suryaprakAsh@NGS(mini)on May 20th,2008

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 21 May 2008, 23:15

Accompanied by MA Sundaresan - violin and neyveli skandasubramaniam - mridangam.Conducted by Music Conniesseurs trust.

1A.slOkham
1B. subramanyEna rakshitOham(?) - suddadhanyAsi -MD
2. himAdri suthe (R N S) - kalyAni -SS
neraval in "shyama krishna sOdhari gowri"
3. punniyam oru KOti - keeravAni -PT

4 sudhAmayi (RS)- amrithavarshini- HMB
5A. big surprise RTP
5B. tani

7. shivaperumAn kripai vendum - shuruTTi - PSivan
8. thirruppugazh "thulluvathu vEtkai" - hamsAnandi -AGN
9. pavamAna(mangalam)

I was late missed the first no just joined at the end of kalyAni alApanai. Certainly kalyAni is not my cup of tea, that too this particular krithi himAdri suthe does not interest me that much. I liked from neraval onwards and his neraval was very detailed with nice round of swaras. He took the next keeravAni from the anupallavi line kanniL karunAi kAtti , sang in a vilambakAla mode with some nice and distinct keeravani alankAram in annai kAmAkshi pOlavE.Overall a nice and moving presentation . Amrithavarshini was presented quite well and the last wrap up of shuruTTi and hamsAnandi was just good .

The big surprise of the concert was RTP in miyA ki malhAr. 10 minutes of rAga alApanai with 6 minutes of violin return was very good, perhaps this rAgam being bit unfamiliar to me , I connected mostly to darbAri kAnaDA. At few places in the rAga alApanai ,I connected few phrases of bOle ri pappi of vani jayaram which is in this rAgam. Possibly I was only able to do that because of Coolkarni who was there in the concert who grabbed my note book to write RTP in miyA ki malhAr much before when this rtp was sung .

tAnam was top class for full 9 minutes . The pallavi was an apt one "kuzhalUdi maNam eLLAm kOllai kondAnadi mAzhakannan adi" . Suryaprakash announced the pallavi is in khanda jhampa??. The pallavi was detailed for about 10 minutes . The swaras started very slowly and picked all 3 speeds for about 7 minutes . Having stayed close to 32 minutes more in north of vindhyas ,He moved in top speed from there to south of vindhayas with an outstanding kAmbOdhi swaras for about 3 minutes ending with the first half of the pallavi line which is a OVK krithi in kAmbOdhi.He continued for another 3 minutes in shanmughapriyA which was just very good ending with the second half of pallavi , I am assuming he connected Smt Ambujam Krishnan's shanmughaPryA krithi mAzha kannan.

Tani followed for 10 minutes and suryaprakash wrapped up with the trikalam for another 4 minutes. I have not heard ever in my life even a small bit of tukkada or a rAgamAlika swaram in miyA ki malhAr, suryaprakash attempt was definitely a very bold try ,coming completely out of his comfort zone.

MAS played very well , particularly I did notice during the entire RTP his bowing was very different . Usually one sees most of the bowing only in the female side that too more forward strokes ,this miyAn ki malhAr was more on the male side that too most of his play was reverse male,perhaps only that brings the distinctiveness of miyAn ki malhAr . What do I know about violin , that was only a visual observation :rolleyes:?? His tAnam was top class matching the speed of suryaprakAsh and at times subtlely pushing SuryaprakAsh to sing more tAnam, perhaps MAS has got all this from his thAthA,appA and his chittappA. neyVeli skandasubramaniam had a nice sound ,he had to be very attentive in RTP that too during swarakalpana and never appeared to slip, his tani was just good to me(perhaps nick can add more here).

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 May 2008, 00:06

I was lucky enough to have met Suryaprakash on Sunday. He very modestly informed me that, if I happened to be free on the Tuesday, he was presenting what would be an innovative programme.

For once I was early at the venue, having had time to spare (but not enough to go home) after an afternoon's business and shopping in the city, and, wandering around was glad to meet up with Cool and his wife and to drink tea with them. Cool told me that he innovation of the evening was to be an RTP in a Hindustani ragam.

This was a Power concert, a real High-Energy affair, with all the artists contributing and never, ever a loss of stride. At the very beginning I was reminded of that Americanism, to hit the ground running.

Although I expected that the fact of the coming RTP ragam would be Hindustani, and did not expect to recognise it, I was aware of a difference. Even though I did not know that this was to be the RTP, I was fairly sure. I don't think one needed to be able to identify ragas to know that this was a creature of a different nature, and one would not have needed to have heard much HM to place it in that part of the world.

A formerly-thought-dead brain cell popped out the word meend into my consciousness; there was such a pronounced sliding between notes, more typical of HM than KM --- in fact it has left me feeling the hunger for some Drupad!

I know much less about violin, and can't comment on male or female bowing --- or bowing at all! I can say that MAS joined in powerfully, and joyfully. It felt as much a partnership as an accompaniment.

NS certainly did have a nice sound, yes. I am not a fan of the school that considers the vibrant nadam of the mridangam unnecessary, or gumaki uncalled for, I am very much a fan of those that consider it to be a musical and melodic percussion instrument. the simplest of sarva laghu patterns can sound so musical and beautiful when the several different sounds of mridangam are brought out to full advantage. NS had this beautiful style of playing; I enjoyed it thoroughly. He wove variety into his thiermanums too, using maths, but not at all to make them obscure; the mind came as easily to the edipu as with any simply-thrice-repeated pattern, but had more to enjoy along the way! This was what I have called a power concert; no place for a mridangist to relax; I think it takes considerable physical stamina to play like that for two or three hours!

I seem to have heard very little gumki in mridang playing recently. NS produced it beautifully. We discussed, afterwards, our mutual appreciation of Guruvayur Dorrai's skill in this respect.

A wonderful concert, not only from SP, but from all three artists.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 22 May 2008, 07:36

Nick and Rajesh
Yes.The seeds for this RTP were sown long long ago in an obscure Music Room tucked away in one of the bylanes in Guindy.It did start with a discussion on Dhrupad and ended with a lot of listening .
Sessions which went went so late into the night that we could be faulted for waking up the local Rooster one hour early , to make its early morning call.
Coming back to this concerrt -THE RTP was a grey area which had almost all the members of the audience in splits (of a different kind , I must add... Splitting their brains to find out the raga) and a huge collective sigh of relief when SP announced the name .
But I did feel it was a very fine attempt.Not necessarily for the novelty angle alone.SP is getting dazzled by Dhrupad these days and these are some genuine experiements.Hence it was no wonder that the Thanam portion came out wonderfully.
Ragam .. I could sense an effort to grapple with the alapana.But that is the way of Life in HM.As distinct from CM where most of the time we see artists moving on well trodden paths , illuminated by past masters.SP did not have the luxury of developing the raga Note by Note (like say a kirana School artist) for then it would have ended up being a HM exposition.
I personally felt the thanam was exhilarating.
The short alapana in Amrithavarshini was was a classic counterpoint.Brilliant ,as it was, It was as if Sp was saying "Look how different it is in CM !" And out popped a "Sudhamyee"
MAS was superb as usual and he played a very pristine alapana for Miya Malhar.The Mridangam artist was exceptionally good and soothing.
It was a great evening . One had to start it with a Tea session with Nick and a late night Uthappam-Poori Session with Rajesh to personally experience it.Take it from me.The cool breeze at the narada Gana Sabha woodlands and the irressistible humor of Rajesh.It was a day to count our Blessings....

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 22 May 2008, 11:58

Would have loved to be there! Looking to adapt Dhrupad certainly seems to be an innovation that is compatible with the CM canon. The techniques of taanam-chari in particular deserve greater research. Kudos to Suryaprakash for seeking to widen the boundaries of the art and eager to know whether the RTP (or at least the taanam) can be made available with the artiste's permission.

As for the raga itself...I remember many a long stroll after listening to "Karima Nama Tero" or some such, with the NDNS phrase featuring the 2 nishadas playing itself out endlessly. The raga has a way of implanting itself in one's mind for weeks on end....

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 May 2008, 13:30

Instead of the uthapam and poori, my bonus experience was getting to give Suryaprakash and his family a lift home.

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 22 May 2008, 13:55

Chennai folks are indeed lucky! Here, in Kolkata, the summer sizzles and only the rains will bring us strains of Miyan ki Malhar - barse badriya.. Hope Suryaprakash will give us more details regarding the structure of the pallavi.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 May 2008, 14:39

Suryaprakash announced the pallavi is in khanda jhampa??

Yes, he did.

5+1+2 --- not too tough for the likes of me to follow. It's the ones with multiple laghus that loose me and get me sitting on my hands!

sampoorna · Post by **sampoorna** » 22 May 2008, 15:18

"I know much less about violin, and can't comment on male or female bowing --- or bowing at all! I can say that MAS joined in powerfully, and joyfully. It felt as much a partnership as an accompaniment."

Namaskaram,

What is male and female bowing with respect to the violin? I have not noticed or thought about this before, although I now think it may be related to the weight of the bowing.

Thankyou,

Sampoorna.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 May 2008, 18:08

I wonder if lighter bowing might produce a sweeter sound, though I suspect that that is a case of the skill rather than the weight!

I do recall sitting in on a violin class once where the teacher pointed out to his students that if they did not press a bit harder no-one would ever hear them!

Suryaprakash · Post by **Suryaprakash** » 23 May 2008, 15:02

My humble pranams to all the forum members.

Thanks to all for the appreciation.

Kuzhaloodhi Manamellam Kollai KOndaanadi - Maaya Kannanadi

in Kanda Jampai.

. . . . . . . . . . .
r g s , s n p g , r , s , m r p , n d n* - s , , , , g m r s r n* s

ku zha loo di ma na mell lam kol lai kon da na - di ma ya kan na na di

* - kakali nishadam

My thanks to Coolji for kicking up a hornet's nest in this artiste's mind and hence this humble attempt. That miya-malhar of Ustad Amir Khan he played gave me many sleepless nights. Also my thanks to members of this forum who could make it that day - S/Shri. Nick, Rajesh and Cool, again and also Mrs.Cool and the appreciation. Friends, your presence was inspiring, to say the least.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 23 May 2008, 17:56

Suryaprakash,

Thanks for clarifying the pallavi - I was confused about Rajesh's 'mAzha kaNNan'!

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 23 May 2008, 19:15

Suryaprakash:
Was the pallavi recorded? Would love to hear it.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 May 2008, 23:11

Sir, thanks for the Pallavi details...can get a little slippery from P to G I suppose but not if you're really in the raga's spell! Amir Khan can do that to you! I too second Lakshmanji's request....

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 24 May 2008, 19:01

sampoorna wrote:What is male and female bowing with respect to the violin? I have not noticed or thought about this before, although I now think it may be related to the weight of the bowing.

Thankyou,

Sampoorna.

I knew about male/female side of violin after listening to Shri Lalgudi's lecdem . Please hear the LGJ's lecdem in the url http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... index.html Around 12th minute of that lecdem , LGJ explains . Some one who knows more about violin can throw more light.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 24 May 2008, 19:08

In my first post I noted the RTP as miyAn ki malhAr .Cool and suryaprakash have clarified it as miya malhar, any difference there?

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 24 May 2008, 19:11

As far as I know they are one and the same. Ragas with mia prfix are thought to have been the creations of Mian Tansen.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 24 May 2008, 21:32

Vijay,the P->G involves m such as p(m)g.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 24 May 2008, 23:34

Thanks kartik

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 25 May 2008, 11:04

Hi Rajeshnat,

yes, I did listen to the lec-dem. I think you have misunderstood what lalgudi tries to explain as - the higher the notes go the sound resembles that of female voice as in the last string of violin. .

I dont know what you are trying to explain by male and female style of bowing. Yes sometimes male violinist try to be more vigorous and more energetic in their bowing wheras the female try to be more composed and conscious and restricted in their body movements.

Apart from this there are no differences actually. Infact the bowing style and playing style are really energetic often mimics MSG her legendary father.

Apart from this , I dont know what you mean by forward strokes and male strokes.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 30 May 2008, 07:09

Here are the mobile recordings

Please make some allowance for poor recording quality

http://rapidshare.com/files/116957823/s ... lhar_1.wav

http://rapidshare.com/files/116965340/S ... d_misc.wav

kmrasika · Post by **kmrasika** » 30 May 2008, 12:32

I have heard that there is a story behind the rAga miyAn ki malhAr. Is this rAga associated with the musician, Tansen?

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 30 May 2008, 18:35

AFAIK, the 'miyAn' refered to is miyAn tAnsEn unless it is qualified with another name...

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 31 May 2008, 09:28

From all the reviews this seems to be an outstanding concert both in content and novelty.
Any chance there might be a recording for those of us who missed this concert.
Or is there a possibility that SP might release this concert / RTP as a CD?
Kamalamba
-------------------------------------
Suryaprakash,
In case you are reading; this is Mohan-Singapore (MCC Chemistry).
Mohan

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Jun 2008, 07:50

Cool,
Thank you for the recording. The quality of your recording was fine. Even if it were bad, Suryaprakash's voice would have come through!

Rajesh,
As ever, your reviews are great to read. Missed being there with you all, listening to the concert, being with Cool couple, the Brit and you.

Nick,
A refreshing review from you! We can now add a 'sArati' to your name too.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Jun 2008, 08:11

Suryaprakash,
A real miss indeed! The rest of the concert, I mean. Thanks to Cool (and you) for the miyA ki Malhar. As you sang the rAgA, it grew on me. The tAnam was absorbing. Your pallavi line was fluid. The shaNmukapriya was such essence. Great venture on your part which adds more texture to your ebullient singing.
Yes, there was M.A.Sundaresan too! Can't think of a better partner (not accompanist, as Nick says). I am thinking of your Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha concert during the season where his father sat there enjoying your singing. Yes, the miyA ki malhAr was doubly enjoyable.
The mrudangam too synchronized, with a touch of the tabla.
Hope Cool entices you into singing more miyAs...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Jun 2008, 08:14

Rajesh,
The tiruppugazh is 'tuLLu mada vETkaik kaNaiyAlE'.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Jun 2008, 23:51

And looking forward to your review of Suryaprakash's next concert with your springing another surprise in your own inimitable manner!