TM Krishna - MITHAS (Boston) - November 16, 2014

[Karaharapriya]

November 16, 2014
Vocal - TM Krishna
Violin - RK Shriramkumar
Mridangam - K Arunprakash

Venue - Kresge Auditorium, MIT

gajavadanA sammoditha - tOdi - kumAra ettendera
Neraval was done on ‘vAgvilAsa kArtikEya guhavara’ and swaram at the chittaswaram

Krishna sang an alapana in Ravichandrika ragam, followed by thanam on the violin. This was followed by mAkelarA vichAramu - ravichandrikA - tyAgarajA
swaram was sung at both mAkelarA (the pallavi) and at A vichAramu (the halfway point DSRGMG)

A short sketch of chintAmani followed, with devi brOva samayamidE - chintAmani - syAma sAstri

Krishna launched into a lengthy kalyani ragam. On the violin, Shriramkumar played Brindavana Saranga. The composition was saundararAjyam - brindAvana sArangA - mutthuswamy dIkshitar

After a quick begada ragam, Krishna sang a standalone pallavi in begada:
“anbinAll ivvulagai nAm ALalAm, unmaiyAna nErmaiyAna”
He sang neraval in begada, followed by behAg, Ahiri, vasanthA, khamAs, Ananda bhairavi, and sAhanA. This was followed by a relatively short thaniavarthanam by Arunprakash.

Although he had just sung sahana neraval in the pallavi, Krishna sang alapana in sahana. This was followed by the padam mEragAthurammanavE - sahAnA - kshetragna padam

Next, he sang surutti ragam and this was followed by vaishnava janathO in both surutti and mishra khamAj.

eppo varuvAro - jOnpuri - gOpalakrishna bhArathiyAr was next, with neraval and swaram at nArparuvam, the charanam line.

At the request of one of the tambura artists, Krishna sang English Note.

The concert concluded with endukkU peddala - shankharAbharanam - tyAgarajA and mangalam kosalendrAyA in shankharAbharanam also.

--
The concert lasted about 3-3.5 hours. Although the music itself was excellent, I thought the concert needed some fast/madhyama kala piece. Krishna started the concert with a heavy Todi, and continued with the same mood until the end. Even the English Note was sung at a slower tempo than usual. In my opinion, the concert had substance, but lacked vibrance. Krishna’s creativity and musical content was excellent, but in this concert, he was unable to “grab me.”

My favorite part of the concert was the last piece, which is not usually the case. Enduku Peddala was rendered emotively, especially the charanam ‘vEda shAstra thatthvArthamu’.

Overall, an excellent concert, but not as satisfying as some of his other concerts.

[HarishankarK]

But that's the point, TMK does not want to grab. He just wants to sing the way he feels.

[kapali]

An excellent review by 'Karaharapriya' reflecting the pulse of the audience correctly. The Brindavanasaranga piece Soundara rajma was solo sung beautifully with bhavam and emotion without the violin and mridangam accompaniment.

[kapali]

Sorry, typing error at old age , it must read 'Soundera Rajam ' instead of 'Soundera rajma' , --- pardon me.

[arasi]

Kapali,
Old age? What has that got to do with you??

[Sindhuja]

I heard TMK sing the same Begada pallavi on Jan 1st 2011 at MA - very memorable.

[kapali]

Arasi,-- No longer deft fingers and also not so much techno savvy these days!!!

[arasi]

And my other name is 'the old lady'.
A father of two young children you are!

[kapali]

Thanks for making me feel younger!--- Now, grand father of four kids!

[rasaali]

Hi K'Priya,

TMK did start Kalyani as an alapana but then added the sloka "Maulalu Ganga" in the same ragam.

[arasi]

Kapali,
I thought you had two young daughters! Surely, I'm not mistaking you for someone else??

[Karaharapriya]

Hi K'Priya,

TMK did start Kalyani as an alapana but then added the sloka "Maulalu Ganga" in the same ragam.

Thank you, I completely forgot. The problems of old age!

[thenpaanan]

At the request of one of the tambura artists, Krishna sang English Note.

Did TMK have two tamburas at this concert? He had one acoustic tambura in the Phoenix concert, which is itself quite a rarity these days. Two acoustic tamburas in a Carnatic concert would have astronomically small odds.

-Thenpaanan

[arasi]

Thenpanan,
If I'm not mistaken, TMK has two tamburas in many of his concerts in India.

[Karaharapriya]

Yes, there were two tamburas.

Here is a nice picture from the concert

[thenpaanan]

Yes, there were two tamburas.

Wow! Thanks for posting the picture. I have never witnessed two acoustic tamburas in a Carnatic concert! The one of the right must be TMK's. I recognize it from the Phoenix concert. Did he ask for another one from the local population? To me, this is simply awesome. :ymapplause:

-T

[bilahari]

I attended this nouveau deconstructed CM recital through the thani. It was bizarre and I came away with a sense that it was experimentation for the sake of it. I didn't feel that any raga was sufficiently elaborated, although many were covered. The lack of variation in kalapramanam was also troubling. Todi was the highlight for me with TMK's voice in fine fettle reaching the anumandra nishadam. The neraval was especially well done, with numerous flourishes up and down the octaves. Ravichandrika ragam did not smack of nattaikurinji at all, which was nice. RKSK was excellent as always. His ahiri was a highlight of the evening. KAP was his unobtrusive self. The lovely, prominent tone of the tamburas also enhanced the concert.

I am not going to question TMK's thought process - if any - about the format of his recital; it is his prerogative. That said, I still prefer the depth afforded by the existing paddathi. That kalyANi was going so well until it was suddenly stopped dead in its tracks, and I just cannot recover from such jarring events in a concert.