OST for Nalinakanti, 4/Dec/2012

[sankark]

OST - Vocal
R Ambikaprasad - Violin
Mannarkoil Balaji - Mrudangam

karunimpa (Varnam) - sahAna - Adi - Kottavasal VenkatramaiyerthiruvotriyUr thyAgaiyer (brief raga sketch)
jutAmu rArE - Arabhi - rUpakam - tyAgarAja (S)
petridalAm manamE vetrivElan aruL - sriranjani - Adi - pApanAsam sivan (RS)
yEti yOcanalu - kiranAvaLi - Adi - tyAgaAja
kaddanu vAriki - thOdi - Adi - Thyagaraja (RNS@baddu thapaka T)
kanRin kuralaik kEttu - mukhAri - Adi - nIlakanta sivan
varalakshmi neeye - sAlagabhairavi - Adi - ??
nAdupai balikEru - madyamAvathi - m cApu k cApu - Thyagaraja (brief raga sketch)
mangalam pavamAna sudhadupattu

Good music, few takers Swaras for Arabhi & thOdi - especially alapanai, swaras and violin response - were superb. Energetic thani - a little loud though.

[mridhangam]

Was d mridangam loudly played or was d amplification loud? Bcz OST sir had a different opinion thats y asking.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

[Lakshman]

varalakSmi nIyE is by Papanasaham Shivan.

[sankark]

mridhangam - i really don't know how to answer that except that from where I was seated in audience, during thani the volume of mridangam was a little higher as compared to the accompaniment.

[mridhangam]

U cud hv said that clearly in d first instant itself. It sounded as though i played insensitively during thani which ws not the case as OST sir himself ws all praise for my playing during accompaniment as well as for thani avarthanam. Better to b clear in a forum like this which is accessed by many including me regularly.

Thank you

[sreebeecane]

U cud hv said that clearly in d first instant itself. It sounded as though i played insensitively during thani which ws not the case as OST sir himself ws all praise for my playing during accompaniment as well as for thani avarthanam. Better to b clear in a forum like this which is accessed by many including me regularly.

At the very outset, let me make it clear that no disrespect to the art or your vidwat is intended, sir.

However, here is a question: It is the opinion of Shri sankark. As long as he doesn't launch an ad hominem attack against you, is it hard to accept fair criticism? (or even otherwise, but let us not get to that!). Of course, all credit to you for embellishing the concert with your sensitive accompaniment that made Shri OST notice and appreciate. Is it a problem if a rasika thinks otherwise? Or, is he not allowed to comment at all?

[S.Balaji]

Honestly, I too dont think anything blasphemous had been written ShankarK here for such a strong reaction ! He has also mentioned ENERGETIC . I do sincerely appreciate the kind of preparation and concentration for an artist to make a concert successful and cheers to Mrindangam( Mr. MJB ) for another successful performance.I also understand how difficult it is to reach a stage level.

This also throws a new interesting question now . Who is in a better position to assess an accompanying artist's performance and also sound quality :

1. Main Vocalist
or
2. Audience

I am not sure how far the main vocalist will be able to concentrate on his accompanying artists' play when he/she sings . However, during Thani, the main man definitely will be counting the thalas and cheering the mridangam/ghatam.

[bkishore]

any audio recording of the kriti

petridalAm manamE vetrivElan aruL - sriranjani - Adi - pApanAsam sivan

[mridhangam]

Sri balaji

An experienced artiste like OST sir or even Neyveli sir have developed stereophonic ears and most of them are avadhanis. They do multiple tasks at the same time. Listen to sruthi, sing d raga with bhava, not to forget the lyrics, sangathis, listen to violin accompaniment mridangam enhancements, keeping track of tala and so many other things. Each concert is like an avadhana for all of us doing thngs simultaneously in coordination.

Cming to your question of who is better to appreciate depends on d main artiste. An artiste of OST sir cud easily find d difference between a good mridangam and a mediocre one. In mridangam there is a term called "amuthardu". This term is often referred to d accompaniment by stalwarts wherein the mridangist sets d pace fr a kriti in a certain different way and gives a lift fr d main artiste to proceed further.

Also of discussed were d mike blues and wat we hear on stage is difft frm wat d audience hears. Thts another difficulty fr a performer especially mridangist whose mike is always kept minimum irrespectv of d sensitivity level of d mridangist as the mikemen by and large dnt knw d calibre of individual mridangists and their principles. Hence its difficult.

With sri sankar i just reqstd if i was loud thts all as his sentence cud b interpreted in difft ways by rasikas. No hard feelings or no intention to point fingers and absolutely no intention of demeaning the knwledge of rasikas.

[thanjavooran]

Mirdhangam Avl,
"In mridangam there is a term called "amuthardu". This term is often referred to d accompaniment by stalwarts wherein the mridangist sets d pace fr a kriti in a certain different way and gives a lift fr d main artiste to proceed further."
This I hear for the first time. Can this be further explained preferebly with appropriate clipping if available. Just curious.
with wishes,
Thanjavooran
07 12 2012

[mahavishnu]

Thanjavooran avl: Here is Sri Trichy Sankaran talking about how to amuth-ify a tisra nadai at a Lec dem from the Music Academy in 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNL5h4kvux0

He uses that specific word at 1:01 into the video.

The term "amuthardu" and setting the gait/"nadai amaippu" are characteristic specialties of the Pazhani school. Perhaps J Balaji-sir can add to this.

[sureshvv]

Better to b clear in a forum like this which is accessed by many including me regularly.

Thank you

Agree whole-heartedly. But can you please not use SMS spellings and type out the words clearly? It just takes a few minutes more and would make your posts more readable and presentable.

No offense intended. I keep telling my children also the same thing!

[mridhangam]

Suresh sir of course i will write in normal english. That message was typed with one hand thats y sms language. Sorry.

Dear thanjavooran if you listen to palghat mani iyers and palani subramania pillai, t k murthy sir, palghat raghu, trichy sankaran and other legendary mridangists you can easily know what is the meaning of that term. It is the entry point of the song where the mridangist enters playing a certain pattern and the patterns differ and the entry point in a pallavi also differs.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

[mridhangam]

It is not school specific sri mahavishnu sir. It is more the individualistic approach to a kriti from artistes perspective and the kalapramanam of the kriti. Same kriti sung in different kalapramanams can give different entry point patterns.

[mridhangam]

Incidentally sankar sir nAdupai balikaeru is in khanda cApu tala not m cApu.

[mahavishnu]

BAlaji sir, thank you for the clarification.
I like your reference to vidwans of this calibre as avadhanis. Yes, performance at this level requires multitasking and managing multiple streams of information simultaneously.

[sankark]

mridhangam - I wrote my opinion, you asked for some why so, response to that and chapter closed. I indeed think an artiste is entitled to know the why of an opinion/critique.

on the other hand though -

They do multiple tasks at the same time. Listen to sruthi, sing d raga with bhava, not to forget the lyrics, sangathis, listen to violin accompaniment mridangam enhancements, keeping track of tala and so many other things. Each concert is like an avadhana for all of us doing thngs simultaneously in coordination.

Thats the sole point of a concert - to do all this, to do all this so audience likes it and carry the day. So when a set of artistes get on to the platform, they are expected to be at a minimum capable of handling all this; with some artistes it is audience expectation that they do so with aplomb

And my comment has no relevance to this or the amutharadhu - that comment was solely on the thani being a little loud as perceived from one member of the audience.

[mridhangam]

Sankar sir that "loud" discussion was left long back and i have taken it very sportively and very very positively considering all the factors of stagecraft. As is with any discussion in our beautiful forum members tend to raise questions on various topics relating to either the concert in question or some thing else talked by a member this thread is also being taken on a digressive route which shows nothng but the keenest interest of rasikas in enhancing their knowledge nothing less.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

[S.Balaji]

Dear Mr.MJB,

Thank you very much for the detailing and about Amuthardu . Indeed it will be a multitasking for the Vocalist and even accommpanying artists too ! Wishing you a wonderful music season.

Sorry for a slight digression here. Whenever you perform in a chamber music concert, how will you be adjusting your play. Here, the vocalist's voice has to come above the accompanying's . We have een conducting chamber concerts in Mumbai but our experience is that it often ends up with the Mridangam sound above the vocalist's. The other extreme is that the Violin sound rarely gets heard !

Rgds

S.Balaji

[mridhangam]

Shri balaji

Chamber music accompaniment requires expertise and great skill. A person who has acquired azutham in mridangam playing only can play soothingly in a chamber music or mikeless concert for a small audience where he can enhance the vocal artiste and make him or her heard. It also depends on the power of the voice of the main artiste to which the mridangist should adjust and play. The prerequisite being azutham in mridangam. The greater the azutham better will be the mridangists gnanam in giving the proportionate volume. Azutham is often mistook as expressive strokes played with clarity. I would redefine it as a soft stroke played with clarity even at least volume.

Cheers.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

[thanjavooran]

Mridhangam Avl,
Again many thanx for the detailed explanation. As a layman I have a basic doubt. Does this same rule apply for HM. In one experts meeting in MA long back there was a mention about playing Tabla for a concert. Its sruti will be slightly higher than the vocalist and also the main job is to show the Artiste the thalam. If time permits, like to know more on this.
mahavishnu avl, thanx for the link
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
08 12 2012