Kunakkudy M. Balamuralikrishna
Violin: Arun Ramamurthy
Mridangam: AR Balaskandan
Kanjira: Sriram Ramesh
1. Chalamela - Nattaikurinji Pada Varnam - Adi - Rangaswami Nattuvanar (S)
2. Ini Oru Kanam - Sriranjani - Rupakam - Papanasam Sivan (S)
3. Nenarunchara - Simhavahini - Adi - Tyagaraja (S)
4. Paridanamichite - Bilahari - Khanda Chapu - Patnam Subramaniam Iyer (A, N, S)
5. Sree Satyanarayanam - Shubha Pantuvarali - Rupakam 2 kalai - Dikshithar (Virutham - "Pachai mamalar pol")
6. Vandan Vandan - Mohanam - Adi - Arunachala Kavi
7. Raksha Bettare - Bhairavi - Adi 2 kalai - Tyagaraja (A, S, T)
8. Sree Venkata Girisham - Surutti - Adi - Dikshithar
9. RTP - Hameer Kalyani (Khanda Triputa 1 1/4 eduppu)
Pallavi on Ranganatha, ragamalikai swarams in Anandha Bhairavi, Chandrakauns, Sindhu Bhairavi
(... Left midway in the ragamalikai section ...)
I'm writing this song list entirely from memory, so fact checking is both encouraged and appreciated. I really have no business posting without taking notes or staying focused the entire concert (ADD?), but I didn't see another 'review', so here goes ...
Balamurakrishna has definitely arrived on the scene and gave a great Memorial weekend performance, although he needs to watch for that rare but palpable sruthi lapse (but then, don't most Carnatic vocalists do? )
Some annotations/observations:
1. Varnam followed by Sriranjani was a fabulous start, very sprightly and enlivening.
2. Simhavahini was well sung with an entertaining round of swarams ... what an underrated ragam and parent scale! (If Charukesi is so popular, how about some love for Sarasangi, huh?)
3. Virutham in Shubha Pantuvarali was well done and full of bhava. An elaborate virutham in place of an alapana was refreshing.
4. Choice of Mohanam after an elaborate Bilahari was definitely a tad questionable. (perhaps a request?)
5. Accompanists, particularly violin and kanjira, were really not up to the professional kutcheri standards of the main artist, however that being said, they are local talent who have great potential and deserve all the encouragement they can get.
Here is a review of the kutcheri. I hope you enjoy it, and welcome any comments or feedback you have!
---------------------------------------------------------- KUNNAKUDI BALAMURALIKRISHNA CONCERT: 5/28/10, POMONA TEMPLE., NY
When you meet Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna for the first time, it is immediately apparent that he has music in his blood. His father was a great Carnatic Music rasika (and apparently named him after the renowned vidwan, M.Balamuralikrishna); and he developed an all-embracing love of the art from a very early age. He was regarded as something of a child prodigy, performing for the first time at the age of 8, with his inaugural Sabha concert 3 or 4 years later. He has continued to develop his knowledge, skills, and repertoire, with recognition duly following: at the tender age of 24, he has graduated to the much-prized Senior slot at the Chennai Music Academy.
And it is easy to see why. He is gifted with a strong, versatile, melodious voice with majestic range and a rare combination of sweet tones, but unmistakeable gambheeram. His guru for the past 14 years has been the great P.S. Narayanaswamy (whose other prominent sishyans include Ranjani/Gayatri and Abishek Raghuram), but I heard quite a bit of T.N.Seshagopalan in him. It turns out some of his earlier training was under Neyveli Santhanagopalan, so maybe there was some influence there?
The Ranganatha Kohvel in Pomona, New York was an excellent location for Balamurali's Memorial Weekend kutcheri - a small, unassuming hall, but with good acoustics I thought.
Balamurali was quickly into his stride with one of my favourite Varnams, "Chalamela" in Natakurinji. He sang in a brisk tempo and just one speed, but he did layer it with some energetic Kalpana swara. This was just a little taster of things to come.
Next up were two mood-setting items: first Papanasam Sivan's lilting melody "Ini Oru Kanam Unnai" in Sriranjani and Rupakam; and then Thygaraja's more upbeat "Nenna Runchara" in the rarely-heard Simavahini (janyam of Sarasangi, the 27th melakartha) and Adi. Both were punctuated by Kalpana Swara passages, each more elaborate than for Chalemela. There was nice variety also, with a full flowing range in Sriranjani including an intricate upper-sthayi segment; and gentler, caressing swarams in Simavahini.
The scene was set for some more heavyweight items. And Balamurali duly obliged, launching into his first alapana essay in that sweetest of ragas, Bilihari. It was a smooth exposition, with some vibrant brigas in the middle, something which Balamurali expanded on throughout the kutcheri and is one of his greatest fortes. Arun Ramamurthy on the violin followed, exhibiting a sweet nadam with smooth and precise bowing, perhaps in part derived from his early training in Western Music. I could immediately recognize the fast fingers of his gurus (the Mysore brothers, Nagaraj and Manjunath) and wondered if he could match their famed swaram prowess. Patnam Subramania Iyer's "Paridhana Michite" followed, sung with gusto, but no complacency, as can sometimes happen with a piece as well known as this. And we were treated to a pleasing nereval with Balamurali choosing the opening line of the Charanam "Rokkamichudagune Mukkandi Cheliganu" for his elaboration. He drew out the lines strikingly, singing right into the microphone producing a loud resonance around the hall. It was good to see his emphatic sahithya enunciation, another strong and distinguishing feature of his singing style. It was a fairly short nereval passage - perhaps Balamurali was saving the best for later! The fireworks came in the Kalpana Swara section, as Balamurali swept up and down the scales effortlessly with some nice leaps and even a couple of Madurai Mani-esque flourishes. And as anticipated, Arun Ramamurthy lived up to advance billing with precise, crisp and well controlled swaras to complement Balamurali's.
We had so far had 4 pieces from 4 different composers. And a fifth duly followed, with Balamurali taking up Dikshitar's masterpiece, "Sri Satyanarayana" in Subhapantuvarali and Rupakam. This was prefaced by an interesting twist, with an alapana sung in the manner of a virutham. This created a peaceful devotiational ambience, but perhaps so as not to appear lightweight, in between the 2 stanzas, Balamuralia expanded on some full-throated brigas. We would love to have had more! But any hint of disappointment was short-lived, as we were drawn into seventh heaven by a quite beautiful rendition of Sri Satyanarayana, in perfectly depicted vilamba kaala. Balamurali started in measured fashion, but then perfectly built up the sense of pathos demanded by this difficult krithi, including another engrossing nereval section. My two favourite exponents of vilamba kaala are K.V.Narayanaswami and T.N.Seshagopalan, and I have to believe they would have nodded in approval had they been present.
The whole audience was now totally engrossed, and agog with anticipation of the main item to follow. First we had a lighter "filler" with Arunachala Kavi's "Vandhaan Vandhaan Bharathaa" (making it six out of six different composers!) in Mohanam and Adi. The quicker tempo was a nice switch from Sri Sathyanarayana, but there was no sense of racing through for the sake of things: Balamurali handled the quick sahithya with precision and careful diction.
Now came the moment we had been waiting for. And it was Bhairavi that came forth, always a great choice with its almost infinite potential for elaboration. How would Balamurali rise to the challenge? We soon got the answer as he unveiled his full repertoire during a sumptuous alapana that had the full gamut: some opening sancharas to capture the raga swaroopa, a gradual ascent to the upper reaches, pristine voice modulation to convey different moods, some splendidly elongated brigas, and then a brilliant passage in the lower sthayi just before the end that just lingered and lingered like a summer sunset. All enlivened by some hand gesticulations, a little characteristic of Neyveli Santhanagopalan.
After that, anything would be a come-down, but Arun maintained the atmosphere of gravitas with an emotive rendition himself, including a passage on the second string to complement some of his upper sthayi segments earlier in the concert. We were breathless and the keerthana hadn't even started yet!
When it did, it was another rendition to savour, with Thygaraja's magnus opus, "Raksha Bettare" in Adi. Balamurali handled it with great passion and bhavam. There was alas no nereval - I would love to have seen him branching out and enthralling us with a long expansion. Instead, he eased his way into a very gentle initial Kalpana Swara passage that maintained the mood very appropriately. From this, he built things up, culminating in a great crescendo, then leaving the stage to A.R. Balaskandan and Sriram Ramesh on mridangam and khanjira respectively for a vigorous tani avartanam.
We were approaching the 2½ hour mark, but things were far from done! After a shorter Dikshitar krithi, "Sri Venkata Girishamaalokaye" in Suruti, Balamurali embarked upon a Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi in Hamirkalyani and Kanda Triputa. It was an interesting choice, illustrating that Balamurali, while a great traditionalist in much of his music, fully recognizes the evolution of the art since the pre-1980 days when such a ragam would have been considered "unfit" for the elaboration required in an RTP. Coming back again to Seshagopalan, I do believe he was one of the first to challenge this taboo and it ranks as one of the more notable innovations of the past 50 years.
Balamurali did good justice to the ragam in a single-part edition, in contrast to some RTPs I have heard where the artist chooses a relatively unused ragam, but without much elaboration, almost as if checking a box before ending the kutcheri! The alapana was very different from Bhairavi which was heavy and emotion-laden. This was up-tempo and peppy. It made for a telling contrast. The Pallavi line "Sri Ranganatham Bhaje Shritha Jana Pala" was pleasantly expounded with an anuloma and pratiloma section to boot. The Kalpana Swara lost nothing by comparison with the earlier efforts, climaxing in the usual raga maalika detours, this time encompassing Anandabhairavi, Chandrakauns and Sindhubhairavi. I must confess, I have never heard Chandrakauns before, and I am told it is much more frequently heard in Hindustani music. Balamurali later told us he does listen and learn from Hindustani music (admiring in particular their adherence to sruti suddham), again exemplifying his ability to create his own persona as an artist, drawing from many different sources.
We were now in wind-down mode and having flitted between Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit for the prior 3 hours, Balamurali again showed his appetite for variety with two crisps Purandaradhasa tukkadas, the eternal crowd-pleaser, Jagadodharana in Hindustani Kapi; and "Narajanma Bandaga" in Madhuvanti. Followed by a dynamic and exciting conclusion with a Kamas Tillana, which I believe is the work of Patnam Subramania Iyer.
As we rose in applause, we reflected over the 3½ auditory feast we had just experienced. It is impossible not to fall in love with Balamurali's mellifluous and malleable voice, but his technical prowess and the variety in his presentation were equally impressive. "Sri Sathyanarayana" and "Raksha Bettare" unquestionably defined the kutcheri. It takes an artist of great skill and patience to carry off two intricate and sober keerthanas in close succession. It was an hour+ where the audience was utterly captivated.
this was by far one of the best concerts i have heard in a long time.. thanks vijay for your detailed observations! been meaning to post my comments for this as well as the CMANA concert by KBMK but never got to it...
the pachaima mamalai before sri sathyanarayanam was so moving that i had a few people atleast tell me that they had tears in their eyes!
the RTP was another extraordinary piece!
he has a blessed voice and it does whatever he wants and tries!!!
fuddyduddy wrote:this was by far one of the best concerts i have heard in a long time.. thanks vijay for your detailed observations! been meaning to post my comments for this as well as the CMANA concert by KBMK but never got to it...
the pachaima mamalai before sri sathyanarayanam was so moving that i had a few people atleast tell me that they had tears in their eyes!
the RTP was another extraordinary piece!
he has a blessed voice and it does whatever he wants and tries!!!
Yes it really was a fine kutcheri - my wife and I were also moved. We also got the chance to speak to Balamurali, and he is a humble man who really loves music.
If you are able to post your comments on the CMANA kutcheri, I would love to read them!
Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna @ CMANA on May 22,2010
Violin-S.D.Sridharan
Mridangam-Sri Murugabhoopathi
We drove 3 hours to this concert at the insistence of my 8 year old son who is a big fan thanks to youtube etc. I did not write a review earlier as I am not a member of CMANA although I do attend the odd concert in New Jersey especially if SRUTI does not feature those artistes. The concert itself was very well performed although very poorly attended. There were not more than 40-50 people in attendance at any point in the concert.
The song list as far as I have recorded is as follows
I may have omitted a couple of thukkadas but the main pieces were substantial and sung with a lot of maturity for such a young artiste. The lack of an audience must have been a letdown for him but he did what any true professional would have done-do his best for whoever is present and also use the opportunity to rehearse kirtanas and RTP for future concerts. I am sure the Khamboji RTP will feature this year at the Music festival. The accompanists played adequately but did not seem to share his enthusiasm. The highlight of the day for my son was a chat with him and a photograph. I just wish more people had shown up to encourage the artistes.
gs1968 wrote:
RTP-Khamboji-Adi Talam Misra Nadai-Kadhirvadivela Unadhu Paadam Thunaiye,Orarumugane Thevadhi Thevane
I am sure the Khamboji RTP will feature this year at the Music festival. .
ABout a year back in a special pallavi concert held in chennai , he sang this this pallavi line "kaDir vaDi vElA UNadhu pAdam thuNaiyE OrAru mughaNe devAdi devaNE" That day it was in shanmughapriyA . This pallavi was first sung by Alathur brothers . Portions of this pallavi line like "UNadhu pAdam thuNaiyE OrAru mughaNe" are also sung by mmi and his sishya paramparas in keeravani , shanmughapriyA.
Last edited by rajeshnat on 11 Jun 2010, 14:02, edited 1 time in total.
Thank you for the corrections. I should have researched more before posting but I had trouble reading my own scribbling on the back of a Walmart bill! The pallavi was clearly in Khamboji and I can only assume he was experimenting in a different ragam from what was already established by earlier stalwarts. There is something about singers who also have a laya instrument background (Vijay siva, Kunnakudi BMK etc) which I admire and that is the ease with which they sing and are always accurate with the tala and not slamming away on their laps. I think the bhava in songs is brought out better when sung that way. On a different note, I am not particularly in favor of Kalpana swarams for well-established varnams. I don't think it is possible to exceed the beauty of the swarams already composed by Patnam subramania Iyer , Veenai Kuppaiyer et al. There is plenty of time and scope in the rest of the concert to do this and I feel the varnams should be sung as they are. I always thought the purpose of the initial varnam was to sing a well-rehearsed piece to get comfortable with their voice, sing swarams over all the sthayis and also pick up the pace in the charanam to clear the cobwebs in the voice. It also gives the latecomers a chance to settle down after finding the location,parking space etc. In the case of youngsters, it is probably a familiar piece to them and gets their attention and involvement. My 8 year old who has learnt this varnam was confused when he heard new kalpana swarams after he thought the song was over. I don't want to start a controversy but I just wanted to know if this was now the norm in concerts in Chennai etc.
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