FLUTE CONCERT
Date: Sunday January 22, 2012
Time: 4:15 - 6:45 pm
Venue: Flat #12, Shanti Enclave, 25 Venkatakrishna Road, Mandaveli, Chennai - 28
Artists: Sikkil Smt Mala Chandrasekhar - Flute, accompanied by Kum Akkarai Sornalata - Violin, Kalladaikurichi Sri Sivakumar - Mridangam
Rasikas Welcome.
Regards,
Jeyaraaj and Jaysri
Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
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Nick H
- Posts: 9473
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
In the end... a four hour concert!Time: 4:15 - 6:45 pm
A marvellous marathon, a really wonderful evening of music from Mala Chandrasekhar, with absolutely brilliant accompaniment on both violin and mridangam.
Just as I was mentally preparing for the end of the program, I heard her say those magic words, Ragam, Tanam, Palavi....
I do hope someone writes a proper review
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srikant1987
- Posts: 2246
- Joined: 10 Jun 2007, 12:23
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
The advantage of concerts that start before 4 30! They can comfortably go on for four hours, and still one wouldn't need to leave after the tani ...In the end... a four hour concert!
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veenajj
- Posts: 125
- Joined: 18 Apr 2007, 11:54
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
Nick, glad that you could come! In response to your request for a review, here is an excerpt from the report posted on the Veenavaadhini Blog.
Smt SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR presented a grand 4-hour flute concert. It was billed to be a 2-1/2 hour kutcheri, but that day the music just flowed. Neither Smt Mala, nor the rasikas (including several young children) realized until 3-1/2 hours had gone that so much time had elapsed. Starting with the lilting Daru Varnam Mathe in Kamas, the eminent flautist went on to play Ganapathe Mahamathe in Kalyani with very impressive kalpanaswaram patterns. Then came a very classical Neelayatakshi in Paras. Madhayamavathi exposition for the kriti Nadupai brought out the raga swaroopa brilliantly with the choicest pidis. Theliyaleru Rama never fails to tug the heart strings. The Dikshitar magnum opus Sree Subramanyaya Namaste was presented in true Gayaki style, prefaced with an expansive Khamboji Raga alapana where the rasikas were completely immersed particularly in the mandra sthayi phrases. RTP in Shanmukhapriya came next. Both the ragam and thanam were very well etched; some classic veena phrases in the thanam were executed by both Mala and Akkarai Sornalatha, the violinist. Geetha Vadhya Natana Natakarpriye, Rasike was the pallavi line. The poorvangam was structured in such a way as to represent all the three speeds of Vilambakala, Madhayamakala and Drutakala. The trikalam and tisram segments were bang on target. The ragamalika kalpanawaram suffix featured ragams with a “priya” ending, like Kharaharapriya, Natakapriya, Ratipatipriya, Rasikapriya, Rishabhapriya and so forth. Of the lighter items presented in the concert, Saramaina was notable for a wonderfully spontaneous Behag alapana, and a beautiful reply by the violinist.
Special mention must be made of the accompanying artists of the evening. They responded with willingness and vibrancy to the flow of the concert. Sornalata’s musical sense and aesthetics were noteworthy. Kalladaikurichi Sivakumar followed sampradaya by playing two thanis, one for the main Kambhoji song and another for the pallavi. His mridangam play had classical depth. The accompanists contributed to the success of the concert in good measure.
In the end, all rasikas left with the satisfaction of having heard an excellent classical sampradya-based concert.
Smt SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR presented a grand 4-hour flute concert. It was billed to be a 2-1/2 hour kutcheri, but that day the music just flowed. Neither Smt Mala, nor the rasikas (including several young children) realized until 3-1/2 hours had gone that so much time had elapsed. Starting with the lilting Daru Varnam Mathe in Kamas, the eminent flautist went on to play Ganapathe Mahamathe in Kalyani with very impressive kalpanaswaram patterns. Then came a very classical Neelayatakshi in Paras. Madhayamavathi exposition for the kriti Nadupai brought out the raga swaroopa brilliantly with the choicest pidis. Theliyaleru Rama never fails to tug the heart strings. The Dikshitar magnum opus Sree Subramanyaya Namaste was presented in true Gayaki style, prefaced with an expansive Khamboji Raga alapana where the rasikas were completely immersed particularly in the mandra sthayi phrases. RTP in Shanmukhapriya came next. Both the ragam and thanam were very well etched; some classic veena phrases in the thanam were executed by both Mala and Akkarai Sornalatha, the violinist. Geetha Vadhya Natana Natakarpriye, Rasike was the pallavi line. The poorvangam was structured in such a way as to represent all the three speeds of Vilambakala, Madhayamakala and Drutakala. The trikalam and tisram segments were bang on target. The ragamalika kalpanawaram suffix featured ragams with a “priya” ending, like Kharaharapriya, Natakapriya, Ratipatipriya, Rasikapriya, Rishabhapriya and so forth. Of the lighter items presented in the concert, Saramaina was notable for a wonderfully spontaneous Behag alapana, and a beautiful reply by the violinist.
Special mention must be made of the accompanying artists of the evening. They responded with willingness and vibrancy to the flow of the concert. Sornalata’s musical sense and aesthetics were noteworthy. Kalladaikurichi Sivakumar followed sampradaya by playing two thanis, one for the main Kambhoji song and another for the pallavi. His mridangam play had classical depth. The accompanists contributed to the success of the concert in good measure.
In the end, all rasikas left with the satisfaction of having heard an excellent classical sampradya-based concert.
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varsha
- Posts: 1978
- Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 15:06
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
Two more Cents ..
This was a kind of evening that is part of Cm folklore - Concerts held in close proximity to listeners , full of refined nuances ( sUkshma defines it best ) and .... a spirit of painting the world with brightest of colors .
The artist was late and was apologetic from the word go . I will try to make it up some way she kept telling herself and assuring the rest of us .
I was listening to this artist at such close proximity for the first time . Distance does rob a great deal of beauty in music . I sat with my customary skepticism of most flautists settling for rythmic ballets and concerts built around khamboji , harikhamboji , navarsakanada .
The half hour of nothing-happening helped us to understand the importance of our music the moment the drone was plugged in. And out came the most humble of instruments . And possibly the earliest known to mankind .
What followed was magical for several reasons .
- The ambience provided by the hosts who are so imepeccable in nature
- The room with a view which added a very important element to the evening - The lights of the evening fading into the darkness of the night , gradually . Leaving us with a surreal feeling throughout the concert.
- The artist pushing herself hard , all the while acknowledging that it was rare that she - a busy performer - gets such an opportunity to play as she willed .
- She was utterly natural , occasionally moody (reflecting about learning this song from Srivatsa Sir, . that one from ... ) and in total command of the instrument .
- That slip of a girl called Swarnalatha ( I cannot bring myself to call / write Sorna , even it is for numerological reasons ) on the violin .
How effortlessly she struck the balance between not playing more than the main artist and using every little opportunity to show that she has a mind of her own . Such delicate touches which can come to an artist only by the Grace of God .
- The decision to keep on going until someone said stop . The artist really did that . She played Mangalam only after saying - Some more ? Some more ?
- It was a 4 hour concert that happened . Like most beautiful things we end up with - unplanned .
- Cant write much about the mridangam , but if I had to choose between unknown sherpas and this gentleman for climb atop the Everest , I would pick this artist . So true he was to the ideals of the evenings affair . Lowering his mikes volume at the start and and keeping strong faithful and melodic company throughout .
The Chinniah ? thillana at the end was replete with magical movements . Shanmukhapriya did touch raw nerves - very soulful .
The priya sequences - Anyway I am not a big fan of stringing ragas just because they end with priya in ragamalikas . But then it was heady for my son who was astonished as to how limpid kharaharapriya looks in a ragamalika , and the tingling effect ramapriya can give in such company . the seductive charm of ratipathipriya
The audience was good with the hall full and disciplined . Nice to see kids keeping beats and synchronising their thoughts with the harsh demands of rythms in CM.
As we drove home , we had bagful of nuggets of memories of non-cliched music . Ah ! that 20 second behag by the violinist still betwitches me . A week after the concert.
This was a kind of evening that is part of Cm folklore - Concerts held in close proximity to listeners , full of refined nuances ( sUkshma defines it best ) and .... a spirit of painting the world with brightest of colors .
The artist was late and was apologetic from the word go . I will try to make it up some way she kept telling herself and assuring the rest of us .
I was listening to this artist at such close proximity for the first time . Distance does rob a great deal of beauty in music . I sat with my customary skepticism of most flautists settling for rythmic ballets and concerts built around khamboji , harikhamboji , navarsakanada .
The half hour of nothing-happening helped us to understand the importance of our music the moment the drone was plugged in. And out came the most humble of instruments . And possibly the earliest known to mankind .
What followed was magical for several reasons .
- The ambience provided by the hosts who are so imepeccable in nature
- The room with a view which added a very important element to the evening - The lights of the evening fading into the darkness of the night , gradually . Leaving us with a surreal feeling throughout the concert.
- The artist pushing herself hard , all the while acknowledging that it was rare that she - a busy performer - gets such an opportunity to play as she willed .
- She was utterly natural , occasionally moody (reflecting about learning this song from Srivatsa Sir, . that one from ... ) and in total command of the instrument .
- That slip of a girl called Swarnalatha ( I cannot bring myself to call / write Sorna , even it is for numerological reasons ) on the violin .
How effortlessly she struck the balance between not playing more than the main artist and using every little opportunity to show that she has a mind of her own . Such delicate touches which can come to an artist only by the Grace of God .
- The decision to keep on going until someone said stop . The artist really did that . She played Mangalam only after saying - Some more ? Some more ?
- It was a 4 hour concert that happened . Like most beautiful things we end up with - unplanned .
- Cant write much about the mridangam , but if I had to choose between unknown sherpas and this gentleman for climb atop the Everest , I would pick this artist . So true he was to the ideals of the evenings affair . Lowering his mikes volume at the start and and keeping strong faithful and melodic company throughout .
The Chinniah ? thillana at the end was replete with magical movements . Shanmukhapriya did touch raw nerves - very soulful .
The priya sequences - Anyway I am not a big fan of stringing ragas just because they end with priya in ragamalikas . But then it was heady for my son who was astonished as to how limpid kharaharapriya looks in a ragamalika , and the tingling effect ramapriya can give in such company . the seductive charm of ratipathipriya
The audience was good with the hall full and disciplined . Nice to see kids keeping beats and synchronising their thoughts with the harsh demands of rythms in CM.
As we drove home , we had bagful of nuggets of memories of non-cliched music . Ah ! that 20 second behag by the violinist still betwitches me . A week after the concert.
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Nick H
- Posts: 9473
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
Beautifully evocative. I feel like I am sitting there again.
The apology with which the concert began was a model. Whilst only a few of the actual words made it from the microphone to my brain via my ears, the meaning, the sincerity and the humility came through loud and clear.
This was probably my concert of the year --- and with January barely started.
The apology with which the concert began was a model. Whilst only a few of the actual words made it from the microphone to my brain via my ears, the meaning, the sincerity and the humility came through loud and clear.
This was probably my concert of the year --- and with January barely started.
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arasi
- Posts: 16877
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Re: Veenavaadhini Chamber Concert
Beautiful concert, beautiful reverberations of it in words to share, not forgetting the beautiful hosts 