Abhishek Raghuram -Kalotsav, Bangalore - 12-Mar-2013

[ranjanimalavi]

Abhishek Raghuram _ Vocal
Vittal Ramamurthy - Violin
Neyveli Narayanan - Mridangam
Guru Prasanna - Kanjira

1. Samodam Chinthayami - SudhaDhanyasi - ST (NS)
2. Nivanti Deivamu - Varali - SV (R)
3. Kana Vendamo - SriRanjani - P
4. RTP - Shankarabharanam
Pallavi: Shankarabharanai ninai maname, diname sadashivanai
Neraval, Swaras - Atana, Neelambari, Anandabhairavi
5. Thani
6. Chandra Chooda - DarbariKaanada - PD
7. uLLavaru shivAlaya mADuvaru – maand? – Basavanna
8. Mangalam

I missed first few krithis.

Excellant concert by Abhishek and team.
Shankarabharanam was top class.
The way he moved between shankarabharanam, atana, neelamabari and anandabhairavi back and forth was beautiful.
Thani was enjoyable. and Vittal's replies were short and crisp.

Raman

[mohan]

This same team (with out Guru Prasanna) will be touring Australia and New Zealand from this weekend.
Melbourne http://www.inconcertmusic.com.au/home.html
Auckland http://www.nzcms.org/
Sydney http://www.pallavi.org

[arasi]

Mohan,
Tis the music season in your land!
Hope you both are enjoying it all.

[MV]

Thanks Mohan. Counting down to March 23 in Auckland, NZ

[Rsachi]

The first two items were Chalamela Shankarabharanam atatala varnam and Yochana Darbar.
Concert started almost on the dot and the mike settings settled down by the third song.
Abhishek got into his zone by Varali although Shuddha dhanyasi was itself sung in his trademark style.
Shankarabharanam had incredible phrases of complexity and speed like an air show flight formation in a roll and tumble and climb manoeuvre.
Ullavaru was in Pahadi with a delectable Sindhu bhairavi Tamil viruttam thrown in.
The last 3 items of the concert filled 50% of the time and were memorable. Abhishek has good Kannada diction.
He sang the pallavi with a mix of khanda and misra nadai.

[rshankar]

So he sang candracUDa in just one rAga and not as the rAgamAlikA that Smt. MLV popularized! Whose pAThAntara is that?
And he followed the ARI paddhati - varNam and RTP in same rAga...
Just a small (and usual) nit pick of mine - SaMkarAbharaNa is a rAga, and if one were pedantic, could refer to any one Siva's adornments (e.g., snake, mAn, mazhu, gangA, the moon) as SaMkarAbharaNa - I find it a stretch to use the word to refer to Siva himself....

[Rsachi]

Valid.

For me the Chandrachuda song was the highlight. It is such a wonderful composition in terms of meaning and depth and Abhishek scored a perfect 10.

You will find a pure D'kanada version by Neyveli Santanagopalan in raaga.com.

[PUNARVASU]

So he sang candracUDa in just one rAga and not as the rAgamAlikA that Smt. MLV popularized! Whose pAThAntara is that?
And he followed the ARI paddhati - varNam and RTP in same rAga...
Just a small (and usual) nit pick of mine - SaMkarAbharaNa is a rAga, and if one were pedantic, could refer to any one Siva's adornments (e.g., snake, mAn, mazhu, gangA, the moon) as SaMkarAbharaNa - I find it a stretch to use the word to refer to Siva himself....

I agree with you, rshankar.
There is this famous 4 raga pallavi 'shankarAbharaNanai azhaittODi vADi kalyANi darbArukku'.

[sais72]

The Basavanna vachana at the very end was rendered very well too. It came as a bit of surprise as it was preceded by a tamil verse starting with ' vazhi teriyamale ninai karuna... '. Thoughtful choice of the vachana and a very appealing Pahadi.

[sais72]

There was a twist in the tala of the pallavi. Abhishek announced that with such experienced accompanists, it would be too simple to sing a simple adi tala pallavi as planned before. They kept the same line but changed the tala to Kanda nadai for the laghu part and tisra nadai for the dhruta part (5*4 + 3*4). He sang the pallavi line as per the new tala and did not miss a beat through out while singing tri kalam.

The first part of the tani was played as per the modified tala and the second part was the regular adi tala tani.

[Rsachi]

Sai72,
You've prompted me to say this.

I found in this AR concert as well as some other recent concerts (also others from the season reported here) this tendency of CM stars to indulge in these laya pyrotechnics.

I may be in a minority but I feel, as someone who recognizes the intrinsic laya 'mojo' in CM (held aloft in so many grand compositions of masters too) and the added strength of our percussion masters, that these efforts border on a kind of obsessive compulsive laya syndrome that depletes the 'balance' of CM..

By balance i mean an ideal combination of melody, lyric, bhava, creative sparkle, team dynamic and of course laya.

It is like Dhoni rigging up a win by packing six spinners on a specially prepared dirt track and finally robbing cricket of its wholesome charm. So you win the battle but lose the war, or the surgery is successful but the patient is dead

[kssr]

The father of Chandrachuda in Darbaari kaanada is Sri.Seshagopalan. V.V.Special. Bewitching melody. I have requested this item as listener's choice on several occasions. Sometimes he will oblige. One can listen to it a thousand times.

[Nick H]

I found in this AR concert as well as some other recent concerts (also others from the season reported here) this tendency of CM stars to indulge in these laya pyrotechnics.

I may be in a minority but I feel, as someone who recognizes the intrinsic laya 'mojo' in CM (held aloft in so many grand compositions of masters too) and the added strength of our percussion masters, that these efforts border on a kind of obsessive compulsive laya syndrome that depletes the 'balance' of CM..

By balance i mean an ideal combination of melody, lyric, bhava, creative sparkle, team dynamic and of course laya.

It is like Dhoni rigging up a win by packing six spinners on a specially prepared dirt track and finally robbing cricket of its wholesome charm. So you win the battle but lose the war, or the surgery is successful but the patient is dead

I agree entirely, and I'd say that I do not want neraval to sound like kalpana swara, and kalpana swara to sound like a thani. All one can do in such concerts is admire the sheer dexterity, and that is not enough for me.

On the other hand, pallavi singing is the place for such tricks and dexterity: pure maths can be shown off to the satisfaction of the artist and the ability of the audience. Thus, especially as lacking understanding, I often find the actual pallavi of an RTP to be a rather cold-hearted exercise in virtuosity. If I am also treated to a beautiful R and T, and a delightful succession of raga malika swaras, then that is a small price to pay. I can credit Rithvik Raja with having done exactly that for me when I saw him in a pallavi concert last year. He also elected to present a similar mixed nadai formula.

[mahavishnu]

RSachi, you know I hold your opinions in very high esteem, but this time I respectfully disagree.

By balance i mean an ideal combination of melody, lyric, bhava, creative sparkle, team dynamic and of course laya.

Reminds of this scene from Amadeus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_UsmvtyxEI
A few too many notes?

[Rsachi]

Mahavishnu, it's a movie I very much like! The Requiem pieces are darkly beautiful.

Can't think of the best way to put it, but i somehow think Mozart is my favourite unlike some other more recent and heavier composers.... So in a way we may actually be in agreement!?

I do know many. laya experts who find it an immersive experience listening to what I would describe as excessive and not my cup of tea.

[mahavishnu]

RSachi: I used the Amadeus analogy to illustrate that merely seeing "too many notes" in Mozart's compositions would be missing the point about his art and his identity.

...who find it an immersive experience listening to what I would describe as excessive and not my cup of tea.

I agree with you that this immersive experience (very nice expression, btw) not just in laya matters, but in the torrential downpour of musical ideas is AR's mojo. I appreciate it for what it is. In fact, I am quite moved and blown away by it each time.

To use another pseudo-Austrian expression: how do you catch a cloud and pin it down? If Abhishek curtailed his manodharma, he would become someone else. In fact all the elements of balance you speak of, I see them in AR's music.

[Rsachi]

Mahavishnu,
Maybe because I am also a regular Abhishek '
maddie', I attend almost all his concerts and bought all his CDs. I first heard him > 12 years ago with Sri Raghu accompanying him.

My words about this syndrome is my way of putting it - too much laya jugglery wears me down and I yearn for listening to his great raga alapanas, keertanas etc.

[mahavishnu]

Rsachi, I see where you are coming from.

I love TNS (most of the time, but more so in his younger years). I must confess that the laya jugglery in his art can sometimes be a bit much. When asked about it (even by people like PMI), he often says that it just comes to him and at some point his music controls him and not vice versa.

[Rsachi]

Ok!

[arasi]

Very interesting to read the two of you conversing on this.

Where do I come from? Hard to tell.
tALam jugglery awes me (I know nearly nothing about them, that's why), they engage me (the patterns are intricate and have a purpose, I can see) and bore me after a while (because I have no capacity to indulge in the expertise).
Then I get impatient, because I miss the beauty of all that the endowed singer can do with his capabilities in attending to the bhAvam part of his singing!

So, Sachi and Mahavishnu, where do I stand?

[Nick H]

The first question is, never mind the maths and the technicalities, or even the virtuosity, is it beautiful to listen to? If the answer is yes, you shouldn't be standing anywhere: you should be sitting, enjoying. If the answer is no, then, hopefully, you are standing near the door.

[arasi]

Nick,

You are right. Sitting--however uncomfortable the sabhA chair is, repositioning myself ever so often, of course!
Sitting, also because I'm an optimist and hope for the musician to leave the overwhelming kaNakku zone in a matter of few minutes.

[Rsachi]

Nick, spoken like a true music-loving gentleman. I wanted to say the same thing.

They say where you stand on any subject depends on where you sit.

And when the musician embarks on flights of fantasy (Ganjam encourages them to do it), the sitting/standing rasika is never stationary: he is being moved, or is on his own flight of emotional or aesthetic escape. Sometimes the artiste and the aesthete are in the same air plane, at times in separated space capsules in different trajectories.

In fact all musicians like AR, TMK, RKM, etc. take you places...places of charm, wonderment, spectacle, bewitching beauty. And like in Disneyland,we are all here for the adventure without the risk!

Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated and strapped up for the journey of a life time, "back to the future"!

[sureshvv]

By balance i mean an ideal combination of melody, lyric, bhava, creative sparkle, team dynamic and of course laya.

Sorry but that sounds boring! Action is where the imbalance is

[Rsachi]

SureshVV,
Sure...I also simply love bursts of disruptive creativity that challenges the equilibrium. But don't push it too far, I say.
Just think of a master skier negotiating swirling breakneck slides down the alps: he seems to be mocking balance, but his very life depends on it!

(http://www.solarnavigator.net)
PS: Please read my many posts about AR and you'll see what I mean.

[arasi]

I'm still sitting in my sabha chair and trying to be one with the skiers (have downhill and cross country skiers in the family and have an inkling of what they feel) when they are out there--living with the brief excitement of the alpine run and the more long-lasting pleasure they experience in a cross country one.

A musical performance is very much like skiing in a sense. Add the real (not virtual reality) experience of the listener too, here.
Another element is the tranquility it brings along, both to the artiste and the listeners.








My justification for my either reveling in it or feeling somewhat restless with it is--if after all the excitement I feel restless, it's not my cup of tea.

Another thing: a consummate musician can bring it about even outside of a kaNakku vyavahAram --in rAgA or svaram singing.

So, am I saying that tranquility which skiing brings is sowkyam in CM?

[Rsachi]

ಅರಸಿ ಅರಸಿ ರಸವ ಬೆರೆಸಿ
ರಭಸ ಭರಿಸಿ ಭಯವ ಹರಿಸಿ
ಕರೆಸಿ ಕರೆಸಿ ಕಲೆಯ ಮೆರೆಸಿ
ಸರಸ ಸುರಿಸಿ ಕುರಸಿ ಸರಿಸಿ.

Free translation:
Seeking, seeking, blend the melody,
Flash it with speed, yet banish fear,
Call the Muse and make her shine,
Shower joy, and move Arasi in her chair.

[arasi]

lol

In tamizh, A, rasi! (enjoy) is better than alasi alasi (discuss and discuss)!

Sitting in a chair or ambivalent, let music which I cherish, nourish!

[kssr]

lol

In tamizh, A, rasi! (enjoy) is better than alasi alasi (discuss and discuss)!

Sitting on a chair or ambivalent, let music which I cherish, nourish!

Alasi Alasi is also to delve deeper and deeper in the pleasure of listening.

Arasi is (pronounced) alasi by the Thai- a fitting one for a person who can analyse and enjoy