Music Club IIT Madras: Dr R Hemalatha Violin Solo

[srikant1987]

Music Club IIT Madras

presents

on March 29 (Tuesday)

a Violin concert by Dr. R Hemalatha

accompanied by

Nellai Balaji on Mrudangam
K S Rangachary on Kanjira

Venue: Central Lecture Theatre (CLT), IIT campus
Time: 6.45 PM

About the artist:

Dr Hemalatha is well known Violin (fiddle) Vidushi. She hails from a musician family. Her father is K S Rangachary, a Kanjira Vidwan himself, who has accompanied several stalwarts such as the late Smt D K Pattammal.

She has done extensive research in music especially in ragas and holds a PhD degree. She gave a lecture at Music Club a few years ago, on the Evolution of Ragas.

She has uncanny insights into ragas. Dr Hemalatha is frequently seen as an accompanist to various top-ranking musicians. In this solo performance, Dr Hemalatha will have an opportunity to render ragas the right way, thus providing glimpses into the vintage carnatic music.

[rbharath]

And on April 6th

Smt Lakshmi Sreeram will present a vocal concert, at CLT.

[kamavardhani]

In this solo performance, Dr Hemalatha will have an opportunity to render ragas the right way, thus providing glimpses into the vintage carnatic music.

Really? Not at other times..?!!!

[srikant1987]

:$ Well, whatever! A solo would arguably offer more possibilities to the violinist any way.

[Nick H]

Wonderful news ... and I am returned to Chennai just in time. I should have been so disappointed to miss a Hemalatha solo performance.

Delighted too, to hear of the upcoming Lakshmi Sreeram concert. She wowed me, recently, with Hindustani music, and I have been looking forward to the chance to hear her carnatic performance.

[rshankar]

She wowed me, recently, with Hindustani music, and I have been looking forward to the chance to hear her carnatic performance.

Does it say CM concert - just vocal concert, right? Could be HM (could also be CM!)...

[srikant1987]

Oh, it is a concert of compositions on Lord Rama -- CM concert.

The Music Club had an HM concert of hers in iIrc 2007. That puriyA kalyAN was one of my introductions to HM, and I haven't listened to much since. I feel that HM cannot be enjoyed from tapes or even videos ... a live concert is needed!

[srikant1987]

Btw, Nick, where did you listen to her HM recently?

[Nick H]

This Brhaddhvani concert back in January.

[Nick H]

Due to some problems at home, I missed the varnum.

Just a quick note: the concert was beautiful. One thing that I can pick out was her treatment of the swara sections in the pancharatna kriti. So often, the delivery is ruled by the rhythm, producing a somewhat mechanical effect (but, perhaps some might find that more exciting?) but in Hemalatha's delivery melody ruled and the result was very sweet indeed: probably more melodic than any vocal rendering I have heard.

She mentioned that she would be taking permutations of 64=60-4 in the swaras for her main piece --- and even that I had expressed some surprise, at a previous solo concert, at how much calculation she did. My surprise was in the context of the melodic sweetness of her music, and even here, my First Rule was well satisfied. The rule is that the music be beautiful even without understanding the laya/calculation aspect.

There is no doubt that she is a laya expert, and she really enjoys the opportunity to lead in this aspect, instead of having to follow from the accompanist's spot.

She merits a much bigger share of the regrettably limited solo-violin-concert cake, and we deserve to see that growing share!

(A first for me: prodding one of the organisers and requesting them to please stop talking. Apologies to Bharath, but I was sure he would understand )

I do look forward to someone posting a proper review of this concert. Unfortunately, Bharath was unable to stay for much of it: I'll be missing his words!

[mahavishnu]

Nick, thanks for your note. I have only heard Dr. Hemalatha once and that too in the role of an accompanist. I was honestly floored by her performance that day.

I am glad that you were able to attend the solo concert.

[Nick H]

She is certainly "recognised" as an accompanist. I don't think many weeks pass without her name, sometimes several times, in the listings. I think she has a rare skill of adjusting to the main artist: she sounds different according to who she is playing with. At the same time, she still brings her personal creativity. Her own personal style seems to be very soft and melodic --- with a strong fascination for numbers and calculation.

I'm very sad to have missed Lakshmi Sriram's concert yesterday. Nursing duty (a sick cat) made leaving the house impossible. I don't know if I will be able to get to Sumithra's performance tonight.

[rbharath]

it was wonderful fiddle concert by Dr. Hemalatha. Her treatment of khamAs and brindAvana sArangA and shankarAbaraNam were all superb.

Dr. Lakshmi Sriram's concert was also a grand success. Mohanam, nattaikuranji and simmendra madhyamam were elaborated

i might put down the song list later, when i m little less emotional...

[sarkarinaukris]

thanks for this news.........