Vocal: TM Krishna
Violin: RK Sriram Kumar
Mridangam: Srimushnam Raja Rao
Kanjira: BS Purushottaman
1. Navaragamalika Varnam - Patnam Subramanian Iyer
2. Marivere - Shanmukhapriya - Patnam Subramanian Iyer (N, S)
3. Varugalamo - Manji - Gopalakrishna Bharathi (A)
4. Birana Brova - Kalyani - Thyagaraja (NS)
5. Badalikadheera - Reetigowla - Thyagaraja (AST)
6. RTP - Harikambhoji, with swaras in Hamsanandi, Malahari (?) / Mayamalavagowla (?), Neelambari, Amritavarshini.
7. Sagara Shayana - Bageshri - MD Ramanathan
8. Yera Rara (javali) - Khamas - Dharmapuri Subbbarayar
9. Santhatham - Behag - ?
10. Mangalam - Ramachandraya Janaka - Navaroj
This was Krishna's third concert in three days, and the strain on his voice was palpable. Of course, with a voice like Krishna's, the definition of "strained voice" is moot. He sounded raspier, as if somebody had taken a piece of sandpaper to his vocal cords, but he could still traverse three octaves with little trouble, as he did in the Reetigowla alapana. In many other people, that would count as a good day's work.
With his Academy concert coming up in two days, it was perhaps a conscious decision on Krishna's part to deliver a more sedate, measured performance. His Manji was exquisite and slow, and a mischievious phrase towards the end of the alapana was duly replicated and given an extra filigree by Sriram Kumar. This is so clearly a pair that works well, with a high level of comfort and an ability to tweak each other's thoughts. It was evident throughout the concert, and that sense of camaraderie was able to seep into (at least the first 10-odd rows of) the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha audience. When Krishna forgot a line from the Kalyani's charanam, he grimaced, Sriram Kumar smiled encouragingly, and we smiled along with his sheepishness. Everybody knew what was happening, but it introduced an endearing element of humanity into the performance.
Krishna omitted a neraval in his main piece and plunged straight into swaras - rapid-fire as always, although a few phrases sounded incomplete, nipped in the bud before they reached their classical conclusion. His RTP was much more majestic - a confident Harikambhoji, with smooth changes in kalam, and a particularly evocative, much-applauded transition into Neelambari. Here again, Sriram Kumar was the perfect foil; his Harikambhoji was playful, but his Neelambari was sweet, shot through just slightly with a tinge of sadness. Super stuff.
And finally, a caveat: Whether it was the Sabha's sound system or the mridangist himself, I thought Srimushnam Raja Rao was uncomfortably loud and aggressive. He sounded almost metallic at times, tending to drown out everybody else on stage. That was particularly unfortunate for Purushottaman, who was barely heard when he played along with Raja Rao, and for Krishna, who seemed to be exerting his already exerted voice to raise himself above the mridangam. The popular hope must be that this two-hour-45-minute concert will in no way affect his performance on Thursday.
TM Krishna at Parthasarathy Swami Sabha - Dec. 25, 2007
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arvindt
- Posts: 78
- Joined: 04 Jan 2007, 09:35
TM Krishna, Vocal; RK Sriram Kumar, Violin; Srimushnam Raja Rao, Mridangam; BS Purushottam, Kanjira
Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, Dec 25th
Valachi Vacchi - Navaragamalika - Patnam Subramanya Iyer
Marivere - Shanmukhapriya - Patnam Subramanya Iyer (RNS)
Varugalamo - Manji - Gopalakrishna Bharati (A)
Birana Brova Ide - Kalyani - Tarangampadi Panchanada Iyer (RNS)
Badalika Dheera - Ritigowla - Thyagaraja (ANST)
RTP - Harikambhoji - "Ma Harikambhoji Nute" - Khanda Triputa?
Ragamalika swarams in Harikambhoji, Purvi Kalyani, Mayamalavagowla, Neelambari
Sagara Shayana - Bageshri - MD Ramanathan
Marubari - Kamas - ?
Satatham Vande (Thiruppugazh?) - Behag
Ramachandra Janaka - Kurunji? (Mangalam)
Another excellent, though unfortunately high-volume (as seems to have become the norm) concert by TMK
with able support from accompanists. A fast beginning with two Patnam compositions, the latter
(Marivere) sung at super speed with neraval and swarams thrown in. Varugalamo calmed
down the concert a little after the frantic percussion-based beginning. Manji alapana was
nicely sung, with a hint of Varugalamo (specifically the antara gandhara usages) towards
the end. An amazing reply by RKS on violin, who followed TMK's essay like a shadow. GKB's
Varugalamo was sung emotively with sangatis bringing out the contours of Manji quite fully.
Birana Brova Ide that followed was even faster, sung in SSI style with neraval and percussive
rapidfire swarams -- though TMK appeared to give short shrift to lyrics, as he has done at times
in the past.
The Reethigowla alapana was quite unstructured with plenty of unconventional phrases -- while
showcasing TMK's incredible 3.5 octave voice range (between Anumandra M and Tara Sthayi N), the
lack of structure did take away from aesthetics somewhat, IMHO. Sriram Kumar's reply captured
the raga quite beautifully in a shorter span. The kriti was rendered beautifully, and TMK avoided
the usual fast paced neraval, choosing instead to sing a few avartas of vilamba as well as durita
kala swarams. The swarams were creative and quite aesthetic, exploring the mandra sthayi, and
showing the use to which a good voice range can be put. The tani was an explosive entertainer,
with both Shri Raja Rao and Shri Purushottam giving 200 percent, and playing creative patterns
in Tishra and Khanda.
RTP in Harikambhoji was a TMK chestnut which he's sung before, somewhat short as usual, but again
alapana and tanam were quite creative and showcased TMK's sonorous voice quite well. Shri Raja Rao
played mridangam accompaniment for the tanam, not so common a sight in Chennai concerts. The pallavi
was sung nicely, though short as seems to be TMK's norm. Neraval included clever use of a swarakshara at
the "Ma" of "Ma Harikambhoji...". Shri RKS played beautifully, following TMK like a shadow throughout. The
Mayamalagowla swarams started unexpectedly with the Sarali Varisai, followed by Janta Varisais and some
Alankarams. Neelambari swarams were quite well sung, with an attempt at durita kala which was quite good --
though IMHO, perhaps the durita kala could have been avoided: it doesn't really seem to suit
Neelambari too well.
MDR's Sagara Shayana was rendered slowly with TMK making full use of his pliable voice to negotiate
the curves of Bageshree. A couple of flourishes were a rather too Darbari-like for my liking, but overall
a nice rendition of this great MDR masterpiece. Some less often heard tukkadas followed. The Marubari that was
sung didn't seem to be the popular Dharmapuri Subbarayer classic, at least it didn't seem to have
the usual lyrics (unless this was a mistake on my part, or a different version); does anyone know of another
Kamas piece with the same name?
Though the start was perhaps a little too explosive and focused on technical skills, aesthetics made a comeback
with the slower pieces and the main/RTP -- overall a good concert by TMK. Part of the problem was that the sound
arrangements were bad with the volume being too high, especially for the percussion (with the decibel level almost
at the level of a rock concert at times where I was seated!), which tended to overwhelm aesthetics and melody at times.
Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, Dec 25th
Valachi Vacchi - Navaragamalika - Patnam Subramanya Iyer
Marivere - Shanmukhapriya - Patnam Subramanya Iyer (RNS)
Varugalamo - Manji - Gopalakrishna Bharati (A)
Birana Brova Ide - Kalyani - Tarangampadi Panchanada Iyer (RNS)
Badalika Dheera - Ritigowla - Thyagaraja (ANST)
RTP - Harikambhoji - "Ma Harikambhoji Nute" - Khanda Triputa?
Ragamalika swarams in Harikambhoji, Purvi Kalyani, Mayamalavagowla, Neelambari
Sagara Shayana - Bageshri - MD Ramanathan
Marubari - Kamas - ?
Satatham Vande (Thiruppugazh?) - Behag
Ramachandra Janaka - Kurunji? (Mangalam)
Another excellent, though unfortunately high-volume (as seems to have become the norm) concert by TMK
with able support from accompanists. A fast beginning with two Patnam compositions, the latter
(Marivere) sung at super speed with neraval and swarams thrown in. Varugalamo calmed
down the concert a little after the frantic percussion-based beginning. Manji alapana was
nicely sung, with a hint of Varugalamo (specifically the antara gandhara usages) towards
the end. An amazing reply by RKS on violin, who followed TMK's essay like a shadow. GKB's
Varugalamo was sung emotively with sangatis bringing out the contours of Manji quite fully.
Birana Brova Ide that followed was even faster, sung in SSI style with neraval and percussive
rapidfire swarams -- though TMK appeared to give short shrift to lyrics, as he has done at times
in the past.
The Reethigowla alapana was quite unstructured with plenty of unconventional phrases -- while
showcasing TMK's incredible 3.5 octave voice range (between Anumandra M and Tara Sthayi N), the
lack of structure did take away from aesthetics somewhat, IMHO. Sriram Kumar's reply captured
the raga quite beautifully in a shorter span. The kriti was rendered beautifully, and TMK avoided
the usual fast paced neraval, choosing instead to sing a few avartas of vilamba as well as durita
kala swarams. The swarams were creative and quite aesthetic, exploring the mandra sthayi, and
showing the use to which a good voice range can be put. The tani was an explosive entertainer,
with both Shri Raja Rao and Shri Purushottam giving 200 percent, and playing creative patterns
in Tishra and Khanda.
RTP in Harikambhoji was a TMK chestnut which he's sung before, somewhat short as usual, but again
alapana and tanam were quite creative and showcased TMK's sonorous voice quite well. Shri Raja Rao
played mridangam accompaniment for the tanam, not so common a sight in Chennai concerts. The pallavi
was sung nicely, though short as seems to be TMK's norm. Neraval included clever use of a swarakshara at
the "Ma" of "Ma Harikambhoji...". Shri RKS played beautifully, following TMK like a shadow throughout. The
Mayamalagowla swarams started unexpectedly with the Sarali Varisai, followed by Janta Varisais and some
Alankarams. Neelambari swarams were quite well sung, with an attempt at durita kala which was quite good --
though IMHO, perhaps the durita kala could have been avoided: it doesn't really seem to suit
Neelambari too well.
MDR's Sagara Shayana was rendered slowly with TMK making full use of his pliable voice to negotiate
the curves of Bageshree. A couple of flourishes were a rather too Darbari-like for my liking, but overall
a nice rendition of this great MDR masterpiece. Some less often heard tukkadas followed. The Marubari that was
sung didn't seem to be the popular Dharmapuri Subbarayer classic, at least it didn't seem to have
the usual lyrics (unless this was a mistake on my part, or a different version); does anyone know of another
Kamas piece with the same name?
Though the start was perhaps a little too explosive and focused on technical skills, aesthetics made a comeback
with the slower pieces and the main/RTP -- overall a good concert by TMK. Part of the problem was that the sound
arrangements were bad with the volume being too high, especially for the percussion (with the decibel level almost
at the level of a rock concert at times where I was seated!), which tended to overwhelm aesthetics and melody at times.
Last edited by arvindt on 25 Dec 2007, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.
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bilahari
- Posts: 2631
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02
Vocal: T.M. Krishna
Violin: R.K. Sriramkumar
Mrudangam: Srimushnam Rajarao
Kanjira: B.S. Purushothaman
Songlist:
(I arrived 10 minutes late, and assume I missed one item.)
02. Marivere Dikke - Shanmugapriya (N,S)
03. Varugalamo Aiyya - Manji (R)
04. Birana Broba - Kalyani (brief N,S)
05. Badalikatheera - Reethigowla (R,S,T)
06. Ragam Thanam Pallavi- Harikamboji (brief T)
Ragamaliga swaras in Poorvikalyani (or Panthuvarali, not sure),
Mayamalava Gowla, Neelambari, and one other raga.
Pallavi (roughly): "Mama VAramma HarikAmbOja BhavAthinuthE LalithE"
Khanda Triputa (I think)
07. Sagara Sayana Vibho - Bageshri
08. Yera Rara (?) - Khamas
09. Santhatham Vande (?) - Behag
10. Ramachandraya (Mangalam)
This is also my first experience listening to TMK live, and I was thoroughly impressed by his ability to weave neravals, his elaborate but bhava-laden alapanais, and his vocal range (he nearly touched the mandra shadjam in his Reethigowla alapanai). I was also amused by his enthusiastic and sometimes violent gesturing, and when he raised his arm high over his head suddenly during the Reethigowla alapanai, a cricket ball did not drop from his closed palm, much to my disappointment. There was also a lot of abrupt and somewhat confrontational pointing at the audience, but none of this detracted from the high quality of his music.
The neraval in Shanmugapriya was melodious and well-executed. The Kalyani rendition packed a lot of punch in a short time, with brisk neraval and swaras, and was effective in changing the mood after the Manji. Reethigowla ragam was really good, traversing three octaves, and though I'm not a fan of this krithi, he sang it well. The tendency to dwell on MG,R phrases in the Reethigowla alapanai did remind me fleetingly of the Manji, but that was unavoidable given the phrase appears important to both ragas. The swaras were imaginative and nice. Harikamboji ragam was a bit rushed (about 6-7 minutes total), but the thanam was rather well done (the mrudangam chimed in midway), except for TMK's tendency to use odd "thaga and daga" phrases. The pallavi neraval was very good, and the ragamaliga in Neelambari was exceptional.
The Manji TMK sang in this concert will remain etched in my memory for a long time, I believe. I have no words to describe the delicacy with which he rendered the alapanai. His final phrases just touched my soul somewhere, and it was a truly blissful moment. He sang the krithi with great emotion, and at the line, "karai kandeno," he suddenly stopped, along with the violin and percussion, leaving the jam-packed hall in total silence except the drones of the tamburas. It was a wonderful demonstration on the importance of silence in music. I was hoping the krithi wouldn't be followed by swaras, and true to the mood of the entire rendition, he left Manji be in her bare majesty.
R.K. Sriramkumar lent excellent support, reproducing TMK's stirring final phrases in his own Manji alapanai to much appreciation, and playing an emotive Neelambari. His bowing was rather rough today, but it didn't subtract from the fluency of his music. His mandra sthayi accompaniment, especially in Manji, was truly extraordinary.
Srimushnam Rajarao was equally capable, and his much-left-to-silence accompaniment in Manji was tremendous. His accompaniment during neravals reflected great anticipation, and the thani he played with B.S. Purushothaman was lively and engaging. The percussionists really elevated this concert.
And G. Ravikiran from our forum was there as well, strumming the tambura, at once witnessing and participating in creating this memorable musical production.
Violin: R.K. Sriramkumar
Mrudangam: Srimushnam Rajarao
Kanjira: B.S. Purushothaman
Songlist:
(I arrived 10 minutes late, and assume I missed one item.)
02. Marivere Dikke - Shanmugapriya (N,S)
03. Varugalamo Aiyya - Manji (R)
04. Birana Broba - Kalyani (brief N,S)
05. Badalikatheera - Reethigowla (R,S,T)
06. Ragam Thanam Pallavi- Harikamboji (brief T)
Ragamaliga swaras in Poorvikalyani (or Panthuvarali, not sure),
Mayamalava Gowla, Neelambari, and one other raga.
Pallavi (roughly): "Mama VAramma HarikAmbOja BhavAthinuthE LalithE"
Khanda Triputa (I think)
07. Sagara Sayana Vibho - Bageshri
08. Yera Rara (?) - Khamas
09. Santhatham Vande (?) - Behag
10. Ramachandraya (Mangalam)
This is also my first experience listening to TMK live, and I was thoroughly impressed by his ability to weave neravals, his elaborate but bhava-laden alapanais, and his vocal range (he nearly touched the mandra shadjam in his Reethigowla alapanai). I was also amused by his enthusiastic and sometimes violent gesturing, and when he raised his arm high over his head suddenly during the Reethigowla alapanai, a cricket ball did not drop from his closed palm, much to my disappointment. There was also a lot of abrupt and somewhat confrontational pointing at the audience, but none of this detracted from the high quality of his music.
The neraval in Shanmugapriya was melodious and well-executed. The Kalyani rendition packed a lot of punch in a short time, with brisk neraval and swaras, and was effective in changing the mood after the Manji. Reethigowla ragam was really good, traversing three octaves, and though I'm not a fan of this krithi, he sang it well. The tendency to dwell on MG,R phrases in the Reethigowla alapanai did remind me fleetingly of the Manji, but that was unavoidable given the phrase appears important to both ragas. The swaras were imaginative and nice. Harikamboji ragam was a bit rushed (about 6-7 minutes total), but the thanam was rather well done (the mrudangam chimed in midway), except for TMK's tendency to use odd "thaga and daga" phrases. The pallavi neraval was very good, and the ragamaliga in Neelambari was exceptional.
The Manji TMK sang in this concert will remain etched in my memory for a long time, I believe. I have no words to describe the delicacy with which he rendered the alapanai. His final phrases just touched my soul somewhere, and it was a truly blissful moment. He sang the krithi with great emotion, and at the line, "karai kandeno," he suddenly stopped, along with the violin and percussion, leaving the jam-packed hall in total silence except the drones of the tamburas. It was a wonderful demonstration on the importance of silence in music. I was hoping the krithi wouldn't be followed by swaras, and true to the mood of the entire rendition, he left Manji be in her bare majesty.
R.K. Sriramkumar lent excellent support, reproducing TMK's stirring final phrases in his own Manji alapanai to much appreciation, and playing an emotive Neelambari. His bowing was rather rough today, but it didn't subtract from the fluency of his music. His mandra sthayi accompaniment, especially in Manji, was truly extraordinary.
Srimushnam Rajarao was equally capable, and his much-left-to-silence accompaniment in Manji was tremendous. His accompaniment during neravals reflected great anticipation, and the thani he played with B.S. Purushothaman was lively and engaging. The percussionists really elevated this concert.
And G. Ravikiran from our forum was there as well, strumming the tambura, at once witnessing and participating in creating this memorable musical production.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
Bhale! We already have professional musicians on this forum...it is good to have pro writers as well. Hope to see more Samanth!
I am happy to note that TMK is saving his best for the Academy which is where I am planning to catch him next. As for Srimushnam, in his defence I can vouch for the fact that the audio at PSS is rather loud. However I still prefer PSS to sabhas which tend to distort/drown out the mrudangam completely - MFAC for instance.
Srimushnam too can tend towards loudness at times but, being a singer himself, his approach to krithi renditions, especially Chowka Kala krithis, can be brilliant at times. I recall a concert which Vijay Siva dedicated to Deekshitar which was simiply amazing - he also did a decent job for RK Srikantan a couple of days back. I am looking forward to his concert with Sanjay at the Academy.
I am happy to note that TMK is saving his best for the Academy which is where I am planning to catch him next. As for Srimushnam, in his defence I can vouch for the fact that the audio at PSS is rather loud. However I still prefer PSS to sabhas which tend to distort/drown out the mrudangam completely - MFAC for instance.
Srimushnam too can tend towards loudness at times but, being a singer himself, his approach to krithi renditions, especially Chowka Kala krithis, can be brilliant at times. I recall a concert which Vijay Siva dedicated to Deekshitar which was simiply amazing - he also did a decent job for RK Srikantan a couple of days back. I am looking forward to his concert with Sanjay at the Academy.
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Always_Evolving
- Posts: 216
- Joined: 16 Oct 2007, 08:33
ITA with Samanth's reading of the TMK-RKSK partnership as one that "works well". However, overall I didn't find the performance sedate but rather to be at one or other extreme in the kala-pramana spectrum. In short there wasn't enough of the golden mean madhyamakala and the deviation from the post-Ariyakudi kutcheri pattern was somewhat dis"concert"ing.
Krishna's manji alapana was quite lovely, plaintive and lullaby like, and RKSK's response was equally sweet, with touches of varugalamo. The krti was rendered with its due repose and evoked the sombre mood but it didn't quite work for me as a third song, that too a submain of sorts. Would have been perfect post-thani or post-RTP.
The kalyani did the job of lifting up the mood and seemed to suit Krishna's upbeat personality far better!. Nice neraval and rapidfire swarams.
The reetigowlai alapana and kriti rendition was the high-point for me; the shadja held for an extremely long stretched out karvai created the right mood. And yes, hitting the thara sthayi and mandara sthayi shadjamas was impressive. Vadalikka theera was rendered with a lot of involvement, with the swaras pirouetting around the Ma. What with the volume and exuberance of the mridangam joining in, the climactic swara was a frenzied riot! The brilliance of the 25 minute thani that followed was unfortunately marred by the loudness of the mridangam.
Harikambodi alapana was superfast, with a lot of "bol-thaans"; it sounded like a 78 RPM record! TMK's thanam was fast, yet lilting. Raja Rao sir started accompanying during thanam adding to the drama and decibel level. Time was saved in the finale of the thanam by the clever anticipation of RKSK. Thus he and TMK took turns to complete the patterns!
I thought the ragamalika swarams were very nicely done, but the raga-list I had was poorvikalyani, mayamalavagowla (where both TMK and RKSK gave lot of glimpses of sarali and jantai varishais!), neelambari and amrutavarshini.
There were some beautiful Bageshree contours in Sagara shayana, and a lilting thiruppugazh (Santatam banda todaraya) in Behag.
The hall was 90% full at the end of the concert, speaking volumes for Krishna's ability to captivate.
Krishna's manji alapana was quite lovely, plaintive and lullaby like, and RKSK's response was equally sweet, with touches of varugalamo. The krti was rendered with its due repose and evoked the sombre mood but it didn't quite work for me as a third song, that too a submain of sorts. Would have been perfect post-thani or post-RTP.
The kalyani did the job of lifting up the mood and seemed to suit Krishna's upbeat personality far better!. Nice neraval and rapidfire swarams.
The reetigowlai alapana and kriti rendition was the high-point for me; the shadja held for an extremely long stretched out karvai created the right mood. And yes, hitting the thara sthayi and mandara sthayi shadjamas was impressive. Vadalikka theera was rendered with a lot of involvement, with the swaras pirouetting around the Ma. What with the volume and exuberance of the mridangam joining in, the climactic swara was a frenzied riot! The brilliance of the 25 minute thani that followed was unfortunately marred by the loudness of the mridangam.
Harikambodi alapana was superfast, with a lot of "bol-thaans"; it sounded like a 78 RPM record! TMK's thanam was fast, yet lilting. Raja Rao sir started accompanying during thanam adding to the drama and decibel level. Time was saved in the finale of the thanam by the clever anticipation of RKSK. Thus he and TMK took turns to complete the patterns!
I thought the ragamalika swarams were very nicely done, but the raga-list I had was poorvikalyani, mayamalavagowla (where both TMK and RKSK gave lot of glimpses of sarali and jantai varishais!), neelambari and amrutavarshini.
There were some beautiful Bageshree contours in Sagara shayana, and a lilting thiruppugazh (Santatam banda todaraya) in Behag.
The hall was 90% full at the end of the concert, speaking volumes for Krishna's ability to captivate.
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karthit
- Posts: 19
- Joined: 24 Dec 2007, 11:00
My views on the concert are very similar to Samanth though I entered the concert hall only during item no.5 !!
The Harikambodhi RTP was really enjoyable and what floored me totally was his rendition of Sagara Shayana Vibho. I thought MDR would have felt proud to hear that!
As much TMK is known for his racy, breathless, rapid fire swarams, he is equally brilliant when it comes to chowka kaala renditions, the Raamkali piece of Music Academy Dec 2004 being a case in point. I thought the mridangam was too loud and the audio overall was pretty bad. I for sure wouldnt be attending another concert at the PSS sabha for sometime!
The Harikambodhi RTP was really enjoyable and what floored me totally was his rendition of Sagara Shayana Vibho. I thought MDR would have felt proud to hear that!
As much TMK is known for his racy, breathless, rapid fire swarams, he is equally brilliant when it comes to chowka kaala renditions, the Raamkali piece of Music Academy Dec 2004 being a case in point. I thought the mridangam was too loud and the audio overall was pretty bad. I for sure wouldnt be attending another concert at the PSS sabha for sometime!