madurai GS Mani@vAnimahAl on Aug 28th,2010

[rajeshnat]

madurai GS Mani@vAnimahAl on Aug 28th,2010
---------------------------------------------
Vocal : madurai GS Mani
Violin : pakkalA ramadas
Mrudangam : umayAlapuram MAli

Concert duration : 2 hours
Sponsor : SouthZone Cultural association, govt of India sponsored concert + thyaga brahma sabhA
Theme : Lord Vishnu

1A. slokham "shanthAkAram bhujasayanam" - yaman??
1B. nArayana yena eNNirO - kalyAni -??
2. daya jUcuTa kidi - gAnavAridhi - T

3. nepOgada (R,S)- varAli ??? - T
5 mins alApana and 3 mins violin return
swaras for 4 mins
4. parthasArathy nannu pAlimpA (R,S) - madhyamAvati - poochi
6 mins alApanai and 4 mins violin return
4 mins swaras

5. chAlu chAlu nee - sAveri - T
6A. marivEre dhikkevarayyA (R NS S T) - shanmughapriyA - patnam
10 mins alApana and 5 mins violin return
2 mins of neraval and 7 mins swaras
6B. tani for 10 mins

Vanimahal houses close to 1000 seats , but there were just 30 to 40 takers for this veteran , who in my opinion is one of the most self taught musician of our era. Being Self taught has definitely its own advantages and with it few demerits always gets tagged . When sabha secy talked about the south zone cultural association and said today being saturday we wanted to give GS Mani a theme where they decided to have the concert dedicated to "Lord Vishnu".

THe self taught GS Mani is one of the most prolific communicators , his language is so straight with no mincing of words .GS Mani for the last few years that I am hearing him in the concert , seems to be rightfully worried about the rasika base. He said for the last decade there is a definite erosion of rasikas participation , he specifically told the 40 odd assembled rasikas , that you all bring your kids to the concerts , this art that we are performing is only for you rasikas . It takes atleast 10 to 15 concerts for every rasika to get acclimitized to the concert.He was very humble in also saying that "I am only interpreting the art available with us, this interpretation is not the only interpretation". With that 10 minute speech , all I could say is that he gave a splendid introduction to what will follow for the next 2 hours. The good news is he did not speak much about the theme from there onwards.

Madurai GS Mani being self taught has in his musical voyage , been an asst music director to MSviswanathan and ramamurthy , kv mahadevan etc and I have heard thru grapevine that few memorable numbers like Ahir bhairav song "Ullathil nalla vuzLLam" in the movie karnan were only tuned by him. As I was thinking about that number , he started with the vishnu sahasranAmam slokham lines "shanthAkAram bhujagasayanam". This interpretation of his was very filmy like MSV or a more familiar IllayarAja Yamuna kalyAni or yaman or kalyAni with a hindustani slant . He moved away from the hindustani slant and he sang a fairly good kalyAni, the krithi nArayana yenna ENNirO had few kannada lines (may be was that a purandaradAsar krithi , not sure some one help), overall I liked the start of kalyAni in general as it gives me a relief feeling that it will not be elaborated as a main(perhaps a nice way to say I dont like kalyAni that much).

He moved on to a rare gAnavAridhi rAga , a definitely unconventional #2 , perhaps being self taught is the reason and he sang quite well . The third alApana was a bit detailed varAli , his voice is a very booming sareeram and he employed quite a bit of flat notes there and a rare nepogada came out with nice sweep on the distinct varAli gAndharam and a volley of swaras.

After two T krithis , he moved to a very distinct lord vishnu number of poochi iyengAr kind of popularized by ARI. The madhyamAvati alApana was very brindAvanasArangish it had so much of hindustani piDi , I guess that is bit of unwanted interpretation of his . As he began his krithi parthasarathi nannu pAlimpA , it was really good with very good swaras at the end.

Then he sang a very rare nauka charitra T krithi which he said he learnt from jayammA (Who is that??), he certainly did not get the usually serene bhAvam of sAveri nevertheless it passed quickly out, certainly till this point i felt apart from his madhyamAvati his concert was bit so so.


But from his main onwards the concert was really classy, his interpretation with his booming voice in shanmughapriyA was really well done , quite a lot of sangathis and his own interpretation was very unique and well done. From T to Poochi , he came to patnam and with marivErE dikkuevarayyA rendition and it was sung very well with lot of bhakthi. The neraval was practically a neraval sketch (I guess age catches and eats the neraval), but certainly the swaras were really top class . Very different interpretation of swaras in mandara sthAyi and then very short burst of single avarthAna was very unique and I loved his interpretation.

[rajeshnat]

7A. slOkham shAnthA kAram bhujagasayanam - suddhasArang
+ viswatheertham gaganasadhursham - hindOlam
+ pancha janyAdharam - sumanesa ranjani
+ viswakaram gaganasadhursham - durgA
+ pancha janyadharam - bhAgeshri
+ paramEshwaranutham - ratipatipriyA
7B. shree ramA ramana nArAyana - ratipatipriyA - madurai GS mani

8. ramA ramana govindA nee samAnam evarayyA - thilang - madurai GS mani
9A. brief slokham - shuruTTi
9B. neenAmA roopamulaku - sowrAshtram


The best of best was indeed his 15 to 20 minute slOkham , again it was shanthAkAram bhujagasayanam. His musical interpretation is very original he does not go with conventional sahana , dhanyAsi jumps to kApi and sindhubhairavi the so called designer rAgas of slokham and viruththam. He went with his strength where he imported hindustani rAgas successfully to carnatic. A sudda sArang start (he is a terrific sudda sarang singer I have heard him sing once main in that rAga few years back), he went to bit malkaunsish hindOlam or hindOlish malkauns . Then he sang sumanesa ranjani it was a beautiful interpretation (I have had sleepless nights listening to tanjore s kalyAnaraman's sumanesa ranjani)and I continued to get drenched with that lovely pathos of sumanesa ranjani , incidentally this rAga was sung as one rasika and friend asked him to sing . Incidentally he helped the violinist and said that sumanesa ranjani Onnum illa pa suddhadhanyAsila madhyamam sEthukO(add suddhadhanyAsi with madhyamam)

The originality and the creative quotient in him took over from there . When he moved to bhAgeshri after durgA with the lines in slOkham ,he gave a mini carnatic hindustani jugalbandhi where he alternated between bHageshri in hindustani and Shriranjani in carnatic and he praised how carnatic gamakams are measured and explained bhAgeshri vs shreeranjani (that is the only occassion he spoke briefly after the first 10 minutes), from bhAgeshri he wrapped with ratipathipriyA (it was lovely). He is a brilliant composer and he ended with his own krithi in ratipatipriyA. Then he wrapped with another lovely tukkada of his own in thilAng . There was a brief slokham in shurutti and mangalam.

pakkala ramadas played very well , infact I am hearing after few years , he is usually bit docile but definitely not this time. umayAlapuram mAli was really very good he had controlled aggression and his tani almost was a continuation and apt for shanmughapriya Krithi. The sound setting was top notch, there was very good balance and the volume is just right . In short lovely pakkavadhyam and sound support.

If there is one demerit in his music , it is perhaps a not very clean gamaka suddhamAna sangeetham , in the sense almost all krithis have more flat notes and with his interpretation of rAgas , at times it becomes very difficult to zone in on even the easier rAgas like even sAveri.

Overall to me madurai Gold Standard Mani , is a very original musician . He is so humble in stage despite being so expressive , incidentally when the sabha secy asked the rate for his concert , madurai gs mani said "ratepathi pEsada dAtea pathi pEsu" (LEts talk about only the date not the rate). In short he falls at the feet of the art with no baggage of pride . A good to very good concert for 2 hours.

[rshankar]

Jayamma - Smt. T. Balasaraswathi's mother, and Smt. Dhannammal's daughter?

[HarishankarK]

[quote="rajeshnat"]7A. slOkham shAnthA kAram bhujagasayanam - suddhasArang
+ viswatheertham gaganasadhursham - hindOlam
+ pancha janyAdharam - sumanesa ranjani
+ viswakaram gaganasadhursham - durgA
+ pancha janyadharam - bhAgeshri
+ paramEshwaranutham - ratipatipriyA
7B. shree ramA ramana nArAyana - ratipatipriyA - madurai GS mani


Hi

Very nice fair and detailed concert review. Thanks for that

Did u record this Ratipatipriya song - am dying to get a recording of this song - i have heard this song from somewhere in radio or i dunno but this is a splendid Ratipatipriya treat. If u have the recording pls pls upload

[musicfan_4201]

Rajesh
Why such meagre audience? Is it because there was no prior announcement in the newspaper or the media.
Despite this the artist gives out the best. Kudos to these great musicians.

[rajeshnat]

Did u record this Ratipatipriya song - am dying to get a recording of this song - i have heard this song from somewhere in radio or i dunno but this is a splendid Ratipatipriya treat. If u have the recording pls pls upload

I donot record with a device , usually only record with the QWERTY Keyboard. .

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh
Why such meagre audience? Is it because there was no prior announcement in the newspaper or the media.
Despite this the artist gives out the best. Kudos to these great musicians.

In the usual page 4 engagement column of the hindu it was put and that is why I came to know. This south zone cultural center holds one or two concerts every month in vAnimahal . I attended one month back where this cultural center sponsored suryaprakash concert where there was close to 200 to 250. The attendance can always be better than this , considering this was a weekend concert and the hall has very good comfort and capacity.

Every time the secy while giving introduction requests more rasikas participation , unfortunately he addresses only those who have already come --> , not those who are <-- side (what he can do, he tries his best?).

[S.NAGESWARAN]

2010.08.28 G.S.MANI'S CONCERT AT VANI MAHAL

Dear Rasikas,

The download links for Sri G.S.MANI’S CONCERT HELD AT VANIMAHAL ON 28.08.2010. IS GIVEN BELOW.

2010.08.28 G.S.MANI'S CONCERT AT VANI MAHAL

1. http://www.mediafire.com/file/dhnfikxu4 ... aniser.mp3

2. http://www.mediafire.com/file/06tet2vkh ... S.Mani.mp3

3. http://www.mediafire.com/file/kgxge9k1q ... S.Mani.mp3

4. http://www.mediafire.com/file/oftno8d4s ... S.MANI.mp3

5. http://www.mediafire.com/file/0omsdbti9 ... S.MANI.mp3

6. http://www.mediafire.com/file/l7qipl6q3 ... S.MANI.mp3

7. http://www.mediafire.com/file/n2tlgv08z ... S.MANI.mp3

8. http://www.mediafire.com/file/c4cux7406 ... S.MANI.mp3

9. http://www.mediafire.com/file/q20oe9sgk ... 20Mali.mp3

10. http://www.mediafire.com/file/f7015wfs6 ... S.MANI.mp3

11. http://www.mediafire.com/file/n9j3vxagb ... S.MANI.mp3

12. http://www.mediafire.com/?g6dlch87z0n4tc3

A very good review of the concert were given by Sri Rajeshnat.

I will post my views on the concert in my next post.

S.NAGESWARAN.
31.08.2010.

[arasi]

Rajesh,
Your review made me feel as though I was there at Vani Mahal. His music has those unique qualities which make a concert special to me. That's why I try to catch his concerts whenever possible. His love for music shows in his joyous exposition of it and in sharing his experience with his audience. As you say, he is a great communicator, is genial and is very unassuming. Simple in his ways but rich in living with his music, it seems.
Yes, you do notice a cinematic touch in his concerts here and there but it does not bother me. You can tell he thrives on his music and the rETTu, dETTu quote illustrates that. He loves sharing his music with others, no doubt. Because he took part and compered the New year morning nAma sankIrtanam program at Petachi a couple of years ago, I made it a point to be there. There were big names on stage, and I realized how gracious he is.
Looking forward to his concert this season.

Nageswaran,
Thanks for GSM's music! Will listen to it as soon as I'm a little free.

[Pratyaksham Bala]

Jayamma - Smt. T. Balasaraswathi's mother, and Smt. Dhannammal's daughter?

Yes!

[HarishankarK]

2010.08.28 G.S.MANI'S CONCERT AT VANI MAHAL
Dear Rasikas,
The download links for Sri G.S.MANI’S CONCERT HELD AT VANIMAHAL ON 28.08.2010. IS A very good review of the concert were given by Sri Rajeshnat.
I will post my views on the concert in my next post.
S.NAGESWARAN.
31.08.2010.

Thank you very very much Sri Nageswaran. I particulalry like/wanted the Ratipatipriya song but have downloaded the entire concert. I shall listen and enjoy it in the evening once am home.

[rajeshnat]

nAgeshwaran sir , who is a friend of Madurai Shri GS Mani for 40 full years requested the sumanEsa ranjani in the concert.

[hariniraghavan]

Incidentally he helped the violinist and said that sumanesa ranjani Onnum illa pa suddhadhanyAsila madhyamam sEthukO(add suddhadhanyAsi with madhyamam)

With reference to the above words of Sri.G.S.Mani, I think he would have said, Suddha Dhanyasiyil suddha madyamatukku badil Prati madyamam sEthuko. Because Suddha Dhanyasi also has madfyama which is suddha. Except for madyama all other notes are commom for Suddha Dhanyasi and Sumanesaranjani.
Harini.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

MADURAI G.S.MANI’S CONCERT AT VANI MAHAL ON 28.08.2010.
It is always a pleasure to attend to attend Sri G.S.Mani’s concert.

Blessed with a very good voice which can easily reach the mandra stayi in many alapanas,
and a good and clear diction, You can always easily and clearly follow the krithis rendered by him.

Being a multi linguist, with a deep knowledge in carnatic and Hindustani music, we can always expect a fair measure of music of both genres from him.

In this concert, he sang Ganavarithi, Varali, Savari , Madyamavathy and Shanmukapriya
krithis in pure carnatic music.

Shanmukapriya Ragam was sung with a lot of Nadaswaram pidies and the various facets of this ragam were sung and he had expressed the innumarious sancharams that are possible in this ragam.

After the Thani Avarthanam, for the slokam, he sang a ragamalika with many Hindustani ragams Suddha sarang, Hindolam[MALKAUNS], Durga, Bagesree etc.

I have requested Sri G.S.Mani to sing the ragam Sumanesaranjani [ which is not being sung by many artists]. He was kind enough to sing this ragam with the comment that I was a Rasika of him for the past 40 years.

While singing the Bagesree ragam, he explained that the Arohanam and Avaroham for this
Ragam and that of the ragam Sriranjani were the same and demonstrated the specific
sancharams of the two ragams.

Any concert of Sri G.S.Mani’s concert will always contain such short demonstrations
of the comparative demonstration of the application of the raga sancharams in both the carnatic and Hindustani styles of singing.

Before concluding his concert, he songs composed by him in the ragams Rathipathipriya and Tilang.

As usual he had requested the Rasikas to bring youngsters to listen to the carnatic concerts on a regular basis to sustain the rich reportaire of carnatic music and sustain the cultural
heritage of carnatic music.

Sri G.S.Mani was kind enough to give the permission for uploading his full concert in our forum.

S.NAGESWARAN.
01.09.2010.

[jeevatma]

The links to the songs are not working. Can you, please, re-post them? I would be very grateful. Thank you.

[Sundara Rajan]

Me too, Sri Nageswaran. Thanks in advance.

[S.NAGESWARAN]

Dear Sri Jeevathma,Soundarajan and other Rasikas,

As per your requests, The Concert song list download links of Sri Madurai G.S.MANI is given below.

G.S.MANI CONCERT AT VANIMAHAL ON 28.08.2010.

1http://www.mediafire.com/file/7jph8ot7i3gkr3n/ ... aniser.mp3

2. http://www.mediafire.com/file/2f14tfbeh ... IMAHAL.mp3

3. http://www.mediafire.com/file/sbwabucf1 ... IMAHAL.mp3

4. http://www.mediafire.com/file/xy4q0rmgb ... 0MAHAL.mp3

5. http://www.mediafire.com/file/njqwqse3p ... IMAHAL.mp3

6. http://www.mediafire.com/file/dy8j5un07 ... S.MANI.mp3

7. http://www.mediafire.com/file/lj9h41jfp ... S.MANI.mp3

8. http://www.mediafire.com/file/bu04x24xq ... IMAHAL.mp3

9. http://www.mediafire.com/file/y442r8r4a ... IMAHAL.mp3

10. http://www.mediafire.com/file/ra5agqflg ... IMAHAL.mp3

11. http://www.mediafire.com/file/vxc6r8r56 ... IMAHAL.mp3

12. http://www.mediafire.com/file/t2jjnebc7 ... IMAHAL.mp3

13. http://www.mediafire.com/file/1ns970zl7 ... IMAHAL.mp3

S.NAGESWARAN.

19.03.2011

[Sundara Rajan]

Thank you Mr. Nageswaran. I have downloaded the songs and will listen to them later leisurely.