Ranjani and Gayatri - Singapore - 1st Apr 2011

[bilahari]

Ranjani and Gayatri - Vocal
H.N. Bhaskar - Violin
Manoj Siva - Mrudangam
K.V. Gopalakrishnan - Khanjira

SIFAS Festival at Esplanade Concert Hall

Duration: 3 h

Approximate Songlist:

01. karuNimpa idi (varNam) - sahAna - Adi - Tirovotriyur Tyagayya
02. srI mahAgaNapati (S @ pakAsakarO) - gowLai - miSra cApu - MD
03. OrAru muganE - rItigowLa - Adi - Neelakantan Sivan
04. tsalakalalla (R, S @ illalO) - Arabhi - Adi - T
05. kA vA vA - varALi - Adi - PS

06. samAnamEvaru (R, N @ paluku paluku, S) - kharaharapriya - rUpakam - T
07. ennai nI maRavAdE - amrutavarSini - Adi - Dandapani Desikar
08. rAgam tAnam pallavi - ranjani and mOhanam - Adi (khaNDa) (samam + 1 eDuppu)
pallavi: mOhana kaNNanai paNi manamE ranjakamAi kuzhalUtiDum jagan(mOhana...)
rAgamAliga swaras in jaganmOhini, janaranjani, brindAvani (?), sindhu bhairavi (?)

09a. kAdalAki kasindu (vruttam) - tODi, bahudAri, and bEhAg
09b. idudAnO tillai stalam - bEhAg - GKB
10. jagadOdhArana - kApi - Adi - PD
11. bOlAvA viTTala (abhang) - bhATiyAr - Tukaram
12. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - sowrASTram - Adi - T

Ranjani and Gayatri opened their concert with the beautiful karuNimpa, singing the pUrvangam in two speeds. The subsequent gowLai featured brief, brisk kalpanaswaras with N-R phrases used beautifully, and Ranjani's exploration of the tAra stAyi centered around GMRS phrases was also noteworthy. The rItigowLa piece was odd as the third entry in the songlist, as I figured it was time for a serious alapanai. Nevertheless, the composition was beautifully sung. Ranjani's Arabhi alapanai came as a welcome breath of fresh air, given how rare it is to hear this raga elaborated these days. She did a reasonably good job and I thought her alapanai was nicely tailored to the krithi to follow. Tsalakallala was sung nicely, but the kalpanaswaras were routine, with the rAga bhAvam mostly seeping out in kArvais at the rishabam and panchamam. A request made for kA vA vA was obliged, and I would like to know who on earth goes from concert to concert in this city requesting this song. I distinctly remember two other concerts here where kA vA vA was announced as a request. No offense to this PS masterpiece, but varALi has other beautiful compositions, too - how about a sESAcala nAyakam or Eti janma or mAmava mInAkSi once in a while?

I was overjoyed when kharaharapriya was taken up for elaboration by Gayatri. I have been addicted to kharaharapriya and bhairavi for weeks now for no reason, and Gayatri sang a decent alapanai. She covered many of the important phrases, but I felt madhyamam was left in the lurch to an extent. T's samAnamEvaru was sung nicely, but I was not very pleased with the neraval at paluku paluku, which seemed to lack a certain punch I find almost necessary for this particular line. Nonetheless, some of Gayatri's essays in the upper octave were evocative. The kalpanaswaras were OK.

(This is my gold-standard for a paluku paluku neraval: http://www.mediafire.com/?oqgnbyd3v0zcz19 )

After an entirely forgettable amrutavarSini (my fault for not liking this ragam much), Ranjani sang a detailed mOhanam, which was quite good. Gayatri then took up ranjani and it was obvious a dwi-raga pallavi was unfolding. I'm not a big fan of (a) mOhanam, and (b) multi raga pallavis, and was thus not enthused by this. In dwi-raga pallavis, my interest lies in hearing the ragas rapidly alternating and seamlessly intertwining - something almost no musician attempts for longer than a minute or two. True to the norm, the sisters presented mOhanam and ranjani separately and then took turns with some rapid alternation for a minute or two, and then the tAnam began. The tAnam was entirely standard fare, and so was the pallavi. The pallavi neraval felt a bit protracted to me and I was getting tired (after a long day in lab, so it's really not the sisters' fault). The kalpanaswaras in jaganmOhini and janaranjani were cute (that's about it), and then Ranjani sang something that sounded like brindAvani with both N2 and N3 used prominently. Gayatri's sindhu bhairavi sounded interesting, and I think M2 made its appearance more so than usual. All in all, the RTP was competently delivered, but just not my cup of tea. TrikAlam was done, too.

The vruttam and bEhAg were really the highlights of the concert for me - sublimely sung by the sisters. The remaining tukkaDas were nice, as well.

On the whole, Ranjani and Gayatri sang a nice concert. It was certainly not their best - their yadukulakAmbOji and simmhEndramadhyamam from San Diego last year, and their dharmavati RTP from 2007 at Parthasarathy Sabha still ring in my ears as evidence of the kind of music they are capable of presenting. Even so, R-G continually offer a minimum standard that is more than acceptable - their synchronisation is always great, they have good alignment to shruti, their enunciation is impressive, they sing a nice variety of compositions, and their manOdharma is generally quite good. To me, what was missing yesterday was a degree of that unquantifiable "azhuttam" - it was apparent in the kharaharapriya, and certainly in the pallavi.

H.N. Bhaskar accompanied beautifully on the violin. Although of Parur training, he did not overdo the HM gamakas and flat note playing and was wholly sensitive to the sisters' music. His raga replies were chaste to the ideas presented by the vocalists, and he was succinct throughout the evening. Additionally, when replying to neravals and kalpanaswaras for a duo, it must be difficult for the violinist to draw out the essence of what each of the singers has sung, and H.N. Bhaskar accomplished that admirably last evening.That said, his ranjani ragam was rather repetitive last night.

Manoj Siva and KVG both provided sowkhyam-laden accompaniment last night. Both of them played ever so sensitively, sweetly embellishing sangathis in krithis, playing sarvalaghu throughout most of the manodharma portions, allowing the sisters to develop their ideas leisurely and in the laya framework of their choosing, and it was all in all a commanding display of minimalism that extended to the sedate tani.

It was a good concert by Ranjani and Gayatri and their team. I leave shortly for the last of the Esplanade concerts - a vocal recital by Ustad Rashid Khan, who I have not heard before.

P.S. The sisters got a vociferous standing ovation for the abhang. Is this why CM artistes don't respect Singapore audiences?!

[Murali]

It was a regular R-G style concert - good music but nothing more to it. One gentleman in the front rows stood up to applaud and that was procedurally followed by everyone else including myself. The standing ovation has become a norm for all festival concerts at esplanade probably because of the hype and setting. The same thing happened in TN Krishnan's concert also. Maybe it will follow for Rashid Khan today that i regret missing owing to the finals.
Let's not generalize the singapore audiences. For sure the esplanade crowd is not an indicator of the quality of audience here because most of them dont seem like regular CM listeners. If you noticed, there were some caucasians, some chinese and mostly expat south & north indians who are not seen in the regular concerts.

[arasi]

Bilahari,
Again, one of your excellent reviews. The sisters appeal to a wide range of audience, with their bhAvam-laden music--even to your kind (by which I mean enlightened andin being particular about the essential ingredients in a concert). Though I can call myself a rasikA with as much enthusiasm as you possess, I can't come anywhere near you in understanding the many details of the science of music. It's too late for me to learn all that now For those who do not know you, it will come as a surprise if I say how old you are--I mean, how young--and there are a few others like you on the forum of whom we are proud as well!
On a personal note, I'm glad you like kharaharapriya a lot but not so about your being indifferent to amrutavarshiNi!


Murali,
I'm glad you made many Singapore listeners happy. They are not as bad, I would think. Bilahari can be a bit harsh

[bilahari]

Murali, my comment about Singapore audiences was made in jest! Audiences in San Diego, Chennai, and Singapore go gaga over R-G's abhangs (and why not - they sing abhangs beautifully), so it's not some uniquely Singaporean fixation. Though it's the first time I've seen it extended to a standing ovation!

As for the Rashid Khan concert, just like you regret missing it, I regret attending it. He happily finished the concert within 1.5 hours, and very generously obliged a request for a tarAna after that. And at least 10-15 minutes of the concert were spent tuning instruments. The jOg was OK, but I was hardly satisfied by the cArukESi. Granted, I know nothing about HM. But I really felt cheated that he concluded it so quickly.

[vasanthakokilam]

>just like you regret missing it, I regret attending it.

Your way of stating it made me laugh..

Good review as usual, Bilahari. I did not know you do not like Mohanam that much...Hmmm..

[kamalamba]

I missed the first 3 songs. Arabhi alapanai was good, Kharaharapriya was the highlight. Like Bilahari, I do not like RTPs in 2 or 3 ragas, they seem purely a show of technical wizardry, but not of music. RG do a very good job of the latter part of the concert blending HM very effectively. The viruttam and behag song were excellently rendered as was the abhang in bhatiyar.
Though not one of their best concerts (they have given a far better performance even in Singapore in the SIFAS old auditorium some years ago) it was very good.

[rshankar]

Bilahari - very nice review as usual. I actually like attending their concerts because of the equipoise they share on stage - not usually found in many duos, and the nice contrast in their voices that nevertheless blend well. And unlike a few of the front-line performers, they treat all audiences with respect, and deliver good concerts.

[rajeshnat]

bilahari
The viruththam kAdalAgi kasindhu is tevAram. Another nice review , keep it going with a bang