M S Sheela @ Nadasurabhi on Sunday 18-Sept-11

[kssr]

Nadasurabhi invitation reads as follows. It is a free concert.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nadasurabhi Cultural Association, (Regd.)
662, 6th Cross, 17th Main , 3rd Block, Koramangala, Bangalore.560 034.
Phone: 25539368. Email:[email protected]. http://nadasurabhi.org

Cordially invites you for the Monthly Programme on
Sunday, 18th September 2011 at 4.15 PM

Venue: The Indian Heritage Academy Hall,
6th Block, Near Police Station, Koramangala, Bangalore. 560 095.



A Special Concert on Karnataka Composers
Ganakalashree Smt.M.S.Sheela - Vocal
Vidwan C.N.Chandrasekhar - Violin
Vidwan B.C.Manjunath - Mridangam
Vidwan Phanindra Bhaskara - Ghatam

All are Welcome.
• Smt. M.S.Sheela is one of the leading Carnatic Vocalists in Karnataka. A disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi Dr.R.K.Srikantan, her carnatic concerts are noted for a truly traditional style, a rich voice with excellent manodharma. She has the rare distinction of being a top rank artist of AIR and Doordarshan in both classical and light music. She has travelled all over the world giving music concerts. She has also co-founded “Hamsadwani” to bring out thematic music CDs. She is a recipient of the prestigious Rajyothsava award among many other laurels.

• Annual Music Festival: Dates: 9th to 13th November 2011. Venue: Main St.John’s Auditorium. This year will feature senior vidwans and vidushis Malladi Brothers, Unnikrishnan, Ranjani and Gayathri, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Neela Ramgopal and MS Gopalakrishnan. The “Sangeetha Surabhi” annual award will be bestowed on Carnatic Music legend Padmashri Sangita Kalanidhi Sri.M.S.Gopalakrishnan. Our once-a-year appeal soliciting donations have been sent out to all members and donors. Kindly donate generously. Donations enjoy 80G I.T. exemption Entry for concerts will continue to be free. Visit our website http://nadasurabhi.org for details.

[kssr]

This concert is tomorrow, Sunday. The last two concerts of Smt.Sheela I have attended, one last week, have been impressive. Voice quality robust through the entire range.The volume is full and at the same time it is quite sweet. Looking forward to it.

[ranjanimalavi]

M.S.Sheela - Vocal
C.N.Chandrasekhar - Violin
B.C.Manjunath - Mridangam
Phanindra Bhaskara - Ghatam

1. ?
2. Gam Ganapathe - Hamsadhwani - HMB (S)
3. Neekeppudu Dayavachunu - Abhogi - MSR (RNS)
4. Saraswathim bhagavathim - Hamsavinodhini - JCW (R)
5. Sri Chamundeshwari - Bilahari - MV
6. Amba Brovave - Dharmavathi - Bidaram Krishnappa (RNS)
7. Sharade subhra hare - Sharadapriya - Mysore Venkatagiriappa
8. Nee Kela Daya Radhu - Kadanakuthuhalam - MV
9. annapUrNEshvari akhilEshvari - Karaharapriya - HMB (RNS)
10. Thani
11. kamalamukhiyE kamalAlayE – mOhana kalyANi – Gopala Dasa
12. Thillana - MohanaKalyani - MV
13. Mangalam - Sowrashtram - T

What a concert. Was a real pleasure listening to the concert.
M. S. Sheela was accompanied by 5 of her younger disciples.

Spirited thani.

Raman

[squims]

Great song list! And knowing Smt. Sheela, the execution would have been top notch as well! Very sad that I missed this.

[gardabha_gana]

WOW - any recordings kssr sir? - bad time to be out of the country

[kartik]

Annapoorneswari is one of the most brilliant compositions of HMB, replete with beautiful sangathis. I wonder if she sang all the sangathis in the pallavi.

[srikant1987]

A Karnataka composer-composed mangalam would have been more appropriate. Stayed until the kharaharapriya began. Krti renditions were good. I particularly enjoyed the AbhOgi. The AbhOgi AlApanai (and violin return) was good too.

Before the gam gaNapatE, there was a pantuvarALi Adi-tALa varNam of, I think, Mysore Sadashiva Rao. I forgot the lyrics. I have no memory of the hamsavinOdini.

[varsha]

A Karnataka composer-composed mangalam would have been more appropriate.
Take Heart . Before anything , the Mangalam came at the end . Not at the beginning or Middle . You know of any Karnataka Composer-Composed Mangalam ?

[ranjanimalavi]

I haven't heard the HMB Karaharapriya before, so I don't know whether they sang all sangathis.
But I can say they sang many sangathis, so it may be complete.
Infact students were singing some of the sangathis of karaharapriya.

I might have jumbled the order of one or two songs.

Purandara dasa has a mangalam, for me pavamana is good.

Initially I thought with 5 students sitting on the stage, it may result in lots chorus singing, but it didn't.
They sang only Gam Ganapthe, annapUrNEshvari, kamalamukhiyE, Thillana together.

I hardly listen to Mysore Sadashiva Rao's compositions though being in Bangalore.
Finally got to listen one, which was very good.

Raman

[eppramod]

I was very fortunate to attend this one..It was indeed a brilliant concert i thought!

She announced what she will be singing for the concert, rather than concentrating on Dasar compositions,
she told she will be singing the compositions of 19th-20th century Mysore/Karnataka composers.
She started with Mysore Sadashivarao's Pantuvarali varnam.For Abhogi piece(which was very beautiful)
she didn't sing neraval but swaras were brilliant.Hamsavinodini kriti she sang after Dharmavathi sub main.
Sharadapriya is also known as Rathipathipriya it seems (she announced this)

She told Jayachamaraja Wodeyar used to compose kritis similar to the way Muthuswami Deekshithar did (with raga mudra etc).
Kharaharapriya kriti as told had lots of sangathis and it was brilliantly sung.

I think mohana kalyani kriti was set to tune by her only (brain drain can confirm).

It was a great concert!

Pramod

[braindrain]

I might have jumbled the order of one or two songs.

4,5,6 are in this order ...

04 srI chAmuNDEswari pAlayamAm - bilahari - Mysore Vasudevachar
05 amba brOvavE - dharmavathi - Bidaram Krishnappa ( A,N,S )
06 saraswatim bhagavatim namamyaham - hamsavinOdini - Jaya Chamarajendra Wodeyar ( A )

varNam was "intha sowkhya' in Pantuvarali by Mysore Sadashiva Rao.

Thillana, I thought was of T Chowdiah's in Nalinakanthi. It started as ' nAdir tanOm tanana dhIm' and the charanam was starting at 'ninnE nODi'..

[kssr]

It was an amazing concert for 3 hrs 15 min. MSS's voice is really great. No shrieks- No faltering - No false voice- No nasal voice. There was not a single sagging moment in the entire duration. Brigas come easily- without strain to herself or to the audience . She herelf enjoys the music and this creates a happy and cheerful mood with the rasikas as well.
I was a bit apprehensive on seeing a whole lot of disciples on the stage- is it going to be a bhajan of some sort But it was not so. Whenever the young ladies joined in, the synchronisation was perfect and these numbers too added to the overall success of the concert.

One more review:

http://kpjayan.wordpress.com/

[srikant1987]

04 srI chAmuNDEswari pAlayamAm - bilahari - Mysore Vasudevachar
05 amba brOvavE - dharmavathi - Bidaram Krishnappa ( A,N,S )
06 saraswatim bhagavatim namamyaham - hamsavinOdini - Jaya Chamarajendra Wodeyar ( A )

Oh then OK ... because I thought I was attentive till the dharmavati, and simply couldn't recall a hamsavinOdini before it ...

[gardabha_gana]

My favorite Mysore Sadasiva Rao's composition is Saketa Nagarnatha(HK) - KVN/RKS/MLV etc have rendered it. Has anyone recorded the concert - and if so could you please share it?

[Sreeni Rajarao]

#7, Srikant1987 wrote :
"A Karnataka composer-composed mangalam would have been more appropriate"

#9 Ranjanimalavi wrote :
"Purandara dasa has a mangalam"

Yes, there are many mangaLa songs available, mannAru kRShnage mangaLa in vasanta rAga being one such.

I wish we get to hear the audio of this concert!

M S Sheela is an excellent performer, no doubt!

[braindrain]

Yes, there are many mangaLa songs available, mannAru kRShnage mangaLa in vasanta rAga being one such.

Would Sri Lakshman have a ready list ?

[ranjanimalavi]

I have heard these two, from sangeethapriya

Mangalam - Indhina VAra Shubha VAra MadhyamAvathi - PD By MLV
Mangalam - Dhanyasi - PD By Bangalore Shankar

Raman

[kssr]

WOW - any recordings kssr sir?

Travails of a "recording" rasika:

My efforts at recording concerts started decades back. Armed with a Rs.15 season ticket at the Fort High School concerts, I used to carry a heavy tripod and the full size tape video recorder (not handycam of these days), sit way back among the milling crowds and try recording concerts. I have an MS and Semmangudi recording, recorded this way. Also, Maharajapuram @ Gayana samaj shot from 1st floor (You should of course understand that due to non availability of a second battery, I could get only just over an hour's programme. The screen will also sometimes get bla(o)cked out, when a wall of a person's back would cross the screen while finding his/her seat in an earlier row). This was in the 80s.

With regard to audio, I used to carry a portable tape recorder, put it in front of a speaker and record. When availability of audio tapes became a rarity, I decided to go for mp3 recording.

First, I bought a Sony (chinese duplicate) USB player and voice recorder. As the recording quality was poor, I purchased a Philips (original) voice recorder. The recording was even worse.

In the meantime, one of my friends gave a software (free) to convert audio tapes to mp3. I took this entire set up- laptop, connectors, et al to the concert and requested the technician to give an input. Alas, the recordings from the tape as well as the concert, in spite of the grand apparatus were highly distorted. Then by using my superior intelligence I surmised that the amplifier was actually getting saturated and by tuning down the volume of the input signal, I could get good tape to mp3 conversions. But this, as you can imagine is a very tedious business. Still concert recording is not possible, as there is no provision to reduce the volume of the "out" signal from the music system.

There is another elderly rasika who is successful in getting good mp3 recordings in concerts. He has a recording device and a good mike. He clips the mike on to his belt right in the place where he sits and the recording is fairly decent. (If I use he technique I am afraid that my tummy rumblings may also get recorded )But he has bought the stuff somewhere in the US.

Recently I checked with the Sony showroom in Bangalore. They have a voice recorder with built in double mike. The sales guy was not very enthusiastic when I told him about music recording. It is just for dictation. Even this is not in stock for quite sometime now. Costs Rs.9000.

There I hit the wall. I still hope that a recorder with a good mic attachment should do the job. If and when I succeed, I will definitely record MSS's next concert I saw one gentleman making a video recording (which also doubled itself as a photo camera with a flash!) at the concert. I have requested to slip in a CD for me Hope he does that.

[kssr]

[hariniraghavan]

Braindrain, u r right that the thillana was in nalinakanthi and composed by T. Chowdiah. As forMangalams composed by Purandaradasa, there are many apart from Mannarukrishnage and indinadinave shubha dinavu. About 10 of them starting with the words 'Jaya mangalam' in different ragas, 4 starting with 'Mangalam, Jaya mangalam', 'Mangalam maa ramanage. magalam sree tulasi. 'Gopa gopi sutanige..' is another mangalam sung mostly in bhairavi.
Kadri Gopalnath generally concludes his concert with Bhagyada laksmi baramma in sree raga.

Harini.

[arasi]

Missed such a sparkling concert That kharaharapriya song is something I haven't heard before.
M. M. Sheela's concert is always satisfying. Her confidence and her vidvat translate into a lively performance. There is a freshness about her singing which appeals to me.
Please post some recording (of the kharaharapriya, if possible). Hope she does not mind.

[keerthi]

Nice song list.

There are many many mangalams in the tradition of karNATak music as well as in the state of karnATaka, which do not get enough attention. SadAshiva rao has a mangalam in vasanta, and there are rAllapalli mangalams in kApi, kambOdhi and pharaj. There are countless other mangalams that our ajji-s sing, that are of unknown authorship, but have been kept alive in their collective memories.

tyAgaraja has mangalams in ghaNTA, mOhana. I think shahaji has one in nATTai. These observations are useful to debunk any myths we may harbour about what is and isn't a mangala rAga. I am yet to hear a rAga used by the trinity, and their predecessors that sounds amangala.

[arasi]

All this really makes me wonder:
Why do almost all musicians think that the one quick verse of 'pavamAna' (not even prahlAda nAradAdi to go with it), mostly sung in a hurry (sometimes to catch that train) is plenty? Either they feel like they have heard the school bell go and are in a rush to get out of the class, or, simply want to stick to the traditional one. I like vAzhiya Sendamizh in some TN concerts, but there too, it's under-a-minute, one verse thing! 'inRemai varuttum innalgaL mAiga, nanmai vandaiduga, tIdellAm naliga!' and other verses added, is bound to do justice to the poet--and 'a bit longer' mangaLams of all kinds are most welcome!

[annamalai]

There is a mangalam rudrapatnam brothers sing "ambuja dalakshage mangala ..." suratti kanaka dasa composition as i understand.
KSG often concludes the concert with Bagayatha lakshmi in Sree.
KVN used to sing Bujagasayeeno - in yadhukulakaboji as mangalam

The audience are often most restless and ready to hit the exit when the mangalam starts
In a concert, MDR has mentioned - mangalam is the most important part of a concert. please remain seated - . But MDR's rendition of mangalam lasts 10 minutes ...

[kartik]

SadAshiva rao has a mangalam in vasanta

HMb has one in Vasantha too and one in Kalyani IIRC.

[keerthi]

HMb has one in Vasantha too and one in Kalyani IIRC.

vasantA yes.. The other one is in pantuvarALi.

[kartik]

The other one is in pantuvarALi.

Exactly!

Jaya jaya jaya shri karnataka janadhara in Kalyani was during the coronation of JCW, isnt?

[keerthi]

Yes, it gives details of the date day and the lagna in which JCW was crowned, and invokes the blessings of cAmuNDAmbA on the king and the state.

[kartik]

I think there was a mangalam in Asaveri that TNS sang in the Thodi thematic concert some years back at Bangalore if I remember correctly.