TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
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shreyas
Posts: 251
Joined: 03 Mar 2018, 13:16

TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by shreyas »

A lovely concert over livestream (from Shaale).

Violin: Akkarai Subhalakshmi
Ghatam: N Guruprasad
Kanjira: Anirudh Atreya

About 2 h 40 m

I think the list was:

Muripemu - Mukhari - Adi - Tyagaraja [Elaborate R, Brief N @ Veduchu? S in both speeds at Galige)
Jenjhuti [Elaborate R and Maulau Ganga - Slokam]
Bhajare Re Chittha - Kalyani - Misra Eka - Dikshithar [Long and brilliant R]
Thillana mashup -Khamas (watch some other videos of his on YouTube to know what I am talking about) with Thani
Virutham - Vagadiswari, Sahana, Kapi, Poonkuyil Koovum - Kapi - Adi - Kalki Krishnamurthy?
R - Sindhubhairavi, Behag, Mand, Bilahari, Mohanakalyani, Darbari kanada, Jaya Jaya Sankara - Darbari kanada - adi
Allah Megh De
Elo Shyamalo Sundoro (Bengali song)

Notes:
No mridangam: lack keenly felt.
Kalyani was a request from me, which he sang: I really loved it.

Sachi_R
Posts: 2174
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by Sachi_R »

Well done Shreyas. We're you on the auditorium?
I have bought access. Kalyani was going on when I tuned in for a bit. Will listen later.

kvn_bhakta
Posts: 16
Joined: 05 Jan 2007, 23:16

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by kvn_bhakta »

Perhaps its because I haven't attended a concert in a long while, but I was quite overwhelmed by the beautiful concert. TMK was in fine and inspired form.

The concert took a while to get started with First Edition Arts fussing about camera angles till Krishna snapped and asked them to stop and just shoot whatever they get, he wants to sing. It was already 9pm. Mukhari was in TMK's typical ultra-slow speed but very well done, with a fine alapana and neraval. The swarams seemed inspired by Hindustani "sargam" singing, where the singers try to float over the tala and avoid the rhythmic aspect altogether.

In Moulou Ganga TMK stopped and explained the verse in some detail. Paraphrasing heavily, "Covered by the Ganga, the Moon, the snakes, the daughter of the Himalayas, how can the lord bear such cold?". The devotee then answers himself - "because you are resting in my warm heart".

Kalyani was brilliant. TMK let Akkarai do most of the systematic development in alapanai ("You play, I have already sung a lot..."), but stepped in now and then and sang some wonderful stretches. I could call it "impressionistic". Bhajare Re Chitte was song with careful detail in slow speed. In a few places TMK had forgotten the lyrics and was forced to don his reading glasses and stare at his iPad, and that diminshed the impact a bit.

Kamas tillana was an opportunity for interacting with the percussionists. Perhaps it was the auditorium sound, but I did not feel a lack of Mridangam. Refreshing to hear the ghatam given prominence.

I stayed for a pleasant viruttham and "Poonkuyil Koovam". By then it was 11:15pm. and the school-going children were well past time and we returned.

The energy and inspiration that TMK brings to his performance live is wonderful to see. His voice culture continues to improve and he uses it less for gimmickry than when I saw before. He continues to experiment, but I believe in more meaningful and less superficial ways now. Perhaps some may decry more overt Hindustani influences in his singing, but I see it as a positive.

shreyas
Posts: 251
Joined: 03 Mar 2018, 13:16

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by shreyas »

I wasn’t in the auditorium but I watched the whole thing over livestream. I sent him a request over email and Mrs. Dutt (the organiser of all these concerts) helped me get it across to him. I’m so glad he sang it.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by rajeshnat »

Artists featured in First Edition Arts is a biggest marketing campaing to reach a lot of audiences . Wonderful sound and camera angles CM is reaching more unwashed mass.

Sachi_R
Posts: 2174
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by Sachi_R »

Guys,
I have been following First Edition Arts for some time. They do a good job of Youtube upload, formatting the songs, and the audio video is uniformly good. That they are using Shaale for livecast is a credit to Shaale.

I opted to watch the video as Jagriti (wakefulness) is located far away and getting Uber at that late hour is a big pain.

I haven't watched the concert. Look forward to it!

Sachi_R
Posts: 2174
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by Sachi_R »

From a beautiful blog http://agnimile.blogspot.com/2015/08/sr ... 7.html?m=1
This was composed by Śrīmad Appayya Dīkṣita instantly on an Ārdrā-darśana day at Chidambaram in the month of Dhanu (called Mārgazhi in Tamil). The Thillai Dīkṣitars were conducting sandal-paste abhiṣeka to the Lord Naṭarāja in the early morning hours. Appayya Dīkṣita wondered how the Lord withstood the penetrating chillness?

मौलौ गङ्गा शशाङ्कौ करचरणतले शीतलाङ्गा भुजङ्गा:
वामे भागे दयार्द्रा हिमगिरिदुहिता चन्दनं सर्वगात्रे ।
इत्थं शीतं प्रभूतं तव कनकसभानाथ सोढुं क्व शक्ति:
चित्ते निर्वेदतप्ते यदि भवति न ते नित्यवासो मदीये ॥

maulau gaṅgā śaśānkau karacaraṇatale śītalāṅgābhujaṅgāḥ
vāme bhāge dayārdrā himagiriduhitā candanaṃ sarvagātre
itthaṃ śītaṃ prabhūtaṃ tava kanakasabhānātha soḍhuṃ kva śaktiḥ
citte nirvedatapte yadi bhavati na te nityavāso madīye

A free translation attempt:

The Gaṅgā and the Moon on your locks
Cool-bodied serpents on arms and feet
On the left side, the daughter of Himālaya; wet with compassion
And (cool) sandal all over the body!

How, O Lord (Naṭarāja) of the Golden Hall,
Did you get this strength to endure such extreme chill?
If only did you not stay eternally in my citta
Which burns hot due to sorrows.
I learnt in my Samskrita class that this is in sragdhara metre मरभनययय of 21 syllables with pauses after 7th, 14th ,and 21st 🙂

shreyas
Posts: 251
Joined: 03 Mar 2018, 13:16

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by shreyas »

He seems to like this slokam.

Yesterday, he used it to further his agnostic ideals as well :)

He said that it tells us that Chidambara Nataraja only exists because he resides in my heart (he is only a human creation, in other words).

I think the best part of the concert was the Mukhari swaram, and perhaps the Kalyani ragam as well. The krithi was also very well sung, with a classic Dikshithar majestic and leisurely pace.

jshrikanth
Posts: 22
Joined: 08 Jan 2017, 18:19

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by jshrikanth »

This was a lovely concert, made sweeter by the fact that it was a rare concert in our neck of the woods - literally a 5 min walk from home.

T M Krishna was in great form and mood. And the intimate Jagriti theater ambience enhanced the chamber concert like feeling, something that TM Krishna seemed to relish. (i'll try posting a photo later).

The concert was supposed to start at 8:30pm and go on for an hour and a half. It started at about 9:00 due to the earlier concert running late and a some fussing with the setup by the First Edition Arts team. But it went on till about 11:45pm, with more than half the audience still present and wanting more.

Shreyas and kvn_bhakta have provided the most of details earlier.
The Viruttham before "Poonkuyil Koovum" (#4 on Shreyas' list) was 'pannen unakkana poosai' by Thayumanavar(?).

I loved all the items till "Poonkuyil Koovum", with Mukari alapana/ swarams and Kalyani kriti being the highlights. The slokam (Moulav Ganga) and the virutham were both rendered lovingly with TMK seemingly moved by the meaning.

The Tani after the the "Tillana mashup" was great. Guruprasad was amazing on the Ghatam, with Anirudh Athreya matching him on the Kanjira. There were some very interesting variations that I would love to hear again. Like kvn_bhakta, I too did not feel the absence of the Mridangam - possibly also because of TMK's ati-vilambit/ vilambit approach

The songs after the Tillana were a bit of a let down. The Darbari Kanada piece we good, if bhajan-ish. The next one - "Allah megh de" - made me laugh out loud. It was a direct lift of SD Burman's song from the Dev Anand movie Guide. It also reminded me of Bappi-da's jazzed up version of the same tune in "de de pyar de' from Amitabh Bachchan's Sharaabi! :-)

The 'Allah megh de' was supposed to be a sort of Mangalam, and the audience rose up for a standing ovation. The artistes hadn't moved from their seats and TMK still seemed to be humming. Some in the audience asked for one more song and sat down again. TMK was in a mood to oblige and he convinced Guruprasad who seemed more reluctant. (They had an early morning flight out of Bangalore and it was already well past 11:30 pm).

Elo Shyamalo Sundoro - a Rabindra sangeet based on Desh raga - redeemed somewhat the sag due to the previous song and helped end the concert on a high. The audience was still reluctant to leave and TMK was still humming - I recognized something like Behag. Guruprasad immediately quipped "please stop humming or they'll sit down again".

I love TMK's music and approach to ragas. But in the the last year or so, TMK seems to have a new maturity to his singing, more seriousness and a new focus on interpretation of lyrics to highlight the meaning (as opposed to his stance a few years ago?). Even the pauses during a song seems to be a search for a new turn of phrase, rather than just forgetting a lyric. Of course, this new maturity could be my imagining, and may be (like the rasika in old anecdote of Ariyakudi), i'm only now able to appreciate it a bit. :-)

Over all a very lovely concert. Waiting eagerly for FEA to upload it on their YouTube channel soon.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by rajeshnat »

jshrikanth wrote: 14 Oct 2019, 21:58 The concert was supposed to start at 8:30pm and go on for an hour and a half. It started at about 9:00 due to the earlier concert running late and a some fussing with the setup by the First Edition Arts team. But it went on till about 11:45pm, with more than half the audience still present and wanting more.
Great sound setup, video and the organizers making the concert start at 9pm and ending at 11:45 Pm . I googled to find the concert was held on a sunday , oct 13th. Tmk markets with new unwashed significant late night mass . Very nice , lucky for all those who attended- from planned 90 mins to delayed 155 mins great for music to remain as carnatic and classical music(delay is ok as you get more quanta on concert time)

kvn_bhakta
Posts: 16
Joined: 05 Jan 2007, 23:16

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by kvn_bhakta »

I shall have to change my user name to "new_unwashed_late_night_mass" :-). Incidentally Jagriti is a small space, about 150 people and was mostly full. Crowd seemed fairly knowledgeable about carnatic music.

Just wanted to add that the previous concert was a wonderful sitar performance by Vinayak Chittar. Not very well-known and the carnatic audience (I'm guessing, based on the number of silk sarees) was probably waiting impatiently for TMK. Plus there were significant mike problems as well. He bore it all and played Yaman for nearly an hour and a half with very innovative sitar ornamentation. Keep a lookout for the FEA upload.

jshrikanth
Posts: 22
Joined: 08 Jan 2017, 18:19

Re: TMK on Livestream (First Edition Arts) in Bangalore

Post by jshrikanth »

Here are a couple of snaps from the concert.
As you can see from the photos, Bhargavi Venkatram was on the Tambura

Image

Image

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