Maharajapuram Ramachandran - Kartik Fine Arts, NGS - 7/12/07

[vijay]

Maharajapuram Ramachandran
MA Krishnaswami
Manoj Siva

Vakratunda Mahakaya – Hamsadhwani – Adi – Dayananda Saraswathi (S)
Pahimam Sri Raja Rjeshwari – Nattai – Rupakam – Syama Sastri (S)
Bhuvaneswari – Begada – Rupakam – Papanasam Sivan (R)
Vinayakuni – Madhyamavathi – Adi – Thyagaraja (NS)
Nagagandhari – Nagagandhari – Adi – Deekshitar
Meenakshi – Varali – Misra Chapu – Syama Shastri (RNST)
Tukkadas/Mangalam

Ramachandran presented a well balanced concert that amply demonstrated his wide repertoire and creative abilities. A lovely bass in the lower registers, his voice transforms into a less manageable beast when it comes to the tara sthayi, but is nevertheless an effective vehicle for his musical ideas.

High points included the alaapana in Begada by both the violinist and the vocalist as well as the rendition of Meenakshi in Varali. Suryakantham which featured in the vruttam also caught the imagination. Neraval in Madhyamavathi, on the other hand, was a breathless affair risking a brief flirtation with the gandharam and was brought to a somewhat abrupt end. However Ramachandran recovered well in the swara section. Swaras for Varali were also an occasion for Ramachandran to exhibit his skills in laya.

Krishnaswami was in fine form. Of his alaapanas, Begada was certainly the better effort and included some sparkling straight note flourishes towards the end. His shadow-like responses in the swara sections revealed a keen ear

Manoj Siva was resonant in patches, especially in the neraval and swara sections but preferred a softer beat during song renditions – the amplification also seemed to sell the accompanists short. The percussion was noticeably cranked up during the tani and the clarity of his strokes now started asserting themselves, capping brief forays into Tisram and Misram with a finely executed korvai.

Expectedly, he wound up with Bho Sambho for the benefit of the Maharajapuram loyalists who dominated the small audience that was left at that stage.

[vijay]

Forgot the disclaimer - here goes...please insert for all concert reports sent in by me.

Writing a review is an onerous responsibility. It requires the highest levels of technical knowledge and aesthetic sense. Fortunately for me, this is not one. I am neither a trained musician nor is my knowledge of music any better than that of the average rasika. That reduces the following write-up to a layman’s uninformed observations. Healthy doses of salt are, therefore, recommended as a digestive aid.

[kalgada78]

Meenakshi – Varali – Misra Chapu – Syama Shastri (RNST)

Is it Kamakshi Nannu Brovave? Or Mamava Meenakshi of Dikshitar?

Or is there any other krithi in Varali,starting with Meenakshi,of Sri Syama Sastry? Let me know if iam missing something here.

Thanks,

Sarma

[vijay]

Sarmaji - Syama Sastri's Kamakshi it was....apologies for the error

[arasi]

Vijay,
Your disclaimer gets a 'good decorum' seal of approval. However, your reviews are better than some of the ones we find on printed pages.
How many professional reviewers write as lyrically?

[kalgada78]

Thanks Vijay!