Venue: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Main Auditorium, East Mada Street, Mylapore, Chennai
Date: 26 Nov 2006
Organizers: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan & Kala Pradarshini
Vocal: Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan
Violin: Sri M.A. Sundareswaran
Mridangam: Sri Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam
Khanjira: Sri Mayavaram Somasundaram
List of songs:
1) chalamEla (varnam) - darbAr - Adi - tiruvOtriyUr tyAgayya
2) girirAja sutA - bangaLa - Adi - thyAgarAja (S)
3) sObillu - jaganmOhini - rUpakam - thyAgarAja (OS)
4) subramaNyEna rakshitOham - sudha danyAsi - Adi - muthuswAmi dIkshitar (OS)
5) sItApatE - kamAs - Adi - thyAgarAja (ANS)
6) vAnchatOnu - karnaranjani - Adi (tisra gati) - harikEsanallur muthiAh bhAgavathar
7) swara rAga sudhA - shankarAbharaNam - Adi - thyAgarAja (AST)
8 ) Adum ..... (viruttam) - bAgEswari
Eru mayil Eri (tiruppugaZh) - bAgEswari - kanDa chApu - aruNagirinAta
9) vasudEva sutam (viruttam) - shudha sArang
sanchara dadara - shudha sArang - Adi - jayadEva
10) karpagamE - madyamAvati - Adi - pApanAsam sivan
11) pavamAna (mangaLam) - sOwrAshtram - Adi - thyAgarAja
mangaLam kOsalEndrAya (mangaLa slOkam) - suruTTi
(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, N=neraval, S=kalpana swaram, T=taniavartanam)
I went to the concert with very low expectations but was rewarded with music of the highest quality. Sri Santhanagopalan was in prime form throughout. His "subramaNyEna rakshitOham" is still ringing in my ears. The kalpana swarams he put at "venkatEshwara nAma rUpENa" were simply out of the world and resembled the way Sri T.N. Seshagopalan would have sung them. The raga alapanas were so pure. The best part was the step-by-step sangathis Sri Santhanagopalan put for each song. He was very apprecative of all the other artists on stage and was a picture of complete involvement when he sang. The way he appreciated the lyrics while singing clearly showed that he understood the songs completely. Overall, a very enjoyable experience. If this form of his continues, each concert of his this season is just going to be an absolute listeners' delight.
Sri Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam was as usual in prime form. He played complex sollus at terrific speeds with ease and just blasted his way through. Sri Mayavaram Somasundaram who played the khanjira must be the oldest person on this planet I have seen in a while now. I think he must easily be in his 70s or 80s. What he played is commendable for his age and it led Sri Bhaktavatsalam to remark during the kuraippu in the taniavartanam: "Old is gold".
http://ramsabode.wordpress.com/2006/11/ ... n-chennai/
Neyveli Santhanagopalan @ Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Chennai (26
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ram
- Posts: 705
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:48
Bcoz his voice has been kind of stopping him from executing whatever is there in his mind. I think he has some problems with his voice ... not sure what it is though. The last one or two concerts of his that I attended were very ordinary, not because he lacked the vidwath but because of the reason I mentioned above.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
This was my first concert of the season - I suppose we can assume that Season 06 is now officially underway with BVB and Vijay TV having kicked off proceedings. The programme at BVB usually sets a good stage for the season - thanks to the "free entry" and the absence of parallel concerts, most kutcheries in this series see a good attendance with fans eager to get a sampler of what is to follow in the season and perhaps, modify their schedules accordingly...the artists too, are anxious to put their best foot forward. I still remember hearing TM Krishna's fantastic cutcheri in Season 01 and more recently, standing for 3 hours to hear Sanjay's cracker of a concert last Season. I am already on the road again but am glad I could listen to at least one concert from the series.
I second Ram's opinion - a fantastic concert and a great Season opener. Also my second Sankarabharanam in as many days but NS' fine alaapana put to rest any apprehensions I might have had. A giant like TNS risks spawning an bunch of inferior clones but Santhanagopalan has clearly chalked out a distinct musical path. He is clearly influenced as much by his Guru's penchant for musical mathematics as by the sublimity of masters like Madurai Mani and MDR - the result is a happy combination of technical prowess and sobriety that sets his music apart from the crowd.
Durbar was patchy to begin with but the artist settled down quickly...by the time he got to the Swaras for Sobhillu a certain intensity had desccended on the concert. As Ram indicates, Suddha Dhanyasi was set aside for kanakku - while the technical proficiency was almost certainly a gift from TNS, the mode of delivery was more reminiscent of KVN's subtle laya wizardry. There was an interesting Koraippu at the end of the piece which was reproduced by the violin and the mridangam but I was not able to grasp the details.
The alaapana for Seethapathe in Khamas would have irked purists for the wanton use of N3 by both the vocalist and the violinist but the musical effect was a pleasing one and for me, that settles the matter. The piece rightfully drew the loudest applause.
Sankarabharanam was, as Ram suggests, a step-by-step progression featuring some unique sancharas to which Sundareswaran quickly latched on, later outlining an appealing sketch himself. There was a hint of a Neraval but it was soon jettisoned for another jati oriented swara excerise.
I was wondering what the frail old man with a Kanjira was doing on stage until he cut loose in the tani with some mean nadai variations...age weighed heavily on his fingers but the intellect was as supple as ever. Bhaktavatsalam produced the fireworks but it was Somu's humble tambourine that was harder to decipher. The Korvai was of 2 avartas - IIRC, a mixture of chatushram and khandam.
I can't help saying that Sri Santhanagopalan's exaggerated on-stage courtesies seemed somewhat affected...it is one thing to bounce about the stage, as almost every youngster who can hold a note for 5 seconds tends to these days...but quite another to render a shukklam bharadaram everytime a smattering of applause is heard...or mime rhetorical questions concerning the violinist's brilliance to clueless percussionists...at one point, there was even a magnanimous wave of appreciation after the violinist was done tuning his instrument! I prefer the more reposeful Santhanagopalan who sang with all his heart, and without gimmicky distractions, at the Academy 2 years ago...
Anyway, minor cribs apart, I was really fortunate to be at this concert...Season 06 is sure off to a great start!
Vijay
I second Ram's opinion - a fantastic concert and a great Season opener. Also my second Sankarabharanam in as many days but NS' fine alaapana put to rest any apprehensions I might have had. A giant like TNS risks spawning an bunch of inferior clones but Santhanagopalan has clearly chalked out a distinct musical path. He is clearly influenced as much by his Guru's penchant for musical mathematics as by the sublimity of masters like Madurai Mani and MDR - the result is a happy combination of technical prowess and sobriety that sets his music apart from the crowd.
Durbar was patchy to begin with but the artist settled down quickly...by the time he got to the Swaras for Sobhillu a certain intensity had desccended on the concert. As Ram indicates, Suddha Dhanyasi was set aside for kanakku - while the technical proficiency was almost certainly a gift from TNS, the mode of delivery was more reminiscent of KVN's subtle laya wizardry. There was an interesting Koraippu at the end of the piece which was reproduced by the violin and the mridangam but I was not able to grasp the details.
The alaapana for Seethapathe in Khamas would have irked purists for the wanton use of N3 by both the vocalist and the violinist but the musical effect was a pleasing one and for me, that settles the matter. The piece rightfully drew the loudest applause.
Sankarabharanam was, as Ram suggests, a step-by-step progression featuring some unique sancharas to which Sundareswaran quickly latched on, later outlining an appealing sketch himself. There was a hint of a Neraval but it was soon jettisoned for another jati oriented swara excerise.
I was wondering what the frail old man with a Kanjira was doing on stage until he cut loose in the tani with some mean nadai variations...age weighed heavily on his fingers but the intellect was as supple as ever. Bhaktavatsalam produced the fireworks but it was Somu's humble tambourine that was harder to decipher. The Korvai was of 2 avartas - IIRC, a mixture of chatushram and khandam.
I can't help saying that Sri Santhanagopalan's exaggerated on-stage courtesies seemed somewhat affected...it is one thing to bounce about the stage, as almost every youngster who can hold a note for 5 seconds tends to these days...but quite another to render a shukklam bharadaram everytime a smattering of applause is heard...or mime rhetorical questions concerning the violinist's brilliance to clueless percussionists...at one point, there was even a magnanimous wave of appreciation after the violinist was done tuning his instrument! I prefer the more reposeful Santhanagopalan who sang with all his heart, and without gimmicky distractions, at the Academy 2 years ago...
Anyway, minor cribs apart, I was really fortunate to be at this concert...Season 06 is sure off to a great start!
Vijay