I learn, was Ms Vrinda Acharya.

[sappri]

Neela mami's music (as we fondly call her) is indeed super-sublime - her energy (both in her music and zest for life) even at though she's mid-70's is indeed something which leaves all of us awe-struck....her swaraprasthara patterns, brilliantly different alapanas for each day and a truly patanthara-based, solid neraval rendition is always leaving us asking for more..... (I'm a truly lay-person)
During one of her recent concerts at Bangalore, which was attended amongst others by Prince Rama Varma did mention what an 'intelligent musician' she was - and particularly lauded the nagaswaravali!

[arasi]

And that is not the only rAgam she sings like a nAgasvaram!
Folks, I am a fan of hers and that's all there is to it. It has nothing to do with our musical collaboration

[sureshvv]

I was fortunate to attend this concert. Very impressed with sruti adherence even with a thinning voice at higher pitches. Nagaswarali was elaborated nicely and well disambiguated from Bahudari. The booming power in her voice was showcased when she replied to a query from someone in the audience about the composer of the main item.

[arasi]

Jagan,
I appreciate many qualities about this vidUshi. Yet, her poise that you speak about is so much part of her--an essential requirement for a professional performer.

[cmlover]

arasi
No need to be defensive at all!
You cannot light a lamp and hide it under a bushel!
It is Prince Rama Varma who rediscovered Parassala Ponnamma who has become a celebrity- a torch bearer! I noted you comment as to how Neela had been ignored in TN her home base. Perhaps they will wake up before it gets too late...

[arasi]

Well said, mon ami!
More than being defensive, I speak of her with pride!

[Jigyaasa]

I just heard this downloaded yet unheard DKJ krithi (1972 veeraraghavan-raghu accompanied)

Could you please post the link for this? Thanks.