song list:
1. sami ninne varnam sri ragam
2.jagadeesa pahimam kalyani
3. elelo pranatharthi ataana
4. sambo mahadeva panthuvaraali
5.vaanane keeravaani
6. saama gaana lolane hindolam
7. naagalingam sankaraabharanam
8. arunaachalaa madhyamaavathi
the kutcheri started at 6.30 pm after an introduction by a gentleman who retired from govt. service. OST started off very relaxed in varnam. when cliched kalyani followed i was a little disappointed. but he gave a brilliant elalo with elaborate raga and kalpana swara. it is next best to maharajapuram viswanatha iyer's of yester years. sambo mahadeva was again a disappointment because it was sung very rapidly. OST followed this with keeravaani and he gave a detailed raga aalaapana. this raga is not to my liking and causes me headache (especially during after noons). he didn't do any swara kalpana and compensated all this with a detailed unadulterated soulful sankaraabharanam.
he was accompanied on the violin by nagai muralidharan and by trichy sankaran on the mruthangam. nagai gave excellent support. tichy sankaran has the habit of adjusting the sruti at intermittant intervals. these irritations were compensated by his thani after sankaraabharanam. it was a combination of UKS for nuances, Vellore Ramabhadran for shadowing the singer and valangaimaan for sound quality.
there were no neravals. i do not know why. the retired official spoke after sankaraabharanam. he was also checking with a ear phone for quality of sound at frequest intervals. probably a person at the helm of affiars there. his indirect interruptions probably were not to the liking of the performing artists. hence despite his request OST concluded immediately after sankaraabharanam.
overall an excellent concert and i am happy i have started off this way this season.
we both must have exactly clicked on submit at the same time... welcome vijay