Sangeetha Swaminathan: Toronto June 25, 2011

[mahavishnu]

Smt Sangeetha Swaminathan- vocal
Kum Keerthana Shankar - violin
Sri B. Gowrishankar - mridangam
Sri Karthik Venkataraman - Kanjira

1. Chalamela - Durbar varnam
2. Gananathaya namaste- gaula - MD (S)
3. Janani ninnu vina - ritigaula - Subbaraya Sastry
4. Nadaloludai - Kalyanavasantham - T (R,S)
5. Antharanga bhakti - Shadvidamargini - Koteeswara Iyer
6. Bhairavi - yaaro ivar yaaro - Arunachala Kavi (R, N, S, T)
7. Kanchadalayadakshi - kamalamanohari - MD
8. RTP Ranjani - Vinayaka vallabha nayaka gajanayutha Gananayaka (siddhi) Tisra Ata talam: 3+3+2+2 cycle.
Neraval in hamsadwani,begada,chakravaham,purnashadjam,chamaram: highlighting pallavi lines of these various kritis.
9. Pillangoviya cheluva krishnana - mohana - Purandaradasa
10. Tillana - hamir kalyani - Muthiah Bhagavathar
11. Ni nama rupamalaku - Mangalam - Sowrashtram - T
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A very scholarly concert from Smt Sangeetha Swaminathan.

I have heard her records released by Charsur over the years, but had never heard her live until yesterday. She sounds like a paradigmatic representative of the MLV school; like an early career Sudha Raghunathan (nee Venkatraman). Her music has a lot of weight, her voice handles brighas quite effortlessly and her presentation is erudite. I was quite impressed by her performance.

The more intellectual characteristic of her music came through in her handling of the Koteeswara Iyer kriti in Shadvidamargini. The Pallavi was very well planned; I actually liked how she chose the various pallavi lines from various kritis to form the basis of her ragamalika exposition. Her trikalam in the pallavi showed her strong control over layam, also a highlight of the MLV bani.

The very young Keerthana Shankar provided skilful accompaniment, her bhairavi was most excellent. Her poornashadjam had some touches of kharaharapriya, but this is something she can work on by systematically listening to/learning classics likes Sri Manini, Lavanya Rama and, of course, Dikshitar's Gananayakam. I think she has a great future and I wish her all success

The percussionists played competently.

Toronto is hosting some kind of major Bollywood award event this weekend and the entire local mainstream media is going crazy over it. The premier of Ontario is being shown hanging out with Shah Rukh Khan at the Royal York hotel (where President Obama and the Queen of England stay on their Toronto visits); clearly in a bid to win more votes among the rapidly growing South Asian community. Apparently, many of the manram members decided to go to mini-Bollywood last night. So the attendance at the kutcheri was sparse. The loss was entirely theirs.

[music_is_life]

Excellent review, Mahavishnu. Even I got the feeling that it was a very scholarly concert.
One correction I would like to point out- the name of the ragam in the pallavi is rudrapriya and not poornashadjam. Of cource, you have rightly mentioned Poornashadjam for lavanya rama but 'gananayaka' is rudrapriya.

[mahavishnu]

Music_is_Life: Thanks. That explains everything.

I was puzzled since I heard a P and D2 prayogam, which is why I thought it was shades of kharahapriya. So, Keerthana's reply in the pallavi was actually very true to the form of rudrapriya then. My bad.

For some reason, I assumed that "Gananayakam" was in Poornashadjam. Is there another version that is sung in this ragam?

Oh and I hope you enjoyed your stay in Toronto!

[mahesh3]

Thanks for the review. The selectivity, format of the concert and pallavi shows her forte. Pillagoviya is in Mohanakalyani.

[mohan]

Thanks for the review. The pallavi line is the one composed by Charumathi Ramachandran for a Vinayaka Chathurthi concert perhaps in the 1980s. It was set in Hamsadhwani to Khanda Jathi Ata (Tisra Nadai).

I have seen Gananayakam listed as Rudrapriya but I have only heard it in Purna Shadjam (in the same tune/mettu as Thyagaraja's Sri mAnini)
Rudrapriya is S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 N2 S; S N2 P M1 G2 R2 S (Krishnaswamy Ayya's Amba Paradevate is in this raga)
While Purna Shadjam is S R2 G2 M1 N2 N2 S; S N2 P M1 G2 R2 S (note the absence of the dhaivatam)

Incidently, Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini doesn't include Gananayakam.

So I am surprised if Sangeetha Swaminathan sang a D2 as MLV et al sing Gananayakam in Purna Shadjam!

[mahavishnu]

Mohan: I just spoke to my mother in India, who learned "Gananayakam" from Baluswami Dikshitar (descendant of Muthuswami Dikshitar's brother Baluswami) and she indeed confirmed that she was taught the song in Rudrapriya. It is interesting that it is not in the SSP!

Memory can play tricks, but I somehow remember only the violinist using D2, which was the source of my initial observation. My guess is that Sangeetha sang the pallavi line in Poornashadjam (true to her MLV patantaram) and Keerthana's response was in Rudrapriya... Perhaps Music_is_Life can find out?

Looking through my iTunes library, I have five different recordings of this song. I see Smt Vedavalli, MLV, Mandolin Srinivas perform the song in Purnashadjam, while BMK and Nedunuri's version is in rudrapriya. Interestingly, in the latter version, the first use of D2 comes rather gratuitously in the anupallavi.

[mohan]

Thanks Ramesh .. I just downloaded a Nedenuri version from sangeetham share - hadn't heard this Rudrapriya version. http://sangeethamshare.org/sunil/gurugu ... i--NNK.mp3

[keerthi]

1. gaNanAThAya namastE in gauLa is a composition of ambi dIkSitar, the son of subbarama dIkSitar.


2. gaNanAyakaM - rudrapriyA is very much in the SSP. It is found in the appendix [the anubandha] along with a couple of other simple kRti-s like tyAgEshaM bhajare in the same rAga and gaNEshakumAra in janjUTI, that has bhajana sampradAya links.

The confusion regarding the rAga is understandable. the tune and eDuppu of gaNanAyakaM matches that of srImAninI, and seems a bit uncharacterisitc for a composition of MD. However, in his and SubbarAma dIkSitar's defense, SD has mentioned two songs after gaNanAyakaM, that a certain 'srIvallIpatE' in nAgaswarAvaLi is his (SD's) sAhityam set to the tune of tyAgarAja's 'srIpatE nI pada'.

So, if gaNanAyakam were an inspired/ borrowed tune, there is no reason for SD to have hidden that information. At best we can speculate that

1.he may have intended to say so, and there may have been an omission. The appendix and the prathama-abhyAsa-pustakamu [PAP] were done when SD was in poor health, and he didn't live to see all his books in print.

2. Most of the tyAgarAja krtis in subbarAma dikSitar's book - the PAP, are Walajapet parampara songs. He has notated several of them in the PAP. It makes sense, since SD's contemporary and correspondent, A.M. Chinnaswami Mudaliar had access to Walajapet Krishnaswami Bhagavatar's handwritten notations.

The tyAgarAja kRtis in the PAP are mostly ones popularised by Naina piLLai, and Smts. T. Brinda-MuktA, and the Andhra school of wAlajapet chElas - Susarla dakSinAmUrti's students and prashiSyas.

Except for dayalEni bratuku, which he gives in the SSP, which I think was a stock UmayALpuram song, there are no toher UmayAlpuram songs in SD's books.

srImaninI manOhara - the tune-cognate of gaNanAyakam, is also a UmayALpuram song, and it is possible that SD may not have been aware of its existence, or of the tune-semblance.

[mahavishnu]

Keerthi: Thanks. That is very useful.

[mahavishnu]

Mohan: I have been listening to the Nedunuri version of the song in rudrapriya (that you linked to on Sangeethamshare) and the one from Charsur's commercial release (Paddhati: 1980 concert with Akella garu and Kamalakar Rao).

I have to say that the way the Raga is handled in the above instances sounds so different from the Rudrapriya of Amba Paradevate (I have heard several versions of this over the years; Lalgudi, T. Viswa, Voleti, Ramnad Krishnan, Jon Higgins). The give-away prayogam for Rudrapriya is PDNP(MGR), employed in the chittaswaram of Amba Paradadevate.

Such phrases are completely absent in Gananayakam. In fact, the use of D2 is so minimal that it was probably taken over by N2 in modern usage, post SSP, thus making it sound more like Poornashadjam (and consequently Sri manini).

Keerthi: Do you know of a rendition of Gananayakam that is true(r) to the SSP version?

[mohan]

2. gaNanAyakaM - rudrapriyA is very much in the SSP. It is found in the appendix [the anubandha]

Thanks - I didn't check the anubandha!

[srikant1987]

It is sad that I never got to hear much pUrNaShadjam or rudrapriya. I like gaNanAyakam -- the nns, npmgr version.

gaNanAyakam is sometimes said to be in pUrNaShaDjam.

If I am correct, what is popularly (and by T) called pUrNaShaDjam is what D calls rudrapriya.

ambaparadEvatE is in the rAga popularly (and by T?) called rudrapriya.

[keerthi]

Such phrases are completely absent in Gananayakam. In fact, the use of D2 is so minimal that it was probably taken over by N2 in modern usage, post SSP, thus making it sound more like Poornashadjam (and consequently Sri manini).

Keerthi: Do you know of a rendition of Gananayakam that is true(r) to the SSP version?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If you mean renditions that match the SSP notation for gaNanAyakam, Most versions are a fit - MLV, NedanUri etc. My teacher tells me that this was one of two songs that Musiri taught every single student of the Central College of Carnatic music, while he was principal.

If you mean true to the SSP rAgalakSaNa, different ballgame.
The sticky problem is that the notation of gaNanAyakam is not compatible to the rAgalakSana given by SD in the main text, the slOka, laksana geetam the compositions rudrakOpa of MD, vallidEvasEnApati, and a daru of Baluswami DikSitar, and the popular amba paradEvatE, tuned by SD.

This could be the reason for including it in the appendix. Also the sAhityam is not entirely in keeping with MD's style - vadanE-dviradam is a compound called the aluk samAsa, which is not seen in MD,(seen a lot in OVK) except in the phrase cintAmanyAlankRta-gatraM in the hindOlavasanta song.[incidentally the caranam of this song, with this phrase, wasn't present in SD's edition of the SSP. It was added in, in the tamizh edition, with a footnote.]

It appears that, even by SD's reckoning, this song is an outlier to MD's corpus of songs, from both the lyrical and musical perspectives.



srikant,

To say tyagarAja called a raga rudrapriya or pUrNaSaDja is problematic. We will never know what he called the rAga-s for his songs. There have been several publications, with and without notation, that have both lavanyarAma and/or srImAninI in one of pUrNasaDja or rudrapriya.

Also, given that SD tuned KRSNaswAmayya's songs, why would amba paradEvatE's rudrapriya have anything to do with tyAgarAja?

[music_is_life]

Memory can play tricks, but I somehow remember only the violinist using D2, which was the source of my initial observation. My guess is that Sangeetha sang the pallavi line in Poornashadjam (true to her MLV patantaram) and Keerthana's response was in Rudrapriya... Perhaps Music_is_Life can find out?

Vishnu.. I checked with Sangeetha and she confirmed that she sang the pallavi line in Rudrapriya.
BTW, Sangeetha gave an amazing performance in Ottawa on Sunday and this time to a packed auditorium.
Unfortunately, CML could not attend. I spoke to him and he has promised to post a review from someone who attended the concert.

[mahavishnu]

thanks for clarifying, Music_is_Life.
I have actually learned a lot from Sangeetha & Keerthana's performance that day.

Glad to hear that the Ottawa concert was well received. There is a very good CM community there for a city of about 1 million people. Did she sing a complex pallavi again?

Look forward to your next visit up north.

[mahavishnu]

If you mean true to the SSP rAgalakSaNa, different ballgame.
The sticky problem is that the notation of gaNanAyakam is not compatible to the rAgalakSana given by SD in the main text, the slOka, laksana geetam the compositions rudrakOpa of MD, vallidEvasEnApati, and a daru of Baluswami DikSitar, and the popular amba paradEvatE, tuned by SD.

Keerthi, you have answered my question already. Thank you.

[music_is_life]

Mahavishnu,
There was indeed a complex pallavi in three ragas- Mohanam, Kamavardhini and Ananda Bhairavi.
Look forward to meeting you in person during my next visit on July 30th. There is a vocal concert of Keerthana with her elder sister, Kamya at the SVBF auditorium.
Can you suggest a good violinist in Toronto who can accompany them for that concert?

[mahavishnu]

Music_is_Life: Please check your forum e-mail.

[sruthi]

Talking about Rudrapriya, here is a nice rendition of rudra kOpa jAta in Rudrapriya by Rudrapatnam brothers: http://www.sendspace.com/file/yjz7kh

[rajsanthanam]

I missed Sangeetha's concert in SVBF. I live only 5 mins from the SVBF temple. I will be there for Keerthana's concert on Jul 30th.

[rajsanthanam]

I missed Maharajapuram Srinivasan's concert too on Canada day, July 3rd at Yorkwoods Library. Did anybody have a review of this?