vasundhara Rajagopal@Music Academy(Mini) on Nov 07th,2014

[rajeshnat]

vasundhara Rajagopal@Music Academy(Mini) on Nov 07th,2014
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Vocal : vasundhara Rajagopal
Violin : Shertalai Sivakumar
Mrudangam : kallidakurichi Sivakumar

Concert duration/Day : 2 hours /Friday
Concert Type : Nirvana (prime evening concert , no concert to follow)
Sabha/Hall : MusicAcademy/Kasturi Srinivasan Hall(MA Mini)
Crowd : ~20
Ticket : Free
Theme : Sanskrit Compositions

1A. shree chakra rAjarajEshwari - nAttai slokham - SS
1B. pAhi mAm shree rAja rajEshwari - nAttai - SS
2. shree ranganatha palayamAm - kalyana vasantham - JCW

3. sujana jeevana (R,S) - kamas - T
4 mins alapana and 2 mins violin return
4 mins swaras
4. sadA sAranga nayanE (R,S) - ranjani - H yoganarasimham
7 mins alapana and 4 mins violin return

5A. anandavalli stuthi - namastE lalitA devi shree simhAsanEshwari ..shree anandavalli nomustutE
5B. anandavalli - neelAmbari - ST
6. namO namO lakshmi narasimha - poornachandrika - AnnamacharyA

7A. rAmachandrAya namastE (R N S T) - tOdi - MD
11 mins alapana and 5 mins violin return
6 mins neraval dasharada rAja kumarAya danda kAranyA and 4 mins swaras
7B. tani for 6 mins
8. thillana - vita samavarajAla - vasantA - OVK

9. anilatharala (Raga sketch) - vishwapriya - Jayadeva
10. pibarE rAmarasam - Ahirbhairav - SB
11. vijaya gOpAlathE - shuruTTi - NT

[rajeshnat]

I have personally heard Smt vasundhara just once ,9 or 10 years back in an academy afternoon crt during season. I recollect one lovely number then when she sang OdOdi vandeN in dharmavathi. It was nearly the same ododi vanden - predicament for me ,on a weekday at 06:30 PM to reach MA from my workplace . vasundhara performed in renovated MA Mini auditorium with five star chairs and audio , with an AC that was kind of irritating me because of slight viral indisposition.

vasundhara has learnt from few gurus the two most notable that I recollect is Prof TRS and Calcutta KSK , both have indeed taught her to present compositions from a wider canvas and she indeed showed that aspect of nice spread in true KSK and TRS way.

I was late when she gave an introduction and gave few pointers on SS and sanskrit and I think the slokham is also by SS .nattai always is a top notch raga to start with and she started not in the usual flyer start but did warm up some what ok.

kalyana vasantham came next with mysore wodeyar maharaja krithi and I enjoy generally this raga . The krithi was too short but I missed a little more emotive alankaram there. Sadguru sanskrit composition in kamas came next ,the alapana was on typical ,,, contour and the krithi lacked a certain intensity of rhythmmic tightness, but in swaras she did very well - that too she sang in one go most of the swaras - like a mini TRS.

The best part of the concert was the next two ranjani and neelambari . HEr voice is more suited to bring more emote than a leash of striking manodharma . Ranjani raga alapana was excellent and the krithi was sung so well with its round of cittaswaras . The best of best was indeed her neelambari . This neelambari anandavalli is such an extraordinary composition , KSK's popular student sanjay sings this so well . Possibly I am guessing she learnt this number from KSK , I particularly like her start with a short sthuthi in neelambari , it touched my heart and the palanquin like light shakes in neelambari gave me so much joy. A wonderful neelambari by vasundhara and i went to padmanabhaswamy temple in kanyakumari.

THe main was todi , a typical stage 1 keezh kalam and an unusual very limited salvos of brigas in todi during alapana . My mind was kind of made up that it would be a MD krithi then - I was thinking either krishnam bhaja manasa or kamalamba todi krithi , but out popped a surprise krithi ramachandrAya . I was not that impressed with neraval and swaras. THe preceding namO namO in poornachandrika also did not impress me , it was one of AC sanskrit composition to give a tick mark to the composer but not to the compostion.

In tukkadas she really made up to near neelambari ranjani ecstasy. The vasantha tillana was a thAlamAliga and it is so nice to hear a thillana in vasanta , there is just very few thillanas in vasanta apart from OVk (one dead and one living), so it was so nice to hear a thillana in vasantha . Maharajapuram santhanam had a special emote for anilatharala in viswapriya, it used to be one of my favourites when I started to listen to cm. I was very glad to hear this super emotive jayadeva asthapadi in vishwapriya . Pibare Ramarasam was very nice and the last NT shurutti was new to me

THe violinist shivakumar was not consistent in melody but he made up well during second half. The other mrudangist sivakumar had a nice kalapramanam and he certainly did up the concert . His tani was just going with the flow of the song and there was nothing much to rave about.

Vasudhara apart from singing has a really great speaking voice. Her english was impeccable and her choice of words was concise , I do know she has worked in canada so that must have helped her. I came satisfied with her emote and melody but missed more expansion in her concert. The crowd could have been more , but I admire her sincerity there irrespective of poor turnout. Her iPad Tablet indeed helped.

Overall very good concert for 2 hours.

[rshankar]

Sounds like a nice concert, Rajesh, thank you for the review. I have not heard many of the compositions.
sadA sAranga nayanE is by Sri Yoga Narasimham, not Yogam which is like a woman's name...I heard this lovely composition for the first time when Smt. MSS sang it in a CD. One of my classmates from school is married to his grandson, and for their daughter's arangETRam, this kRti was adapted as a padam, IIRC.
And who is AC?

[sridhar_ranga]

And who is AC?

Ravi, these should help you!

Clue: No, he is not the philanthropist who built a college in Karaikudi

Clue: He lived in the 15th century and composed thousands of songs on the lord of a certain hill shrine

clue: born in a family that followed a certain Shankar's philosophy, he defected to a certain Ram(anuj) philosophy, after undergoing pancha samskaram

[rajeshnat]

Ravi
I have changed the composer yoga narasimham. I heard for the first time this krithi sada saranga nayane in a famous casette of aruna sairam titled madhusmrithi .Then only I knew ms amma has sung this song.

AC is expanded , I should have done it before - atleast I consistently hate another AC in music concert halls which aggravates every vocal and rasikas throat, the violin string and the mrudangam skin. :ymsigh:

[Lakshman]

The composer of sadA sAranmga nayane is H.Yoganarasimham - not yoga narasimham.

[cienu]

The link of Smt MSS and Smt Radha singing Sada Saranga Nayane.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs058bYKzzM

[CRama]

Rajesh, Thanks for your review. Looks like a good concert.
I have heard Vasundhara Rajagopal a few times and have always been impressed. I have written reviews in this forum also. Her style definitely reveals her abhyasam under TRS. Her kriti rendition, swara kalpanas are TRSish. In fact when you reviewed Salem Gayathri Venkatesan concert and observed TRS flavour in her concert, (You were hearing TRS in GV) I thought you should hear VR. Her communication skills are also very good. Hope to hear her in this season.

I have heard one Hanuman Chalisa and some devotional songs on Hanuman rendered by Vasundhara Rajagopal. Top class.

[rajeshnat]

Lji
Corrected as you suggested H Yoganarasimham. You should have heard her a lot of times in toronto right.

[vasanthakokilam]

clue: born in a family that followed a certain Shankar's philosophy, he defected to a certain Ram(anuj) philosophy

quite a contextual Inter thread communication

[Lakshman]

rajeshnat: Yes we did hear Vasundhra sing often in Toronto. I know the family very well. Have seen Nisha since she was a kid.

[harimau]

Have seen Nisha since she was a kid.

The Southern expression, which is far more eloquent, is "from the time she was knee high to a grasshopper".

Translation of that into chaste Tamil are welcome.