.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
If you guessed "Marivere" and "Chakkani Raja", congratulations. Come forth and claim your prize.
I had enough of this so after the concert I went and asked her (nicely) why she sang those pieces, since they are such common pieces. Her reply floored me.
"Oh I came up with the list last night after the organisers told me what to sing". Finally, the mystery of the recurring song-lists solved in Singapore.
Organisers, if any of you are reading this, please.. I don't know, do something to yourself that will make your influence on what an artiste sings less felt!
Anyway, here goes.
Violin: NN Ganesh Kumar
Mridangam: KR Venkatasubramaniam
Varnam - Sarasijanabha - Kambhoji
Naradamuni - Panthuvarali (NS)
Marivere - Anandabhairavi (AS)
Hiranmayim - Lalitha (preceded by Slokam)
Thaye Tripurasundari - Suddha Saveri
Chakkaniraja - Kharaharapriya (ANST)
Vidajalathura - Janaranjani
RTP - Charukesi - Kanda Triputa (Ragamalika swarams)
Muruganin marupeyar - Behag
Bhavayami - Yamuna Kalyani - Annamacharya
Kandavarku Ninaivilum - Kuntalavarali
Sagarashayana - Bhagesri - MDR
Thillana - Kamas
Marks are given out of ten for each piece (except for the Kharaharapriya where I judged the alapana and krithi separately) for both choice and quality.
Key:
1-2: Better left for bathroom singing,
3-4: Getting there
5-6: Good rendition but a little dry
7-8: Very good to almost perfect
9-10: Perfect rendition
The varnam started off the concert nicely enough, and the voice was pretty good, but GV needs to still work a bit on mic-work. She tends to move close to the mic at rather inopportune times, resulting in the sudden amplification of certain high notes which produce quite a jarring effect. Anyway, a good start to the concert. 6/10 for choice, 6/10 for effort and quality.
The next piece immediately was a fantastic rendition of Naradamuni in Panthuvarali, with a brief neraval at Narayana namamulanu. She used many plain notes in this rendition and gave it a touch of what people call a "Hindustani" effect to the krithi. Beautiful. Furthermore, Panthuvarali has only been heard in Singapore in the past ten years once, by OST. She seemed to struggle during the swaraprastara though and the finish of some of the swara passages could be better. But high marks for the rendition of the krithi.
9/10 for choice, 6.5/10 for effort and quality.
She then took up Anandabhairavi, and my heart sank. No, there was nothing wrong specifically with the alapana. As far as alapanas in Anandabhairavi go, this was of a very good quality, but I knew which krithi was coming next. I was hoping against hope for Nimati, Thyagarajayoga or even O Jagadamba, but no, the same old Marivere gathi. Anyway the alapana was very chaste, and there wasn't anything specific to complain about as far as rendition quality was concerned. But on the flipside, there was nothing really spectacular or different, a very steady, standard, "official" version of anandabhairavi by GV and then by violinist Ganesh Kumar. The krithi was pretty ho-hum, and again there was nothing really to write home about. Marivere has been done to death. The swaras were nice though and she thankfully kept them short.
2/10 for choice, 6/10 for effort and quality.
What followed was a nice shloka in Lalitha and Hiranmayim Laksmim. GV has a voice amply suited for gamakas, and her krithi rendition is top notch. Her voice for this krithi also was apt, not too loud nor aggressive like Nityasree's and she kept to the mood of the ragam very well. A perfect followup to Anandabhairavi.
8/10 for choice, 8/10 for effort and quality.
The Periyasami Thooran piece, Thaye Tripurasundari came next, and was nicely rendered. Good choice to just buck up the pace a notch after the heavy stuff. Clean, correct rendition, and nothing to complain about.
8/10 for choice, 7/10 for effort and quality.
Kharaharapriya came next, and again I had that premonition. No, not Chakkaniraja again?! But I knew it was that and nothing else, and I told my girlfriend who was with me, "Paaru, Chakkaniraja paaduva, ivaalukku vera paattey theriyadaa indha ragatthila?" (See, she is going to sing Chakkaniraja. Don't they know any other song in this raga?). But more on that in a while.
The alapana was great. GV seems to be greatly influenced by KVN and SSI in her renditions of kharaharapriya, and the alapana was about 7-9 minutes long, just enough for a nice appreciation of kharaharapriya without becoming laborious. All the usual sancharas were there and the gamakas were soothing and the brighas were pretty lively without the bull-in-china-shop approach to them. She again however moved close and further to the mike at rather inopportune times, causing some parts to appear too loud and others barely audible. The violinist was very polished in his rendition, and his playign was very well aligned with GV's. On the whole, the rendition of the alapana was very, very good, if a bit formulaic.
6/10 for choice (of raga), 7.5/10 for effort and quality.
Chakkani Raja, neraval at kantikisundara and swaraprastara. Need I say more? Usual stuff. Heard it too many times before to mention.
-5/10 for choice, 6/10 for effort and quality.
The thani was good, if a bit on the short side. Due to the pathetic acoustics of the hall, and a wailing kid sitting near me, I couldn't appreciate it well enough. But still a very good effort by Sri Venkatasubramaniam.
7/10 for quality.
Vidajalathura in Janaranjani. Usual fare, sung at a hundred thousand miles per hour. Next. Why does everyone sing this like they are auditioning for the Speed Singing Competition? Why not sing it at a normal speed to show the beauty of the raga Janaranjani? Bad rendition. Too fast.
5/10 for choice, 3/10 for effort and quality.
She then took up Charukesi. Well I was hoping for a pratimadyama or vakra raga RTP (like Ranjani or Kedaragoula) but Charukesi, well not a particularly bad choice as it is not heard often here. But the problem with ragas like Charukesi and such melakarthas is they can get repetitive very quickly. Also, once a major Melakartha raga like kharaharapriya has already been taken, to render an RTP in a ragam like Charukesi gives the RTP and the raga a lesser significance than it deserves. The sancharas often get too similar to the same ones heard in Kharaharapriya, with just two swarams different. She could have sung an elaborate Ranjani or Dhanyasi instead if she wanted the RTP to be the semi-main item.
The alapana was polished, although rather formulaic, the thanam (which is what I look out for) was disappointingly short, more like filler. The pallavi was in Kanda Triputa. I'll post details once I re-hear the recording (please don't ask me for the concert here).
RAgamalika swarams (As usual), and culminated in a very decent Behag.
5.5/10 for choice, 6/10 for effort and quality.
Then came a nice rendition of Muruganin marupeyar azhagu in Behag. GV, I must mention again, has a wonderful voice for such compositions. It is not too shrill (like Nityasree's), and it is not too 'draggy' (like Aruna Sairam's). Following that was another slow thukkada, Bhavayami gopalabalam in Yamuna Kalyani. While this piece was popularised by MS, GV gave a very competent rendition, and there were times when the brilliance of the voice was approached that of MS herself. Then came a quick Kandavarku Ninaivilum in Kuntalavarali. Very, very good, but the ragas were a tad similar sounding?
5/10 for choice, 8/10 for effort and quality.
To complete a trifecta of great chouka kaala tukkadas by taking up MDR's Sagarasayanavibho. Beautiful rendition again, but she faltered at the last line. I thought I heard it wrongly and paid more attention the second time round, and yep, same mistake.
The last line goes, "srikara subhakara varadadasanutapada", and she sang it as 'varadaRAJAnutapada', changing the meaning effectively from "Lord of Varadadasa, i.e. MDR" to "Lord of Vishnu".
Furthermore, I am surprised at this error because 'Varadadasa' was MDR's mudra.
9/10 for choice, 6.5/10 for effort and quality.
Thillana in kamas at breakneck speed again but not too bad sounding.
6/10 for choice, 6/10 for effort and quality.
Mangalam was not rated.
Overall rating, 6.25/10.
Overall, a good concert, despite the limitations she faced with concert lists. The choice of pieces needs work, and so does the choice of ragas and there was no pratimadyama piece sung with an alapana. Also, she needs to spend some time adjusting to the mike as there are times when beautiful lines or sancharas can be ruined or not heard by moving too close or too far away from the mike. But for an upcoming artiste, very good concert indeed, and thanks for being forthright about the reason for choosing those items.
Organisers, please lay off telling artistes what to sing! Your influence is the reason why Singapore audiences hardly get to hear something different. And to whoever was doing the announcements, the word "concert" is pronounced as "CON-sert" and not "Kan-sezht". If you want to sound faux american, at least do it properly.
If I accidentally attributed anything you said to him, I humbly apologise.