Bangalore S Shankar 03 Apr Patnam SI Ekavaggeyakara concert

[srikant1987]

Vidwan S Shankar - Vocal
(Vocal support by his son)
Sri J K Sridhar - Violin
Sri N Vasudev - Mridangam

03 Apri 2011
Vamshi Academy of Music Trust (R) [@ Ananya]

WARNING: Rather harsh on the violinist. Not generous on the mridangist either.

ErA nApai - tODi - Adi (varNam) (sketch)
manasu karagadEmO - haMsadhwani - rUpaka - (sketch, NS)
nI pAdamulE gatiyani - bhairavi - Adi-2 (R)
maRi vERE - latAngi - k.cApu (RNS)
enta nErcina - sAvEri - Adi (RNS)
nija dAsa - kalyANi - Adi-2 (RNST)
tAm tAm tAm - khamAs - Adi

After finishing ErA nApai in the modern pATha, Sri Shankar sang it from one of the earlier printed notations that he had. The pUrvAnga is pretty much the same, so he sang the uttarAnga alone. This version includes more pas, and the kaNakkus are a little more pronounced while also elegant. I liked it.

Sri Shankar gave a small introduction to the meanings of most kritis. Even though it was Telugu kritis explained in Kannada, it did help.

Anyway, his son (his name is an common one, I thought I'll remember but forgot!) sang a good haMsadhwani neraval and swaram too. The neraval was "maracitivO shrI varada venkaTEshvarA nI manasu karugadEmO". The swarams were sarvalaghu (and there were some places that were "too" sarvalaghu, even for me -- where indeed, an interestingly kArvaied svaram would be the more natural choice). Sri Shankar's son sang some grnp, pgr, etc. which were interesting.

Sri Shankar's bhairavi AlApanai included some pasa's which sounded Anandabhairaviyish. The krti is good, like Shyama Sastri's in some ways, but I didn't like some of the phrases in it iirc. In the AlApanai, Sri Shankar went to ati mandra sthAyi too (to ri or sa).

The latAngi AlApanai was good. Sri Shankar's son took over in the tAra sthAyi. The neraval was done to the anupallavi (dharalOna nI sATi).

The neravals generally had a very long tAra sthAyi exploration, though towards the end Sri Shankar would explore the madhya sthAyi for a while before doing all sthAyis swiftly. There was more fast neraval in general (I liked that).

Most AlApanais were a little sketchy, though the neravals and swarams more than made up generally.

The sAvEri AlApanai had two or three absolutely melting phrases around the panchama, though it was quickly followed by some mds's and mdr's which I don't like. Neraval was done to "varada venkaTEshvara kripa lEka enta nErcina saphalamEmi".

I absolutely LOVED the kalyANi krti, and its rendition was razor-sharp and invigorating (!). Sarvalaghu as well as kaNakku swarams simply flowed from Sri Shankar for this piece.

Now, to the accompanists. Sri Sridhar's bowing was forceful, I liked that. And just that. A day or two ago, I was telling Bilahari that raw physical azhuttam would lead to musical azhuttam, but I was proven totally wrong. The music was very "technically" conceived, and was artificial. Consequently, the latAngi was fair, and the sAvEri and the haMsadhwani were not. Strangely (maybe because of my switching-off skills) I found the kalyANi so-so, but I saw two new-entrant-to-CM-appearing girls leave during it. So I think I should reconsider my opinion on instrumental concerts for newcomers too!

The mridangam accompaniment was fair. The shruti wasn't set carefully, though. The tani was ultra-short, nothing to say about indeed. There were no naDais, not even a faran, just one kOrvai and done.

I did enjoy this concert. PSI's compositions are a little underrepresented (maybe even misrepresented) -- with compositions like maRi vERe dikkevaru being more popular than the nija dAsa, and this one was very educative, even though I've heard ErA nApai, manasu karagadEmO, maRi vERe dikku and enta nErcina earlier.

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Srikant,
Thanks for the review!

Shankar's son is Ramani.

Both J K Sridhar and N Vasudeva are seasoned performers. I hope you will give them a second chance, for you to listen to their music in future performances.

Sreeni Rajarao

[squims]

Thanks for the very detailed review Srikant! I didn't know about this concert, or I'd have tried to make it. Always a pleasure to listen to Shankar sir.

The sAvEri AlApanai had two or three absolutely melting phrases around the panchama, though it was quickly followed by some mds's and mdr's which I don't like.

In my head, the mds and mdr sound very nice in Saveri...hmmmm... maybe it was the placement of the phrases?

[srikant1987]

Srikant,
Thanks for the review!

Thank YOU for mentioning this concert on the Music Festival section.

Both J K Sridhar and N Vasudeva are seasoned performers. I hope you will give them a second chance, for you to listen to their music in future performances.

OK, to balance out, Sri Sridhar's sAvEri employed more pa (and throughout), and I liked that. His neraval replies were generally very faithful to the sAhitya, though the "varada" of the sAvEri line wasn't emphasised neatly with three bows. svaram replies generally reflected Sri Shankar's svarams more than Ramani's. (I thought it was wise and apt too. Actually, Sri Shankar would sing, then the violinist would play, then Ramani would sing.)

For Sri Vasudeva, it's just that the tani was very short. While his accompaniment wasn't intrusive, it didn't compel me to take notice at any place either. I will definitely listen to him again when there's a chance (I generally don't skip concerts even if the mridangist is known to not be of my taste).

I didn't know about this concert, or I'd have tried to make it.

That's sad! Because it was there on rasikas.org (in the Festival section), I thought you would know. Maybe these notices can be put up on Kutcheri Reviews section for better visibility (besides, review can be written on the same thread). But then, what is the Festival section for?

In my head, the mds and mdr sound very nice in Saveri...hmmmm... maybe it was the placement of the phrases?

Oh, yes, they could sound nice, but they are rather gimmicky (this is an excessively strong word, make it 90% milder) when overdone or introduced too early.

[squims]

That's sad! Because it was there on rasikas.org (in the Festival section), I thought you would know. Maybe these notices can be put up on Kutcheri Reviews section for better visibility (besides, review can be written on the same thread). But then, what is the Festival section for?

My bad...

[bilahari]

Congratulations, Srikant! MarivErE was only a submain, against your fears!
I love this kalyANi kriti, too. Thank you for the elaborate review - you should do more of these!

The MDS and MDR,, type phrases are almost necessary in sAvEri, no? Maybe I don't understand exactly what type of phrases with these patterns irritates you. Do you mean those quick phrases running up and down, resting at the shadjam?

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Srikant,
I am glad I posted information about the concert in Music and Festivals sections and it caught your attention! This is my way of making up for not being part of the music happenings in Bangalore!

Now, back to the Saveri discussion between you and Bilahari - you guys bring so much value to this forum with good discussions like that!

[srikant1987]

The MDS and MDR,, type phrases are almost necessary in sAvEri, no? Maybe I don't understand exactly what type of phrases with these patterns irritates you.

Hmm. Thinking again, it's RMD that's the actual irritant.

Just sing SRM,,, RMD,,, MDR,,, and you will understand.

Another thing about the violinist is that he used vibrato in almost every note!

[squims]

Just sing SRM,,, RMD,,, MDR,,, and you will understand.

Ah yes, I see what can be annoying about the RMD in this combination! To me, these phrases put together sound more like 'karnataka suddha saveri' or 'lavangi'.

[arasi]

Sreeni,
Add my name to those of us who missed a concert of Bangalore Shankar. A solid performer.
Yes, they are another violin duo of the reviewer kind which brings another dimension to discussions about a concert. Wish Suji joins them too.

[srikant1987]

To me, these phrases put together sound more like 'karnataka suddha saveri' or 'lavangi'.

To me, however, they remind Scrappy Doo's "tatata tat ta taa", which he says before "Puppy Power!"

[keerthi]

The Md phrase in sAvEri is a sticky and rather avoidable one. It doesn't occur a lot in the songs of the trinity and their contemporaries/ disciples; except in a rare md/M/gr phrase.

All the phrases that srikant lists as irritants, are irritant for two reasons -

1. sAvEri is an avarOha pradhAna rAga, and its svarUpa is best delineated in downward phrases. the srM rmP/rmD etc. are most uncharacteristic moieties to use in sAvEri. I have heard many concerts where a good Alapa and a decent presentation of the krti, were followed by a demolition of the rAga atmosphere, by singing such ArOhi phrases, that smack of malahari and that other suddha sAvERI.

2. The p-D relationship of sAVEri is like that of the other consonant pair - s-R. The D and R are both symmetrically lower in frequency than the suddha notes on a vINa or harmonium keyboard. swarakalpanists tend to ignore this and sing painful flat suddha Da-s and sometimes suddha Ri-s, which again betray leakage of other rAga-s.

The avarOhi d/M/gr has a special M that is slightly elevated, but not as much as in say, gaulipantu. The songs and varNam-s of vINa Kuppayyar show a propensity for the d/m phrase almost at the cost of dpm phrases, and probably reflect an older logos of the rAga.

Similarly, the g and n in certain phrases take positions slightly lower than antara G and kAkali N, and it is important to sing all these phrases as such.

[srikant1987]

the srM rmP/rmD etc. are most uncharacteristic moieties to use in sAvEri.

I used to dislike srM rmP phrase too, but I cultivated a taste for it since it appears in Vidushi Suguna Varadachari's pATha of inta tAmasamayitE (T, cApu).

My dislike for rmD stays.

The avarOhi d/M/gr has a special M that is slightly elevated

How I LOVE that phrase! That hardly came in the AlApanais of the day.

The tendency is to do a dmgaaaaar instead.

[squims]

To me, however, they remind Scrappy Doo's "tatata tat ta taa", which he says before "Puppy Power!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can totally see that! LOL

@keerthi: Thanks for the detailed analysis! Some things in that had only been subconsciously noticed by me, but when you elaborated, it makes sense as to why some things work and some don't.

[bilahari]

Thanks, keerthi, for an educative post that highlighted something that was always at the back of my mind - that much of sAvEri's beauty lies in descending phrases. Indeed, even the SRM RMP MPD type phrases only sound OK when followed by a descent emphasising the madhyamam (SRM RMP MPD,,,PM,,,GR, etc.). I also like it when people do SR SRM S,,,,NDPM,,,,GR. The M to S ascent is very evocative and the subsequent descent nicely uses the nishAdam. Also, a ragam divinely suited for mandra stAyi, where even the most crass use of the SRM RMP phrases sounds OK! Just my personal preferences...