Abhishek Raghuram - Abu Dhabi

[HarishankarK]

This concert was held @ Sudanese Social centre in Abu Dhabi on 20-Apr-2012 between 10:30am and 2pm
1. Saranga - raga sketch - Varnam intha modi
2. Nattai - raga sketch - Gana sudha rasa pana niratham - BMK
3. Vasantha - detailed raga - Seethamma Maayamma - Neraval @ dhara nija bhagawatha- swaras - Thiagarajar
4. Karnataka Kapi - raga sketch - Suma Sayaka - pada varnam - Swathi thirunal
5. Todi - detailed raga - griha bhedam to kurunji raga - Thaye yasoda - neravala @ Kalinil chilambu konja and swaras - Uthukadu
6. Saranga - Kann kalangude manam urugudhe -- composer ??
7. Dwijavanthi - Ramachandru itadu - Annamacharya
8. Sindhu Bhairavi - Chandrasekhara eesa
9. Mohanakalyani - Thillana - Lalgudi G Jayaraman
10. Ragamalika (bageswari, hamsanandi, mohanam, surutti) eru mayil eri - thiruppugazh
11. Saurashtra - mangalam - pavamana

this was the first time i attended his concert - did not like his style -very loud and aggressive and too much of gimmicks
honestly barring a few items this should not be called a carnatic music concert - too much hindustani influence was seen particularly in swaras and aalaapanas
nattai was sounding closer to chalanattai and ragam vasantha also took some time to shine.
again song no 9 started like saranga and then in between sounded v much like kalyani

Abhishek has a powerful booming voice and i felt there was a lot of influence of both BMK and KJ Yesudas
but throughout the concert the bhakthi or bhavam element was missing

the two best items rendered in proper carnatic style were Kapi song and thillana - both these items were very good
the announcer said something about Abhishek trying to evolve his own style of carnatic music and about starting his own 'gharana' - hope it will not happen because this style is not at all like carnatic music - it's like carnatic rock, maybe.

Anyways congrats and heartfelt thanks to Pradosham committee and Ragamalika committee for organising this function - it was very well managed.

[Sindhuja]

"Carnatic rock"?
I'm confused about #4: did he sing a varnam in the middle, that too after the Saranga varnam at the start?

[kartik]

I'm confused about #4: did he sing a varnam in the middle, that too after the Saranga varnam at the start?

I am far from surprised, as it is the fashion these days - in the name of innovation.

[mahavishnu]

Sumasayaka, although a technically a padavarnam, is very different in structure. Several musicians including KVN, Semmangudi and MDR have sung it in the middle of the concert. At the navaratri mandapam in Trivandrum, many have sung it towards the end of a concert too. In fact, I have rarely heard it as an opening item.

See for example in this concert by KVN, MC UKS available commercially: http://www.charsur.com/charsur/index.ph ... ts_id=1276

So enough with the faux outrage about "innovation".

[mahavishnu]

And for the record, ST's Sumasayaka is in karnataka kapi, which is quite different from kapi (closer to kharaharapriya its parent ragam). Not sure how to interpret the original poster's comment on this.

Please see here for an explanation of the distinction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KLfzWjhGXE

[rshankar]

I think #7 is rAmacandruDu itaDu...

[Sindhuja]

@mahavishnu: thanks much for the clarification. I'd never heard it before but did hear TMK's version of it after reading this review and gathered it's not a regular varnam. The links were very helpful too.

[mahavishnu]

Sindhuja: Yes, and it is a beautiful composition no less. The chittaswarams drip with raga swaroopam and have a thick kharaharapriya-ish flavor. The Tanjore Quartette are sometimes credited with the sahitya that goes with this part.

There is a very good commercial recording of TMK from Dec Season 2006, which features an extensive Sumasayaka. Maybe this is the version you heard?

[rajeshnat]

6. Saranga or Kalyani ??? - Kann kalangude manam urugudhe -- composer ??

This number is in sarangA composed by Kumaresh (ganesh kumaresh fame) and it is saranga . This number is ghazalish.

[Sindhuja]

mahavishnu: This is what I heard: http://vimeo.com/26143415
Yes, the distinction from the regular kapi is very pronounced. Thanks for all the info!

And yes 7 should be ramachandraditadu - AR sings that often. It's also in his commercial album of Annamacharya songs I think.

It's also curious that he sang 2 pieces in Saranga although I'm glad he sings new/ rare compositions like Kumareshji's (his uncle)- he sang his Sama composition on 'karpanai' in another concert too.

[annamalai]

Varnams again - BTW, Suma Sayaka is the exact same tune as Tanjore Quartet varnam - Sarasaalanu - that T. Viswa used sing as the opening item in concerts.
This used to be centerpiece in T. Balasaraswathi dance performances.

I am not aware of any rule that says that there should not be two Saranga pieces in the same concert.

[HarishankarK]

And for the record, ST's Sumasayaka is in karnataka kapi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KLfzWjhGXE

Yes - my mistake - Abhishek did announce it as Karnataka Kapi - but the alaap was that of Kapi as i immediatel identified with it and was hoping he wil sing Intha Sowkya - but this song was really good and it had some short ragamalika swaras also towards the end

[mohan]

the ragamalika swarams are part of the composition itself

[nri]

Violin: P U Ganesh Prasad
Mridnagam: Bengalooru Pravin
Ghatam: Dr S Karthick

Worth mentioning the accompaniments. Ably supported the vocalist.
Todi was very good. Just listened to MMI’s thaye yasoda in the morning. What a contrast! MMI minimizes the lengths of the phrases and AR maximizes that. No constraints in either and both are enjoyable. The organizer was recollecting the good old todi-thaye yasoda of TNS in his prime years along with Palghat Raghu.
Abhiskek’s breath control is amazing and he was able to traverse through the lower and higher octaves with ease and with full throat and it is certainly not easy to execute. I did enjoy the “no-thoiyvu” concert.
Regarding the loudness, he himself was not comfortable with the sound system. He kept on asking for the master volume to be reduced and repeated “romba loud”.
Would not call that as a “rock”. I think BMK and KJY are known for their velvet voices. There was nothing velvety here.
But for a lightening moment, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan came to my mind.

[CHIGO]

Kind attention Harishankar K - First of all kudos to you for an innovative coinage - carnatic rock!! Not only does it sound exotic but befits the young maestro to a "t". he does rock the stage everytime he gets on it. As for the pieces he has sung, he usually does justice to everyone of them. The Saranga krithi has seldom failed to stir me, the Thaye yashoda usually sung in his customary robust fashion is always thrilling, and as for Vasantha and Nattai, I regret that you have been vitriolic. As for bhakthi and bhavam I have always wondered in amazement as to how he is able to generate such passion and ethos in his presentations at such a young age. Pity then it has failed to reach you. Never mind - I guess the famous adage always espouses - each to his own...
I also have something to say what I discern from the views expressed here. Some of them are weird if not amusing. One such view is that a vocalist not even in the category of a senior in any parlance is said to be of “Sangita Kalanidhi” material!!!!!
There is also a calculated, orchestrated glorification of some chosen artistes, perhaps to the extent of making one feel whether these “great” reviews are written by themselves or by their own proxies. I am convinced that some of the concerts reviewed here as outstanding are an apology to music (if I may say so). Similarly, anything that is outstanding in the truest sense of the term, does not find acceptance with the nominees and proxies.
Any way everything is part of every game.

[arasi]

Abhishek is undoubtedly an endowed and exciting singer, however differently we all may see him.

New expressions in this thread which amuse us--may well become part of our review vocabulary here!
Carnatic rock from harishankark and ghazalish from Rajesh

There are many different views on the forum about any given artiste. We all have our own views about them which are sometimes similar and sometimes not so. I don't think we should read too much into them, unless they are laudatory comments one after another, and paragraph after paragraph of a heaping helping of praises. We know such reviews and are reluctant to read through them--which goes to prove that any amount of glorifying an artiste is not going to get him/her anywhere.
There are many good performers, and many different tastes. If we proceed to view the reviews from that point of view, we can enjoy reading most of the reviews/comments for what they are worth.

Mahavishnu,
Is sItamma mAyamma also sung in LalithA?

[mahesh3]

A collection of views from other music connoiseurs who attended this same concert, posting on Abhishek's page! Each observation is by a different individual:

"It was mind blowing concert by Mr. Abhishek and team, one of THE BEST karnatic classical live concert i've ever been. An amazing performance by AR and team. He was full of life N energy throughout the concert."

"Outstanding as ever. My son's first birthday well spent. Thodi is still ringing in my ears..."

"Awesome concert! Mesmerizing....Divine.....Brilliant! Words fail to describe the effortless rendering of the ragas....Look forward to listening to you again!"

"Spellbound ... I will need some time to come out of the enchantment ... God bless Abhishek Raghuram"

"Abhishek... absolutely mesmerized by your voice that flows along like gentle waves in an ocean."

[mahavishnu]

Arasi: Some do believe that Tyagaraja composed Seethamma in Lalitha, although this is not 100% verifiable. Smt Vedavalli sings it in Lalitha, for example. It is argued that the two ragams diverged later and were codified/catalogued as being of different raga ancestry. It is also believed that the present day names stood for the other. Ironic, since we were just discussing karnataka kapi and kapi earlier in this thread.

There was a discussion surrounding this on the forum some years ago. Here it is: http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1780 ... litha.html

Arunk and others might be able to shed more light on this.

[mahavishnu]

This number is in sarangA composed by Kumaresh (ganesh kumaresh fame) and it is saranga . This number is ghazalish.

Actually, this song reminds me of the song from Tyagaraja's Nauka charitram : "ODanu jAripE muccaTa ganarE vanitalAra nEDu". I heard it as part of a musical that was produced by Jayanthi Kumaresh (with a lot of musical input from Kumaresh & Abhishek).

[arasi]

Mahavishnu,
Thanks for trying to educate me by going back so many years! I wasn't a good student then, nor am I now, because I'm going to repeat what I said then to myself (not to the scholarly lot, of course):
Enjoy the music and let go of the labels

Got nostalgic with thoughts of old buddies too. We miss DRS.
What rasam suggests is a good test!
Was happy to meet Vijay this season. Hope he visits us here at Rasikas every now and then.
Suji, haven't heard from you lately
Jayaram is a rara avis...

Ravi,
Look how those two 'women' L and V are stirring up emotions here
On second thoughts, let me remember the line of what Sanjay would have sung in 2006 and collect myself: ellAm sivan seyal enRE kavalainRi iruppAi maDa nenjamE!