Suryaprakash@sastri hall on Dec 24th,2012

[rajeshnat]

Suryaprakash@sastri hall on Dec 24th,2012
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Vocal : Suryaprakash
Violin : SP AnanthapadmanAbha
Mrudangam : Mannarkoil Balaji

Concert duration/Day : 2 hrs 20 mins /Monday
Concert Type : Nirvana (no concert to follow)
sabha/Hall : sri kapali fine arts/sAstri hall
Theme : perhaps vaikuntha ekadasi

1A. viruththam pachai mA malai pol meni - varAli- tOndaradi podi azhwar
1B. Azhi mazhai kannA(S) - varAli - AndAl tiruppAvai
4 mins swaras

2. shree parthasarathi - suddadhanyAsi - MD
3. mA jAnaki (R N S) - kAMbOdhi - T
5 mins alAPana and 3 mins violin return
6 mins neraval in "rAja rAjavara rAjIvAkSa vinu"
8 mins swaras

4. sounderarAjam AshrayE (N) - brindAvana sArangA - MD
neraval in "Tumburu Nuta Shree Kantam Duritaapaha Vaikuntam" for 7 mins
5. nEE iraNga yEniL(S) - atAnA - psivan
swaras for 3 mins

While many many musicians sing carnatic music , it is quite a challenge to sing every sangathi through out the concert where there is ganam(real clasical carnatic weight). ganam I mean as a complete amalgamation of sangathi weight soaked in rAga bhavam, compositions irrespective of language having the same weight and more importantly singing with real aggression irrespective of the tempo of the song.To an extent I notice more with the masters of yesteryears where there is omnipresent ganam.Suryaprakash was like an anthakAlathu vidwan , one can say he was musically very very truthful with real ganam.

I was also told by some rasika who sat next to me who said it was vaikunta ekadasi, looks like he picked all numbers in line with the ekadasi and dedicated to Lord Vishnu. While ganam is quite a challenge to achieve, but when one picks a rAga as heavy as varAli , it is so comforting that the concert has entered into a very solid classical ganam route.

The start with an azhwar viruththam and sequing with a very arresting varAli thirruppAvai made me appreciate the ganam . VarAli had real arresting swaras with a traitional sweep around that varAli defining gAndAram . The next suddhadhanyAsi was very weighty and there was not a millisecond of any light sangathi.

mA janaki had an extraordinary fast tempo , always this krithi has it that way.The neraval and swaras were very very creative and had a real rolling support from mrudangam. If mA janaki had an aggression for a fast tempo, the contrast of brindavana sAranga was an extraordinary chowka kALa rendition, I found more aggression in this and it was the best of ganam sangeetham . While soundararajam rightfully stayed in nagaipattinam during krithi rendition ,I especially liked when he stepped up the tempo during 7 minutes in neraval- it had a real srirangam gopuram lift . The atAnA fast filler was nice with a round of swaras , i think he took this song to cover a thamizh krithi .

[rajeshnat]

6A. RTP in vakulAbharanam
alAPana for 13 mins
tAnam for 11 mins
pallavi neraval for 10 mins
pallavi line "yAdhava kula AbharanamE kannA thAlelO"
swaras in vakulAbharanam + kApi + nalinakAnthi for 12 mins
6B. tani for 10 mins

7A. viruththam AgalakillE niraiyum - bhAgeshri - azhar pasuram
7B. shrikanthA enagistu dhaya mAdhO - bhAgeshri - PD

8. venketesa ninnu - madhyamAvati - T
9. note -shankarAbharanam - HMB
10. mangalam in shuruTTi

The icing in the cake was his vakulAbharanam pallavi . I am personally not acclimitized with this raga that much. There is perhaps one T krithi that is famous and I think Bombay Jayashri has also sung a pallavi in this raga .This rAga has an arabic like tune . The contours of vakulabharanam are so soothing , it has a chaya of perhaps charukesi and definitely a bit of mAyamAlavagowlai too. Lovely rAga alapana ,the ganam was really there with so much emote .Tanam was long and I love that too, singing long cycles of tANam for about 11 mins gave a vakulabharanam a real ganam touch. one can say vakulabharanam as a pallavi rAga was baptized as much as an established nattaikurinji.There was a lot of semmangudi touch in his high speed tAnam.

I thought pallavi neraval would be a plain rama jaya rama or a sarasadalya nayana , but it was creative with a vakulabharanam mudra in the pallavi "yAdhava kula AbharanamE kannA thAlelO".Swaras are his forte- his ragamaliga especially kAPi was so wonderful he almost sang in one go for about 4 mins prior to kApi violin return. Concert tapered with a nice viruththam and continued in bhAgeshri (purandaradAsar kannada krithi)and MadhyamAvati. A rasika requested the note and he sang post madhymavati and wrapped up with manglam kosalendrAya .

THe violinist SPA played very well , he had a bit of problem in high speed tAnam . Balaji had a nice sowkhyam , there was a continued nAdham from his mrudangam , I can relate how his play overlapped with his first guru shri tanjavur rAmadas. Also his gentle touch in that vilamba kAla beauty of soundararajam was really apt. Tani was quite good and he showed controlled aggression there and also in mA janaki which was very good.

Overall a very matured and most importantly an omnipresent ganam centered concert . Quite a few takeaways the varAli start , kAmbodhi neraval and swaras, the entire super emotive soundararAjam especially the neraval and a fairly unheard and creative vakulAbharanam pallavi. He would have gone atleat an hour more , but sabha and this hall dictates closing time. I am happy he atleast went till 09:20

An excellent to outstanding concert for 2 hours and 20 mins.

[arasi]

Rajesh,
I did hear about the vakuLAbharaNam pallavi. We were at Suryaprakash's BVB concert this morning and he told me about it. I am very fond of that rAgam and it was a miss on my part. An innovative line for the pallavi too. My miss. I was at Partha listening to Srikantan and Ravikiran last evening.

Though it was a morning concert at BVB this Christmas day with no time for a pallavi, Suryaprakash gave a top notch concert. As usual, and in the true MMI school mode, the concert was lively from the start, crowned by a kapAli to celebrate the deity in the vicinity.

I hadn't heard Jyothsna Srikanth in a while. She's a violinist with a medical degree and is from Bengaluru. She resides in the UK. She played so well and with ease, even though the harsh light on the stage bothered her quite a bit.
Suryaprakash was very appreciative of both his accompanists. Dr. Sridhar Chari of Australia played the mrudangam ably with gentle strokes.

All the ghanam you have mentioned in your review conjures up a picture of a blimp to me. Surya looks the same (physically)! Kidding, just kidding

I missed you there. Besides Surya, Chari and Venugopal were the other rasikAs that I met there.

[rajeshnat]

Arasi
Can u email your mobile no and also your hotel room no please , I have sent u an email -passing my mobile few days back, not got any mail yet.

[arasi]

Surya,
I didn't want to sound as if I was promoting myself in mentioning in my first post what a lovely 'inRu varuvAnO?' you sang that morning. You moved up the song from the thukkaDa section to a mid-concert piece, enveloping it with a lovely AlApana and svarams Thanks for the kind words about my songs afterwards
Waiting to hear you sing the suddha dhanyAsi piece (vandE thuNai thandE enaik kAkkum kandanE!) which you say you're going to include in your repertoire in the near future. Neela Ramgopal has sung it in Arasi: Vol 2.
Hope you are coming to Bengaluru before we go back home!