THRISSUR BROTHERS AT VANI MAHAL- 15/10/16

[CRama]

Accompaniments- L.Ramakrishnan-Violin
Thrissur Mohan-Mridangam
Venkatasubramaniam- Ghatam

List of songs.
Varnam-Saveri
Gajavadana-Sreeranjani-PS (S)
Sree Ramam- Narayanagowla-MD
Sivasivaena rada-T (S)
Tunga nadi karayil-Begada- D.Pattammal- (R,S)
Marugelara-T
Pahimam Sree Rajarajeswari-Janaranajani- RS
Enduku dayaradura-Thodi-T (R,N,S)
Tani
RTP-Behag _Adi 2 kalai
Varanasipurapathim Sree Viswanatham Bhaje
RM- Reetigowla, Saranga, Gowla, Hindolam.

Thrissur Brothers have emerged as a well sought out performing duo very much enjoyed by the CM rasikas. They have carved a space for themselves amidst the current generation of young singers- both with their content and presentation. Their masculine voice power combined with their training, sadhakam, flamboyance, repertoire, imagination, planning to suit the various audiences, blessed with their devout father to give them proper grooming and guidance, all have kept them in good stead. I have not got the opportunity of hearing their concert since last season. Hence felt elated to attend this concert. The concert was organised by Tejus to celebrate the memory of famous composer Smt. D.Pattammal- mother of Tejus owner. They are organising this function every year to propagate the songs of the versatile composer. I remember Gayathri Girish sang last year.

The concert was scheduled to start at 6.30 P.M. I was mentally prepared to bear a speech of 10 minutes before the programme. The artistes all arrived at 6.15 and the mike testing started. We could hear the snatches of alapana by the lead singer along with hello mike testing. Then curtain rose up. What then followed turned out to be a pretty loooong exercise which is rather not carried on to this extent by any singer. With the curtains opened, the mike testing and adjustments of volume, bass, sharpness, feedback etc continued for 40 minutes- believe me, 40 minutes. One singer will be singing in two mikes alternatively. Another singer will be standing in the audience and giving feedback. Then both the singers singing together. Then adjustment of pakkvadyam mikes. But I will not say this exercise was totally boring to the audience. Because they sang alapanas and swarams of Hamsadhwani and the full Kriti Kamalaptakula with kalpana swarams. So the music was relishing. In spite of this elaborate exercise, after the second song, feed back mikes had to be rearranged- that is another story. At last the concert started at 6.55 P.M. The introductory speech was minimal. It was surprising that the Tejus owner introduced Thrissur Mohan as Trichy Mohan when he correctly mentioned the sons as Thrissur Brothers. The Tejus owner profusedly thanked Thrissur Brothers and Thrissur Mohan for performing this concert without any remuneration and also permitting to record the concert. He also informed that they have opened a website in the name of D.Pattammal were snippets from previous years concerts have been uploaded. Sree Krishna Mohan, at the start of the concert expressed his gratitude towards Tejus for being a co sponsor of the Namami Gange Project. I should also admit that because of the checking of minute details in the sound system, the audience were treated with excellent sound of music. Vani Mahal has been refurbished recently. The sound system here is one of the best in the City. The technicians are also well equipped to manage the sound system.

The real concert started with the spright rendition of Saveri varnam. The duo, coming in the SSI lineage, normally do not take liberty with the standard kutcheri paddhathi. Accordingly, the next was Ganesa Kriti- Gajavadana in Sreeranjani. Swaraprasthara can be said to be their USP and the downpour of swaras for this song at the pallavi line brought the required verve for the concert. Next was a sedate Sree Ramam in a leisurely kalapramanam bringing nostalgic memories of their Parama Guru Semmangudi. This kriti is a reply for those who comment that their concert is racy rendition of kritis. Next came Sivasivaena rada- again a SSI masterpiece. This song also was appended with large dose of cracker swaras which received huge applause from the discerning rasikas.

Next came the alapana of Begada- mostly by Ramkumar Mohan with an intervening portion by Sree Krishna Mohan. It was simply out of the world. There were long akara passages, well rounded gamakams and brighas combined in an appreciable proportion. There were very beautiful sancharams woven around the jeeva swaras. Very rarely you will get to hear such elaborate and intense alapana of Begada. The kriti was one of the compositions of Smt D.Pattammal. It is on Saradamabal and the duo very successfully brought out the bhavam portrayed by the composer. Swaras were rather measured. After two fillers, Thodi was taken for detailed exploration by the two singers. The alapana shared by both the brothers was captivating. Looked like an endless flow of melody from both the brothers and the violinist. The raga alapana took a solid 12 minutes. The kriti and the neraval at Tyagaraja vinuta was well executed. The transition between both the borthers in alapana and swarams was so smooth- be in alapana, neraval or swarams. Elaborate swara prastharams were well appreciated by the audience. They did elaborate koraippu, but left to the violinist for finishing it with the koravai.

The tani was very brief- may be less than five minutes. It was past nine. I was getting ready for a few tukkadas and bhajanais. Wah. Sree Krishna Mohan announced that we will be presenting a short pallavi. A welcome surprise. Pallavi at nine o clock. They started Behag. But it was not very short. The alapana went for ten minutes shared by both the brothers. Then tanam for five minutes. There was no neraval. The pallavi, swarams, ragamalika swarams , trikalam all rendered with complete sincerity, precision and with an eye on aesthetics. The entire pallavi took 32 minutes. It was 9.35 P.M. I left with the happiness of hearing a grand concert.

One suggestion to Thrissur Bros- The alapana is formed by mostly madhyamakala and dhurita kala phrases. A few contemplative sangathis will enhance the weight of the alapanas.

L.Ramakrishnan provided excellent support on the violin. His rigorous training under Sangeeta Kalanidhi designate A.Kanyakumari has groomed him to be one of the top ranking violinists of today. His alapanas, violin returns were succinct and he had a very nice fingering technique that brought the thick and thin shades in a most enjoyable manner. Thrissur Mohan with his long experience and knowing the pulse of the singers raised the level of the concert to greater heights. Venkatasubramaniam on the Ghatam jelled well with the rest of team and embellished the concert significantly. An excellent concert.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

A very interesting review, CRama!
As we know, , it is customary that at most venues abroad, exclusive sound checking / balancing sessions are carried out well in advance during day time and the evening prog would commence straight. I suggest artists /sabhas to follow the procedure in Chennai too. At music academy, Chennai I have never seen any hitches in balancing. (I think 'Bose' is the acoustic system in Vani Mahal too). That much about the 'sound test'.

If someone is reported to belong to a particular lineage, I feel their presentation must reveal some characteristic aspect of the school/parampara. In the case of Trichur brothers ( whom I too admire very much) what is that distinct feature that proclaims the Semmangudi lineage? A vibrant, scholarly & appealing recital is the speciality of many parampara / schools. I raise this point only to bring in more objectivity in our discussions.
CRama 's review tells that the concert has been an excellent one, as usual from the Brothers.
Trichur Mohan deserves lot of appreciation for the right guidance and 'placement' of his sons.A Godfather indeed.

[Sundara Rajan]

As usual, C.Rama's reviews enable readers to vicariously enjoy the concerts that they wish they were present there in person ! This review is one such. Since the concert has been recorded, let us hope it would be available on line for rasikas who missed the concert.

[rajeshnat]

The concert was scheduled to start at 6.30 P.M. I was mentally prepared to bear a speech of 10 minutes before the programme. The artistes all arrived at 6.15 and the mike testing started. We could hear the snatches of alapana by the lead singer along with hello mike testing. Then curtain rose up. What then followed turned out to be a pretty loooong exercise which is rather not carried on to this extent by any singer. With the curtains opened, the mike testing and adjustments of volume, bass, sharpness, feedback etc continued for 40 minutes- believe me, 40 minutes. One singer will be singing in two mikes alternatively. Another singer will be standing in the audience and giving feedback. Then both the singers singing together. Then adjustment of pakkvadyam mikes. But I will not say this exercise was totally boring to the audience. Because they sang alapanas and swarams of Hamsadhwani and the full Kriti Kamalaptakula with kalpana swarams.

THey did the same thing in Austin too. There is a bit of stage craft here where one sings , the other checks - at times they also crack a joke and keep the audience engaged . I was thinking atleast in austin addapAvi pAsanga they are using the brindavana sAranga kamalApta kula for mike testing , but I got a pallavi in brindavana saranga . Looks you had a behag pallavi instead , great . In this mike testing , one thing that comes is their voice power and masculine sAreeram and their guts to sing for longer time without pakkavadyam.

[rajeshnat]

A welcome surprise. Pallavi at nine o clock. They started Behag. But it was not very short. The alapana went for ten minutes shared by both the brothers. Then tanam for five minutes. There was no neraval. The pallavi, swarams, ragamalika swarams , trikalam all rendered with complete sincerity, precision and with an eye on aesthetics. The entire pallavi took 32 minutes. It was 9.35 P.M. I left with the happiness of hearing a grand concert.

I wish such a thing happens in every concert in chennai. May be they overdid the mic testing for 40 mins. This is nirvana open ended concert as long as they compensate with music in absolute time , I am fine .

Looks CRAMA you walked out with the end of RTP . You did miss some ayurvedic tukkadas from Gods own country with some anavsiyam tooo.

Few months back when I attended a concert in vani mahal bahula panchami - They asked that artist to wind up exacly at 2 hours dot . I guess Trichur brothers took a risk or may be the sabha allowed too. More power to these artists.

[CRama]

If someone is reported to belong to a particular lineage, I feel their presentation must reveal some characteristic aspect of the school/parampara. In the case of Trichur brothers ( whom I too admire very much) what is that distinct feature that proclaims the Semmangudi lineage? A vibrant, scholarly & appealing recital is the speciality of many parampara / schools. I raise this point only to bring in more objectivity in our discussions.

The factors that we consider when we say a musician belongs to one lineage are- Gurus, selection of songs, patantharam, sangathis, select phrases in alapana, pattern of swaras, neraval,etc. Thrissur Brothers have learnt from Neyyattinkara Mohanachandran, Thamarakad Govindan Namboothiri and advanced training under PSN. Of these gurus, Namboothiri and PSN are SSI lineage. (Namboothiri through Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma). I observed the SSI stamp in the kritis namely Gajavadana, Sree Ramam, Sivasivaenarada and Pahimam Sree Rajarajeswari more particularly in the kriti rendition and torrential swaras. In many earlier concerts also I have observed the same. Hence my observation. SRK also have heard a few concerts of the brothers. If he did not see SSI stamp on their singing, he is free to express his opinion. I am expressing my opinion based upon my hearing many concerts of the duo. For a more elaborate discussion on bani/linege, I request him to open a new thread in General discussions and more knowledgeable members may contribute there to arrive at clarity on these terms.

I feel that in each review, we need not explain why we consider one particular person to be from one lineage- say, how Vijaya Siva belongs to DKJ lineage. Rasikas are all aware about it.

[Vocalist]

Actually, I don't understand both comments on this matter.

Sivaramakrishnan, what more are you hoping for in the review actually? "Next was a sedate Sree Ramam in a leisurely kalapramanam bringing nostalgic memories of their Parama Guru Semmangudi...Next came Sivasivaena rada- again a SSI masterpiece" - this highlights some characteristic/aspects of the lineage as far as I can see.

CRama, although too much detail will be unwarranted if that is what is being prompted by SRK, for the avoidance of doubt, please do not avoid such highlights altogether on the assumption that everyone will know. Clarification can be provided if requested (as you have done here). From my perspective anyway, it is no secret that I think your reviews are great with the extent of the highlights you include (see especially my comments for example in your review: VIJAYA SIVA IN DAKSHINAMURTHY AUDITORIUM 21/7/16).

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Taking the cue from CRama, I have opened a new thread under 'General discussions' forum titled 'lineage / parampara /school /bani/ style'. Interested forumites are requested to contribute their views.