Ravikiran-Subbulakshmi-Sankaran at SSVT Maryland, June 1

[gajamukhu]

Chitravina Ravikiran (Chitravina)
Akkarai Subbulakshmi (Violin)
Trichy Sankaran (Mridangam)
Bhargavi Balasubramanian (Support Chitravina)

SSVT, Maryland, June 1

varNam // nIlAmbarI // mishra jhampa // Ravikiran
shrI mahAgaNapatir // gowLa // mishra chApu // muttusvAmi dIkshitar (S)
intakaNTE // kannaDa // rUpakam // paTNam subrahmanya ayyar (R)
kshIrasAgara shAyi // pUrvikalyANI // Adi // pApanAsham shivan (R, N, S)
parAku nIkElarA // kiranAvaLI // Adi // tyAgarAja
aRuLalan tiramellAm // shankarAbharaNam // mishra chApu // UttukkADu vEnkaTasubbayyar (R, N, S, T)
RTP // chintAmaNi // sama (tALa) -- This is one of the 108 tALa-s and consists of 2 laghu-s, 2 dhRtam-s and 1 anudhRtam, totalling 13 counts in chatushra naDai. The pallavi incorporated the tALa name, and also had a sama eDuppu.
?? // bEhAg // ?? // annamAcharya
tillAnA // sindhubhairavI // Adi // UttukkADu vEnkaTasubbayyar

For me, the shankarAbharaNam and chintAmaNi rAgam-s and the tani were clear highlights. Overall, was an absolutely fantastic concert. Of course, a collaboration such as this cannot produce anything less. What was impressive was how everything was done in just the right measure. The speech at the end mentioned "sowkhyam", which I think sums up the concert. For a concert of such high quality, the attendance was relatively sparse (~70 people?). However, those who attended were very quiet and attentive, which somehow added to the experience.

--Ganesh

[mahavishnu]

Thanks for the report, Ganesh.

Sounds like an amazing concert! Very impressive selection of songs reflecting the breadth and depth in Sri Ravikiran's functional repertoire. Comprehensive list of all the great composers, the absence of SS made up by the selection of chintAmaNi for the RTP.
I can imagine that Ravikiran's intakantE was very similar to Ramnad Krishnan's version (which is one of my all-time favs).

And the combination with Sri Sankaran is to die for. Those seventy that attended are indeed fortunate.

Was it at the high shruti G#? And do you recall the pallavi line? I am curious to see how he incorporated the name into it.

?? // bEhAg // ?? // annamAcharya

nArayaNa tE namO namO, perhaps?

[gajamukhu]

mahavishnu: I am unable to recall the pallavi line. The tAla (not rAga) name was incorporated as "sama-tEja", "sama-vadana" or something along those lines. I wish I could be more specific. I am also not sure about the pitch and the bEhag kriti (he did announce it, but I must have been distracted!).

[gardabha_gana]

I really like Ravikiran's chintamani - remember his detailed chintamani followed by devi brova in Jain temple, Milpitas (San Jose) a decade ago with Sankaran Sir.
This should have been a treat. Any recording?

[uday_shankar]

Was it at the high shruti G#?

Probably not. Maestro Ravikiran usually travels with the navachitravina (i.e., the instrument which has a smaller, guitar-like profile, unlike the "regular" chitravina which looks like a vina) which is usually tuned in the range of B through C#.

[mahavishnu]

Thanks, Uday. I was always wondering why we hear him in two different shrutis.
So, is the lower pitched instrument designed for travel/portability? Is it otherwise similar to the regular chitravina?

Given the context of the 22 shruti lec-dem that Sri Ravikiran did recently, I am curious as to how the spacing on the layout of the notes on the modified instrument map on to the shruti distances in the original instrument.

In any case, Sri Sankaran's mridangam nadham would have been amazing in the B-C# range. That was the original reason for posing this question.