Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
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Vocal : Gayathri Venkataraghavan
Violin : Charumathi Raghuraman
Mrudangam : B Ganapathyraman
Vocal support :another vidushi dont know her name- some one can help
Concert duration/Day : 2 hours and 15 minutes /Thursday
Concert Type : Nirvana (prime evening concert , no concert to follow)
Sabha/Hall : sarawathi vaggeyakkara trust/NGS Mini
Crowd/Ticket : 140+ , the mini hall was full/Free concert
Theme : All are shyama sastri krithis
..
1. ??? - bEgaDa???
Missed the first one the rasika next to me said begada,not sure. Went in from saveri alapana
2. shankari shamkuru (R N) - sAveri
raga alapana for 2+ minutes
1 min violin return
2 mins neraval in shyamakrishna sOdari
3. kamAkshi nee padayuga -swarajathi - yadhukulakAmbOdhi
4. parAkEla nannu - kEdAragowlai
5. karuna joodavammA(R N S) - varAli
3 mins each for alapana and violin return
6 mins neraval in "shyama krishnanuni jEsina bhAgyamE"
3 mins swaras
6. pAlimpavammA parama pAvani(R) - mukhAri
4 mins alapana and 4 mins violin return
7. dayajuda manci - jaganmohini
8A. devi needu?? pAda sarasamulE (R N S T) - kAmbOdhi
3 mins alapana and 4 mins violin return
6 mins neraval in shrI velayu madhura nelakonna
3 mins swaras
9. tarunam eedammA - gowlipaNtu
10. akhilAndeshwari durusugA - karnataka kApi
11. pAlincu kamAkshi - madhyamavati
Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
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rajeshnat
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Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
Last edited by rajeshnat on 02 May 2014, 23:25, edited 2 times in total.
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rajeshnat
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Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
Shri NV Subramanaiam of saraswati vaggeyakkara trust is a truly passionate organizer , he conducts his sabha either in tambaram or at NGS mini . He usually has a liking for themes and this theme was for the most forgotten trinity shyama sasrti . Gayathri Venkataraghavan certainly fits the SS theme bill well as she has learnt from Late Viwan A sundaresan who was well respected for SS krithis.
As I entered Gayathri Venkataraghavan started with saveri . The alapana was already on but whatever I heard I could not spot an early excellence yet with either the alapana or the subsequent shankari shamkuru krithi. The best piece followed next what a composer is SS , what an idea is swarajathi . While Krithis can get curtailed with a reduced neraval and swaras SS was truly a visionary - he ensured that did not happen with his long swarajathis. yadukulakAmbodhi among the swarajathis is the least sung and I liked GV's rendition a certain degree of extra relaxing sangathis indeed kept me engrossed with her music . GV was prominently assisted in swarajathi and few other krithis by another vocal support vidushi , certainly that helped that too for the long duration swarajathi.
The contrast of YK kambOdhi and kedaragowlai is usually avoided , but with a change of tempo kedaragowlai and yadukula kambodhi sequence was not as bad as I thought . I felt GV could have cut more loose to give more polish in kedaragowlai but it just did not happpen.Varali was very slow . Gv approached with an extra trepidation to take turns and I did not enjoy varAli that much, the neraval was just good and the swaras of varali was just touch and go affair.
Mukhari alapana was the pick in alapana , her voice and shruthi suited well and I enjoyed mukhari a lot , both the alapana and krithi were well done, This mukhari krithis was certainly the second best pick after yadukula kambodhi. The filler daya jooda (was that in jaganmohini) was just ok- not much to enjoy.
She consciously changed gears for main and the alapana in kambodhi had a share of brigas. The alapana was extremely short . The krithi devi needu pAda sarasamulE ?? was presented quite well . THe neraval was bit more detailed and she did a very good job there ,one could hear the accentuation of neraval very similiar to bhooloka vaikunta of o rangasayi, swaras were just there. Incidentally she announced that her guru A sundaresan composed with few jathis for this shyama sastri krithi. I have heard once for sure when TNS sang this krithi the krithi paddantaram of A sundaresan and whatever TNS sang in devi need pada is entirely different .
In the tukkadas the gowlipantu was just ok , liked her karnataka kaapi with a rare krithi akhilandeshwari durusuga the most. One rasika asked palincu kamakshi , I was thinking that was late and she also expressed the same and also said that she has to catch the train to the source of ss as she had a concert in tiruvarur . That rasika insisted and she sang the palincu kamakshi, some where in the second half she skipped a line and her student had to sing and then she got back to that forgotten line .
The violinist played the best in mukhari , her role was quite limited as the R N or S was very short. I never knew that charu also learnt few numbers from A sundaresan which was announced by GV. The violin nadham was not very GURUish like a TNK but was bit off. Ganapathi had his share of excellence in parts at times there was quite a lot of gaps or silences which I felt did not gel that well with the concert.
Few things that GV could have done better :
------------------------------------------
Atleast in this concert despite being thematic and despite the disclaimer that she added duirng kambodhi where she said I am more focussing on the krithis , i could not really get a sustained interest for the following reasons.
1. Voice has a strong sruthi alignment , but most of the sangathis were sounding too cliched . Sangathis appeared too cliched even during krithi,not that i am talking either the neraval or swaras.
2. A degree of spontaneity and little more onspot sangathis to unravel the depth of raga bhavam was missing for most of the songs . Most times instead of leashing few more challenging patterns on laya , she just passing them makes music bit less interesting. The overall finish was just not enough as I see too much of a squat in her approach .
All said ,One has to give it to her for presenting rare gems of SS particularly swarajathi in ykkambodhi, mukhari, kambOdhi and karnatakakapi.
Her guru LAte A sundaresan was well respected for SS krithis and her training on krithi paddhantaram was indeed there and was commendable.
Overall a very good concert for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
As I entered Gayathri Venkataraghavan started with saveri . The alapana was already on but whatever I heard I could not spot an early excellence yet with either the alapana or the subsequent shankari shamkuru krithi. The best piece followed next what a composer is SS , what an idea is swarajathi . While Krithis can get curtailed with a reduced neraval and swaras SS was truly a visionary - he ensured that did not happen with his long swarajathis. yadukulakAmbodhi among the swarajathis is the least sung and I liked GV's rendition a certain degree of extra relaxing sangathis indeed kept me engrossed with her music . GV was prominently assisted in swarajathi and few other krithis by another vocal support vidushi , certainly that helped that too for the long duration swarajathi.
The contrast of YK kambOdhi and kedaragowlai is usually avoided , but with a change of tempo kedaragowlai and yadukula kambodhi sequence was not as bad as I thought . I felt GV could have cut more loose to give more polish in kedaragowlai but it just did not happpen.Varali was very slow . Gv approached with an extra trepidation to take turns and I did not enjoy varAli that much, the neraval was just good and the swaras of varali was just touch and go affair.
Mukhari alapana was the pick in alapana , her voice and shruthi suited well and I enjoyed mukhari a lot , both the alapana and krithi were well done, This mukhari krithis was certainly the second best pick after yadukula kambodhi. The filler daya jooda (was that in jaganmohini) was just ok- not much to enjoy.
She consciously changed gears for main and the alapana in kambodhi had a share of brigas. The alapana was extremely short . The krithi devi needu pAda sarasamulE ?? was presented quite well . THe neraval was bit more detailed and she did a very good job there ,one could hear the accentuation of neraval very similiar to bhooloka vaikunta of o rangasayi, swaras were just there. Incidentally she announced that her guru A sundaresan composed with few jathis for this shyama sastri krithi. I have heard once for sure when TNS sang this krithi the krithi paddantaram of A sundaresan and whatever TNS sang in devi need pada is entirely different .
In the tukkadas the gowlipantu was just ok , liked her karnataka kaapi with a rare krithi akhilandeshwari durusuga the most. One rasika asked palincu kamakshi , I was thinking that was late and she also expressed the same and also said that she has to catch the train to the source of ss as she had a concert in tiruvarur . That rasika insisted and she sang the palincu kamakshi, some where in the second half she skipped a line and her student had to sing and then she got back to that forgotten line .
The violinist played the best in mukhari , her role was quite limited as the R N or S was very short. I never knew that charu also learnt few numbers from A sundaresan which was announced by GV. The violin nadham was not very GURUish like a TNK but was bit off. Ganapathi had his share of excellence in parts at times there was quite a lot of gaps or silences which I felt did not gel that well with the concert.
Few things that GV could have done better :
------------------------------------------
Atleast in this concert despite being thematic and despite the disclaimer that she added duirng kambodhi where she said I am more focussing on the krithis , i could not really get a sustained interest for the following reasons.
1. Voice has a strong sruthi alignment , but most of the sangathis were sounding too cliched . Sangathis appeared too cliched even during krithi,not that i am talking either the neraval or swaras.
2. A degree of spontaneity and little more onspot sangathis to unravel the depth of raga bhavam was missing for most of the songs . Most times instead of leashing few more challenging patterns on laya , she just passing them makes music bit less interesting. The overall finish was just not enough as I see too much of a squat in her approach .
All said ,One has to give it to her for presenting rare gems of SS particularly swarajathi in ykkambodhi, mukhari, kambOdhi and karnatakakapi.
Her guru LAte A sundaresan was well respected for SS krithis and her training on krithi paddhantaram was indeed there and was commendable.
Overall a very good concert for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
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Lakshman
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- Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52
Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
The kAmbhOji song is dEvi nI pAda sarasamulE by Shyama Shastri.
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kssr
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Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
When people every where find it difficult to get good auditoriums, I wonder why NGS with its lovely main hall, packs up the suffocating mini hall even when excellent performers like GV is singing. Is it that the main hall is always engaged or is it so overpriced that organisations are unable to hire it. In either case we only feel very sorry about the situation. The mini hall is only suitable for very junior upcoming artists when you do not expect more than 50 people. This is just my personal feeling after attending a few high quality concerts in this hall during the 2013 season.
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rajeshnat
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Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
kssrkssr wrote:When people every where find it difficult to get good auditoriums, I wonder why NGS with its lovely main hall, packs up the suffocating mini hall even when excellent performers like GV is singing. Is it that the main hall is always engaged or is it so overpriced that organisations are unable to hire it. In either case we only feel very sorry about the situation. The mini hall is only suitable for very junior upcoming artists when you do not expect more than 50 people. This is just my personal feeling after attending a few high quality concerts in this hall during the 2013 season.
till about 5 years NGS main was open during season where even morning and afternoon concerts are held . But in the last 4 to 5 years NGS have only main halls used for 2 evening concerts a day . Karthik fine arts and NGS use it for 15 days max . As we speak there is a drama festival being held in NGS main hall. As such I have always wondered why ma and ngs main halls are not used apart from the kutcheri season barring few concerts . I am assuming the hall rent is high , not sure of the reason though.
In case of NGS the relative size of main hall and mini hall is a big gap. The mini hall takes 140 (not 80 as i mentioned in my first post , i corrected that now), where as NGS can take close to 1000+.
But in terms of sound system the NGS mini is better as many a times NGS main is not adjusted right
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Nick H
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Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
There was another event in the main hall.
We have touched in this before: even for NGS themselves the cost of using the main hall at all is much higher that the mini-hall.
The sound in the main hall is usually too loud by far; not good at all
The sound in the mini hall is usually a bit too high, but bearable; the AC is usually too cold, unless one sits on the far left.
Last night's concert was very well attended, but the hall was not full. That many people would look very few in the main hall.
I think that the MA does capitalise on the value of it hall[s] giving for rent for functions and other purposes, musical and non-musical. I've been to their mini-hall a couple of times only to find the car park packed because something non-musical is going on in the main hall. I dislike the MA mini-hall by the way: the acoustics are bad, and the volume too high; the lighting is harsh and disruptive, and I seldom enjoy anything there. They threw away the money they spent on refurbishing it.
Back to Gayathri, having gone, if not all round the houses, then at least up and down the TTK Road... It was a lovely concert. She has a good voice with excellent control and evenness of quality for high, mid and low notes. She is disarmingly unassuming, and has a charming stage presence, obviously enjoying what she is doing and also appreciating the other artists. Her voice is great, but also has a quality that is easy to listen too. She is already very popular, and my hunch is that she will become very much more so, and without becoming at all populist.
We have touched in this before: even for NGS themselves the cost of using the main hall at all is much higher that the mini-hall.
The sound in the main hall is usually too loud by far; not good at all
The sound in the mini hall is usually a bit too high, but bearable; the AC is usually too cold, unless one sits on the far left.
Last night's concert was very well attended, but the hall was not full. That many people would look very few in the main hall.
I think that the MA does capitalise on the value of it hall[s] giving for rent for functions and other purposes, musical and non-musical. I've been to their mini-hall a couple of times only to find the car park packed because something non-musical is going on in the main hall. I dislike the MA mini-hall by the way: the acoustics are bad, and the volume too high; the lighting is harsh and disruptive, and I seldom enjoy anything there. They threw away the money they spent on refurbishing it.
Back to Gayathri, having gone, if not all round the houses, then at least up and down the TTK Road... It was a lovely concert. She has a good voice with excellent control and evenness of quality for high, mid and low notes. She is disarmingly unassuming, and has a charming stage presence, obviously enjoying what she is doing and also appreciating the other artists. Her voice is great, but also has a quality that is easy to listen too. She is already very popular, and my hunch is that she will become very much more so, and without becoming at all populist.
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sureshvv
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Re: Gayathri Venkataraghavan@NGS(Mini) on May 01st,2014
Item 1 was a varnam starting with Dayanidhe...
Concert was a memorable one with free flowing exchange of ideas between the artistes on stage while maintaining the focus of presenting the uniqueness of Shyama Sastry compositions.
Concert was a memorable one with free flowing exchange of ideas between the artistes on stage while maintaining the focus of presenting the uniqueness of Shyama Sastry compositions.