Vidwan T N Seshagopalan on the Veena - Veena Foundation conc

saptaratna · Post by **saptaratna** » 15 Sep 2009, 13:47

Veena concert on 8.9.08, at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Veena Foundation concert series

Sri. Madurai . T.N.Seshagopalan - Veena
Sri. Prapancham Ravindran - Mridangam
Sri. Trichy Murali - Ghatam

This post is rather late in the day, (because of other pressing work engagements), but never the less, decided to share the concert with the group, as it was a concert more than worth the mention and also because nobody had still written about it.

Madurai TNS literally enthralled and held the audience spellbound, with his mastery over the instrument and his ability to bring out the gamaka aspect of the instrument to full fore. It was as though his mind, voice and hands collaborated , co-ordinated all at the same time, at the same frequency.

He showed how this divine instrument is truly the best to - bring out the finesse and finest of gamaka nuances, - the best of tala nuances and - the best of the finer aspects of carnatic aesthetics.

Also another facet that was striking was, how he exploited the instruments' capability fully with his igenuity to produce those myriad sounds and notes to add to the beauty, effect and aesthetics.

The theme of the concert was "purely classical carnatic ragas", bringing out the solidity and 'praacheena' flavour of the ragas.

Since the festival was termed as veena navaratri, he aptly chose to start with Kamalamba and end with Kamalamba, thus paying tribute to the the great "Vainika gayaka guruguha" and the presiding deity of the navavarnams , Sri Kamalamba.

The start of the concert was with a few bold and beautiful strokes of Anadabhairavi, followed by the kriti, Kamalamba samrakshatumam. He went on to play Gamakakriya - Meenakshi memudham Dehi, where the line Dasa gamakakriye was specially enhanced, with the swarams placed at the line Veena Gana Dasa Gamakakriye.

Next , with a simple stroke of a phrase, he set the base for Manji, by allaying any doubts that could creep between the raga and its allies. Brovavamma was as divine as it could get.

A very majestic Sankharabharanam followed this both in raga and taana, with taana in Nattai, Gowlai, Varali, Kapi. Kapi was established in a single phrase which traversed across all the swaras of the raga in one stroke.

Akshayalinga vibho was the song played, where the swaras were at Badarivana, after three beats. This was both challenging and energising to both the accompanists and the audience. Multiple combinations with kuraippu at the gandhara and winding it up with a nice korvai, the vidwan established that he is a true master of swaras, not only vocally but also instrumentally.

The concert came to a finale with an elegant rendition of Sriraga- Sri Kamalambike Shive Pahimam, the concluding kriti in the kamalamba series.

Both Ravindran and Murali , understood the artists' format and style and very ably accompanied the veena, thus enlivening the whole experience. Ravindran patterned his tani in the same approach as the main artiste and Murali embellished it beautifully. At the finishing korvai, the vidwan joined the team intermittently with the relevant swaras on the veena, thus adding to the zest. The non verbal exchanges and the joy in the aristes eyes, are something that I cannot capture in words, it had to be seen to be believed.

tnseshagopalan · Post by **tnseshagopalan** » 15 Sep 2009, 14:49

Dear members,
May I request you to kindly prefix 'Madurai' with my name. Thanks.-
Maduari T.N.Seshagopalan

srinivasrgvn · Post by **srinivasrgvn** » 15 Sep 2009, 14:58

Is this really the great TNS who is writing this?

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 15 Sep 2009, 15:35

Great to have maestro amongst us. Welcome Sir.

-hari

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 15 Sep 2009, 16:09

I am sure this is not TNS, oops Madurai TNS.

saptaratna · Post by **saptaratna** » 15 Sep 2009, 16:48

Sorry Sir.

For missing out the prefix "Madurai" in my post and thanks for bringing it to our notice.

Shall correct the same now and for the future.

kedharam · Post by **kedharam** » 15 Sep 2009, 17:45

Sri. TNS sir,
Welcome to the Maestro.
Whenever I hear the Gamakakriya masterpiece creation of MD with its awesome lyrical intricacies, all I can imagine is the proud son of Madurai bring out the mystic longing of the composer thro melodic fragments with sublime rhythmic vibrancy in suspended animation"¦an extraordinary portrait of aural fantasy! And in my own way, I feel Madurai is synonymous with Sri. T.N Seshagopalan. I am sure most of us here share this sentiment"¦.the next one that comes to my mind is your gracious interpretation of SrI KAnthimathIm in Hemavathi, with the warmest glow reflecting the compositionÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s introspective serenity, with your melody dictating the lyrics, piercing the recesses of the soul"¦ absolute musical seduction, I must say. So Thirunelveli including the ThAmirabharani river is synonymous with Sri.T.N.Seshagopalan"¦When I throw in your all time great Nattakurinji pallavi, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“EngaLadhu chirandha nAttai kurinji enbArÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ into the mix, where do we draw the line - Madurai, ThirunelvEli or our NAdu?...hence the confusion"¦:)
Your music indeed does transcend its origins, speaks to every age and four generations of fanatically addicted rasikas of our family address you fondly as ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“SeshUÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢"¦:)

A very warm welcome to Madurai/ThirunelvEli/our NAdu's pride and joy. Sri.T.N Seshagopalan.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:05

Sri TNS - Welcome!! We are indeed privileged and honored!!

saptaratna · Post by **saptaratna** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:27

Completely feel like the way kedharam has indicated.!

With such genius overflowing and consuming all of us, for more than four decades, at least we have grown with the vidwans' music and it is as though the master is one amongst us !! Not only the elders , but also my children seem to react the same.

But having said that ...................

I guess the prefix 'Madurai', makes the vidwan feel most comfortable as, it sends fondest memories of his musical journey and also gives him his specific identity , which I truly respect and feel should be accorded to him in all public forums.

rajaglan · Post by **rajaglan** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:30

Sri Madurai TNS, Your Begada RTP is the best I ever heard. Thank you for such a detailed treatment. I listened to it
and wanted to convey my appreciation to you one day. And here is the time. Thank you once again.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:45

Not to mention his immortal dwijAvanti RTP... Welcome, Sri Madurai TNS.

suma · Post by **suma** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:48

Saptaratna, thanks for posting this. By chance would you have a recording of this concert. It sounds so good and we would love to listen to atleast a few pieces.
The other day I was watching Neyveli sir in you tube explaining begada and its nuances. He also said that Veena is the best instrument to produce gamakas.

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 15 Sep 2009, 19:51

Wow, I am lost for words.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 15 Sep 2009, 21:44

Madurai Shri TNS ,
Very very warm welcome sir , it is indeed a pleasure to have you here .Personally you are to me the musician who has covered maximum compositions , you are truly a carnatic encyclopedia. Truly one of the greatest musicians in any era. You must be pleased to see a long thread dedicated just to you Sir.

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... palan.html

madhavan · Post by **madhavan** » 15 Sep 2009, 22:50

I would prefer call him Sir TNS instead of (Madurai) TNS Sir!
I have no words and no capacity too.
Yes TNS = TNS

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Sep 2009, 23:13

Is it truly 'Enter the Giant'? Great!

Hope it's not a hoax...

lakshmanan · Post by **lakshmanan** » 16 Sep 2009, 05:51

...edited as in bad taste...

Moderated

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 16 Sep 2009, 07:10

Lakshmanan, when we are certain (or, even if we have the slightest bit of doubt) that you can play half as well as Sachin, we'll be sure to do just that!

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 16 Sep 2009, 07:20

Genuflecting on cue.. The Indian hallmark. TNS is a good musician but come on, Madurai synonymous with TNS?! I am sure Kannagi, the Meenakshi Temple, Madurai Mani Iyer and Tamizh itself will disagree with you.

I want to take this opportunity to say I don't like TNS's music all that much, that his raga renditions often go haywire and he has sruthi problems far worse than GNB!

NOW, will the real TNS please stand up?

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 16 Sep 2009, 07:24

Note for the really slow, the above comment was tongue-in-cheek!

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 16 Sep 2009, 08:38

bala747 wrote:Genuflecting on cue.. The Indian hallmark

Who said we need a cue...

johnlovescm · Post by **johnlovescm** » 16 Sep 2009, 09:48

Original Posters review sounds extremely overzealous. Resembles the way Saroja Ramanujam used to write

kedharam wrote: And in my own way, I feel Madurai is synonymous with Sri. T.N Seshagopalan. .

Buttering should have some limits

johnlovescm · Post by **johnlovescm** » 16 Sep 2009, 12:21

rajeshnat wrote:Personally you are to me the musician who has covered maximum compositions , you are truly a carnatic encyclopedia. .

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... palan.html

Personally for you it could be. However it is not quite true - There are many other great musicians who had a huge and rich repertoire - the likes of Ariyakudi, DKP/DKJ, Dr. Sripada Pinakapani, SSI, MSS, MDR, Voleti etc

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 16 Sep 2009, 12:42

Am I the only one who has noticed that the concert happened over a year ago? 080908? I wish I had such an awesome memory.
john, you should understand that for TNS rasikas such praise is par for the course. Just be thankful they're not claiming he invented the raga, his breathing is the primal sound and when he walks one can hear mridangams (yet)! His fans make BMK fans appear unbiased!
Truly he's the Chuck Norris of Carnatic Music (Bonus points for those who get that reference).

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 16 Sep 2009, 14:29

johnlovescm wrote:
rajeshnat wrote:Personally you are to me the musician who has covered maximum compositions , you are truly a carnatic encyclopedia. .

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... palan.html
Personally for you it could be. However it is not quite true - There are many other great musicians who had a huge and rich repertoire - the likes of Ariyakudi, DKP/DKJ, Dr. Sripada Pinakapani, SSI, MSS, MDR, Voleti etc

It was Just a brief point to welcome him(if indeed he is TNS only and not just the id). Add TRS and possibly calcutta krishnamurthi who may know perhaps the maximum numbers.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 16 Sep 2009, 14:35

bala747 wrote:Am I the only one who has noticed that the concert happened over a year ago? 080908? I wish I had such an awesome memory.
john, you should understand that for TNS rasikas such praise is par for the course. Just be thankful they're not claiming he invented the raga, his breathing is the primal sound and when he walks one can hear mridangams (yet)! His fans make BMK fans appear unbiased!
Truly he's the Chuck Norris of Carnatic Music (Bonus points for those who get that reference).

bala747,
there is a veena concert series where TNS may have played , I was thinking the OP may have just got the year wrong. I am also not sure if TNS id is indeed TNS,the matter is subjudice now. Lets give time till that is (un?) resolved.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Sep 2009, 14:49

That is all.

Just...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 16 Sep 2009, 18:49

This thread will be closed unless you have issues to discuss about the concert itself.
If you wish to discuss personalities better move to the Lounge and start a new thread.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 17 Sep 2009, 02:07

'tnseshagopalan' is the ID of Sri TNS, it is not someone else as some people above seem to think.