Sriranjani Santhanagopalan - San Diego - 18th June 2010

[bilahari]

Sriranjani Santhanagopalan - Vocal
Arun Ramamurthi - Violin
Raamkumar Balamurthi - Mrudangam
Neyveli Santhanagopalan - Khanjira

Duration: 2 h 50 min

Approximate Songlist:

01. avyAja karuNAmUrti (slOkam) - rItigowLa
vanajAkSa (varNam) - rItigowLa - aTa
02. ninnE bhajana (Sketch, S @ sItA nAta) - gambhIra nATTai (?) - Adi
03. cEta SrI bAlakrishnam (Sketch) - dwijAvanti - rUpakam (2)
04. nenarunchi nAnu - mALavi - Adi
05. bhajana sEya rAdhA (R, N @ niravati sukhadA, S) - dharmavati - rUpakam
06. krupa jUcuTaku vElarA - cAyAtarangini - Adi
07. tuLasi bilva (R, S @ karuNatO, T) - kEdAragowLa - Adi (2)
08. rAgam tAnam pallavi - bhairavi - khaNDa tripuTa (1/2 iDa eDuppu)
pallavi: iravilum pakalilum unnai ninaittEn - madurai vANi nAn srI ambA (iravilum)
rAgamAliga: sAlagabhairavi, ahir bhairav
trikAlam and tiSram
09. candrajUDa siva sankara - darbAri kAnaDa - Adi
10. paRavaik kettanai - tiruppugazh - pUrNacandrika - jhampa
11. nI nAma rUpamulaku (mangaLam) - sowrASTRam - Adi

Sriranjani commenced her first concert in U.S. with a gorgeous rItigowLa presentation where she brought out the bhAvam of the raga perfectly with precise gamakas emphasising the nishAdam and appropriate raga flourishes at the end of avarthanas. She sang the pUrvangam of the rare varNam in two speeds and the uttarangam in madhyama kAla, doing full justice to the piece. Sriranjani then sang a short and beautiful sketch of gambhIra nATTai, highlighting the nishAdam evocatively especially towards the conclusion of the sketch with sharp jArus. Her NNGG type brigha sangathis in the midst of the alapanai were also noteworthy. I was surprised to hear ninnE bhajana in gambhIra nATTai rather than nATTai (I think it is the same ninnE bhajana but may well be mistaken) but Sriranjani sang it nicely, appending kalpanaswaras at sItA nAta. The highlights of the kalpanaswaras were once again the nishAdam-emphasising phrases and her brief kArvai at the mandra nishAdam which she sang plain.

Sriranjani then launched into a charming sketch of dwijAvanti, with the RG2,,, phrases suggesting akhilAnDESwari was to follow. Her P,PR,, phrases in the mandra and tara sthayis were well conceived, as were a few interesting phrases around the dhaivatam and nishAdam. While Sriranjani sang a creative and aesthetic dwijAvanti, I wish she had better tailored the alapanai to the krithi to follow. Sriranjani's rendition of the immortal Dikshitar krithi was one of the highlights of the evening. She sang the krithi in vilamba kalam, giving each sangathi and each line its due emphasis, placing each gamaka ever so perfectly, and appropriately inserting kArvais in the piece. DwijAvanti is not an easy raga to impress with, and cEta Sri is definitely not an easy krithi, but Sriranjani's delivery here was outstanding and remarkably mature. While the subsequent nenarunchi nAnu was sung briskly, offering a nice contrast to the vilamba kala dwijAvanti, I felt one too many pieces without heavy manOdharma had been rendered early in the concert.

Cue an elaborate dharmavati ragam. Sriranjani's dharmavati ragam was the second highlight of the evening. Her creativity shone from the moment she took up the gandharam in the raga, singing a unique R,GRR,, type slippery gamaka on the rishabam and gandharam which she used as a motif to anchor the rest of her alapanai. Aside from the gamakas, she also used plain notes effectively in phrases like M N R (tara)..., and she spent a fair bit of time on phrases ending in the nishAdam before progressing to the tara shadjam. Her nishadam-centric phrases were excellent especially because of her immaculate shruti alignment. Some phrases like N,,,G,MGR,,,SN were especially evocative, with an ever so gentle brush on the tara madhyamam. Sriranjani impressed me with her ability to use tonal modulation intelligently in the alapanai: she would start a phrase forcefully and loudly, work through its contours, and taper it off so smoothly and gently, invoking many a 'chu chu' from the audience. Sriranjani also demonstrated variety in her brigha sangathis - aside from the gamaka-oriented singing she excels in, her ability to weave both arrhythmic brigha sangathis and semirhythmic tAnam-type sangathis in alapanais ensures her alapanais are fresh and interesting (when she suddenly started tAnam type sequences towards the conclusion of her alapanai, she drew many gasps amongst the audience). Her brigha sangathis descending from the tara sthAyi were especially noteworthy in the dharmavati alapanai this evening.

Sriranjani sang Mysore Vasudevachar's krithi in dharmavati very nicely, and her subsequent neraval was also beautiful with some lovely flourishes in the tara sthayi and a good use of RNS,,,. Her first speed neraval was very good - with a momentary brush on the tara madhyamam - but was unfortunately short, giving rise to an elaborate second speed exercise where she demonstrated her control over layam by delivering tAnam-type sequences immaculately. Her second speed neraval was noteworthy for the way she used all the octaves intelligently in weaving sequences. The swaraprastharam was ordinary, though the long sequence at the end with phrases ending in the tara shadjam were interesting. There was an excess of kaNakku here.

The following cAyAtarangini was also ordinary. I felt a slower approach emphasising the delicate gamakas in the sangathis that make the krithi so melodious would have been more appropriate (Hyderabad Brothers gave a fine demonstration on how to sing this krithi last year). When Sriranjani sang the opening phrases of kEdAragowLa, I was elated because it has been a while since I've heard this ragam live. Sriranjani's kEdAragowLa was quite impressive. She used the lower octave quite a bit in the beginning, with phrases like NNRR,,, - PNR,,,, and this immediately gave her alapanai a certain depth (many artistes do nothing but RMGR,,, RMPMGR,,, RPMGR,,, R,,,, R,,, type beginnings in kEdAragowLa, which all sounds rather light and bland). Sriranjani took the road less travelled in her kEdAragowLa alapanai, with beautiful, elongated gAndhArams in phrases like RM,,,G,,,R,,,,, , and in brigha sangathis like S,RM - R,MP - M,PN - etc. She also used the phrase MPNNS as a nice anchor around the tara shadjam with patterns like MPNNS,,,NDP,,, and then MPNNS,,,,P,,,,. Sriranjani's creativity came to the fore most obviously, however, in phrases ending in the nishAdam and even dhaivatam. While these phrases were certainly interesting, suruTTi reared her attractive but irrelevant head quite often especially in the oscillating nishAdams (D,N D,N D,N). Sriranjani managed to rein the proceedings in, though, as she gave a glimpse of classical kEdAragowLa in the octave it is just made for - tAra stAyi - with all the MGR,,, and RMGR,,, phrases to satisfy any kEdaragowLa lover.

Having already satisfied me with my favourite dwijAvanti krithi, Sriranjani went one further and sang my favourite kEdAragowLa krithi too - tuLasi bilva. She did the krithi great justice, singing the sangathis carefully, hitting all the gamakas accurately, and delivering the brighas with ease. The kalpanaswaras were quite good, with a particularly nice jAru to the nishAdam in the phrase N,DDPPMGR,,,. There was also a curious MPDSP,,, somewhere, and a lovely RG,,S,RN,S - SRMP,,,. She also used RSR,-culminating phrases like NSRSR, and PNSRSR, very nicely. There were no fireworks here, but it was decent stuff. I would advise Sriranjani in singing second speed kalpanaswaras not to drag each swara when uttering it (ree gaa maa) but to sing the swaras abruptly in a 'choppy' manner (ri. ga. ma.). This would go a long way towards making her high speed swaras more engaging and exciting.

What would a modern concert be without the lip-service RTP? Sriranjani delivered a two-three minute alapanai of bhairavi which was wholly unsatisfactory, and then immediately sang a three-four minute tAnam. Her tAnam was good and she showed an excellent control over kAlapramANam in her delivery, winning approval from her stoic father. The thanam was typical, though, and time would not allow her to stamp her individuality on the proceedings. Surprisingly, Sriranjani's ragam and thanam were followed by the violinist's ragam and thanam, and I quite liked this change from the usual vocal-violin alternation and felt it allowed both the vocalist and violinist an opportunity to design their own ragam and tAnam and execute their ideas uninterrupted. On the flip side, the intensity that normally accompanies the vocal-violin alternation especially in thanam went missing here.

I enjoyed the elaborate pallavi rendition, and liked the pallavi because I could actually understand it. The name of the raga was announced as embedded in the pallavi, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to find 'bhairavi' in ambA iravilum'. But it was a beautiful pallavi, nonetheless, and Sriranjani's neraval and mathematical exercises were all well executed. The bhairavi kalpanaswaras quickly morphed into rAgamAliga swaras with bhairavi-named rAgas. It was a cute effort, though the sAlagabhairavi didn't really get to the essence of the raga until the pallavi was sung in the rAga.

ChandrajUDa was sung nicely with all the darbAri brighas like NPMPS and the tAra stAyi flourishes around the gandhAram making much-welcome appearances.

Sriranjani impressed me tonight (err...maybe it was yesterday since it's 2.30 AM now) with her creativity - and the confidence to express that creativity and experiment on stage. Her raga delineations of dharmavati and kEdAragowLa both stand testament to her manOdharma. Her experiments sometimes fail - as they did with her suruTTi-seeping phrases in kEdAragowLa - but the giddying heights of success are invariably rooted in the tragic pits of failure, are they not? (I wax lyrical late into the night - please indulge.) Sriranjani's bhAvam in her renditions of cEta SrI and tuLasi bilva also point to a musician mature beyond her years, and there is something very genuine about her music that touches the heart. Sriranjani's other asset is an extremely pliable voice that has good reach in the madhya and tAra stAyis. She sings brighas with ridiculous ease and her excellent shruti alignment contributes to gamakas which are extremely precise - there is no blurring or fudging in her gamaka singing. Her gamaka singing is extremely nuanced - allowing her to sing slight variations of the same jAru, approach the same note with subtly different gamakas from above and below the note, and this skill imparts great variety to her singing.

What can she improve on? She has a tendency to overdo vibrations when singing, I think, and a more sparse approach may not only be better for her voice but for the music that she produces. She should also work on her kalpanaswara singing, where I feel she depends too much on mathematics and too little on the melody of swaras themselves. She could also have introduced more tala variation in tonight's concert, with cApu talas being noticeably absent (or maybe I didn't catch them), and this is not merely my retrospective judgement of the songlist but something I felt during the concert as well. Aside from that, a bit more variation in kAlapramANam would've been nice too, with Sriranjani opting for a slower madhyama kAlam for most pieces (nenarunchi being the exception). She should also have sung another neraval or ragam in place of one of the first few pieces. These are just my preferences, though.

Arun Ramamurthi was quite good on the violin. His accompaniment was entirely unobtrusive, and thanks to the unfortunately low volume given to the violin this evening, he could rarely be heard over the vocalist and percussionists. As such, I cannot comment on his accompaniment to krithis. His raga responses were concise and struck the essence of the ragas very quickly. His dharmavati had a beautiful DND,,, ending phrase, and he replicated Sriranjani's RG-gamakam nicely as well. His N-culminating phrases in dharmavathi - mirroring Sriranjani's - were also very beautiful. His kEdAragowLa started off with a gorgeous MGR,,, in the mandra stAyi and used the vocalist's RMPMP refrain appropriately too. Arun's ability to weave Sriranjani's creative patterns into his own framework extemporaneously was admirable. He even replicated the suruTTi-esque kEdAragowLa patterns around the nishAdam in his reply. His kalpanaswara responses were nice and he outdid Sriranjani in the pallavi rAgamAliga swaras. His bhairavi raga alapanai was also many shades better than the vocalist's. However, Arun's neraval and tAnam returns were not very satisfactory (for me) due to his reluctance to use tAnam cut bowing. The underlying layam in tAnam was also lacking in his effort. Additionally, Arun should also bow more forcefully and confidently and should also more confidently play across two strings - something he halfheartedly tried in kArvais. His brigha sangathis especially in the tAra stAyi were sometimes screechy and muffled. But overall, a job well done.

Raamkumar Balamurthi was quite good on the mrudangam. I especially enjoyed his playing for krupa jUcuTaku vElara, where he anticipated sangathis wonderfully, but was otherwise not very enthused by his accompaniment for krithis, where I felt there was a disconnection between him and the vocalist. He provided lovely, crisp conclusions to avarthanams throughout the concert and played very well in the pallavi, emphasising the eDuppu and arudhi very nicely. His left side play during kalpanaswara returns was also noteworthy. The mrudangam's volume was definitely higher than it should have been.

NSG was reticent on the khanjira, mostly preferring to listen to the music silently with his eyes closed. He played along with some of Sriranjani's kOrvais and played one turn in the tani Avartanam which was a sedate affair.

On the whole, it was a good to very good concert and let me stick my neck out and predict that Sriranjani - if she keeps learning and improving - will be a star in the years to come.

[mahakavi]

Is this lady in anyway related to Neyveli Santhangopalan? I guess not, but thought fit to ask, since Neyveli has a teenage (?) daughter by the same name who is a budding musician but not of the age where she would be touring the US.

[tyagarajadasa]

mahakavi,

This is the same Sriranjani, Shri NSG's daughter! I am her proud cousin! Her music is much beyond her age!

[cmlover]

Many thanks bilahari for keeping your promise and leading us step by step on these great concerts.
Bravo Sriranjani! The legitimate heir to our erudite 'vidyarthi' !
She has to be great with her great shruti adherence and laya expertise. Naturally for her it is:
'shruti mAtA and layam pitA'
The song selections are lovely for her NA debut and for the display of her mastery of CM under her able father. I am not at all bothered by her focus on 'kaNakku' which is needed for new diirections in CM. I guess the Thiruppugazh was
'paRavaik ketthanai vishai thUthu...'

Thanks once agin for the meticulous review! Enjoyed your connoiseur musical comments!

[rshankar]

Bilahari - that was like listening to the concert! How very nice for the young artist to have her guru/dad accompany her on stage...Given their lineage, one should allow for some kaNakku to be there in their (guru and SiSyas') kalpanAsvarams!

[mahakavi]

Thanks tyagarajadasa! It was a pleasant suprise to know it was the same prizewinner from Carnatic idol on Jaya TV. All the best to her.

[arasi]

Srirajani,
Mighty proud of you! (Let's not forget that you are a forumite too!).

As her Mumbai cousin says (look for Gokul's recent concert review), she is mature forher age in her singing. I heard her last December and realized how fast she is progressing, having heard her in the previous years. She is one smart young woman (in her studies too). Add the musical genes, the support of her musical mother and father, and what more do you need?

Sriranjini,
Our young Bilahari is one of the best reviewers here on the forum and his love for CM can only be matched by his knowledge about it. He plays the violin too, and he is working on his post graduate degree. I say all this because I know of your enthusiasm and talent and feel that Bilahari's review for your first concert is just the right thing that happened to start off your concerts in the US. Hope your ensuing concerts are all going to draw more rasikAs to your music.
Waiting to listen to you during the season

Bilahari,
Always a fan of your writing!

6: krupa jUcuTaku vElarA rAma (burning the mid-night oil typo, I guess!).

[bilahari]

Queen, thanks for the edit on krupa jUcuTaku! It was not a late night typo but untidy handwriting!

CML and Ravi, yes, I guess we CAN allow for some kaNakku given the lineage...
(But I'm still not a fan of kaNakku swaras.)

All, I'm sorry I didn't explicitly mention Sriranjani is NSG's daughter! It must indeed have been nice for her to have her father on stage during the concert, and I liked that NSG was stoic throughout the concert and not openly and effusively praising his daughter on stage, though his pride was radiating brilliantly in the one or two moments where he allowed himself to smile and appreciate - to quote the organiser - the fruits of his labour! He has much to be proud of and here's to the evolving Neyveli bAni of music - one that I think will be a major force to reckon with in the future and I cannot be more happy about that. I don't know how Sriranjani has managed in such a short time to absorb even a fraction of NSG's sowkhyam, but she has and all credit to the guru and sishya.

[bilahari]

CML, thanks for the correction on the tiruppugazh line.

[maduraimini]

Very good review of the young musician's concert. Looks like her 'Digvijayam" to the U.S. started with a Bang. With her father as a Guru and her eagerness to learn she is going to become a famous artist soon. Congratulations and Best wishes!

[Suji Ram]

great reveiw bilahari. Wonder if they are going to make it to our place this time.

[rajeshnat]

bilahari
A very detailed review by you is always a treat to read.While I read the songlist I thought that bhairavi will be an elaborate one , but instead it was a short one , this is the first time I am hearing where in both rAgam and tAnam are played together by the violinist. I also did not know that Neyveli can play kanjirA .

[arasi]

Rajesh,
If he can play the mrudangam, why can't he play the kanjira? He plays the vINA too, of course. I haven't heard him play any of the instruments, though.

[rajani_K]

Neyveli Santhanagopalan - Khanjira

Is he a local vidwan or the inimitable Neyveli Himself?

[bilahari]

It was the inimitable Neyveli Himself, rajani.

[vsarmaiitm]

Rajesh,
If he can play the mrudangam, why can't he play the kanjira? He plays the vINA too, of course. I haven't heard him play any of the instruments, though.

you can see him play vIna here (scroll down)

http://ignca.nic.in/veena001.htm

[raj-123]

If you are in bay area, please attend http://www.impart25usa.com
Felicitation function for Sri NSG by his students and concert by Sriranjini