Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan, Veena concert-Guruguha Sangeetha

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 13 Nov 2006, 15:15

Kalpakam Swaminathan - Veena
L Ramakrishnan - Veena Support
Mannarkoil J Balaji - Mrudangam

Silver Jubilee celebrations of Guruguha Sangeetha Sammelanam,
Guruguha Gana Vidyalaya, Kolkata.

12th November 2006. 5 pm.
R K Swamy Hall, Mylapore, Chennai

valaci vacci - hindOLavasanta - rUpakam varNam - Ramaswamy Dikshitar (short sketch)
hastivadanAya - navarOj - cApu
rAmacandrENa - mAnji - rUpakam
hiraNmayIm - lalitA - rUpakam (R)
AnandEsvarENa - Anandabhairavi - cApu (RS)
abhayAmbA - kalyANi - Adi (RT)
visvanAtEna - sAmanta - Adi (R)
ganEsa kumAra - senchuruTTi - Ekam (R)

The concert started off with a ultra short sketch of hindOLavasanta and the varNam was rendered well. The invocatory kriti in navarOj was nice and so was the mAnji piece.

Smt Swaminathan played lalitA in madyama sruthi and the AlApanai was nice. The kriti was well rendered. The Anandabhairavi AlApanai was very well rendered with some rare pidis. The kriti was rendered with nice svarams.

The main kalyANi AlApanai was done well. The tAnam was the highlight of the concert. It was a delight to hear. The kriti was rendered beautifully. For want of time, Smt Swaminathan chose to not play neraval or svarams for the kriti and asked the mrudangist to play tani Avarththanam, who however requested her to continue.

The second highlight of the concert was the AlApanai of sAmanta. Smt Swaminathan did a very nice AlApanai and followed it with a really rare piece which was good also. The nice senjuruTTi AlApanai and the kriti led to the curtains.

Smt Swaminathan's Veena recital should raise the morale of the youngsters to buildup enough enthusiam and master this delicate instrument. The very sight of this octagenerian playing the veena makes one feel divine. The music all the more adds up to the feeling of divinity. The concert last evening was just too good.

She was ably accompanied by her disciple, Sri Ramakrishnan who did just enough to give support to her and not over do things. Sri Balaji on the mrudangam was good in accompanying the recital. His playing suited the vINa recital well and he playing following the kritis that were presented. Also, his forgoing tani let us hear another rare dikshitar piece.

A nice concert to cherish over time.

bharath

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 13 Nov 2006, 16:02

What a lovely review of what definitely must have been a lovely concert. It must have been great to hear viSwanAthENa. Bharath, is it possible to ascertain when and where Kalpagam Mami might be playing during the season? for non-Chennai residents like me, this is the only opportunity to possibly hear her music.

Vocalist · Post by **Vocalist** » 13 Nov 2006, 16:11

Yes, seems like a delish concert...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 13 Nov 2006, 19:38

Bharat,
I think you and Davalangi (Ramji) are instrumental in exposing us (on this forum) to Smt. KS's divine music. Thank you!
Ravi

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 13 Nov 2006, 22:38

How I wish I had a chance to be at this concert! Can I ask if this was recorded -and if some tracks could be posted -particularly the sAmanta and navarOj?

-Ramakriya

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 13 Nov 2006, 23:29

Smt Kalpakam to me represents one of the few remaining links to sampradaya sangeetham of the highest order. I have couple of video cassettes of her music with me (privately recorded) - these belong to the 'gems' category in my collection.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 13 Nov 2006, 23:33

I too would love to purchase a copy of this concert recording. The Manji, Lalita and of course Abhayamba are truly great compositions of Dikshitar.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 14 Nov 2006, 10:45

prashant, i can find out from mAmi and let you know. She said she is playing at Samajam on 21st nov and at raga sudha on 24th or so.

ramakriya, some disciples of mAmi did record the concert. Might be possible to get a copy from them. i dont know any of those who recorded to request a copy.

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 14 Nov 2006, 10:55

i would love to have them too...

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 14 Nov 2006, 12:38

I think I will check with 'vainika' who accompanied her

-Ramakriya

vsarmaiitm · Post by **vsarmaiitm** » 15 Nov 2006, 20:09

Talking about veena concerts I read an article in HIndu on monday which says, though veena concerts are popular all over the world, the Chennai sabhas/rasikas do not seem to patronise it much these days.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 15 Nov 2006, 20:53

I remember this article. Infact, one could probably extend the arguement given in the article with suitable modifications to most instruments. The old classical instruments are loosing their charm to a normal rasika who is more enthused in listening to carnatic on a guitar or a keyboard, while the vINai and the hArmOnium have no takers.

davalangi · Post by **davalangi** » 16 Nov 2006, 08:17

Just to jog people's memory.....

http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1054

Smt.Kalpagam Swaminathan's 2-CD set has the following MD krithis:
shrI mUlAdhAra, shrI guruNA, EkAmranAthEshwarENa (caturangini), pAhimAm ratnAcala, sEShAcala nAyakam, akShayalinga vibhO, shrI saraswati hitE, mahAgaNapatim (tOdi), bAlasubrahmaNyam, shrI sundararAjam (rAmakriya), shrI mAtAh, shrI kamalAmbAyAh param (bhAiravi), sOundararAjam AShrayE

She is accompanied on the mridangam by Sri.C.Chaluvaraju.

Needless to say - a collector's item!

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 16 Nov 2006, 09:45

it may not be relevant here. still....
veena and nadaswaram the most traditional art forms are dying without patronage. if somebody can go through the sabha list for december season it will be very obvious.
if the sabha that is going to be promoted by the forum is coming to shape then a seperate fextival of veena nadhaswaram and flute should be arranged for. this is my request.

meena · Post by **meena** » 17 Nov 2006, 10:31

Deleted

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 01 Dec 2006, 14:52

Fellow rasikas,
Recently I recd the Kalpakam CD set that Davalangi mentions above - and have been listening to it non-stop ever since! Simply top-class, a must-have in any serious rasika's collection. In addition to the excellent music, the write-up on the jacket cover is so meticulously done - I couldn't spot even one error!

Only wish we get more such recordings.

arunsri · Post by **arunsri** » 02 Dec 2006, 19:27

where does one buy this recording? I had been looking for it.

Thanks
Arun

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 02 Dec 2006, 21:05

where does one buy this recording? I had been looking for it.

Contact Ramji at [email protected]
For more info, check the link mentioned in Davalangi's posting: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1054