T.N.Seshagopalan @ Musiri Chamber Concerts, Chennai (09 Apr

ram · Post by **ram** » 10 Apr 2007, 01:35

Venue: 28/2, Musiri Subramaniam Road, Mylapore

Date: 09 Apr 2007

Organizer: Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer's family (Musiri Chamber Concerts)

Vocal: Vid. T.N. Seshagopalan

Violin: Vid. M.A. Sundaresan

Mrudangam: Vid. T.K. Murthy

Khanjira: Vid. Anirudh Athreya

List of songs:

1) mErusamAna - mAyAmALavagowLa - Adi - thyAgarAja (ONS)

2) chandram bhaja mAnasa - asAvEri - chatusra maTyam - muthuswAmi dIkshitar

3) nIvada nEgAna - sAranga - kanda chApu - thyAgarAja (AS)

4) enta vEDukondu - saraswati manOhari - Adi - thyAgarAja

5) brOvavammA tAmasamElE - mAnji - misra chApu - syAma sAstri

6) nI bhajana gAna - nAyaki - Adi - thyAgarAja

7) nagumOmu ganalEni - AbhEri - Adi - thyAgarAja (ANST)

8 ) rAgam tAnam pallavi (RTP) - Anandabhairavi & sindhubhairavi - kanDa tripuTa (2 kaLai)

pallavi wordings: "pArvatI para,mAnandabhairavi"

kalpanA swarams in Anandabhairavi, sindhubhairavi, amritavarshini, sAlagabhairavi, lalitA (?)

9) marulukonnAdirA - khamAs - Adi - rAmanAtapuram srInivAsa iyengAr

10) tU dayALu dIn - rEvati - Adi - tulsidAs

11) niraimadi (tiruppugazh) - hamsAnandi - Adi - aruNagirinAthar

12) nI nAma rUpa mulaku (mangaLam) - sowrAshTram - Adi - thyAgarAja

13) sriya kAntAya (slOkam) - srI

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, N=neraval, S=kalpana swaram, T=taniavartanam)

My favorite singer. My favorite concert venue. What more could I ask for !!! I had started making plans to attend this concert right from the time I saw it listed in last Friday's "The Hindu".

The concert lasted for about 3.5 hours and was an absolute delight. Just like TNS says in his harikathas - "there is so much to say that I am confused what to leave out and what to say", there are so many things in today's concert that can be praised that I am confused what to write about and what to leave. If this is my condition with whatever limited knowledge I have got, I can't but imagine the bliss more knowledgeable people would have experienced !!!!

TNS sang most of the initial set of kritis slowly and with a lot of involvement. It was really nice getting to sit so close to TNS and observe him sing. The most beautiful part of hearing this concert at this venue was that I could hear his natural, unamplified voice from time to time. I was in a totally different world whenever I could hear those lightning fast bhrigas in his natural voice. "mErusamAna" was superbly rendered with very good accompaniment by Sri M.A. Sundaresan and veteran mrudangam maestro Sri T.K. Murthy. Sri Anirudh Athreya followed Sri T.K. Murthy well. TNS showed his mastery with kanakku (calculations) in the kalpana swarams. He had such great control over all the jugglery he did. I could just go on and on, praising everything that TNS did with the choicest adjectives I can think of.

In my opinion, the piece that contributed to the resounding success of the concert was the RTP. It came just when I was speculating on what might TNS sing after a grand treatment of "nagumOmu ganalE". TNS looked towards the organizers and asked how much more time he had to which they replied in sign language that he can continue till he wished. TNS thought for a few seconds and started his alapana which he did in three stages. The first stage comprised an Anandabhairavi alapana and lasted for about 6.5 minutes. Then came a majestic sindhubhairavi alapana that lasted for about 15 minutes. I haven't heard anyone sing so many patterns in sindhubhairavi till now. Sri M.A. Sundaresan's reply was also excellent. The third stage was according to me the toughest. TNS would sing one pattern in Anandabhairavi and a related pattern in sindhubhairavi. He went on alternating between the ragas and doing a sort of a kuraippu for about 5 minutes and then launched into a beautiful tAnam. Sri M.A. Sundaresan was very impressive here also.

There was this very small, cute kid listening intently to TNS sing the alapana and the tanam. As soon as the tanam got over, the kid announced: "ippo pATTu Arambikkum (The song will start now)" bringing smiles to everyones faces.

The pallavi was structured as follows (B=beat, 1 Avartanam of kanDa tripuTa 2 kaLai = 18 beats) (starts 1.5B after samam): pA (1B) Ar (2B) va (1B) tI (3B) pa (0.75B) ra (0.75B) mA (+ gap = 3.5B) Anan (1.5B) da (1B) bhai (1B) ra (1B) avi (1.5B).

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Now for some kOrvais TNS used. The kOrvai that he sang to end the kalpana swarams in AbhEri went like this (, = 1 aksharam kArvai & ; = 2 aksharam kArvai):

tha ;; ki ;; Ta;;

tha ;, ki;, Ta;,

tha; ki; Ta;

(tha , tha ki Ta , - 2 times ) tha, tha ki Ta

(tha ; tha ki Ta , - 2 times ) tha; tha ki Ta

(tha ;, tha ki Ta , - 2 times ) tha;, tha ki Ta

Total = 96 aksharams when sung/played once. So sing/play once or thrice starting from middle point of Adi talam (2 kaLai) in chatusra naDai.

The kOrvai that TNS sang at the end of kalpana swarams for the RTP went like this:

I couldn't properly get what he sang the first time.

It went like this the second time (all in chatusra gati):

tha ka tha dhi ki Na thom ; tha, dhi, ki, Na, thom - 3 times

tha; dhi; ki; Na; tha; dhi; ki; Na; thom;

tha, dhi, ki, Na, tha, dhi, ki, Na, thom, - 2 times

tha, dhi, ki, na, thom - 3 times

It went like this the third time:

tha ka tha dhi ki Na thom ; tha, dhi, ki, Na, thom - 3 times (chatusra gati)

tha ;, dhi;, ki;, Na;, tha;, dhi;, ki;, Na;, thom;, (chatusra gati)

tha; dhi; ki; Na; tha; dhi; ki; Na; thom; - 2 times (tisra gati - mEl kAlam)

tha, dhi, ki, na, thom - 3 times (tisra gati - mEl kAlam)

Total each time = 144 aksharams = 2 Avartanams of kanDa tripuTa (2 kaLai).

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While singing the tiruppugazh in hamsanandi, TNS suddenly took rishabham as the base and launched himself into graha bhedam mode bringing out hindOLam. It was done very quickly and subtly and gave a very good effect.

The ovation TNS got at the end of the concert was testimony to his brilliance and to the concert's success.

Source: http://ramsabode.wordpress.com/2007/04/ ... i09042007/

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2007, 04:03

Ram,
Thanks for the review. What a concert! Sundaresan's accompaniment and TKM's would have added more enjoyment to it. His mEru samAna, sung in the way his guru did, would have been moving (woud have had the power of moving mountains, you would have written, had you been Saroja Ramanujam).
mEru samAna seems to be in fashion, according to concert lists.
What the cute kid said makes me think. Of course, he has been exposed to a lot of music, bless his parents. Did the tAnam appeal to him and when it ended, did he mean, 'oh, now I have to listen to those boring words' or--'fine, now I can listen to words and I love them'? How did he say it Ram? That would give us a clue as to whether sAhityam would survive (may be, even flourish) with generations to come...

coimbatorerasigan · Post by **coimbatorerasigan** » 10 Apr 2007, 05:19

Ram, TNSRasika's influence has started rubbin off on you! That review was big on hyperbole but you can be excused, considering the number of fair minded, excellent reviews u do put on here without propaganda.....

Meru Samana, TNS and moving....cobbled together in one sentence at that! Just when I thought I had heard it all from Arasi

!

Guess I will use the opportunity to make a shameless plug too...

SK ---------) Sudha 2007....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2007, 07:35

Coimbatorerasigan,
Are you saying that I should have added an emoticon too? Okay, I will

ram · Post by **ram** » 10 Apr 2007, 08:35

Arasi madam,

The cute kid was this little girl who was sitting in en elderly person's lap (who is most probably from Musiri's family). I think all pairs of eyes were riveted on TNS till he finished the tAnam and I think the kid was also listening intently. What surprised me was that she did not announce that the song would start after say the first Anandabhairavi alapana or after the sindhubhairavi alapana or after the Anandabhairavi + sindhubhairavi combo that came next. She waited right till the tAnam got over to announce it !!!! Even if someone had told her that the song would start after the tAnam, the fact that at this age of hers she identified that the tAnam got over was itself a big thing for me.

coimbatorerasigan,

I guess I get a bit too emotional after attending chamber concerts as they keep me busy enjoying all the action that happens at close quarters and make even average concerts look good. In addition, if the concert itself is high quality stuff as was the case with the TNS one, the effect is just a lot more. I can assure you that whatever I wrote came straight from the heart. I also find it hard to control the flow of adjectives (even at the cost of repeating them

) after listening to concerts of singers like Sri TNS, Sri R.K. Srikantan, Sri Nedunuri, Smt. R. Vedavalli etc (these four just form a representative sample; there are many more too).

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2007, 09:25

Thank you Ram, wish I were there, just to see and hear the kid. You are right. The intimacy of a house concert for a rasikA is precious. The connection and interaction is heightened in an informal setting. You have another house concert coming soon--our own forum's concert! Hope all of you reviewers enlighten us when Manakkal's home creates that atmosphere again for you.

Could I ask you to please drop the madam while addressing me, though?

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 10 Apr 2007, 09:37

coimbatorerasigan wrote:Guess I will use the opportunity to make a shameless plug too...

SK ---------) Sudha 2007....

Please, Lord, take me! Please, please, please!

saveri · Post by **saveri** » 10 Apr 2007, 11:11

Musiri mama's house is a very nice and peaceul house to sit and listen to concerts. Generally chamber concerts are of good value , more so with Musiri's house, maybe even because there is a good quality musical vibration in that house, that may have come with years of nadopasana !!

Merusamana - is not some new fashion. It is just that one haears that song sung by many stalwarts these days, which may have otherwise been sent out of vogue in the medieval age.

Mayamalavagowla, a raga which is taught to beginners, remains just there, ( with many aritsts) , as it calls for ample musical maturity to sing that raga without making it pedantic or boring.
Greats like TNS,RV and Semmangudi mama have always embellished this raga by elaborating finer nuances in all their concerts. Merusamana is one of the finest gems with lyrical beauty by Tyagaraja and artists like TNS and RV have always done this song proud.

Especially artists like TNS are experts in rendering these ragas, more so in even rendering Malahari, Mayamaalavagowla,Jaganmohini and Saveri without mixing up even a swara,even if you were to ask him to render it all in a row. Such is their command over music which comes from deep understanding and practice.

raja · Post by **raja** » 10 Apr 2007, 19:44

Ram, beautiful review, thanks!

I can also identify with the difficulty in teasing apart emotion and objectivity when listening to TNS - especially in a chamber setting.

I particularly appreciate the detail with which you have described the pallavi. You have given me the inevitable urge to recreate it in my head. I have an additional request - would you happen to recollect the anchor swaras for each syllable of the lyrics? Also, was this a truly double-raga pallavi (as in utrAngam in one ragam and pUrvAngam in the other ragam)? If so which ragam was used for which part?

Also appreciate the swara-korvais....As an amateur mridangist, this gives me useful material to chew on...

Thanks!
Raja..

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 10 Apr 2007, 19:52

Saveri,
I didn't mean to say that mEru samAna is finally in vogue. All I meant was that it is popular once more, for the umpteenth time--and I am happy about it...

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 11 Apr 2007, 10:18

Saveri, to add on to your views (Which i agree with);
Merusamana is a classic of Thyagaraja but often gets slotted in as a third on the card composition, while it certainly can be sung as a main item of a concert. Hell, MDR used to sing the krithi itself for a full 12-15 minutes (and folks, it is virtually a chapter on "bhavam"). In fact there were concerts when Merusamana had to step aside for "inferior" (for want of a better word) compositions as main items. Not often is it given the respect it deserves.

The depth of the composition and the slow grandeur of the piece is often ignored as the artistes usually just run through the sangathis one after the other, present a template neraval and swara prastara. Mayamalavagoula while being a raga that is taught early is not exactly a "light" raga and in the hands of a competent musician it can be something grand. It may be easy to learn but not all that easy to master.

There is a pretty nice rendition of Mayamalavagoula available as an Ekaika Raga cassette. Forgot who sang it at the moment. Very elaborate treatment of the raga followed by Meru samana. Nice rendition.

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 11 Apr 2007, 11:08

bala747 wrote:Merusamana is a classic of Thyagaraja but often gets slotted in as a third on the card composition, while it certainly can be sung as a main item of a concert.

In fact there were concerts when Merusamana had to step aside for "inferior" (for want of a better word) compositions as main items. Not often is it given the respect it deserves.

Mayamalavagoula while being a raga that is taught early is not exactly a "light" raga and in the hands of a competent musician it can be something grand. It may be easy to learn but not all that easy to master.

There is a pretty nice rendition of Mayamalavagoula available as an Ekaika Raga cassette. Forgot who sang it at the moment. Very elaborate treatment of the raga followed by Meru samana. Nice rendition.

Very true indeed! mEru samAna, true to the name is really a majestic kRti. It is like the dasara elephant carrying chAmundESwari in front of Mysore palace.

I belive BMK has sung mEru samAna as the main item in several concerts. It appears in some of his commercial releases too.

-Ramakriya

ram · Post by **ram** » 11 Apr 2007, 11:52

Thanks raja.

Unfortunately its been some time since the concert happened and I have forgotten the anchor swarams that TNS used

I think if I try to conjure up something now, it would be quite different from what TNS sang

It was not a double raga pallavi the way you describe it. TNS first sang the whole line in Anandabhairavi a few times and then sang the whole line in sindhubhairavi a few times. Then he kept alternating between the two.

sarojaRamanujam · Post by **sarojaRamanujam** » 11 Apr 2007, 15:20

Review of the concert of TNS at the Musiri chamber of music.

I have nothing much to say besides what Ram has written.Some one remarked that the TNS rasika's influence has rubbed on him Well it is not a crime to become an ardent rasika of an eminent artiste and Ram need not be on his defense on account on this. Ram has clearly mentioned that TNS is his favourite artist . As I have said earlier I am writing to express my experience of joy in listening to TNS which no one can deny and which seems to delight other rasikas of his, for whose sake I am writing. One might relish the reviews for the sheer fervour and can read it without bias .On the otherhand if one is dead against such hyperbole, as it is called by some, (I don't really understand this term though I know the meaning of hyperbola being a maths graduate!Will someone kindly explain this to me?).they can skip reading it as it is written only to the rasikas who are sahrdhayas.

Now coming to the subject, I was a little upset in the beginning due to my inability to sit on the floor in front like Ram did and also because of the fact that the artistes were not at all visible clearly due to the diffused light in the hall,in which, normally concerts used to take place in broad daylight, I beleive. But the moment TNS started singing Mayamalavagoula and "Merusamana that could move the mountains" ( thanks Arasi for the coinage) I was raised slowly from the earthly discomforts and all of a sudden found myself up in the clouds as though transported by a jetplane. When we landed back( I say "we" because this feeling was shared by other rasikas who were with me.) we were left dazed, stunned and wonderstruck.

The concert was a layalahari from the start which was enhanced by Sangithakalanidhi TKMurthi who accompanied on Mrdhangam and MASundaresan who played the violin. The svara to 'Merusamana' of Thyagaraja was short but expressed expertise.After 'chandrambaja,' one of the navagraha krthis of Dikshithar, the day being a Monday, there came a beautiful Saranga followed by 'NeevAda nE gAna' of Thyagaraja as expected, with a similar short and sweet svara as in Mayammalavagoula.

Next came a surprise! 'Enthaveduko' of Thyagaraja, a forte of Musiri. The way TNS sang this made one remnisce of Musiri and the music of Musiri school, coming from the voice of Seshagopalan, nevertheless with the unmistakable stamp of TNS along with it, is a rare treat that could be expected only in the Musiri chamber of music.

After this TNS sang 'brovavamma' of Shyamasasthri in manji, which proved what TNS said earlier, during the annual conference of the Music Academy last December that manji has got a definite profile(moonji).

Then it was the nayaki krthi of Thyagaraja, the raga which always received rich nourishment in the hands of TNS and what followed was the exquisite abheri, the raga which was shaped, groomed and dressed rich to resemble a celestial dancer . In the end of the alapana the closed mouth singing finished the decor and then flowed the heavenly 'nagumomu' of Thyagaraja. The svaraprasthara was as usual at 'jagamele paramathma ,' following a fantastic neraval and it resembled AbheerinAtya (kuravaiyAttam).Sri TKMurthi and Sri MAsundaresan ably supplying the pakkavAdhya which was pakvavadhya.

The thani that followed was splendid with Sri TKMurthy on Mrdhangam and Aniruddh Athreya on kanjira after which it looked as though the mani part of the concert was over but no! What followed next was the unexpected, amazing (not amazing with respect to TNS but only regarding the time of its inception.) a double barrelled , double decker and double creamed RTP of Anandhabahiravi-sindhubhairavi.(it was not double raga pallavi with poorvardha in one raga and uttharardha in another but a pallavi sung in two ragas. simultaneously and hence the above adjectives! ) I have used so many qualifying phrases because it was Anandha(tthEn) sindhu(m)bhairavi.It was amazing in the sense the transition of one raga to another both in raga alapana and svaraprasthara was very quick but smoothly blended with the masterly strokes of a creative genius.It left the audience dazed, stunned and wonderstruck with its incredibility which feeling continued even after the javali "marulu konnadhira' in kamas, and a bhajan of Tulsidas in bahiragibhairav(or revati of carnatic) and the thiruppugaz in hamsanandhi which itself was a delight by the play in gathi, and it took a long time to come back to earth even after the landing like that felt during a jet-lag! He is not a mere sangithakalanidhi, a treasure trove of music but an inexaustible mine of music.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 11 Apr 2007, 15:31

Will someone kindly explain this to me?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole
Largely synonymous with exaggeration and overstatement, hyperbole (pronounced /haɪˈpɝbəli/ or "hy-PER-buh-lee") ("HY-per-bowl" is a mispronunciation) is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used due to strong feelings or is used to create a strong impression and is not meant to be taken literally. It gives greater emphasis. It is often used in poetry and is a literary device. As well as a referendum

sarojaRamanujam · Post by **sarojaRamanujam** » 11 Apr 2007, 18:43

Thank you. Now I understand why my writings are called hyperbole. iI is because I am poetic and I can't write in a prosaic manner.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 11 Apr 2007, 20:12

That's OK Smt. Ramanujam. Your reviews make excellent reading - please keep 'em coming!

coimbatorerasigan · Post by **coimbatorerasigan** » 11 Apr 2007, 20:30

Absolutely!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Apr 2007, 20:36

Yes, they do make interesting reading...