Lalgudi GJR Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi Violin Duet-Singapore-3

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 02 Jul 2007, 20:13

SINGAPORE, 30-06-07

Violin:
Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi
Mrudangam:
Umayalpuram K Sivaraman
Kanjira:
Sundar Kumar

I did not note down the compositions rendered, but here is a rough list:

01) Varnam - Devagandhari - Lalgudi Jayaraman
02) Yeti Yochanalu - Kiranavali - Thyagaraja (S)
03) Nannu Brovu Lalitha - Lalitha - Shyama Shastri (S)
04) Dunmarga - Ranjani - Thyagaraja (A,S)
05) Amba Paradevathe - Rudrapriya - Krishnaswamy Ayya (S)
06) Unknown Krithi - Shankarabharanam - Unknown (A,N,S,T)
07) RTP - Shanmugapriya
(with swaras in Anandha Bhairavi, Desh, etc)
08) Eppo Varuvaro - Jaunpuri - Gopalakrishna Bharathi
09) Chinnanjiru Killiye - Ragamaliga - Subramania Bharathi
10) Krishna Nee Begane - Yamunakalyani - Vyasaraya Tirtha
11) Thillana - Unknown - Lalgudi
12) Mangalam - Sowrashtram - Thygaraja

I apologise profusely for the missing information in the songlist, but I was rather caught up in the entire concert,
especially since this was the first time I was listening to Lalgudi's children, and I was thoroughly enthralled for the
three or so hours of the concert. I especially enjoyed the variety they offered in this concert, right from the composers
to the compositions to the ragas and thalas.

The Devagandhari varnam was presented very well, and I loved how the varnam really brings out the essence of the raga. It
was played in two speeds, if I recall correctly, and there was good harmony between the siblings. The Kiranavali krithi
was not very memorable, but rendered well. The Lalitha krithi was played with plenty of bhava, after a very brief two
minute sketch of the raga. The kalpanaswaras for this krithi were handled in a slow manner, and were very moving.

The submain of the evening was Ranjani, a raga portrayed by Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, who did a most commendable job in the
alapanai, playing some nice patterns and bringing out the vitality of this rather sprightly raga. The rendition of
Dunmarga was wonderful, with kalpanaswaras in increasing speed. A good tempo was maintained throughout this rendition.

The rudrapriya krithi that followed was completely unknown to me, as was the raga, and I liked the raga a lot, from what
little I heard of it. A rather elaborate round of swaras were presented after the krithi. Throughout this concert, swaras
were presented wonderfully, with Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi taking turns in playing complementing patterns (i.e., Where
one would present ascending patterns, the other would follow with descending patterns... Sometimes, after Krishnan played
a certain pattern, Vijayalakshmi would repeat his pattern nearly until the end, and then, with a change of just one or two
swaras, take the pattern on a different route... very interesting interplay).

The Shankarabharanam presented in this concert was the crowning glory of the evening. GJR Krishnan developed
Shankarabharanam in a most serene, melodious manner, reminding me of KVN's portraits of the raga. In my opinion,
Shankarabharanam is a versatile raga in terms of its moods: it can be folksy and sprightly, it can be soothing and
contemplative, it is polymorphic. In this alapanai, the soothing nature of Shankarabharnam was demonstrated in a most
capable manner, and the krithi that was rendered thereafter was a beautiful one, and a rare one (since this was an
instrumental concert, I cannot comment much about krithis I don't even know. Excuse me.) The neraval that followed was
quite nice (I wish the neraval line had been sung, though), and the swaras were elaborate, with great, classic patterns.

Sri UKS and Sri Sundar Kumar played an interesting thani devoid of much fireworks (keeping with the mood created in this
presentation). I was rather confused that at the end of his solo, Sri UKS played a slow pattern, which the kanjira player
duly replicated at the end of his own performance (was it the beat of the swara pattern the thani was based on?). Alas, I
only wish I had the means to learn to appreciate expositions of layam, but... But I must thank those who contribute to the
laya section of this forum, who have at least helped me identify the mohras and farans that conclude a thani, and I was
able to idenitfy the last korvai, which was played thrice. That's some improvement, right?! Talam was Adi for this piece,
by the way.

Immediately after the conclusion of the main, Shanmugapriya was taken up for Ragam Thanam Pallavi. I would've preferred a
krithi separating both, but the RTP was treated like a thukkada anyway. Ragam lasted about five minutes, maybe three
rounds of thanam were played, and in double quick time, pallavi neraval and swaras were finished, and the ragamaliga
swaras were being played. I was very disappointed by the shoddy treatment of Shanmugapriya, which is such a rich raga. If
there really had been a shortage of time, they should have taken up a less deep raga for RTP. The alapanai, though rushed,
was nice. The thanam patterns were hackneyed. The pallavi was set to Chathushra jathi Jampai thalam, and keeping beat was
quite tough for an amateur like me, but I appreciated the challenge. The pallavi line was sung by Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi,
who did a good job. She has a rather high-pitched but sweet voice. The whole RTP came to an end in about 20 minutes I
think. This part of the concert was a definite let-down (I am a big fan of elaborate pallavi's, which are such a rarity
nowadays).

Thukkadas were rendered with bhavam, especially Chinnanjiru Killiye, which had some nice improvisation, and was played in
a slow, moving fashion. Krishna Nee Begane Baro was also played unhurriedly. I could not catch the raga of the Lalgudi
thillana with which the concert was closed.

Lalgudi GJR Krishnan was extremely supportive of his sister, often complimenting her play, and the rapport between the duo
was excellent (Though Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi wears a dull look on her face often, something I noticed in a vocal concert of
hers that I have attended as well...). Sri UKS was also supportive of the duo, and certainly elevated the concert with his
playing. As someone has noted in this forum, UKS can maintain amazing clarity even when playing really quickly, and he
knows exactly how to fill silences during renditions with a few well chosen beats. His playing is most attractive. The
kanjira player did not play all that much, and was very subdued.

The acoustics in the auditorium constantly irritated the performers, though. At one point. Sri UKS declared he couldn't
hear the violinists at all from where he was sitting. Then, the mrudangam's right hand side mic started producing some
humming sound. The technicians had to be constantly, constantly reminded to up the volume for Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. Then,
the lights in the auditorium were not switched off during the concert, hardly setting the right atmosphere for the
concert. The players, with all these innumerable interruptions and frustrations, managed to put up a good, perhaps even
very good, concert.

The audience kept moving about throughout the concert. A large family left about one hour into the concert when the main
had not even started! Others came in two hours into the concert... Very strange, and with the lights on, the artistes
could clearly notice all the people movement. The hall was about 60-70% full at the end of the concert. I noticed a Chinese girl keeping beat during the thani by clapping her hands (just found it entertaining, that's all. But I'm glad she was so enthused by it!) The artistes were given a standing ovation at the end (for that sowkhyam-filled Shankarabharnam, they fully deserved it. If ONLY that RTP has been more elaborate...)

I also wish one more raga alapanai had been presented (Lalitha, for instance, could've been elaborated).
Thumbs up to the Lalgudi children for upholding their tremendous family tradition, and for presenting music spared of
theatrics and filled with bhavam. They presented real classical music that evening. I thank them for that.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 02 Jul 2007, 20:18

Eh, how does one fix the alignment for the songlist? It looked fine when I was typing it in, but it shows up wrongly upon posting.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 02 Jul 2007, 21:29

bilahari, for the alignment, please edit your post and format it with spaces rather than tabs. I did that but it was taking too long to get it just right since there are quite a few of those. When you get a chance, see if you can fix it fully.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 03 Jul 2007, 04:57

Were
5. amba paradEvatE, rudrapriya, khanda chApu, krishnaswami ayya
6. SankarachAryam, SankarAbharanam, adi, subbarama dikshitar
?

srinidhi · Post by **srinidhi** » 03 Jul 2007, 15:21

Mohan

Isn't ShankarachAryam (Shankarabharanam) by Subbarama Dikshitar?

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 03 Jul 2007, 16:57

yes - typo sorry - i have corrected

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 13 Jul 2007, 18:07

Mohan, thank you. The Rudrapriya krithi was indeed Amba Paradevathe, but since I'm not at all sure about the Sh'bharanam krithi, I shall err on the side of caution and leave it unidenitified. VK, thank you for much for helping me align the songlist.

vigneshbal · Post by **vigneshbal** » 15 Jul 2007, 00:28

Very good concert review.. Do you have the concert recording? can you post it?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Jul 2007, 04:08

vigneshbal,
A Singapore concert might not make the grade with a staunch 'chennai it is' person like you...

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 15 Jul 2007, 08:48

Vigneshbal, for some reason, Singapore concert recordings never go public. It's funny because music is such a commercial thing in Singapore, you would expect recordings to be sold at exorbitant prices, but I've been unsuccessful in all my attempts to get recordings.

vigneshbal · Post by **vigneshbal** » 17 Jul 2007, 18:59

Good one arasi, certainly nothing wrong in your statement..BTW I am not from Chennai.. Chennai concerts are much better no doubt.. But nothing criminal hearing concerts from singapore..

@ Bilahari

One of my friend has recorded this concert but said it is noisy I have asked him to upload and send it.. If i get it, I will clean them and send you the link.. Please try if your friends have recorded t

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 11 Aug 2007, 10:36

Bilahari, I missed the concert or I would have made a copy of it. The songlist sounds very "Lalgudi" which is but to be expected of course. Sankarabharanam and Singapore go hand in hand. The most popular raga here by far.

It's sad that Lalgudi's offspring treat the RTP as a tukkada, considering the Master's RTP's would be leisurely, weighty affairs (thinking of a spectacular Simhendramadhyamam here and a Sankmukhapriya spanning an hour plus of purely violin and percussion, no mean feat). I wonder why play an RTP if it's not going to be the main item of the concert. They might as well have played a longer Sankarabharanam. Agree with your sentiments completely but didn't expect the Lalgudi offspring to fall into the trap as well.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 11 Aug 2007, 15:38

Bala, yes, you usually attend and review the main concerts in Singapore, and I was surprised you hadn't posted reviews of the last few concerts. The RTP was indeed a pity, and what was more frustrating was the artistes' desire to play swaras in other ragas when the main raga itself was not elaborated in depth. It is a dying art.

I don't know why artistes continually associate Shankarabharanam with Singapore. Is it because it is considered a more western raga (god knows why this would affect anything, given the audience is largely Indian)? I have no viable explanation.