Ranjani / Gayathri concert in Fort Myers, Florida

[maduraimini]

On Friday, May 4th I was lucky enough to go to Ft.Myers, Florida thanks to my friends who took me with them to hear Ranjani and Gayathri sing. Their concert was held at the Hindu Temple of SW Florida. The concert was excellent and fulfilling. They were accompanied by H.Bhaskar on the violin and Manoj Siva on the mridangam. The concert was supposed to start at 7 p.m. and the artists were all there, but it started a little late. ( I guess the sponsors were waiting for more guests as it was a working day). Here is the list of the songs they sang with the ragams and composers. If there are any corrections don't hesitate to correct, as it is from a senior citizen.

1. The sisters started the concert with the beautiful Navaragamalika varnam ' Valachi' by Patnam Subramaniam Iyer set to Adi talam. It started well with Kedaram,and flowed through Sankarabharanam,Kalyani,Begada,Kamboji,yadukulakamboji,Bilahari,Mohanam and Sri. The chittaswarams came as a ripple and warmed up the concert. After the chittaswarams, they sang kalpana swarams. I am not fond of hearing kalpana swarams after chittaswarams, but to each his/her own, I guess!

2. Beautiful alapana of Mayamalavagaula ragam by Gayathri, I guess ( Even after seeing them a few times, I can't tell the difference between them). It was pleasant and the raga was easy to identify. They sang Sri Thyagaraja's " Tulasidala'. It was in Roopaka talam. There was Niraval and swaram followed by the violinist.

3. Next was the BrindavanaSaranga kriti " Rangapura vihara' of composer Muthuswami Dikshitar in Roopakam. This was a Request of a Rasika.

4. A wonderful Kamas ( It was not the usual kamas, I thought) alapana followed by the violin. The evergreen song "Brochevarevarura' by Mysore Vasudevachar set to Adi talam was filled with verve and made everyone sit up. The chittaswarams were sung fast and crisp. After the viloin and chittaswaram after the charanam, they sang kalpana swarams for "Brocheva'.

5. A heart rending "Kandrin kuralai Kettu' followed. This composition set to Misra chapu is an old song composed by Neelakanta Sivan and I haven't heard that in concerts for a ling time. There was no alapana. But the 'Endraikku Siva Kripai' song was filled with pathos and Bhavam. It felt like the Bhaktha was calling to Siva for his redemption. It was very nicely done and everyone enjoyed this song.

6. A brisk and fast Kuntalavarali song 'Bhogeendra Sayeenam' of Maharaja Swathi Tirunal was presented very well.

7. Ragam- Tanam -Pallavi. I think it was Ranjani who started with the raga Shanmukhapriya going through all the nuances of this beautiful ragam. The way the sisters go through the ups and downs of any raga with ease is astonishing. Gayathri did the Tanam (very good). After the violinist, Ranjani picked up again. The Pallavi was " Velai tuthippathe en velai- Sivakumaran vadivelanai' and the talam was set to Kanda jathi Triputa. Shanmukhapriya was followed by Nattai, Sahana, Hindolam and Desh. The ragas took you somewhere up. The Thani by Mano Siva was excellent. Manoj Siva did a very good job. He trailed them and gave support, but did not overshadow or make loud noises. I loved his playing. He played what the old timers used to call 'Anusaranai'.

8. Viruttam - in Arabhi- Kulasekara Alwar's 'Anana selvattu' followed by Kadamba Mada Yanai in Saveri, then "chediyai" in Hamsanadam finishing with Srinivasa Tiruvenkatamudayan'. All the ragas were intoxicating and vibrant.

9. Sri Thyagaraja's Denuka raga kriti' Teliyaleru rama' a request of me and my friend. It was sung fast and was beautiful. I appreciate their singing this to please the rasika. I am sure they have their own list of songs and timing, but was nice enough to oblige me. This is in Adi talam.
10. By now it was nearing 10 p.m. and they asked the sponsors if they can sing mangalam. But everybody wanted them to sing a few more. So they sang Sri Purandara Dasa's 'Entha punyavo Entha Bhagyavo'. Either I didn't catch it or they didn't say the raga of the song. My friend thought it may be Sudda Saveri. I thought may be Mand. ( I am sure I was wrong!)

11. Sant Tukaram's 'Bolava Vittala' in raga Bhathiyar. All the rasikas were excited with this Abhang.
Finished with Pavamana.

All in all, a Very Beautiful concert. The sisters have very beautiful voices that can handle brighas and can do sanchara at the top and travel everywhere- up,down or middle. Another nice thing is how they sing in unison and continue the flow without any gap - one picks up where the other left without any problem and the rasika cannot even feel that the other one is singing now. They sing what the rasikas like , but not to the point it is a pool of odd kritis. It is well balanced concert. Bhaskar was ok. Manoj Siva was very good. He did an excellent job. It was nice Gayathri announced the name,raga and composer of each song, before they sang it. As we all know, not everybody who comes to concerts know all the ragas and composers. This way they did not have to ask those sitting next to them ( Or even worse , turn back each time to ask the raga) . Even for those who know most ragas, new or often not heard ragas like Bhathiyar- it is useful. Their diction was good and we enjoyed this nice concert. Riding more than 2 hours each way and having back pain later were worth listening to this concert for me.

[rshankar]

A wonderful review. Thank you! The sisters are complete professionals, and present very neat concerts time and time again. Like you, I'm not a fan of kalpanAsvaram for songs with ciTTasvaram!

[rajeshnat]

They were accompanied by H.Bhaskar on the violin
....
8. Viruttam - in Arabhi- Kulasekara Alwar's 'Anana selvattu' followed by Kadamba Mada Yanai in Saveri, then "chediyai" in Hamsanadam finishing with Srinivasa Tiruvenkatamudayan'.

Madurai Mini,
The violinist name is H N Bhaskar

Since the sisters sang srinivasa thiruvenkata in hamsAnandi I think the previous chediyai should have been in hamsAnandi (not hamsanAdam)

Tx for your great review.

[arasi]

Maduraimini,
Atta girl! A detailed review of the concert which you and your friends obviously enjoyed. It was a long trip for you all. I'm glad R&G obliged by singing 'theliyalEru rAmA'!
They sang mukhAri and in it, a song that I like a lot. VK would have liked it too!

anAda selvathu arambaiyar and cheDiyAya valvinaigaL thIrkkum thirumAlE.

[annamalai]

beautiful Navaragamalika varnam ' Valachi' by Patnam Subramaniam Iyer set to Adi talam. I am not fond of hearing kalpana swarams after chittaswarams,

This is a classic - many musicians have sung kalapana swaras @ Padasaroja.
Here is MDR singing a quick round of swaras @ 10.44 of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SVBjp_gJlo
Sometimes, MDR has sung kalapana swaras in all the ragas of this varnam.

As an aside, MDR is one of the best in rendering in varnams.

[arasi]

Annamalai,
Thanks for the clip. I'm seeing it after a long time. I don't think MDR knew about bursting into svaram until the moment he started singing them. It was spontaneous progression and it's appealing.
When they sing svarams in the very beginning of the concert, most of us in the audience are not prepared for it. That is, if it's done consciously, or as a routine--then it's not very pleasing, as Maduraimini says.
What MDR does here, and what I've heard in some other concerts go beyond being a surprise. We are carried with the flow of it and it pleases us!

[maduraimini]

Thank you all for your posts. Rajesh, You are right it was not Hamsanadam, but Hamsanandi. Like I said, I was going to write Hamsanandi and wrote Hamsanadam instead. Thanks for the correction. R.Shankar, Arasi,Annamalai and Rajeshnat thanks again.

[rajsanthanam]

I eagerly wait for their concert in Toronto on May 26.