Sri TNS @South India Fine Arts, San Jose

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 05 Nov 2007, 22:53

Note: This is not a review, but only a rasika's view

Sri TN Seshagopalan, accompanied by Sri Mullaivasal Chandramouli on Violin and Sri Tanjavoor Murugabhupati on the Mridanga.

List of compositions, from my memory:

1. Kalyani aTa tALa varNa
2. manavi cE konavayya - sarasAngi - Patnam (A,S,N)
3. kana kana ruchirA - varALi - tyAgarAja
4. kanakAngakA - kanakAngi - kOTIswara ayyar
5. nenarunchi nAnu - mALavi - tyAgarAja
6. subramanyAya namastE - kAmbhOdi - MD (A, N , S)
7. bAgAyE - sAvEri - kshEtraj~Ja
8. marubAri - kamAch - Dhamapuri Subbaraya?
9. sAyankAlE vanAnte - rAgamAlika shlOka
10. bEga bArO - miSra mAnD, rEvati - vAdirAja
11. tillAna in kalyANa vasanta

It was a 4+ hour long concert. Started off about 30+ minutes. Sarasangi was sung quite elaborately. Two vivAdi rAgas back-to-back, but it did not take away anything from the concert. Kambhoji was a cascading ocean, with very elaborate AlApane, svarakalpane, neraval, and trikAla (as in a pallavi).

The rAgamAlika shlOka was almost another main piece. It was sung in vasanta, candra jyOti, mOhana, kApi. miSra mAnd and a host of rAgas depicting navarasas for the phrase "navarasa bharitaiH" - some I can recall are nIlAmbari, sAma, aThANa, bEgaDe, bouLi, SubhapantuvarALi, mukhAri, kadanakutUhala, kuntala varALi, Ananda bhairavi, kEdAragouLa etc.

I really enjoyed the concert. The supporting artists were excellent throughout. In the mALavi composition, the violinist had some interesting replies. Needless to say this was sung at a breakneck speed! During the mOhana ( in the shlOka), there was a grahabhEda to hindOLa. was listening to him live after almost a decade. That took me back to my childhood memories. I distinctly remember a concert of TNS as one of the earliest I attended.

-Ramakriya

gsn · Post by **gsn** » 06 Nov 2007, 03:00

Seshagopalan sir's voice did not cooperate all the time, but the range of ideas in kambhoji was simply spectacular.
He did some very clever modifications of the Madurai Mani Iyer staple - "GMP,MG,, RGS,RG,," - singing it in three speeds, and in tisram. Also notable were the various eduppus in the swarams at "needupai" for "nenarunchi naanu". The chittai swarams for this kriti also saw him render them as chatusram and a combination of chatusram and tisram.

It was a master technician at work!

One small correction : The thillana was in Chandrakouns, and was Seshagopalan sir's own composition. The thillana was followed by "eru mayil eri" - a tisra nadai thirupugazh rendered in ragamalika. "Pavamana" and 'Sriyatkanthaya" rounded off the 4 hour concert.

Corrections welcome!

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 06 Nov 2007, 03:12

gsn

Thanks for the corrections and for adding the technicalities - I had to leave as the tillana was starting and so no wonder I was humming kalyANa vasanta as I was going out of the auditorium

-Ramakriya

hsuvarna · Post by **hsuvarna** » 07 Nov 2007, 01:27

It was my first time listening to Sri TNS live. What a great vidwan he is!!. He deserves all his titles and attention.
I donot think any shades of Kambhoji are left after his brilliant aalapana fo about 30mins for the benchmark song
of CM 'Sri Subramanya.." His finishing the song was spectacular, rendering the pallavi line "Sri subramnyaa namaste" in different speeds depicting the idea of saluting again and again (shata shasra pranaamalu kind of) in a loop.
The swara kalpana was good but I donot like the particular experiment of holding on to a same pattern (same 5-7 swaras for about 7-8mins) and singing in different speeds, with emphasis on p or d as an exercise to mdridangist/violinist. The ragam is stuck there and halts. This is not new in this concert, but I saw it before in Sri MBK and other artists too. It bores me a lot.

For evry song I thought, he put aalapana and some swarams (except the last few), hallmark of a great vidwans.
I also observed he, using the short aalaps as fillers to match the talam, very effortlessly. sarasangi came very well and the sayankaale raga malika was mind boggling. The impression I got was that he is a cut above the rest of the concerts
I have seen this year in cleveland as well as in san jose. That is why the recognition and applause.

I did not feel spectacular about accompaniements. The tonal sound output of violin was not pleasing to my ears. The mridangist at times had to "figure out" what to play espcesially in those one-pattern kambhoji experiments.

SIFA did a fine job mixing the concerts well this year of local/upcoming/popular/great artists. Hope next year they will bring in Sri MSG, Sri Nedunuri and Sri Srikantan kind of stalwarts for one more time, first time for me though.

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 07 Nov 2007, 09:06

I hold a different view. I too am a big fan of TNS but I have limited knowledge (if any).
I used to enjoy him a lot. I still remember his Shubapantuvarali RTP many years back here at SIFA, his Hecherika or O Jagadamba. But off late, his emphasis on speed, various permutations on swarams - he may have got the math right and better than other vidwans - but I feel that it robs the music of sowkhyam. I left after the Saveri. I have heard TNS for the past many years and I was wondering what happened to TNS of the old....I am not questioning his vidwat - but as a listener I lost it after a while.

Of course his Kambodhi was splendid... till the overdose of swarams - I prefer the way such krithis are rendered by say KVN - his subramanaya namasthe still rings in my ears.

hsuvarna - If you go to any RKS or Nedunuri concert - you will recognize what I mean....

ars · Post by **ars** » 07 Nov 2007, 23:37

I agree with gardabha_gana. TNS's vidwat is unquestionable but he seems to be overdoing on the swarams thereby losing the charm of his earlier concerts in the 70s/80s. I found the violin to be quite loud. The fact that the concert started late and with the extensive Sarasangi and Kamboji, we did not get to hear a RTP from him this time.