Ranjani & Gayathri
accompanied by
violin: H.N. Bhaskar
mrudangam: Delhi Sairam
Venue: UT Austin - Student Union Theater
Oct 22 2010, Duration: about 3 hours
A fantastic concert, charukEsi RTP. My impressions tomorrow.
Song List: (r - Ranjani, g - Gayathri, v - violin)
1. sarasijanAbhA varnam - nAttai
2. smarane ondE - malayamArutham (S)
3. rangapura vihArA - brindAvana sArangA
4. ninnu jeppa - mandhari (Rr, Rv, S)
5. vazhi maraitthirukkudE - nAttaikurinji
6. rAma nee samAnamevaru - kharaharapriyA (Rg, N @ paluku, S)
7. vara nArada - vijayasri (electrifying)
8. RTP - charukEsi (Rr, Rg, Rv)
khanda jathi triputa tAlam
pallavi: saravana bhava guhanE shanmukhanE dayAparanE
rAgamAlika swarams in hindOlam, darbAr, valaji, ?
9. nAdiya poruL - viruttam (bilahari, pUrvi kalyAni(?), dEsh
followed by rAma nAmamE - dEsh
10. nArayanA ninna - suddha dhanyAsi
11. viTTobhA chalA mandiratha - MarubihAg (listener's choice)
12. mangaLam - saurAshtram/madhyamAvathi
Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
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Enna_Solven
- Posts: 827
- Joined: 18 Jan 2008, 02:45
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
You people in Chennai are really lucky to be able to listen to top class artists of current generation so often. I know what I miss. Can't have it all.
Ranjani and Gayathri presented a delightful concert with their powerful and pliant voices aiding their fertile imagination. The sisters wove their magic so skillfully such that even the noisy Austin audience became palpably still after ninnu jeppa. I moved to an empty corner to avoid bhagavathars in the audience and then it was bliss.
Almost an hour long charukEsi RTP was the highlight of the concert. Both the sisters elaborated the ragam beautifully followed by an equally touching effort by H.N. Bhaskar. I am beginning to understand what you people mention by trikalam, I think. Pallavi ragamalika swarams were excellent. They received big applause for each.
The kharaharapriya main was what I liked best next. Gayathri's alapana was fabulous. Somehow all the phrases she was weaving led me to think that they were going to sing pakkala nilabadi, but they sang rAma nee samAnamevaru. (I have a feeling that I unconsciously understand the structure of these different songs; but utterly lack the skill to analyze musically.)
Gopalakrishna Bharathi's nATTaikurinji song song was rendered at a slow pace with great bhava. No alapana or swarams though. Other standout pieces were ninnu jeppa and rangapura vihAra. Vara nArada was delivered at an electrifying pace.
In defense of abhang: It was an audience request. They sang it very differently from what I have from their Madrasil Margazhi CD. They sang it yesterday with a lot more emotion and with less emphasis on speed. It was musically more pleasing, full of beautiful phrases.
My 2010 concert season is over :envy: I will go back to listening to the Great Old Man and the Maestro from Madurai...
Ranjani and Gayathri presented a delightful concert with their powerful and pliant voices aiding their fertile imagination. The sisters wove their magic so skillfully such that even the noisy Austin audience became palpably still after ninnu jeppa. I moved to an empty corner to avoid bhagavathars in the audience and then it was bliss.
Almost an hour long charukEsi RTP was the highlight of the concert. Both the sisters elaborated the ragam beautifully followed by an equally touching effort by H.N. Bhaskar. I am beginning to understand what you people mention by trikalam, I think. Pallavi ragamalika swarams were excellent. They received big applause for each.
The kharaharapriya main was what I liked best next. Gayathri's alapana was fabulous. Somehow all the phrases she was weaving led me to think that they were going to sing pakkala nilabadi, but they sang rAma nee samAnamevaru. (I have a feeling that I unconsciously understand the structure of these different songs; but utterly lack the skill to analyze musically.)
Gopalakrishna Bharathi's nATTaikurinji song song was rendered at a slow pace with great bhava. No alapana or swarams though. Other standout pieces were ninnu jeppa and rangapura vihAra. Vara nArada was delivered at an electrifying pace.
In defense of abhang: It was an audience request. They sang it very differently from what I have from their Madrasil Margazhi CD. They sang it yesterday with a lot more emotion and with less emphasis on speed. It was musically more pleasing, full of beautiful phrases.
My 2010 concert season is over :envy: I will go back to listening to the Great Old Man and the Maestro from Madurai...
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cmlover
- Posts: 11498
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
Many thanks for that appreciative review. The team never disappoints and always give their best. Though you have not mentioned I am sure Sairam contributed immensely for the laya maintenance.
Charukesi is a fantastic raga for the RTP and you are lucky. The ringing voice of Gayatri will be long remembered by us at Ottawa as elsewhere!
Charukesi is a fantastic raga for the RTP and you are lucky. The ringing voice of Gayatri will be long remembered by us at Ottawa as elsewhere!
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Enna_Solven
- Posts: 827
- Joined: 18 Jan 2008, 02:45
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
cmlover,
Sorry I forgot. Though I do not understand/ cannot keep even basic thalam, I did appreciate how he played according to the song: never overpowering the main artists, playing very softly for 'vazhi maRaitthirukkudE', etc. He did some complex 'kaNakku', I think, during the thani after RTP. The sisters and H.N. Bhaskar were busy keeping account and broke into broad smiles when he finished where he should have finished. Sorry for being ignorant.
I need to get hold of some laya expert locally and learn to appreciate thAlam once I make more sense of the rAgams.
Sorry I forgot. Though I do not understand/ cannot keep even basic thalam, I did appreciate how he played according to the song: never overpowering the main artists, playing very softly for 'vazhi maRaitthirukkudE', etc. He did some complex 'kaNakku', I think, during the thani after RTP. The sisters and H.N. Bhaskar were busy keeping account and broke into broad smiles when he finished where he should have finished. Sorry for being ignorant.
I need to get hold of some laya expert locally and learn to appreciate thAlam once I make more sense of the rAgams.
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rajipar
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 03:10
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
I am a huge fan of Ranjani & Gayatri, so I will not rave about how beautiful the concert was. They were (as always) exquisite.
Something which stood out for my husband and me was our enjoyment of Bhaskar's violin. As we told him afterwards, maybe he should play only with left-handed mridangam artists, for it really showcases his talent. Because he sat to the right of the singers we could see his bowing and his face, which showed such happiness as he played. It really pulled us into his music.
When my children had violin class yesterday, their teacher noticed that my son's bowing arm was suddenly more fluid and his wrist more relaxed. Their teacher was perplexed and asked, "have you been watching a musician play?" They've been attending carnatic concerts since they were babies, but this was one one of the few times they had seen the violinist from this angle. Interesting.
Raji
Something which stood out for my husband and me was our enjoyment of Bhaskar's violin. As we told him afterwards, maybe he should play only with left-handed mridangam artists, for it really showcases his talent. Because he sat to the right of the singers we could see his bowing and his face, which showed such happiness as he played. It really pulled us into his music.
When my children had violin class yesterday, their teacher noticed that my son's bowing arm was suddenly more fluid and his wrist more relaxed. Their teacher was perplexed and asked, "have you been watching a musician play?" They've been attending carnatic concerts since they were babies, but this was one one of the few times they had seen the violinist from this angle. Interesting.
Raji
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vasanthakokilam
- Posts: 10958
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
Raji: Interesting observation.. It is quite interesting that your kids absorbed that so quickly. Excellent.
With a right handed mridangist you can try getting stage tickets ( where available ) and have your children sit behind the mridangist to get a good view of the violinist's bowing arm. They may pick up on gamaka technique or two.
With a right handed mridangist you can try getting stage tickets ( where available ) and have your children sit behind the mridangist to get a good view of the violinist's bowing arm. They may pick up on gamaka technique or two.
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mohana15
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 26 Oct 2010, 08:00
Re: Ranjani and Gayathri - Austin, Oct 22, 2010
Hello all. I talked to Ranjani and Gayathri after the concert and asked them what the raagam after valaggi was, because I did not know what it was either. After talking to them, I found out that it was Behag, but hindustani style.