Dr. M. Narmada - Violin
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi - Violin
T.V. Gopalakrishnan - Mrudangam
Tripunithura Radhakrishnan - Ghatam
Duration: 2h 10min
Approximate Songlist:
01. mahAgaNapathim (S) - nATTai
02. sAdinchanE - Arabhi
03. raghuvara nannu (R, N, S) - pantuvarALi
04. koluvamaragada (R, N, S) - tODi
05. dEva srI (R, S) - madhyamAvati
06. rAgam tAnam pallavi - SaNmugapriya - Adi (2)
Pallavi: nivEgati ambA paradEvatE nIrajAkSi kAmAkSi
Ragamaliga swaras in mOhanakalyANi, hindOLam, varALi, bEhAg, dES, kApi
07. tillAna - dhanaSri
08. English note - SankArabharaNam
09. mangaLam - sowrASTRam
The concert began with the classic MD composition, and all the three violinists took turns with the kalpanaswaras, which were uniformly good. I think TVG made a very important point in his speech at the end that even though their violin techniques may be different, there is a very similar sense of aesthetics - however differently expressed - amongst the violin trinity. In that sense, I felt that whenever the three violinists played together, there was good coherent flow from one to the other, and the ideas they each developed built on the others', and were not antagonistic and jarring, as I had feared. From the first piece, the difference in the styles of the trinity was not very apparent, but the team clearly had rapport. I liked how all the violinists played the concluding kOrvai together - it was a nice concept. This was followed by a really beautiful, well co-ordinated Arabhi. You can't go wrong with sAdinchanE!
Next, Narmada singlehandedly dealt with pantuvarALi (she played ragam, krithi, neraval, and swaras independently). While I was initially apprehensive about one of the artistes playing an entire piece together, which is more 'salad bowl' than 'melting pot', I do think it was a good idea for each artiste to present a piece independently. (1) When all the artistes present manOdharma together, it is challenging for an artiste to present her style exactly as she would have conceived it, with the exact development of raga phrases in succession, exact kalpana swara avarthanas, etc. (2) Similarly, when artistes of different schools play krithis together, the 'interference' of all the adding sounds makes it impossible to distinguish the nuances of any particular artiste's sangathis. As such, the logical solutions to these problems would be to either (1) have each artiste present a piece independently, or (2) have artistes play sangathis in krithis in turn, play longer manodharma portions in turn, etc, which would be difficult to co-ordinate. So, it makes sense to me that the first method was adopted.
Returning to Narmada's pantuvarALi, she did the raga justice with a controlled alapanai with typical Parur brigha sangathis ascending to the tara shadjam and descending to the madhya shadjam. MSG has an affinity for pantuvarALi and pUrvikalyANi, and I have heard several spellbinding renditions of his in these ragas, so I feel it was an appropriate choice for Narmada. Further, the raga also gave Narmada an opportunity to demonstrate the flat note patterns and Hindusthani-esque phrases which typify the Parur school. Raghuvara nannu, one of my favourite krithis in this raga, was presented nicely with a beautiful neraval where Narmada used the thanam bow very well in madhyama kala. Narmada's bowing and accurate fingering would have done MSG proud this evening. She also employed some lovely short cut bowing patterns in the kalpanaswaras, which led to a nice climax and a conclusion. Good demonstration of the Parur bani.
Viji Krishnan Natarajan then presented a tODi ragam. Once again, I think this was a good raga choice because TNK plays tODi in a very unique way, and the ragam lends itself to a demonstration of the type of gamakas that are common in the TNK technique. Viji's tODi sketch was beautiful, with the gandharam used very nicely in both madhya and tara sthayis. However, some of the TNK techniques of rapid alternating fingering around MPD and SRG were not demonstrated, which I feel could have been attempted. Neither was the bewitching mandra sthayi exposition of tODi which TNK often plays. Also, Viji seemed rather hurried throughout this concert, and as a result, her bowing was a bit rough and her music did not have those lovely pauses that lend such sowkhyam to TNK's music. Nevertheless, Viji did give a succinct overview of TNK's tODi with sharp gamakas (that, to me, is one of the hallmarks of the TNK school - how absolutely decisive and precise the gamakas are), good alternation of slow ragas phrases with fast phrases, etc. Koluvamaragada was played well with a brief, intense neraval where Viji, too, used cut bowing in mEl kAlam (a trait common to the MSG and TNK schools), moved rapidly between octaves as TNK does, etc. While Viji's bowing was quite scratchy this evening, the sheer tonal richness of the TNK bowing technique was still apparent. However, the unwavering alignment to shruti was not, with a couple of lapses here and there in dealing with those slower oscillating gamakas that TNK loves. Nonetheless, we got an adequate view of the TNK bani thanks to Viji.
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi embarked on madhyamAvathi. As Srikant mentioned, perhaps she, too, could have chosen a sampurna raga like the others to demonstrate the full range of gamakas in the rich LGJ style. However, LGJ's madhyamAvathi is something that never fails to move me (I am rarely moved by this raga, so that is an accomplishment!), so I felt it was still a nice choice (I was rooting for cArukEsi, which is really LGJ's patent, if you ask me). Viji's madhyamAvathi was serene, and she painted quite a lovely picture of the raga. Importantly, she demonstrated the LGJ technique of intelligently using vallinam and mellinam in bowing to emphasise the emotive content of phrases. For instance, the nishAdam is often played softly and drawn out for a long time at the end of an ascending phrase, and this brings out the bhAvam of madhyamAvathi so well. However, she, too, I feel, missed a couple of tricks. For one, LGJ's swoops from the mandra sthAyi to tAra sthAyi and back - especially in this madhyamAvathi, ranjani, etc. - are very integral to his music. While some musicians use it merely to demonstrate the...er, flights of fingering felicity (
), LGJ uses them sparingly but effectively in building raga alapanais to a climax. Along with that, I have also heard some lovely spiccato and cross-string playing from him in this raga. But these are perhaps best reserved for longer expositions, and within the three or four minutes of her alapanai, I think Viji gave a nice glimpse into the LGJ bani. As I expected, she played the Lalgudi pancharathna krithi in this raga, and here, I liked the effort she took to sing the pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam (while playing, no less!). The Lalgudi school, for me, is outstanding for its fidelity to vocal music when it comes to krithi. The careful, intelligent use of vallina-mellina bowing to emphasise parts of the sAhitya as one would sing it, the splitting of syllables... Lalgudi Viji gave a fine demonstration of this in her spotless rendition of dEva srI. The kalpanaswaras were noteworthy for the final kOrvai, which was nicely executed and emphasised - for the few who may not know - the absolute command over layam that is a hallmark of the LGJ bani. Viji Krishnan then immediately started off with a bewitching SaNmugapriya phrase emphasising the oscillating gAndAram - a phrase that TNK is most fond of. ShaNmugapriya is the classic RTP raga and I was very pleased they had chosen it. As I expected, all the artistes took turns playing 2-3 line phrases of the raga. Here, the juxtaposition of the three schools became was more stark and evident. Narmada's brighas, S-P phrases, Viji's long phrases with those slow, in-shruti oscillations combining so many musical ideas at once, Lalgudi Viji's bowing modulations and elongated nishadams, all merged peacefully on the canvas to yield a perfectly lovely landscape. And then the connection was lost, dammit. When the webcast came back on air after the jarring interruption, tAnam was in full flow with percussion accompaniment. TVG accompanied very nicely for the tAnam with a four beat cycle, and both Vijis used this to their advantage in manipulating the spaces in the tala cycle to play some interesting phrases. Narmada's fluid cut-bowing skills won me over here, and the tAnam that she played reminded me of some phrases from MSG's brilliant accompaniment to TSK in THAT pallavi. The tAnam came to a polished finish with all the artistes on stage doing themselves proud.
All the violinists then combined to sing the pallavi for the evening, which was a nice touch and very beautifully executed. The pallavi neraval was fine, with no major fireworks, which is a pity because all these schools have the ability to really take a neraval to dizzying heights (I was envisioning some lovely tara stAyi climaxes and the such), but time was running out very quickly. After a nice trikAlam exposition, TVG and T. Radhakrishnan played the thani avarthanam. Ragamliga swaras followed, with a beautiful array of ragas. I was especially impressed by Lalgudi Viji's emotive dES and Narmada's lilting bEhag. Here, too, I felt Viji Krishnan was rushing while the other two violinists took their time, resulting in rather bland raga expositions...it is a sad day when a TNK disciple does not do justice to his patented kApi (having heard Viji so many times, I have no doubt she is a truly excellent violinist; maybe she was awed by the occasion? Or just felt pressed for time?)! Nevertheless, I enjoyed the ragamaliga swaras.
After the speeches and felicitations, the concert came to a close with a beautiful rendition of the ST tillAna in dhanaSrI, and then Viji just couldn't resist playing the English Note, with the other violinists joining in immediately.
In sum, it was a beautiful concert that showed that three seemingly disparate styles have more similarities than differences when it came to aesthetics, but that effectively contrasted the techniques of each school to really result in a 'confluence' of styles. All the three women should be congratulated for playing well in tandem, with no crazy competitive urges, and it was nice to see all of them smiling on stage and enjoying their own music and that of the others. Now, the presentation could still use some tweaking to maximise the musical output of the artistes, but it was a very promising first effort. For instance, these women really deserved a full three hours, given how they played, and I think the time constraint continually weighed on their minds, resulting in some abbreviated manOdharma components when it felt like they were just preparing to take off. Also, in the pallavi or expansive main item, I would recommend that each violinist take a full 3-4 minutes each to develop the raga independently, followed by the alternating segment and joint conclusion (which is the technique used by TNK-MC in their duets). This would allow each artiste to really communicate her ideas uninterrupted for a few minutes, to compose her mind, and then get ready for the rapid alternating segment. But honestly, I am just nit picking here on what was really a beautiful performance by all of them.
TVG and Tripunithura Radhakrishnan accompanied so sensitively on the mrudangam. TVG's playing was astounding today - the way he accompanied each sangathi in each krithi for each violinist; his deep understanding of each school was readily apparent. Radhakrishnan, too, played very appropriately, and the thani they shared was mellow and beautiful. I must also single out TVG's accompaniment for tAnam, which was outstanding and reflected excellent anticipatory skills.
After the pallavi, the proud parents of the three violinists were called on stage. TNK jumped up immediately (is the man really 80?!), beaming with pride. I enjoyed it when Sriranjani was calling up all 'violin maestros', and TNK immediately corrected her to say, 'great legends'! It was really touching when MSG and LGJ joined TNK on stage - to see the three great living legends of Carnatic Music on stage after a historic exposition of their art. After everybody sought everybody's blessings and everybody felicitated everybody, TVG gave an emotional speech about how historic this concert was. He was apparently the director for the concert and had advised the violinists - a job well done!
I was immensely touched when TNK took the microphone to announce that this was the proudest moment of his life. It must indeed have been the case for all the three fathers - having spent all their lives painstakingly nurturing their art, there is probably no greater happiness than to see this art propagated through the generations to move and captivate many more generations of rasikas. MSG also gave a short, heartfelt speech, and it is unfortunate that LGJ didn't speak, but more than the concert itself, the sight of all the three legends on stage together sharing a moment of pride, was what moved me so, so much today. The senior violinists who stood together on stage today have listened from close quarters to all the greats from Ariyukadi to MMI to SSI to KVN to MDR and so many others, absorbed the very best of each of these musicians, and incorporated these into their own music. In Narmada's SaNmugapriya, I saw TSK. in Lalgudi Viji's madhyamAvati, GNB. In Viji Krishnan's tODi, ARI. In an age where we are so occupied with remembering the greats who are no longer with us, we should perhaps take a moment to consider and appreciate those who are still with us. After all, it was the likes of TNK, MSG, and LGJ who stood firm by all the yesteryear greats, prodding them gently, inspiring them to greater heights. That is why the sight of a proud MSG, TNK, and LGJ moved me today - the three of them together embody the history of our rich and majestic art. And hopefully, as their sishyas take centre stage in CM, this history will propagate into the future and sustain itself without our having to reminisce wistfully of bygone days and the golden past of CM.
My immense gratitude, especially, to Rithvik and YACM for organising this historic event, and as TVG said, I hope sabhas will take the cue to arrange more of such concerts of this remarkable trio. OK, I'm off to lab.
