Neyveli Santanagopalan - Parthasarathy Sabha - 23rd Dec 2010

[bilahari]

Neyveli Santanagopalan – Vocal
M.A. Sundaresan – Violin
Mannargudi A. Easwaran – Mrudangam

Duration: 2h 30min

Approximate Songlist:

01. ninne kOri (varNam) (S @ charaNam) – vasanta – Adi
02. rA rAma (S @ pallavi) – asAvEri – Adi
03. ini namakkoru (R, N @ ghandarvA gAnalOla, S) – bilahari – rUpakam
04. sundara tara dEgam (R, N @ rAgAdi samhAram, S) – pantuvarALi – Adi
05. sankari sankuru (R, N @ syAma kriSNa sOdari, S, T) – sAvEri – Adi
06. rAgam tAnam pallavi – nIlAmbari – khanDa tripuTa (samam + 1)
pallavi: amba nI kAlambari nIlAmbari akhila lOka sAkSi
rAgamAliga swaras in Ananda bhairavi, pUrNacandrika, and ahiri
07. gOvardana giridAra – darbAri kAnaDa – Adi
08. pUvAi piRavi (vruttam) followed by nADi tEDi – sindhu bhairavi – tiSra
09. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) – sowrASTRam – Adi

NSG’s voice was in horrible shape as he commenced the vasanta varNam in faster madhyama kAlam. He was struggling to reach even the tAra shadjam. That and the subsequent asAvEri were forgettable items, and the kalpanaswaras were not probing for either piece. Rajesh and others have always raved about NSG’s ini namakkoru, so I e-mailed him a day before the concert requesting this krithi. NSG wrote back saying he will oblige and that he’s not keeping good health currently. Indeed, the initial items in the concert saw him struggling a fair bit.

Something just clicked from bilahari onwards. His ini namakkoru was beautifully sung, and I particularly love the second sangathi of the word “kavalaiyumillai” – the melodic setup of that word (does it have N2?), and NSG’s delivery, almost seemed to make his own worries disappear, and the concert took off to the skies thereafter. NSG’s alapanai of bilahari earlier had some lovely gamakas about the rishabam, and the caressing, soft touch of bilahari that NSG brings continued in the neraval. The kalpanaswaras were mostly laden with kaNakku but were interesting and melodious nonetheless. NSG then sang pantuvarALi. In the commercial recording with his RTP in bEhAg, NSG sangs an amazing pantuvarALi, and I’ve always wanted to hear it live from him. My wish came true as he sang an elaborate alapanai of the ragam. The alapanai was noteworthy for the cascades of brighas sung with the verve that pantuvarALi deserves. While NSG always struggles in the higher octaves these days, it is impressive how his singing in the madhya and mandra stAyi is impeccably aligned to shruti. NSG sang a rare ThyAgarAja composition in pantuvarALi, and it was nice. His neraval was thorough and had excellent mEl kAla passages. Particularly, his use of plain notes often reminded me of an MMI recording of ninnE nammi nAnurA – it was good stuff. The toying with plain notes continued in the swaraprastAram, with NSG often ending his patterns evocatively with M and N. His G,GG, ending phrases were very imaginative.

Someone handed a chit request to NSG and guess what the request was for? Sankari sankuru, the immortal and increasingly rare SS composition. NSG, enthused by the request, embarked on an elaborate sAvEri alapanai. As he started, I remembered his excellent RTP in the raga at MA two years ago and hoped he would repeat the feat. He did not. He blew that sAvEri away and my mind will now harbour memories of this Parthasarathy Sabha sAvEri for years to come. NSG punctuated his ragam with ample, long kArvais, and his panchamam-oriented phrases were particularly haunting and fluent. When NSG is in full flow, his raga alapanais have an unstoppable flow – it’s the sort of thing my grandfather would describe as “rayil tanDavALattila pOrAppla” (train running on tracks). The tAnam conclusion to the alapanai was typical NSG and very well executed. His sAvEri was imaginative, classical, but most of all, it was moving. His rendition of the SS composition was equally majestic. A detailed neraval added to the beauty of the sAvEri, with NSG singing some excellent combinations of first and second speed patterns. The kalpanaswaras were nothing but kaNakku, and I lost interest after a while.

MAE played a dazzling thani here. It was MAE’s second concert that day (I had attended his other concert as while with Kunnakudy BMK), but the fatigue, if any, did not show at all. MAE’s accompaniment was sublime that evening – his sensitivity in krithi renditions is something I keep mentioning but is worth repeating. There are few mrudangists who play so attentively when it comes to krithis, and MAE really embellished krithis like the bilahari and sAvEri. Additionally, he anticipated excellently during neravals and kalpanaswaras. NSG was so inspired by his playing that he allowed MAE to play a certain pattern first and then repeated it with swaras in sAvEri.

After the thani, the concert was nearly at the two hour mark and NSG began a nIlAmbari alapanai. I figured he was ill and wanted to conclude early, but was grossly mistaken. Instead, NSG’s nIlAmbari was thorough. Interestingly, he sang the ragam in short phrases (MMI-type). I’ve usually only heard nIlAmbari sung with slow, long phrases. NSG’s madhyama kAla elaboration of the raga was highly imaginative and yet aesthetic – never did he compromise the bhAvam of nIlAmbari. His use of the nishAdam was especially impressive. MAE then picked up his mrudangam in anticipation of a krithi, and NSG told him he was about to sing tAnam. NSG sang an equally impressive and elaborate tAnam, which drew plenty of appreciation from MAS. NIlAmbari has plenty in it for tAnam – the GM and NS interface both offer significant scope for repetitive patterns, and even the raga phrases can be woven within a semirhythmic framework. NSG’s tAnam proved this. NSG then announced his pallavi was a loan from Dikshitar. The pallavi was very beautiful and had a nice setup (NSG’s pallavis are always very good), and NSG sang a detailed neraval in the pallavi. The neraval was well executed, and the tAnam-type second speed patterns were nicely done as well. The kalpanaswaras were mostly in other ragas, and NSG’s Ananda bhairavi was particularly good, as was his ahiri. I like how NSG’s ragamaliga swaras are usually in traditional CM ragas when the fashion these days is to present HM ragas. NSG sang the ragas in reverse order with seamless transitions.

The concert concluded with a nice sindhu bhairavi.

MAS was excellent on the violin. As NSG pointed out, he is very sensitive in identifying the need for the moment as far as accompaniment is concerned. When the brighas flowed in pantuvarALi, MAS replicated them and spurred NSG on. When NSG took a more gamaka laden approach in bilahari and sAvEri, MAS replied appropriately. In particular, his mandra stAyi playing was excellent. MAS replicated NSG’s panchama-centric phrases in sAvEri in the mandra stAyi, and it was a stirring effort. Similarly, he brought out the beauty of nIlAmbari by playing part of the ragam in mandra stAyi. His kalpanaswara returns were all good, as well. When I congratulated him at the end on his beautiful raga alapanais, he modestly said, “namma sangItam appaDi” (such is our music).

NSG mentioned at the end how he was inspired by the audience that evening, especially with requests as weighty as sankari sankuru. The audience that evening was thin and numbering no more than fifty at the end, but NSG sang an inspired concert whose every pore oozed sowkhyam. When I asked NSG how he was feeling, he said, “ivALODalAm pADumbOtu ellAm pOyDuthu” (everything disappeared when I sang with such accompanists). NSG is a really alert and intelligent musician who constantly draws inspiration from his environs – his fellow musicians and his audience. With such good accompaniments and a small but dedicated and appreciative audience, he delivered his best despite his ill health.

Arasi and I had a conversation earlier where she mentioned that what separates the great from the merely good is “oneness with music”. Neyveli Santanagopalan is a great artiste by this measure – when he sings, he and his art are one and the same. As the audience gets a glimpse into the music’s – and simultaneously the man’s – soul, we cannot but lose ourselves in and be awed at the majesty and beauty of our great art. The concert was a stirring experience to cherish and reflect upon for a while to come.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Bilahari: Thanks for a nice detailed review--Yes--true artistes get inspired by their audience- however small they may be--NS is a genuine artist but the voice withering is a matter of concern considering that he is by no means old!!

I agree with you on MAE's playing-- I am eager to hear how some of the blast masters(too many to be named!!!) are doing!!!

[VRV]

Bilahari,

Thanks for the detailed review. I attended the concert from the Pantuvarali ragam onwards. Special mention has to be made for the impeccable sound system on this day at Parthasarathy Sabha. All in all the sowkyam was just sheer bliss. Hats of to NSG for the Shankari Shankuru kirtanam. The kirtanam itself was a tisra nadai kirtanam. The brilliance of the artists on stage and the understanding was evident when Ghanda nadai korvais and patterns were introduced within the tisra nadai and they all performed it so effortlessly and in stride.

Yes a saveri to remember for a very long time. Like I mentioned to NSG at the end of the concert the last time an elaborate Shankari Shankuru captivated me was in 1979 at Shanmughananda sabha by the late DKJ/Palghat Raghu combo.

MAE is at his all time nadam/kannaku best.

Vinod Venkataraman

[arasi]

Even for a novice, MAE's playing is a treat. I heard him the very next morning too, playing for Suryaprakash. His nAdam is so pleasing and his kaNAkku not an overwhelming boom for my kind.
Sundaresan is one of my favorite accompanists. He was in form too.
As for Neyveli, those who are partial to 'voice' in vocalists may disagree. But NSG fills me with musical bliss every time I hear him. sowkyam, sowkyam, sowkyam, stream of kalpanai flowing along smoothly once he launches on his rAgam, neraval or svarams. Yes, that sAvEri and nIlAmbari did fill our hearts with fine music.

[vs_manjunath]

The pantuvarali song was GNB's favourite!

[rajeshnat]

bilahari
Well written review , particularly the reference of ini namakOru that i made years ago you had to ask , and incidentally the rAga handle is also bilahari. Is it not very true that at times the really top notch accompanist (MAE and MAS) make a concert click ?