Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan@Gayana Samaj,Bangalore,18/03/11

[squims]

Vocal: Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan
Violin: M A Sundareswaran
Mridangam: Chennai Tyagaraja
Ghatam: N Guruprasad

1. Chalamela(Varnam) [S]- Darbar - Adi - Thiruvottiyur Thyagaiyer
Swarams @paluku
2. Smarane sukhamu Raama naama [N S] - Janaranjani - Adi - Tyagaraja
Neraval and Swarams @rAma nAma SravaNamu
3. Kaa vaa vaa - Varali - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
4. Tanavari tanamu [S] - Begada - Adi - Tyagaraja
5. Durusuga [R N S] - Saveri - Adi(2 kalai) - Syama Sastry
Neraval and Swarams @parama pAvani krpAkari vinuta
6. Annapurne visalakshi - Saama - Adi - Muthuswamy Dikshitar
7. Mokshamu galada - Saaramati - Adi(2 kalai) - Tyagaraja
8. Sarasasaamadaana - Kapi Narayani - Adi - Tyagaraja
9. Daasharathi [R S T] - Todi - Adi(2 kalai) - Tyagaraja
10. RTP - Kannada - Khanda jaathi triputa (Tishra gati)
Pallavi line: aruNAcala Siva SambhO, karuNAkara svayambhO
11. Viruttam - Sindhu Bhairavi, followed by,
Manadirkkugandadhu - Sindhu Bhairavi - Adi
12. Marubari (Javali) - Khamas - Adi - Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer
13. Shlokam(?) - Madhyamavathi - Adi
14. Raama mantrava - Jonpuri - Adi - Purandaradasa
15. Mangalam - Sourashtram - Adi - Tyagaraja

It was an amazing concert. Filled with soukhyam.

The varnam in Darbar provided the perfect start to the evening. The swarams embellished the piece.
A very brief sketch of Janaranjani followed. I hadn't heard this kriti before. I enjoyed it. Neraval and swarams were aptly sung.
After the Varali filler, came the rather beautiful Begada kriti. The swarams were all sung in the higher speed(super high speed actually), but at no loss of clarity. A nice way to liven up the audience at this point in the concert.
The Saveri...oh God! The aalapanai was brief, but it was just splendid. Every single phrase he sang was priceless. One of my favourite kritis in the raagam followed. Absolutely loved the neraval. Swarams were enjoyable as well.
The Saama was a nice filler. At this point, a request was made for 'Mokshamu galada' in Saramathi. NSG sir pointed out that it had already been sung in this series of concerts(was mighty impressed that he had actually taken the care to research the previous song lists), but the requester seemed to be persistent, and he finally agreed. While the rendition was perfect, I just feel this piece stole precious time away which cost us dearly in the later part of the concert. I wish people would take more care to think before randomly requesting for songs.
Kapi Narayani for another filler.
Todi for the main piece. The raaga aalaapanai was exquisite. Some rare(to me) phrases in the taara sthaayi were nice. The swarakalpana at the pallavi line were the best thing about this concert, especially the phrases that he weaved around the myriad hues of the gandhaaram in Todi. The korvai was a treat.
RTP followed. Due to time constraints, the raagam part of it was, for all practical purposes, non existent. The taanam was really enjoyable, and I was fully geared up for the pallavi. The pallavi was nice too. Lovely eduppu, and trikaalam, but again, due to shortage of time, it felt like it ended before it started. A few avarthanams of neraval and swaram, but it felt like a big tease! We wanted more!!!! (I think the entire RTP was shorter than the thani)
Tukkudas were pleasant. Immensely enjoyed the Sindhu Bhairavi among those.
The concert ended with the usual mangalam in Sourashtram.

About the accompanists:
What can one say about M.A. Sundareswaran other than that he is a fantastic artiste? It is always an immense pleasure to watch him match every nuance of the performance of the singer. His aalapanais were great, and as always, I really enjoyed his taanam.
In my humble opinion, the percussionists' performance left a lot to be desired. I wasn't particularly pleased with the accompaniment during the kritis or the pallavi. The thani was decent.

Overall, with the exception of the very short RTP, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

[badari]

Agree with you 101%... a very enjoyable concert. But the audience were poor!!! NSG deserves better audience. Th hall was less than 30% full.

Those who were absent really missed a good treat for full 3 hrs.

[srikant1987]

was mighty impressed that he had actually taken the care to research the previous song lists

You made it easier for him with your concert reviews though, eh?

[arasi]

Squims, Badari and Srikanth 87,
A miss on my part One of my favorite vidvAns whom I'm usually fortunate enough to listen to a least once in Bengaluru, let alone during the season. That jana ranjani song is a favorite of my husband. Haven't heard that bEgaDa song sung at all! Another miss. His sAramati is always a soother. And that kannaDa RTP! Hope vidyaarthi will sing it again the coming season...

[Lakshman]

arasi: You can hear TNS singing the bEgaDA song here:

http://music.raag.fm/Carnatic_Movies/so ... gopalan_TN

[srikant1987]

Arasi,

I didn't make it to this concert either.

I made it to this though: http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15988

[bilahari]

Seems to have been a lovely concert by NSG! The abbreviated RTP is sad, given the melting and elaborate nIlAmbari RTP of his from last December that's so, so fresh in my mind. Might we get a recording on Sangeethapriya?

[squims]

I don't know if the concert was recorded! I'd like the recording myself! Can listen to that Saveri, the Begada and Todi over and over again and not get bored!

[mahanara]

Thanks squims for the review. Your prompt reviews are a delight to read.

RTP - Kannada - Khanda jaathi triputa (Khanda gati)

If I'm not mistaken, it was Thisra Nadai. Can someone confirm?

The concert I agree had soukhyam but his voice did not co-operate at all at higher octaves.

[arasi]

Lakshman,
Thank you for the bEgaDa--a good one to start the day with!

[squims]

Thanks squims for the review. Your prompt reviews are a delight to read.

Thank you!
But I think they're more in the vein of 'detailed reports' than reviews. Hehe. I definitely do not have the vidwat to be reviewing all the performers.

If I'm not mistaken, it was Thisra Nadai. Can someone confirm?

Yes, yes. I have no idea why I've written it down as khanda in my notes as well!

The concert I agree had soukhyam but his voice did not co-operate at all at higher octaves.

That does happen a few times with NSG sir, but the quality of his music is so high that my mind just decides to skip that aspect!
He is just one of those artistes that emits so much warmth that you're just totally immersed in the overall experience I feel.

[arasi]

Your last two lines echo my feelings about NSG's music, totally!

[vinodhinee]

sir
chennai thyagarajan is known for playing for songs without distorting its beauty. since neyveli sir's voice is low, subdued playing is a must to not overpower the singer. he is from a great parampara of gurus like G. Harishankar and Ramanathapuram CSM.

this is my humble opinion
thank u

[squims]

Hi Vinodhinee. I usually prefer soft playing from the percussionists. I'm only against loud and intrusive playing. Since it's been such a long time since this report, I'm not able to recollect what left me wanting more. I have nothing against Sri Chennai Tyagarajan, but every now and then I guess artistes have an 'off-day'. I guess this was just one such day.