Violin: Sri. B U Ganesh Prasad
Mridangam: Sri. Poongulam Subramaniyam
Khanjari: Sri Gopala Krishna
1. Sarasuda (Varnam) [S]- Saveri - Adi - Kottavasal Venkatarama Iyer
Swarams @dAni pai
2. Paahimaam Sri Rajarajeshwari [S] - Janaranjani - Adi - Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer
Swarams @janaranjani niranjani
3. Ennaalu oorake [R N S] - Shubhapantuvarali - Mishra Chapu - Tyagaraja
Neraval and Swarams @ satimAtanAlaginci
4. Raamabhakti saamrajyam - Shuddha Bangala - Adi - Tyagaraja
5. Intha prabhuva kaaneno [R] - Mohanam - Adi - Vijayadasa(?)
6. Kanna thandri [S] - Deva Manohari - Adi - Tyagaraja
7. Koluvai yunnaade [R N S T] - Bhairavi - Adi - Tyagaraja
Neraval and Swarams @ manasu ranjilla surasatuDu
8. Ee muddu krishnana - Durga - Adi - Vadiraja
9. Bhaavayaami Gopaalabaalam [R] - Yaman Kalyani - Khanda Chapu - Annamacharya
10. Muddugare Yashoda - Kurinji - Adi - Annamacharya
11. Raama naama bhajare - Madhyamavathi - Adi - Tyagaraja
12. Mangalam - Sourastram - Adi - Tyagaraja
What an amazing concert! Soumya was in top form, and gave a really good performance.
I always find the Saveri varnam to be an excellent opener. It was further embellished by Soumya's brisk swarakalpana at the charanam line.
The Janaranjani piece was soothing. The swarams were sung at 'janaranjani' which gave the interesting eduppu of 10 aksharams/maathras. Sarvalaghu patterns aplenty, with kanakku to go with the eduppu was very enjoyable.
Then...Shubhapantuvarali! As most people know, my love for this raagam can probably only be beaten by my own dislike of Kalyani!

So, I was totally happy with the elaborate aalaapanai which lasted around 15 minutes from the vocalist alone, and then 8-10 minutes from the violinist. The raagam was completely explored. Some progressions were really nice. Not to mention the beautiful bhaavam(that the raagam inherently possesses as it is) which was brought out extremely well by Sowmya. As compositions in this raagam are rare, I was either expecting Sri Satyanarayanam or Ennalu oorake. Tyagaraja was chosen over Muthuswamy Dikshitar! Actually, 90% of the song list is made up of Tyagaja kritis. No complaints. Just an observation.
The kriti was sung well. The detailed neraval and swarams were a delight.
One of my favourite kritis for filler.
Mohanam followed. Pleasant.
The swarams in the Devamanohari piece were really well sung. These had a fair bit of kanakku in them, with kuraippus in almost every aavaarthanam of swarams, with a tiny, pleasing korvai rounding it all off.
Bhairavi was most welcome. It's really been a long time since I've even heard Bhairavi live. It was a detailed elaboration of the raagam again. It was sung with a lot of finesse. One thing I recollect is that when she was reaching the taara sthaayi shadjam, she was limiting usage of the taara 'G', and then she brought it in after a few phrases (the R G R so characteristic of the raagam), which, I felt made it sound really good. Then she loitered around that 'R' and 'G' for a while. It's kind of like when you anticipate something, the wait is as sweet as the actual reward. It was like that.
The kriti was new to me, but I loved the composition. I might be wrong here...it felt like a 2 kalai kriti, but Sowmya sung it in 1 kalai. Not that that actually made any difference though. Neraval and swarams were perfect. As always, I just loved her korvai! She has a flair for coming up with something innovative every time.
I felt so satisfied by this point in the concert, that the lack of a RTP didn't bother me at all!

Tukkuda section featured her usual fare. But among these, the lovely Bhaavayaami stood out. A brief sketch of the raagam preceded the kriti which just melted my heart.
Madhyamavathi and Sourastram concluded the concert.
About the accompanists:
Ganesh Prasad was excellent on the violin. His raaga aalaapanais were as lucid as Sowmya's. He matched her at every stage in the neraval and swarams as well.
I always love listening to Poongulam Subramaniam. Both him and Gopala Krishna gave very apt support today. The thani did not overstay its welcome. It was the right length, and had just the right amount of kanakku.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Undoubtedly the best concert of the Ramanavami series so far.