Raghavendra's concert at Bhairavi pondicherry on 22 april

[Ponbhairavi]

R. Raghavendra- vocal
M. Vijay- violin
Venkatasubramanian- mrudangam.
Menu:
Yera naa pai –thodi
Suryamurthe-Sowrashtram R ,S
Ninnaadanela- kannada
Ambarame-(Andal paasuram)-kalyani R,N at semborkazhaladi, S
Mohana kara- needhimathi
Maninoopuradhaari—Neelamabari R
Bhajare re- Abheri/Karnataka devaghandhari R S
Avatharam seydhiduveere-jonpuri
Ivan yaaro ariyen kamboji R,N at paadhathil oru mangai S Thani(Chaapu talam)
Karunai deivame – Sindhubhairavi
Naan oru vilayaattu—navarasa kanada
Kakai chiraginile-amruthavarshini
Vittu viduthalai- Gowrimanohari
Swagatham Krishna—mohanam R
Kandavarku- kundalavarali
Abagara nindhai—thirupugazh
Mangalam

A judiciously planned and balanced diet with thodi, kalyani and kamboji for strength, neelambari jonpuri sindhu bhairavi gowrimanohari for delicious taste and navarasa kaanada and kundalavarali for briskness with a good variety of composers and languages . The concert was a success.. The main kamboji piece by kavi kujara bharathi is a rare gem (which I hear after about 10 years in concert platforms). The kamboji alapana was good but quintessential ; one felt that if it had been a little longer we could have enjoyed it more. In fact all items were sharp and short in quick succession
- not a single moment of sagging. Vijay’s violin was good, perfectly sruthi- aligned. He was following Ragavendra like a shadow. At least in alapana he could have stretched himself a little more. The mrudangam by venkatasubramaniam was superb. As a good disciple of Raja Rao,he embellished the krithi rendering at every twist and turn and he shone particularly at the madhyama kala prayogams of the 2 Oothukadu pieces.
The chapu thani was classic and short. The audience enjoyed the 2 Bharathi songs as was evident from the loud applause. The youthful teamwork was exhuberant and they enjoyed the concert as much as the audience did.The voice of Raghavendra stood him in good stead in the 2 ½ hours concert and as his voice matures he should avoid the tendency to crooning at higher octaves. To turn professional, he would do well to dispense with the turning of the pages of the note book he was keeping in front. In fairness it should be said that he did not need it for any word prompting but used it only for the sequence of items which he could have noted on a small piece of paper. An advocate consulting several books in front of his client goes up in esteem. But a doctor referring to some book in front of his patient (even if it is for finding the patented name) affects his popularity. A musician…….?
A blemishless concert.

[arasi]

Ponbhairavi,
A good start to a day reading a good review from you about a good concert--after lack of any nourishment for two days with Rasikas. org's technical troubles.
Very happy to note that Raghavendra sang two Bharathi songs. That's how it should be, where the great poet's aura can still be felt, and everywhere else, singing at least one song!
Raghavendra has a bright future--what with his parents Padma Chandilyan and Srimushnam Rajarao to guide him, and his also being taught by Sanjay Subrahmanyan.
Yes, ivanArO aRiyEnE in khAmbOdi is a lovely kruti--both for singing and for dancing.
Like you, I'm not keen on notes (note books) on stage in front of the singer. Yet, a list of songs is fine, when the singer is just launching out. He still has to get used to remembering the order of songs, while he's getting used to managing a concert.