Vijay Siva - Kalarasana - 24 Dec 2011

[bilahari]

Vijay Siva - Vocal
R.K. Shriramkumar - Violin
J. Vaidyanathan - Mrudangam
Aniruddh Athreya - Khanjira

Duration: 2h 45m

Approximate Songlist:

01. dasarata nandana - asAvEri - Adi - T
02. SankaCakra gadApAnim [N @ bhajE pUrNacandrikAnga, S] - pUrNacandrika - rUpakam - MD
03. maragata maNi varNa [R, N @ dharaNi tanaya, S] - varALi - Adi - T
04. kAmAkSi (swarajati) - yadukulakAmbOji - miSra cApu - SS
05. rAma nIyeDa [R, N @ tana sowkhyami, S] - kharaharapriya - Adi - T

06. eTu namminA - sAvEri - Adi - Patnam
07. kAmAkSi srI varalakSmi [R, S @ pallavi, T] - bilahari - Adi - MD
08. vruttam in abEri, ahiri, nIlAmbari
kANAmal vINilE - nIlAmbari - Adi - Muthuthandavar
09. slOkam followed by sundaratE dhyAnam - yamunAkalyANi - Adi - Tukaram
10. UrvEl ? (tiruppugazh?) - madhyamAvati - Adi
11. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - sowrASTRam - Adi - T

Vijay Siva's concert was well-planned and well-executed. I thought the pUrNacandrika kriti was very beautiful, and I particularly liked VS's neraval in the kriti, progressing from the madhya to tAra rishabam. The varALi was action-packed from the brisk ragam to the intense neraval and swaras. SS's swarajatis are always welcome but increasingly rare (aside from the bhairavi), and I thought VS really emoted the yadukulakAmbOji composition very well. It would certainly be a highlight of the concert for me.

VS's kharaharapriya was brigha-laced, but I loved the mandra stAyi passage that brought the alapanai to a conclusion. His kIzh kAla neraval was particularly well done with beautiful decorations of the word 'sukhamA' that RKSK faithfully reproduced. Indeed, the neraval would rank as THE highlight of the concert. Kalpanaswaras were sung to different eDuppus and were engaging.

VS's bilahari ragam was comprehensive but I did not find it particularly arresting. I think slowing down the raga would have allowed a greater appreciation of those delightfully subtle gamakas that are important to the raga. Indeed, it is a general wish I have for VS's alapanais. I was happy to hear MD's bilahari composition. The kalpanaswaras had odd moments like the G-anchored swara patterns (GPMG - GDMG - GNPMG) that did not strike the heart of the raga, but it was not a bad experiment.

I am hearing the nIlAmbari composition for the first time and found it really beautiful. I'll have to search through our sAhitya section to see if a discussion is available. Ravi, do you remember?

RKSK played sensitively, and I liked his pUrNacandrika and kharaharapriya neraval replies and his bilahari ragam especially. His kharaharapriya was good in the upper octave.

J. Vaidyanathan and Aniruddh Athreya both played well, and there is always good sowkhyam in JV's playing. Aniruddh is one of my favourite khanjira players and he did not disappoint. The tani for bilahari was appropriate for the krit and both percussionists played cohesively.

Vijay Siva's concerts always introduce me to new compositions, and he sings kritis with a lot of involvement. The respect he gives to sAhitya shuddam in neraval truly integrates the neraval into the composition instead of making it seem like a disparate manOdharma exercise. Of course, he is one of the few musicians who offers sparse music without obfuscation with extraneous gamakas and sangatis. His concert for Kalarasana only confirmed these admirable qualities that continue to draw me and other rasikas to his music.

[sankark]

Sigh Fate, what else to blame? Will this come out as a concert for Season 2011?

[bilahari]

I didn't see any AIR or professional recording folks, I'm afraid...

[squims]

The respect he gives to sAhitya shuddam in neraval truly integrates the neraval into the composition instead of making it seem like a disparate manOdharma exercise.

Hear, hear! Wholeheartedly agree with this aspect.

Keep the great reviews coming bilahari! Love to read them!

[srikant1987]

I am hearing the nIlAmbari composition for the first time and found it really beautiful. I'll have to search through our sAhitya section to see if a discussion is available. Ravi, do you remember?

I have a Rama Ravi version of it. Probably you do, too.

[Jigyaasa]

A few observations:

1) I really enjoyed the neraval at bhajE pUrNachandrikAngaguruguhAntah karaNam. What a beautiful line for neraval! It has the rAgamudra and the vAggEyakAra mudra AND it makes complete sense as an independent line of the composition as against, say, paluku palukulaku and MANY others.

2) One very interesting idea I noted in rAma nIyaDa was that after the N, S at tana saukhyamu, he launched into ghanamaku puliya in second speed! I’ve never heard such a thing before and would like to know if there’s a precedent.

3) I found it rather odd that he kept singing yorulaku instead of norulaku (others). The lyric is tAnerugaka norulaku… It’s one of those EXTREMELY RARE occasions where there’s a pronunciation error in Shri Vijay’s concerts. It would be great if someone who’s an expert at Telugu could comment.

4) The swara landings at yorulaku (sic), tAneruguka and at tana saukhyamu were impeccable and Shri RKSK’s responses were fantastic.

5) ETu namminAvo is such a poignant composition even for a “filler”. The spiritual import of the kriti makes it worthy of hearing over and over again.

6) I was really expecting a RTP when he began singing bilahari. However, I hadn’t heard kAmAkshi in forever, so it was like, as has been mentioned here before, like meeting an old friend.

The shlOka that preceded the composition was splendid.
gandharvAmarasiddhachAraNavatu…
gambhIrasmitavibhramAnchitamukhIm
kAmAkshIm kalayAmi kalpalatikAm kAnchIpurIdEvatAm

I missed a few words. Tried googling it but had no luck. Could someone PLEASE complete the shlOka and also let me know which Sanskrit work it’s from? I would really appreciate it.

7) The reason why I was expecting an RTP was that I’ve heard two wonderful ones from him at this venue. Back in ’08, it was in tODi in a challenging tALa to Shri Trichy Sankaran’s accompaniment. In ’07 it was in kAnaDa with a lyric that incorporated the rAga name ingeniously – pAlinchuTakA naDachi vacchitivO! Since Kalarasana’s concerts commence at 6.15 and have nothing after them, they offer enough time for a full-fledged pallavi. In fact, I’ve heard one in practically every concert I’ve been to at this location…

[rajeshnat]

kANAmal vINilE - nIlAmbari - Adi - Muthuthandavar
...
I am hearing the nIlAmbari composition for the first time and found it really beautiful. I'll have to search through our sAhitya section to see if a discussion is available. Ravi, do you remember?

Bilahari
I exactly had the same feeling when I heard gurucharan singing this no , this no is a description of chidambaram.
Look at this muttu thandavar thread where I have asked and mahakavi has given explanation
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... 980#p54980

Great review, you got bilahari after you announced that you would go there too!!!How was the AC in the hall was it very cold?

[prashant]

The shlOka that preceded the composition was splendid.
gandharvAmarasiddhachAraNavatu…
gambhIrasmitavibhramAnchitamukhIm
kAmAkshIm kalayAmi kalpalatikAm kAnchIpurIdEvatAm

The words of the shloka are:

gandharvAmara siddhaCAraNa vadhu dhyAnA padAnAnCitAm
gaurIm kumkuma panka pankita kuCa dvandvAbhirAmAm shubhAm
gambhIrasmita vibhramAnCitamukhIm gangAdharAlingitAm
kAmAkshIm kalayAmi kalpalatikAm kAnchIpurIdEvatAm

This appears in a book entitled 'Devi Sthotrangal" published by Ramakrishna Math. The author is not evident [this information is courtesy Vidvan Sri Vijay Siva].

[Jigyaasa]

Thanks a lot, Prashant! I thought it could be Shankaracharya's...

[carnatricks]

lovely concert. came during the poornachandrika niraval. was very engaging. more than reviewing or reporting it all i want to say is that it was a wonderful experience listening to this concert. all the accompanists were encouraging each other and the camraderie they shared on stage was nice. jv mridangam was amazing especially to songs like rama niyada in a time where importance is given more to thani avarthanams. anirudh was wonderful and seemed a perfect foil for sri rksk and sri jv. sri rksk was as always an alter ego of sri nvs and overall this will be a concert etched in my mind for a very long time. i sadly had to leave just before the yamunakalyaani piece.

[rshankar]

Bilahari, thanks...lovely review of a beautiful concert! Some numbers I have not heard in ages....
And, at the risk of blaspheming, isn't the tukArAm composition an abhanga too?

[srikant1987]

I found it rather odd that he kept singing yorulaku instead of norulaku (others). The lyric is tAnerugaka norulaku… It’s one of those EXTREMELY RARE occasions where there’s a pronunciation error in Shri Vijay’s concerts. It would be great if someone who’s an expert at Telugu could comment.

You could have seen the one-stop reference for all Thyagaraja kritis! http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.co ... -raga.html

The actual word is "orulaku": the 'n' is inserted to "fill up" between eruga and orulaku, and is of no real significance. 'y' is also an accepted "filler": shiva shiva shiva yanna rAdA for example. http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.co ... -raga.html

[srikant1987]

Weirdly, rshankar's was still mentioned as the last post in this thread after I made #12.