Hyderabad Brothers - Carnatica - 24th Dec 2010

[bilahari]

Hyderabad Brothers – Vocal
Nagai Sriram – Violin
Srimushnam Raja Rao – Mrudangam

Approximate Songlist:

01. jalajAkSa (varNam) (S @ caraNam) – hamsadwani – Adi
02. nAda tanum aniSam – cittaranjani – Adi
03. ninnAda nE (R, S @ pallavi) – kannaDa – Adi (khaNDa)
04. pAmara jana (R, N @ kAmitArta phaladAyini, S) – simmhEndramadhyamam – rUpakam
05. dayajUchuTa – gAnavaridi – Adi
06. pAlincu kAmAkSi (R, N @ kAntamagu, S, T) – madhyamAvati – Adi
(I left as the brothers were starting a bEhAg sketch)

After a reposeful TNK concert, the Hyderabad Brothers began their concert with one of my favourite varNams (a nostalgic favourite, really, since it was the second varNam I learnt). The pUrvAngam was sung in two speeds, and there were kalpanaswaras with great poruttam to the caraNam. I particularly loved Seshachary’s lovely PNSR leading to the eDuppu. Just as I was thinking nAda tanum anisham is so rare to come by, the Hyderabad Brothers also sang the krithi, and they did it justice. I love the way the brothers render T krithis – there is a lot of musical worth in just their krithi renditions: their pronunciation is good, they modulate their voices effectively, and sing each sangathi clearly and beautifully. Chittaranjani was not the only ragam that came in duplicate that evening – so did kannaDa. Seshachary sang an imaginative and melodious kannaDa with some particularly quirky but beautiful stops at the madhyamam. NinnAda nE (which I heard from KBMK earlier in the week) was sung beautifully, with a good round of kalpanaswaras at the end. I particularly loved the NSG-oriented patterns. There were some beautiful oscillations about the daivatam as well.

Raghavachary then sang a thorough and classical simmhEndramadhyamam (second SM in two days) with a particularly beautiful kArvai at the tAra G. He concluded the ragam by descending beautifully into the mandra stAyi (this is the first time I’ve seen the elder brother take a ragam to its close!) and he, too, has a wonderful resonance in the mandra stAyi. He ended the alapanai with a stunning NMN,S with the N and M sung plain and in perfect shruti. I was thankful that a krithi other than ninnE nammiti was taken up. The brothers sang a thorough neraval at kAmitArta, and the swaras were standard fare. A rare and melodious gAnavaridi was sung next – the melody sounded similar to cAyAtarangini. I was happy when Seshachary took up madhyamAvati for the main. His raga alapanai was solid without ever being arresting. There was a particularly beautiful descent from the tara R to S. PAlincu was sung with a thorough neraval replete with electric second speed sequences. The swaras had a fair bit of kaNakku.

Srimushnam Raja Rao played an energetic thani. His playing was in stark contrast to Kamalakara Rao’s sowkhyam, but he embellished the brothers’ music very well with his vigour. I really liked his accompaniment for kalpanaswaras, where he anticipated excellently.

I left after the thani. The brothers surprisingly shared this concert almost equally, and there was absolutely none of the bad interpersonal dynamic we’re used to seeing. They sang with their usual impeccable shruti shuddam and there was some fine manOdharma on display. They are honestly amongst my favourite musicians and I was surprised to see the full house for TNK’s concert dissipate rapidly during the Hyderabad Brothers’ concert, leaving but a handful at the end. They sang really well! Nagai Sriram was very melodious in his playing and I am officially a fan. The mAmi sitting next to me commented to her neighbour about how this “chinna paiyan” (small boy) is playing so beautifully, and she and her neighbour then proceeded to argue for a full five minutes about what defines a “chinna paiyan” and whether or not Nagai Sriram qualifies as one. Entertaining stuff. His raga alapanais were of a very high standard, and I loved his flowing brighas in simmhEndramadhyamam. His madhyamAvati was better than Seshachary’s, I felt, and I particularly enjoyed his S,NPM – P,MRS phrases.

All in all, it was an evening of really soothing music thanks to Carnatica and Swaralaya.

On a peripheral note, I have never attended so many concerts in such a short period of time, and maybe this happens to everyone, but all the ragas and krithis and musicians seem to be melding into a continuum in my mind much like the protagonist in Hesse's Siddhartha who at the end of the book goes to a river and sees the faces of everyone from his past and present flowing, all jumbled but unified, in this river. As I go through my day, memories of a good phrase in kannaDa here or a nice nIlAmbari there or a sAma somewhere else flood my mind and it is somehow all very calming and soothing. I'm completely loving my musical pilgrimage.

[narayan]

04. pAmara jana (R, N @ kAmikAnta paladAyini, S) – simmhEndramadhyamam – rUpakam

I guess that should be neraval at kAmitArtha phala etc.

Nice review. Thanks.

[bilahari]

Narayan, thank you for the correction.

[sangeethamquest]

Truly great artists. Correct me if I am wrong I am shocked to hear that MA does not have a slot for them. They are one of the (very few) senior vocalists in the country and their music is top notch. I am not interested or care about about misunderstandings etc...... I go to listen to their music. The music they produce is of a very high order. If this is true then MA needs to be pulled up. That is indeed shoddy treatment for such great musicians.

I hope someone has made CD's and we can get to buy these concerts.

[vasanthakokilam]

On a peripheral note, I have never attended so many concerts in such a short period of time, and maybe this happens to everyone, but all the ragas and krithis and musicians seem to be melding into a continuum in my mind much like the protagonist in Hesse's Siddhartha who at the end of the book goes to a river and sees the faces of everyone from his past and present flowing, all jumbled but unified, in this river. As I go through my day, memories of a good phrase in kannaDa here or a nice nIlAmbari there or a sAma somewhere else flood my mind and it is somehow all very calming and soothing. I'm completely loving my musical pilgrimage.

Nicely put, Bilahari. Similar experience here. I had never done anything like that before either, two concerts in a day would be one too many. But, for four days this season, my day started at 8:00 A.M. ( lec-dem) and ended at 10 P.M.(end of evening concert ) with various concerts in between. I was surprised at myself and the end effect is one of saturation, but a pleasant saturation like the way you described.