Ranjani and Gayathri - San Diego - 17 Sep 2010

[bilahari]

Leelavathi Krishnaswamy Memorial Concert

Ranjani and Gaythri - Vocal
H. N. Bhaskar - Violin
Nirmal Narayan - Mrudangam

Duration: 2h 50min

Approximate Songlist:

01. inta calamu (varNam) - bEgaDa - Adi
02. jaya jaya jaya jAnaki (S @ pallavi) - nATTai - miSra cApu
03. sarasijanAbha sOdari - nAgagAndAri - rUpakam
04. enta nErcina (R, S @ pallavi) - Sudda danyAsi - Adi

05. kAlai tUkki ninRu - yadukulakAmbOji - Adi
06. ninnE nammiti (R, N @ pannagEndra sayana, S, T) - simmhEndramadhyamam - miSra cApu
07. padavini - salagabhairavi - Adi

08. rAgam tAnam pallavi - khamAs - khaNDa tripuTa (eDuppu samam +1)
pallavi: brOcEvArevarurA ninnuvinA raghuvamsa dIpa (?) O rAmA
rAgamAliga swaras in mukhAri, naLinakAnti, brundAvana sAranga, and madhuvanti
09. eppaDi pADinArO - karnATaka dEvagAndAri - Adi
10. ninyAkO ninna - rAgamAliga - Adi

11. bOlAvA viTTala (abhang) - bATiyAr
12. bUtha mOTE (abhang) - candrakauns

13. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - sowrASTRam - Adi

This concert was dedicated to local organiser Smt. Meera Venkatesh's late mother, Smt. Leelavathi Krishnaswamy, who was an ardent rasika of CM and used to attend every concert in San Diego without fail. After the customary introduction, RG opened their tour of North America to a full house with the ever popular bEgaDa varnam, singing the entire piece in madhyama kAlam. This was followed by a beautiful PD krithi in nATTai, which had the usual, bland quick rounds of swaras. The concert picked up with a gorgeous rendition of MD's nAgagAndAri krithi, with the sisters adding some lovely flourishes to close avarthanas and kArvais. Ranjani sang a crisp shudda dhanyAsi next, adorning the AlApanai with all the necessary gamakas around the gandAram and nishAdam, and using gamaka and brigha in good proportion. It has been a long time since I've heard a shudda dhanyAsi, and I enjoyed the entire presentation. The concluding patterns in the kalpanaswaras were very well conceived, though I haven't noted them and thus cannot provide the details.

Gayathri then sang a brilliant sketch of yadukulakAmbOji spanning merely a minute, somehow managing to strike the heart of this evocative ragam immediately. This set the stage for an exceptional rendition of kAlai tUkki, with both sisters singing the krithi in a slower madhyama kAlam, doing full justice to the lyrics, and with HNB supporting sensitively in the mandra stAyi, creating a wonderful ambience. Gayathri then sang an elaborate simmhEndramadhyamam, and I was impressed by her sense of aesthetics. She was able to pinpoint the emotive phrases of the ragam, which is a challenge in simmhEndramadhyamam where piDis that immediately characterise the raga are somewhat lacking (as we have discussed elsewhere on the forum). Gayathri sang some beautiful, fast phrases around the panchamam and her general use of the nishAdam - both plain and ornamented - were noteworthy. Additionally, Gayathri's combination of vallinam and mellinam in raga phrasings was admirable, where she would lower her volume and sing particular phrases softly to eke out the rAga bhAvam without losing azhuttam. This was especially evident in some of the tara sthAyi phrases around the rishabam and gandhAram she essayed that evening. NinnE nammiti was sung very well by the duo, and I enjoyed the elaborate neraval at pannagEndra sayana as well, where the intensity that I always find absorbing in a prati madhyama ragam like SM was sustained throughout. In the kalpanaswaras, I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the madhyamam and nishAdam in phrases like NRN, DPM, , and the entire main item presentation was very complete and satisfying.

I was equally pleased to hear SSI's trademark padavini next, with the sisters singing it at a lower velocity than SSI, thus maintaining sAhitya shuddam. I was overjoyed when Ranjani took up khamAs for elaboration, since it is another rAgam I have not heard elaborated for some time now (and it is a personal favourite, too). Ranjani's khamAs was okay - I felt she really did not get to the heart of the ragam immediately and seemed to meander a bit, though some of the dhaivatam-centric phrases she sang were quite imaginative and nice. After the violinist's response, Gayathri took the raga into the higher registers and once again impressed with her manOdharma. Her phrases around the tAra gAndAram were excellent, with a nice use of the MG,,, motif. She even added a Hindusthani touch or two in bringing the raga back to the madhya shadjam and to its conclusion. All in all, the raga alapanai was well done and elaborate, befitting an RTP. The sisters then continued with tAnam, which was handled very well. KhamAs is definitely a rAgam suited for tAnam singing, I think, because it is possible to bring out its beauty without having to break into AlApanai-ish flourishes. The sisters' use the refrain MG, - ND, was especially noteworthy here and both of them excelled with some quivery phrases, too, like DNDP - PDPM - MPMG, etc. The entire pallavi rendition was also satisfying, with the sisters doing the pallavi justice with a complete neraval with nice second speed patterns and then singing the pallavi in three speeds, too. I especially enjoyed the climax of the neraval around the tAra gAndAram, with phrases like GGMG being used exceptionally. The kalpanaswaras had a fair bit of mathematics, with eDuppus at different parts of the pallavi and in different naDais. The sisters started ragamaliga swaras after an elaborate RTP, so I'm not going to whine (yes, you can heave a sigh of relief). I actually enjoyed the rAgamAliga swaras because the sisters took their time with each rAgam - the madhuvanti (Gayathri) was outstanding, and I enjoyed Ranjani's brundAvana sAranga too.

I liked the rAgamAliga PD krithi. The sisters then said they had many requests for abhangs, and decided to sing two abhangs to conclude the concert. Dr. CMV requested that they explain the meaning of the pieces too, which Gayathri did admirably. I do not particularly care for abhangs, but I am not opposed to their being sung, either. After all, if hundreds of people throng to RG's concerts waiting for the abhang or two at the end and in the process listen to some quality, classical CM (which the sisters offer right until the abhangs), then it is a win for CM, too. I will say, however, that the concert which had been of a high quality lost some of its seriousness at the end and I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it concluded with more classical, weighty tukkaDas.

I have always been a fan of RG and enjoyed this concert too. They have excellent coordination and understanding and both bring different talents to the table. Ranjani has good reach in the mandra stAyi and Gayathri in the tAra stAyi. Both of them have a fine sense of aesthetics and there is good fluency when they alternate in raga alapanais, neravals, and kalpanaswaras, which is always a potential problem in duets. Their enunciation is good, they have good voices aligned to shruti, provide a varied fare in terms of ragas, composers, and talas, and they have a very polished presentation. On this day, I was more impressed by Gayathri, who I thought displayed moments of exceptional manOdharma, but both of them sang well.

H.N. Bhaskar played beautifully - first time I'm hearing him. His Parur training shows in his clear fingering and gamakas, and he has a nice, even bowing as well. I was especially impressed by his sensitivity in accompaniment. He would never overrun the vocalists during raga alapanais (some violinists are so eager to replicate everything that is being sung that they often play over the vocalist's voice, which is jarring), always patiently waiting until the end of the phrase to either replicate the end of the phrase or merely play the dominant note being held. Similarly, he would remain silent during tAnam and kalpanaswaras, allowing the vocalists to develop their own patterns at leisure. His mandra stAyi accompaniment throughout the evening was outstanding, as was his background cut bowing during second speed neraval, which I find really complements the singing. Additionally, I was very impressed by the sheer crispness of his raga alapanais, where he would use up no more than a third of the vocalists' time and present a complete picture of each raga. Specifically, his khamAs, where he juxtaposed phrases like NDN and MGM very well, was outstanding. He also replicated Gayathri's beautiful tara stAyi phrases in SM (e.g., SRG,G,R,) in his own essay. The only drawback to his playing was some screeching while bowing (when the bow was no longer perpendicular to the strings especially in the E string), but this did not detract from an impressive performance.

I was not as enthused, however, by Nirmal Narayan's performance on the mrudangam. I felt his playing just did not 'gel' with the vocalists' music most of the time, and he did not demonstrate great anticipation in the manOdharma segments of the concert. I also thought his playing for sangathis in krithis was rather bland and not customised at all. It must be kept in mind, however, that I am a total dimwit when it comes to laya, so he may have been playing brilliant mathematical patterns throughout the evening and they would all have sailed right past my head, so don't pay much attention to my impression. His thani was short and concise. He did have one or two good moments during the concert, though, with a nice tIrmAnam every now and then, and soft and unobtrusive playing for the serene yadukulakAmbOji.

This was a very good to excellent concert and I am glad my last concert experience in San Diego was a positive one, and my last review of a San Diego concert a glowing one. In closing, I would like to thank all the organisers in San Diego for their tireless labour in making all these concerts possible. In the three cities I have heard CM, San Diego stands head and shoulders above the rest in the sheer quality of music. I will miss it dearly.

P.S. The sisters are in good form - don't miss their concerts, people!

[rajeshnat]

Ranjani (who I believe is the shorter and darker of the two?)
...
12. bUtha mOTE (abhang)

bilahari
If you are seated in the auditorium and you view them singing, ranjani is to the left and gAyatri to the right. And always gAyatri takes the main and generally ventures more into tAra sthAyi.

If my memory is right this abhAng bhUTHA mOTE is in chandrakauns. As usual well written and balanced review.

[bilahari]

Thanks for the clarification, Rajesh. So I got their names right.

[rshankar]

Bilahari - what a lovely way to bid adieu! I think your reviews reflect the concerts faithfully. I wonder what they'll be presenting in NJ this evening. I have been impressed with their meticulous concert planning. I did notice that a viruttam was conspicuous by its absence in the SD concert - I do hope they sing at least one (or two?). As mentioned elsewhere, I love their viruttams...(would even go as far as to say that after Smt. MSS, it is their viruttams that move me).

[bilahari]

Ravi, YES! I was hoping dearly that they would substitute one of the abhangs with a viruttam. I, too, have always been moved by their viruttams and consider it their true USP (not abhangs!). But with a songlist chock full of my favourite pieces, it would be disgustingly greedy to complain

[rshankar]

Bilahari - I will not enquire if you are up early, or...

[bilahari]

In lab? Neither. Back in Singapore where it's 8PM.

[rshankar]

Ah...

[arasi]

Bilahari,
A top class review from you, as usual. I have heard them sing 'bhUt mOTE' years ago (yes, in candra kauns).
Good to hear that you are home now. Will see you in Chennai!

[bilahari]

Yes, arasi. Catch up with you at the end of the year!

[cienu]

In lab? Neither. Back in Singapore where it's 8PM.

And for how long will you be in Singapore before you return back to San Diego ?

[Sindhuja]

I was there and immensely enjoyed it too. For a change, I thought Ranjani sang a lot more than she usually does, and was in full form! Gayathri shone as usual, but the only gripe I had is that she controls her voice a tad more than required- that words begin to get unclear- especially in tAra sthaayi. I was a little unhappy with her overall voice modulation especially coz that was something I've specifically admired her for, through the years.
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the lovely grahabhedam they did in Simhendramadhyamam! She stopped at tAra ri, took it as pa and outlined a beautiful bowli/ revagupti (couldn't say which one it was since she never went above the tAra ga or the madhyama pa- for if she had, we'd have known if the new resulting raga had ni or not).
And oh, I love their abhangs, so no complaints there, although yes- a viruththam would have made the concert complete.

[bilahari]

Thank you for pointing out the graha bEdam, Sindhuja. I didn't mention it because I apparently didn't notice it! Will wait for recording.

Cienu, that's it for San Diego! I'll be in Singapore for two years while applying to graduate schools in US.

[cienu]

Cienu, that's it for San Diego! I'll be in Singapore for two years while applying to graduate schools in US.

San Diego's loss is SINGapore's gain

[arasi]

Cienu,
A good one! sans bilahari, San Diego misses him. 'Sing'apore may not have that many concerts, but we will hear from him during the 'sing-play-dance' festival in Chennai! He joins Rajesh, Bharath, Kedharam, Nick and several others and will bring us concert reviews!

[bilahari]

Cienu, that was indeed a good one!
Unfortunately, I don't see many concerts happening in Singapore (3-4 a year, of which perhaps one concert is of a high quality), so the 'sing' part of 'singapore' may just be rasikas singing in the shower. I sang a pretty awful kAnaDa this morning.

[rajeshnat]

bilahari was very useful to many of the artists who tour us, as thru his reviews I am assuming that he gently reminds most rasikas in other US cities to attend concerts in their respective cities. Hope he gets some university in the future in the US , so that he continues from there (may be University of California in san diego is the best choice).

SIndhujA,
I am assuming you are the same person who is helping gamakam out in GNB Series , you can take up from where bilahari left .

[Sindhuja]

Rajeshnat: yes, that's me.
Writing reviews clearly takes a lot of talent as bilahari has shown. I'm not sure how good a job I can do of it, but will certainly try. Thanks for prompting!

[Sindhuja]

bilahari: if you recollect, in the middle of the alapanai there was a round of applause- that was for the grahabhedam