SRLKM Awards ceremony- Vid TV Sankaranarayanan - 12 June: what a concert!

[Rsachi]

SRLKM Awards ceremony- Vid TV Sankaranarayanan - 12 June: what a concert!


I missed the concert but could luckily catch it on Shaale live livestream archive:

https://livestream.com/shaalelive/srlkm

Note that the video is in many parts.
Vid. T. V. Sankaranarayanan
supported by Vid. Mahadevan
Violin- Vid. Nagai Muralidharan
Mridangam-Vid. Mannargudi Easwaran
Ghatam- Vid. G.S. Ramanujam
Venue/Date: RV Dental College Audiotorium, June 12th
What a concert! The effusive style of TVS full of vidwat, manodharma, melody, brigas, and lyrical riches. Thank you SRLKM, for featuring such an evergreen maestro!
Song List
1. Nata- Sholka, Jaya Jaya Swamin - Narayana Tirtha
2. Ragamalika- Ee pariya sobagaava - Purandara Dasa
3. Mohanakalyani- Bhuvaneshwariya- Muthiah Bhagavatar
4. Todi- Sarasijanabhamurare-Swathi Thirunal
5. Shankarabharana-Enduku Peddala-Thyagaraja, followed by tani
6. Andolika-viruttam, Sevikamvendumayya—Muthu Tandavar
7. Ragamalika Viruttam, Venkatachanilayam-Sindhu Bhairavi-Purandara Dasa
8. English Note
9. Mangalam

[hnbhagavan]

I agree with you.It was excellent team effort on stage.I attended the event and the program.

[semmu86]

Great list and a great Team!! Though TVS concerts are always a class apart, he is one of the few musicians after Shri KVN, with the ability to sing unaffected by the variables like the quality of ambiance, capabilities of accompanists etc., and make the concert an overall success.

[kssr]

a. It was indeed an amazing concert. Attended by around 800 rasikas- who-is-who of Bangalore Carnatic circle, starting from Neela mami.
b. I really believe that future generations would wonder and be awed by such a great vidwan to have been among us and to have given such a great rendition. Feel elated and proud and also greatly humbled by attending the concert.
c. Mastery in mohana kalyani.
d. Brevity and crispness of Todi- someone nearby commented- "probably for Swati composition that is enough" !! Ido not think that was the reason. Sankarabharanam was coming.
e. When Sankarabharanam(SB) began my heart sank. But I had an earlier experience of a brilliant SB with Sri.TVS. I was convinced that he can do it this time as well. It started the usual way, with standard pidis, etc.,.He then moved on to the higher octave. He tore into SB and exploded like a colossus - reminded of Narasimha avataram - SB's drabness disappeared - TVS's music shone. In alapanai and again during swarams what a mastery. Could not believe that it was true. My salutations to the maestro.
f. This time more opportunity was given to Mahadevan. He made very good use of it. A few occasions he sprang up to higher Pa, and came back with a nice sheepish grin. Impressive for a son to close his mouth with his hand while talking to his father on stage. Young and nice voice. Wish him a great musical future.
g. It is well known that pakka vadhyams have the capacity to make or break a concert. The senior artists supported the main artist brilliantly. It must be noted that Sri.Muralidharan always played only for about half the time of the main artist when his turn came. Very mature. Needless to say anything about the veteran Sri.Eswaran. Superb support.
h. After thani, it was a kind of anticlimax. Elaborate swaram for sevikkavendumayya. Well Ok.
I. At 9.20, the ragamalika viruttam was going on and on and on. I think I stayed for about 12 minutes into it, As I saw no direction or shape in it I left. (Also, I was hungry I guess- not for music anymore!!) At that stage almost everyone had melted away, too.
j. I was surprised to see that Sri.TVS has consented for the recording and uploading of the concert on the net. Normally he objects even to audio recording with mobile phone! Good development for rasikas.
k. Our sincere thanks to Sri.Krishna Prasad of Sree Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira for his unparalleled service through countless free concerts every year. This concert will stay for yugas. " நின்று யுகம் பலவும் நிகழ்த்துமே" as it is said in Manonmaneeyam.

[gardabha_gana]

I wholeheartedly agree on (j). Sri KrishnaPrasad deserves our kudos, respect and admiration on the selfless service he and his sabha has given us bangaloreans. Koti namaskarams to him.

I am enjoying the recording. semmu86, RKS also comes to my mind....who has provided music of the highest class be it the temples, villages or cities in Karnataka.....

[hnbhagavan]

Beautiful write up by KSSR.TVS was full of energy as in his hey days.A concert which lingers in the minds of rasikas who attended the concert,Recorded version is also available.Sri Nagai Muralidharan enhanced the concert and played as per the accompanist role.
I hope Mahadeva Shankaranarayanan will be invited to perform independently by our Sabhas.

[narayan]

kssr,
Found it hard to take that the grand Sankarabharanam is considered 'drab' by anyone! Hope you would remember this concert of TVS and forever banish the association of drabness with this king of ragas.
Best wishes.

[kssr]

kssr,
Found it hard to take that the grand Sankarabharanam is considered 'drab' by anyone! Hope you would remember this concert of TVS and forever banish the association of drabness with this king of ragas.
Best wishes.

Sure sir, I take your wish as a command and will follow.

[Rsachi]

Shankarabharama is one of the grandest ragas. It cannot be pedestrianised by the mere commonality of the "scale" in Western music.
The trinity have each composed masterpieces in this raga. For a recalcitrant voice, it is a nightmare. But for rich, resonant, Sruti aligned, imaginative, "straight-batted" heroic spirit, Shankarabharana yields abundant riches. It is a raga truly informed by the swara raga sudha.
Sir, merely my thoughts. And I am no big lakshya and lakshana expert like sri Munirao. He will surely have better things to share.

[gardabha_gana]

One sankarabharanam song that I have heard less often, but love is "Emi Neramu". Of course, there is the MSS version in a commercial recording from 1960. Not often heard these days.... Akshayalinga Vibho is back - have heard a few renditions in recent times apart from the usual ones Swara raga sudha, Enduku Peddala, Saroja dala nethri. Sanjay sang Budhiradhu an year back at Venugoapala swamy temple.
Mahadevan Sankaranarayanan has sung quite a few times with his father in bangalore - and IIRC also had a concert under Nadasurabhi. Good luck to him, he has giant shoes to fill.

[Rsachi]

Yes, big shoes indeed. The occasions when he waa joining in, he waa reproducing the brigas mainly. That is OK as far as technique is concerned, but the same brand of music wouldn't shine in every voice. That way TVS is special.
Mahadevan should find his own idiom. Like TVS did after singing along with MMI for long.

[kvchellappa]

Is not a rasika likely to have his own choice of ragas? Are there not some odd ones who may not like sweets?
Look at this: "one would not have sat through such a concert, as both ragams taken up for elaboration, were not of one's preference." One of the ragas is kharaharapriya.
SAkarabharanam seems to be flat much of the time compared to say Kambhodhi, Bhairavi, Thodi, etc. Of course, when sung by MS any raga becomes divine. I also liked Sanjay's Pullum Silambina kan that seems exquisite.

[Rsachi]

KVC, Of course! When Nehru took a box of the finest Indian mangoes to the vegetarian Bernand Shaw as a gift, Shaw waited politely till he had left, and threw "the whole disgusting smelly lot."

Just for academic purposes, I quote from Sanita Sampradaya Pradarshini ( Subbarama Dikshitar , 1905) Click to read

[kvchellappa]

Thanks. I have learnt to like it, but I am not a purvacharya!

[gardabha_gana]

@RSachi, there seems to be some part of the music cut off (Violin return for SB and song till neraval) between part-2 and part-3. Did you notice that too or am I missing something

[Rsachi]

Yes, but I wasn't present, got to hear only these bits as archived. Some speeches were inbetween too.

[munirao2001]

[quote]He then moved on to the higher octave. He tore into SB and exploded like a colossus - reminded of Narasimha avataram - SB's drabness disappeared - TVS's music shone. [/quote]-KSSR.
RSachi Sir, herein is the clue for determination, judgment and its expression. If I am permitted to say, it is KSSR's drabness, in sense of mind, disappeared!
Karnataka Sangeetham is distinct and unique with primacy for gamakas. It is a challenge to the vocalist. Temptation is for keeping it simple and create a feeling of great delineation of scale and harmony. Vocalists prefer straight notes achieving good sruti alignment and sruti near perfectness itself offering a sowkhya bhaavam. This in tara sthayi sancharas create excitement, the cause of derivation of pleasure. Truth is in greater challenge of kampita svaras and all the notes in the kampana, oscillation in sruti and svarastana sudhatvam. Sankarabharana raga offers full scope for manodharma-alapana. The svaras in arohana and avarohana do give immense scope for sthayi bhavam-mandhara, madhyama and tara, kala bhavam, keezh, lower and mel, higher and kalapramana in ativilambam, vilambam, madhyamam and turita.

Any sampoorna raga offers immense scope and Sankarabharana is also one such great raga. All the vaggeyakaras did compose in this raga and mostly reserved their greater ideas in composition to the compositions in this raga. Listening to the great compositions and masterly handling by the great maestros/maestros/immensely talented upcoming performers, preferably to the vocalists up to the period of beginning of perception of the beauty results in appreciation and experience.

munirao2001

[narayan]

With regards to kssr's review comments, the feeling of the moment was captured through the words, although it sounded a bit violent! Unfortunately, that part of the raga alapana (in the upper reaches) seems to be missing in the video clips, but we do take kssr's word for the impact it created. I must say that the part of the alapana that is there in the video is itself noteworthy. TVS has sung quite a bit in the MPDN part of the raga, which is much more than he normally sings. I have absolutely no doubt about his elaborative capability and creativity, but perhaps others will bear me out when I say that at least in Kambodhi, it is just a matter of a couple of minutes before TVS is at the top sadjam and then the familiar ride begins. That is part of the charm. Here, he is much more contemplative (in his vigorous style without which he would not be TVS) and seems in no hurry whatsoever.

Of course there may be some for whom Sankarabharanam is nothing particular, I know there are quite a few fence sitters on Kalyani (I was sitting there myself many years ago till I saw the light!).

[Rsachi]

Sri Munirao, thank you.
I will next post Shankarabharana-one raga at a time!

[hariniraghavan]

Of the 72 melakarthas, SB is one of the ragas which has lot of scope for elaboration in all the three sthayees. One can go on and on with the alapana. But it is for the artists to choose the sancharas that offer pleasure, that are attraccvtive to the ears and that will be appealing to the rasikas. If one tries to use all possible permutation combinations and elaborate to the maximum possible limit, the beauty of the raga is lost. In every raga there are beautiful usages which enhance the raga. When the senior and skilled artists handle it, they know to choose the best usages and present a bouquet of splendid sancharas, bringing out the raga bhava there by providing joy to the listeners. This is Sri TVS did. His SB was aesthetic, highly enjoyable and memorable.

[kssr]

With regards to kssr's review comments, the feeling of the moment was captured through the words, although it sounded a bit violent! .