Ramakrishnan Murthy - North Carolina - 28.04.18

[bilahari]

Ramakrishnan Murthy - vocal
Charumathi Raghuraman - violin
Manoj Siva - mrudangam

SIFAA
2 h 15 min
Morrisville, NC (RTP)

erA nApai - tODi - Adi - Patnam
tsAlakallalADu - Arabhi - Adi -T (R, S @ pallavi)
rAga ratna mAligacE - rItigowLa - T (RNS @ bhAgavatOttamulu)
dEvi brOva - cintAmaNi - Adi - SS
narasimha Agaca - mOhanam - m. cApu - MD (R, S @ mOhana, T)
RTP - kamalAmanOhari - Adi (+1 eDuppu)
pallavi: kancadalAyadAkSi kamalAmanOhari tripura sundari
+swaras in dEvamanOhari and gowrimanOhari
suTTum vizhi - rAgamAliga (karnATaka dEvagAndAri, behAg, kAnaDa) - Bharati
ninyAko ninna hanyAko - PD devarnama

It was a beautiful albeit measured concert to mark the 100th concert of SIFAA in NC. The tODi varNam was sung beautifully in two speeds. The Arabhi ragam was concise, and the swaras were racy and enjoyable. Tyagaraja's 100th composition was selected next, and the entire rItigowLa was the highlight of the evening for me. The alapanai was dripping in bhAvam, and the neraval was elaborate in two speeds, and was particularly evocative in the upper octave. Devi brova was delivered in vilamba kAlam with kArvais aplenty, and was arresting. Mohanam was the main item, with the kriti chosen to mark Narasimha Jayanti. The alapanai was elaborate in three octaves, with RKM dipping to the mandra shadjam to conclude. The kriti was a refreshing choice, and the swaras quickly progressed to mel kAlam, which I had no problems with because I don't much care for mOhanam. A brief pallavi was presented in kamalAmanOhari, and I thought the choice of ragam was appropriate for a mini RTP, because I felt its essence was covered in that span. The tAnam was particularly beautiful, as were the alternating swaras in the various -manOhari ragas. Trikalam was performed. The Bharati verse at the end was sung with great emotion, and was received very well by an audience who gave a standing ovation at the close of this concert.

RKM's concerts are always of a very high standard, and I certainly thought the first hour of this concert was superb. The choice of mOhanam as main and the mini RTP somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for this concert. But he had great shruti shuddam, sang with a lot of verve, and demonstrated his extremely mature insight into ragas and compositions. The intensity and focus he brings to his music is stunning.

Charumathi provided excellent support; she is in the top rung of contemporary violinists. Her silken bowing is reminiscent of her guru, TNK, but the rest of her music is uniquely hers. Her fingering, more reliant on glides than hard finger stops, appears to me more an amalgam of the TNK and MSG schools. Her sense of aesthetics is really remarkable; she somehow manages to find beauty in everything she plays. Her use of the A string to play swoops to the shadjam in the Arabhi alapanai, her kalpana swara responses in Arabhi and the pallavi were all highlights of this evening.

Manoj Siva is such a great accompanist. His nAdam is beautiful, his fingering has clarity, but more than anything else, his sheer sensitivity to the music is exceptional. His understanding of kritis was well reflected in his accompaniment, and his ability to reproduce patterns in swaras and neraval segments was very impressive. The tani was short but had a beautiful kOrvai.

It was an evening well spent.

[rajeshnat]

Bilahari
When i read the songlist with Mohanam as main , having known your taste I thought namba bilahari may not like it that much, but still you gave your ears which is nice . I am particularly very elated to read the way you describe Charumathi play. Roughly 6 to 8 years when you came to chennai for one of the seasons you went repeatedly to TN Krishnan sirs concert , you giving up a written thumbsup with you being a partially learning violinist is joy to me. ManojSiva gentle taps will never disturb the nAdham for sure.

RTP is still there in the RTP area despite the concert being only for 2 hour 15 mins . Let us Rally thru Raleigh for more time for RTP -even if the future venue is not RTP,North Carolina.

Thank you bilahari for your great review

[Vocalist]

Thanks bilahari. My tolerance for Mohanam as the main is lowering nowadays too, though I suppose he wanted to dedicate the main for Narasimha Jayanthi which seems quite fitting and that was the particular composition chosen. RTP in Kamalamanohari would have been nice, but I do think there is scope to go further with other Manohari ragas; the choice of only Devamanohari and Gowrimanohari seems like he was playing it "very safe"? I also wonder if the concert may have been better received if he fitted another gem of a Tamil language composition somewhere, particularly given how well the Bharathi verse was received.

[bilahari]

Rajesh: Yes, you do know my taste. I do think one of the important benefits of attending live concerts is being subject to ragas one wouldn't ordinarily volunteer to listen to.

Vocalist: Tamil compositions are always welcome, though I appreciate his thoughtful song selection. I'm sure anyone who can stomach a half-hour of mOhanam would've been delighted by the concert, so I may be well in the minority.

When I consider all the ragas I love most, I think the presence of madhyamam is the most important positive predictor, so to speak, with a bias towards shudda madhyamam. I have minimal tolerance for elaborations of the likes of mOhanam, hamsadwani, malayamArutam, bowLi.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

ninyAko ninna hanyAko - PD devarnama

should be

nInyAkO ninna hAngyAkO ninna nAmadabala ondiddarE sAkO - Purandara Dasara dEvaranAma

I am curious to know the rAga this was sung in.

Thanks!