S.Sowmya at Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha (Vani Mahal), 12th Dec

[Jigyaasa]

Accompanists:
Violin-Embar Kannan
Mri-Poongulam Subramaniam

Song list:
1.sAmi ninne (shrIrAga varNam)
2.shambhO mahAdEvA (pantuvarALi, rUpakam) (N,S at suravrundakirITamaNi varanIrAjitapada)
3.yOchana kamalalOchana (A,S at yOchana)
4.rAmanai kaNNAra kaNDAnE (mOhanam, Adi)
5.brOchEvArevarurA (khamAs, Adi) (A,N,S,T at sItApatE...)
6.shrI mAdhava vAsudEva (behAg, Adi)
7.kaliyugavaradan
8.shlOka- krushNAya vAsudEvAya dEvakInandanAya cha
nandagOpakumArAya gOvindAya namO namaha
(sung in sindhubhairavi, rEvati, sowrAshTram)
dEvanAyakan nAraNan (sowrAshTram, mishrachApu)
9.pavamAnasutuDu

Personally, this concert was a disappointment in terms of choice of items. I was expecting something esoteric considering Sowmya's repertoire. Every single kriti was an oft-heard one, except the mOhanam one. Well, I hadn't heard it earlier.

The artiste's voice gained perfect clarity after the PantuvarALi item. The AlApanas of darbAr and khamAs were comprehensive and beautiful. The latter in fact, had more than one "goosebumps-inducing" moment. The violinist was the proverbial "shadow" of the artist and on many occasions, he played the "extensions" in songs. Even the sangatis were replicated flawlessly. The swara sequences were wonderful and in shambhO mahAdEva, she sang swaras ending at suravrunda, then sang another Avartanam ending at kirITamaNi.

When she was singing darbAr, I was hoping it'd be mInanayana or hAlAsyanAtham (not even ONE Dikshitar kriti in a 2 n a half hr concert ). Then during the khamAs AlApana, I predicted sArasadaLanayana. I have noticed this in TBGS... Wonder if it's something that happens only when I go or as a rule- ppl always seem to present popular n well known kritis here rather than something more "adventurous". Something abt choice based on the level of knowledge n musical appreciation of the audience perhaps...? No idea...

The sowrAshTram piece, the artiste announced, is a nammAzhwAr pasuram set to tune by Sri Embar Kannan)...

[vijay]

That's an interesting observation Jigyaasa. We know cities have a certain reputation in terms off audience preference - I wonder if even halls do! Maybe one explanation is that the name prompts performers to sing more of Thyagaraja krithis!

Anyway, "new" is not necessarily synonymous with esoteric or adventurous. Many old compositions can be much harder to master than some of the newer/unheard of ones. IMO, compositions should be judged on the basis of their musical values - whether new or old, popular or rare. Besides, the songs themselves are relatively less important than the manner in which manodharma aspects are presented - that is the true test of a musician. Of course a good repertiore is important too...

Anyway, thanks for the review - keep attending concerts and keep the reiews coming in!

[gopalank]

I attended this concert. Maybe some familiarity in the song list for sure, but what stood out for me was the elaborate treatment of Khamas. It is not often that Khamas is taken up for such lengthy treatment. This main suite alone took up more than an hour of the 2.5hr concert. Alapana (almost 14mins) was certainly a revelation with several "goosebump" moments as the original poster says. That requires vidwat of a high order, which we know Sowmya has tons of. As for Darbar, I'd say 'Yochana' is one of the tougher songs to master, especially some of the subtle gamakams right in the pallavi sangatis. To say that this was a classy exposition would be an understatement! Bottomline: more than the song list itself, it is the 'HOW' that matters, as vijay says.

[Jigyaasa]

Anyway, "new" is not necessarily synonymous with esoteric or adventurous. Many old compositions can be much harder to master than some of the newer/unheard of ones.

I haven't used the word "new" anywhere.... I wonder if you've misconstrued my stmts to the effect that ppl shud sing kritis of contemporary composers or only ones in rare rAgas... Nope, I'm just sayin that at least one item cud qualify as "hatke" U know, like the other day at BGS, Nithyasree Mahadevan sang praNatArtiharAya in sAmanta... Just the kriti... Was refreshing... Something along those lines... The Malladi Bros took up a not-so-commonly-sung-kriti-in-a-common-raga(sahAnA) of Thyagaraja at NGS... Not that I'm comparing... It's just that I've noticed in quite a few song lists here that Smt.Sowmya comes up with something interesting all the time...

Besides, the songs themselves are relatively less important than the manner in which manodharma aspects are presented - that is the true test of a musician.

Totally agree...

[vijay]

Jigyaasa I take your point that you meant rare rather than new..or at least something different ("hatke"). It is true that Sowmya is known for her extensive repertiore and that creates certain expectations.

I prefer to see innovation in manodharma, myself, which includes elaboration of rare ragas (provided they have scope). As for song selection - I am quite neutral on the rare/new-popular/old issue

[rain_of_nectar]

I did not attend this particular concert, but a relative who did, says that the Khamas was outstanding. Jigyaasa's point about novelty is well-taken but probably this was a concert where wonders were created with a familiar songlist! I attended Sowmya's concert at Brahma Gana Sabha, where as Jigyaasa says, she lived up to her reputation of providing something different: lovely alapana of Vakulabharanam followed by Tyagaraja's 'Eramuni'. I am posting the ist in a separate thread.

[Jigyaasa]

the Khamas was outstanding.

It definitely was...

I attended Sowmya's concert at Brahma Gana Sabha, where as Jigyaasa says, she lived up to her reputation of providing something different: lovely alapana of Vakulabharanam followed by Tyagaraja's 'Eramuni'. I am posting the ist in a separate thread.

Damn... Talk abt bad luck