D. Seshachary, 22/05/2016, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London

[classical91]

Vocal: D. Seshachary
Violin: Charumathy Raghuraman
Mridhangam: Anantha R Krishnan

Concert list:
1. Abhogi Varnam - Adhi - PSI
2. Hamsadhwani - Vathapi - Adhi - MD (Sketch, Swaras)
3. Sama - Annapurne - Adhi - MD (R)
4. Panthuvarali - Appa Rama - Rupakam - T (R, N, S)
5. Kalgada - Parvati Ninnu Ne - SS (R)
6. Shankarabharanam - Mahalakshmi Jaganmatha - PS (R, N, S, T)
7. Kokilapriya RTP - Tisra Triputa, Tisra Nadai - "Nannu brova rAdA (arudhi) Sri rAmachandrA"
8. Nagavalli - Pesum Deivam Murugan - Rupakam - Guru Surajananda
9. Haridasulu - Yamuna Kalyani - Adhi - T
10. Khamas - Mataada Baratheno (Javali) - Chapu - Naraharidasa(?) (Sketch)
11. Tilang - Rama Rama - Rupakam - Purandaradasa
12. Bhupalam - Thillana - Adhi - Swati Tirunal (originally, modified by BMK)
13. Yamuna Kalyani - Adi Neepai Marulu (Javali) - DesAdi - Dharmapuri Subburaya Iyer
14. Senchurutti - Sundaramuruthe Mukhyaprana - Adhi - Purandaradasa
15. Sowrashtram/Suratti - Mangalam (PavamAna) - Adhi - T

This was the concluding concert of the Mandolin Srinivas memorial series. The concert lasted a good 2.5 hours. Sound system was satisfactory without any volume issues. I went to this concert without too many expectations, as I have a passive stance towards the music of the Hyderabad Brothers. That said, I was not too disappointed!

D Seshachary's singing has mellowed over the years, for the better. Perhaps age knocking down unnecessary volume and fanfare, or maybe a progressive aesthetic sense? Either way, vidwat was evident in his presentation style, and stage presence. His voice was slightly uncooperative at the start, as he strained to reach the higher octaves during the first few pieces. This, however, was probably just a case of warming up, and his reach was well over three octaves during the main.

When singing raga alapanas, there are two schools of thought - one which dictates that the raga be clearly identifiable through the first phrase (followed by a vast majority of musicians), while the other allows the artist to play hide-and-seek with the audience before the big reveal (cue T. K. Rangachari, whose Vagadeeswari alapana is still among my creative favourites). While Seshachary almost certainly belongs to the former category, he seemed to be experimenting with a third category that evening - bringing in another raga altogether! On two separate occasions, there were noticeable off-tracks in the raga renditions - first during the start of Sama sketch when a hint of nishadam pushed the ragam to devagandhari, and even more noticeably so, during the majority of the Kokilapriya raga alapana where he treaded heavily on N2 instead of N3 making it Natakapriya. Indeed, I did not realise till his announcement that he was attempting Kokilapriya (in his own words - 'Actually this ragam is supposed to be Kokilapriya' - perhaps he realised he was going off-track?). Beyond the upper shadjam, he finally caught up and the raga transitioned entirely to Kokilapriya.

The above comments being made, I must add that his Panthuvarali alapana was a breath of old-style glamour mixed with modern ideas. The vidwan here attempted varjya prayogams, and a bedham to mohanam to good effect. The hindustani touches to the alapana further added to the appeal, and for me, this alapana was the highlight of the concert. An extremely satisfactory panthuvarali after a long time indeed. Similarly, I loved the unusual opening phrase he utilised for the Shankarabharanam alapana (pdnSRGRMRGS). I must also compliment his choice of songs, which showed good variety, and a mix of classic and rare. I was also elated by the choice of ragam (however badly executed) for the RTP, and the pallavi showcased his technical abilities to a good extent. Being a stickler for correctness of padantharam, I was disappointed by Kalgada, which was rendered with D2 and N2 rather than D1 and N1, making it sound very much like Malayamarutham.

When learning new songs, DK Patttamal used to practice them at least 100 times before presenting it on stage. She apparently refused to sing referring a piece of paper at a radio concert, despite the fact that she wouldn't be seen by the audience. D Seshachary certainly followed the same principle of not using a piece of paper to refer to lyrics - he used his iPad instead. Out of the things that drive me up the wall, referring to lyrics on stage makes it to the top. And it showed in Seshachary's performance of the main Shankarabharanam, where there was a tumult of mispronunciations, hesitations, fumbling, etc., ultimately making me wish for the song to end as soon as possible! Also, Seshachary needs to pay particular attention to his Sanskrit pronunciation, as there were several errors in VAthApi and Annapurne. A final comment would be on the swarasthana issues which seemed to be aplenty throughout the concert - a bit more care perhaps and these should be minimal.

The husband-wife duo of Anantha and Charumathy provided able support to the artist. I have come to regard highly of Anantha's playing in particular, as I believe he has a good aesthetic sense (notwithstanding the fact that Seshachary tried to control the playing of his accompaniments to a great extent, instructing them when to stop/start playing etc., which seemed unnecessary). He tends to be on the faster side of thalam speed, but has learned to control it more recently. His accompaniment during VAthApi was particularly remarkable, and had a stamp of Palghat Raghu with the gumki usage. Thani was decent, not necessarily the best I have heard from him - however, this could be due to the time constraint placed by the vocalist who started pointing at his watch a mere 2 minutes into the thani. The mEl kAla tisra nadai korvai was simple and well executed. Charumathi's accompaniment was intelligent, with the right chords at the right places, and well-proportioned returns. As mentioned in the previous review, good fluid bowing technique characteristic of TNK.

With that, I rest my sword!

[Nick H]

Thank you!

I do hope you continue to bring us news and reviews of London music

[arasi]

classica91,
Another classy review! Our reviewers are keeping us happy and informed. Bless'em all.

Nick,
It's good to hear from the old isle of shillings and pence (now euros)--mostly for you, and a bit for me too. Anyhow, a knowledgeable bunch ends up there--if only they would share more!

The sAhityA slaughter reminds me of Jayaram's The Tyranny of SahityA thread

[rshankar]

Yes, rest your sword all you want, but do not sheath it!

[classical91]

I'll certainly try to - it seems quite unfortunate that the concert scene here isn't as busy as the States. These two seem to be the only decent concerts for a long time now.

[hnbhagavan]

It is evident that out of Hyderabad Brothers,only Seshachary sings.Even when both sang it was Seshachary's domination.I am curious as to why Ragavachary stopped singing?

[Nick H]

Nick,
It's good to hear from the old isle of shillings and pence (now euros)

I wish you luck in trying to buy a ticket for BVB London in Euros!

No euros, and soon, maybe... Brexit!

[rajeshnat]

Violin: Charumathy Raghuraman
Mridhangam: Anantha R Krishnan
...
6. Shankarabharanam - Mahalakshmi Jaganmatha - PS (R, N, S, T)
7. Kokilapriya RTP - Tisra Triputa, Tisra Nadai - "Nannu brova rAdA (arudhi) Sri rAmachandrA"

during the majority of the Kokilapriya raga alapana where he treaded heavily on N2 instead of N3 making it Natakapriya. Indeed, I did not realise till his announcement that he was attempting Kokilapriya (in his own words - 'Actually this ragam is supposed to be Kokilapriya' - perhaps he realised he was going off-track?). Beyond the upper shadjam, he finally caught up and the raga transitioned entirely to Kokilapriya.

....
When learning new songs, DK Patttamal used to practice them at least 100 times before presenting it on stage. She apparently refused to sing referring a piece of paper at a radio concert, despite the fact that she wouldn't be seen by the audience. D Seshachary certainly followed the same principle of not using a piece of paper to refer to lyrics - he used his iPad instead. .....

With that, I rest my sword!

I have only one side of sword polished - I can immediately recognize natakapriya. Kokilapriya i will be a permanent flickering tubelight. For my personal taste - i donot like this mahalakshmi jaganmatha promoted as main. Did he sing the neraval in parkadal ...... . Seshachary is an extraordinary kalyani singer - no clue about his sankarabharanam. In SKGS concert few months back, i thought he was using a samsung - android tablet - has he moved to iPad- he wants to cook with ipad.

I have never heard anantha -charumathi playing in the same concert. Looks that would have been a great experience.

Thank you classical9 1 N2 N3 rasika- you have written a lovely review.