Maharajapuram Ramachandran in San Diego, 11th Oct 2008

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 12 Oct 2008, 12:17

Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego
Venue: Neuroscience Institute

Vocal: Maharajapuram Ramachandran
Violin: B U Ganesh Prasad
Mrudangam: Mannargudi Easwaran

Approximate Songlist:

01. mAl marugan (Varnam) - hindOLam - Adi
02. srI mahAganapathE - nATTai - Adi (S at Pallavi)
03. dEva dEva- mAyAmALavagowLa- rUpakam (N at jATarUpa, S)
04. banturIthi - hamsanAdham - Adi (R, N at rAma nAma manE, S)
05. pariyAchagamA - vanaspathi - rUpakam (S at Pallavi)
06. kuzhalUthum manamellAm - kAmbOji - Adi
07. saravaNa bhava guhanE - madhyamAvathi - Adi (R, N at annaiyOdu thanthai, S, T)
08. srI chakra rAja- rAgamAliga - Adi
09. kshIrAbdi - rAgamAliga - Adi
10. nArAyanA - Shuddha Dhanyasi - khanda chApu
11. kELO sacharithA - rAgamAliga - Adi
12. chinnanjiru kiLiyE - rAgamAligA - Adi
13. vandE mukundham - shanmugapriyA - Adi
14. bhO shambhO - rEvathi - Adi
(Preceded by viruttam, "petra thAi," in rEvathi)
15. pavamAna (Mangalam) - sowrashtram - Adi

This was my first experience listening to Maharajapuram Ramachandran, having dismissed him mostly as his father's clone, and this concert proved that while MSR has an almost indentical voice to his father's, his music is of his own making.

The concert had a rather nondescript start with a rare varnam (of TSI?) that in my opinion, is not particularly arresting, followed by a nAttai krithi I have never heard before. MSR was having some ignition problems during these two krithis, stopping suddenly mid-line, his voice not really reaching the upper octave easily, and during a brief accident, his nAttai became gowLai.

He settled down finally in dEva dEva, giving a nice rendition of the krithi with a top-class neraval and some nice swara patterns with janta sequences. Bantureethi was a request, and effectively turned into the submain with an imaginative and aesthetic alapanai with sequences in akAram and mkAram, as the organiser observed in his speech, and the latter taking him right to the mandra shadjam where he lingered beautifully for a moment. His neraval attempt in rAma nAma was quite good as well, and the swaras were standard.

PariyAchagamA was the rendition that I will easily remember this concert by. It wasn't elaborate but it was immensely touching. MSR's voice was in fine fettle, caressing the gentle glides from the ga to the ri, bringing out the pathos of the composition with great sensitivity, and the keezh kAla swaras at the end were no less touching, especially with the lovely slides introduced in the phrase, "GMN,,,D," with which he would take up the pallavi.

Madhyamavathi was the main, and the vocalist's alapani was hardly standard. He used attractive thanam-like phrases about the panchamam, like PMMPMMP,P,,,, and incrementally introduced sangathis within this framework. He explored the mandra sthayi again at the end and ended with a gentle, lovely, "N,,S...N,,S...N,,S." I have never heard this krithi, Saravana Bhava, before, and found it very beautiful. His neraval in AnnaiyOdu was a bit too brief, but the swaras were well done.

Although I was disappointed that there was no RTP, I enjoyed the slew of thukkadas that followed, and the verve with which MSR sang them. There was a heap of chits on his lap that he was going through one by one until Mannargudi Easwaran confiscated the pile before the bhO shambhO, saying another concert was necessary to satisfy the request-happy audience (who numbered not more than 100). MSR brought the concert to an electrifying close with the tAra sthAyi ending of bhO shambhO.

The organiser summed up MSR's concert well in one word: majestic. MSR has a powerful and cultured voice that he uses to its full capability, but more than that, his krithi renditions are musical, the sangathis executed with total control, the sahitya well enunciated.

Ganesh Prasad was quite good on the violin, playing a nice Madhyamavathi alapanai with a nice exploration of the lower octave. He also played exclusively in the lower octave for chinnanjiru killiyE, providing a very nice complementary effect. Otherwise, his violin was sometimes screechy and his sangathis weren't always handled very clearly.

Mannargudi Easwaran's accompaniment was vibrant, energetic, and enthusiastic. He filled up the spaces in renditions wonderfully, anticipated excellently, and played an elegant thani that was short but more than just sweet. There is a certain clarity to his strokes that is highly appealing.

All in all, it was an enjoyable concert, but even if MSR was singularly going to sing that ten-minute pariyAchagamA tonight, I would've attended the concert.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 12 Oct 2008, 12:58

Thanks BIlahari. MSR is a no-frills performer who does not get the attention or audiences he deserves. I personally like his vigorous style even more than his father's!

Saravana Bhava Guhane is among Sivan's many krithis that convince me that he is not oo far behind the trinity in the pecking order of composers.

revanthv552 · Post by **revanthv552** » 12 Oct 2008, 13:45

Whos composition is vandE mukhundam vandE aravindam??
is it Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda??

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 12 Oct 2008, 14:27

bilahari wrote:This was my first experience listening to Maharajapuram Ramachandran, having dismissed him mostly as his father's clone, and this concert proved that while MSR has an almost indentical voice to his father's, his music is of his own making. The concert had a rather nondescript start with a rare varnam (of TSI?) .......
Although I was disappointed that there was no RTP,

bilahari,
Excellent phrase , I hope you drove the nail in most of the rasikas heads that rAmachandran should not be dismissed just as a clone to santhAnam. With a risk of repetition as stated sometime before in maharAjapuram thread ,

1. In general we all rasikas have stacked our houses with santhAnam' s casettes and CD's , because of that we see more repetition. In general I don't mind repetitions to that extent , it is only how one sings each of them that day that matters more than repetition.

2. When rAmachandran started alone after SanthAnam's untimely demise he was not that good (perils of singing too long as a supporting artist), but in the last 4 to 5 years he is just wonderful with lot of manOdharma sangeetha piDI's in alApanais,swaras and his immaculate shruti must have been perfect.

I just love this mAl marugan , it is a composition of TM ThyagarAjan's and not TSI. In general I share your disappointment , he generally does not sing RTP much at all.

I personally connect RAmachandran more with his illustrious thAthA MVI in manOdharmam then aesthetics of his appA santhAnam.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 12 Oct 2008, 14:30

bilahari wrote:Ganesh Prasad was quite good on the violin, playing a nice Madhyamavathi alapanai with a nice exploration of the lower octave. He also played exclusively in the lower octave for chinnanjiru killiyE, providing a very nice complementary effect. Otherwise, his violin was sometimes screechy and his sangathis weren't always handled very clearly.

Usually rAmachandran does not allow any violinist to return volleys, he generally always cuts short . I guess that is because he has resembled more his thAthA VishwanAtha Iyer

. So not sure if Ganesh prasad can be faulted for that.

cmvenkat · Post by **cmvenkat** » 12 Oct 2008, 18:59

The "organiser' actually referred to his m-kAram in the hamsanadam alapana.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 12 Oct 2008, 20:46

I agree that MSR is generally more aggressive than his father (though in one or two concerts I've heard, Santhanam sang really aggressive and pacy alapanais in Dharmavathy and Hindolam). MSR actually once even let the violinist play after an elaborate korvai-- the violinist was quite amazed and confused until MSR waved in his direction!

Incidentally, how good is Maharajapuram Srinivasan? I've not heard much about him at all.

MSR also related a joke about a sabha concert where an unknown bhAgavathar was finally given an opportunity to sing, and towards the end of the concert, a pile of requests was sitting on his lap. Curious, the sabha secretary asked him at the end what all those chits were, and he said, "they were all requesting me to sing Mangalam!" And then MSR added, "But these chits I have are not like that."

And "organiser" sir, thanks for the correction!

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 12 Oct 2008, 21:12

Maharajapuram Ramachandran and Mah. Srinivasan could not come up, because they just wanted to copy his father in not only kriti rendering but also selection of kritis. Dr.Ganesh also got side lined because of this. The above list is one sample where all the songs including the Varnam had been rendered by Mah. Santanam. Rasikas request is always there at the end because they still love the mesmerising voice of Mah. Santanam. As you know in Tamil Nadu, some people still love MGR and you can see some Autos carrying his photos. Mr.Murthy's upload in Sangeethapriya.org of at least a dozen concert of Mah. Santhanam. He has repeated many songs again and again. Mah.Santham got away with it. My idea is not to under estimate his vidwat since he is the 7 PM slot Music Academy pick this year.

If anybody wants Madhyamavathi rendering (same song) by Mah. santhanm. I will upload.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 12 Oct 2008, 22:21

grsastrigal wrote:Maharajapuram Ramachandran and Mah. Srinivasan could not come up, because they just wanted to copy his father in not only kriti rendering but also selection of kritis. Dr.Ganesh also got side lined because of this.

grs,
Looking at few posts in the past ,you certainly bit putting down rAmachandran a lot . Every musician wants to take a captive audience and hold them . Certainly all three were trying to do.

In my opinion ,rAmachandran does have a lot of interesting krithis in his pack ,that santhAnam has not delivered that well . Like hiranmayeem in lalitA, kArthikeya kAngeya in tOdi, 4 rAga pallavi in sAveri+tOdi+darbAr + kalyAni and this mAl marugan in hindOlam. Also please bear in mind when SanthAnam was at his best, he was well supported by rAmachandran or srinivasan or Dr ganesh, that support gave a lot of lung space which in turn led to excellence .Unfortunately this generation of maharAjapuram does not have that .

Just as an exercise go to sangeethapriyA , download the shri mahAganapathE in nAttai(mAyuram vishwanAtha sastry composition) of both santhAnam and rAmachandran, see the difference of kalpana swara manOdharmam it is certainly there. I would love you not to use such words the musicians have not come up. That is bit strong, of course choice is yours you take it or drop it. Surely rAmachandran has come up strongly

.

Here is a different take than your MGR analogy .Remember if you mean really come up as that of that Don bradmAn (santhAnam), only garfield sobers (arunA sayeerAm) has come up to that extent. Rest will never come up as much as bradmAn or sobers.

With respect to srinivAsan ,I have heard two concerts one by himself and the other supported by ganesh vishwanAthan , 4th generation maharAjapuram , son of SrinivAsan . Certainly the concerts were not upto mark , but certainly there were quite few tukkadAs where srinivasan brought the emotive appeal .

As far as Dr Ganesh , certainly he is a poor marketer. I heard he has taken lot of spirituality in general , perhaps he is being sidelined , as with many musicians of today. How many of them are struggling there , remember since he is not given more concert chances that is why he is not able to increase his repertoire. I once heard a fantastic gAnamudhapAnam in jyothiswaroopini , certainly not heard that from his guru santhanam .

Overall at times the fault is more with we rasikas where we are just accusing musicians of repetition.Just perhaps we have to suspend the early cynicism where we brand musicians of repetition .Certainly a lot of forbearance there would be of great help us to appreciate better.At times a well sung repetition is better than diluting the musical bhAvam with some rare untested and poorly practiced krithi.

manikand28 · Post by **manikand28** » 12 Oct 2008, 22:40

waiting for concert at SIFA today. in San Jose hopefully some experts will have a review here

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 13 Oct 2008, 23:52

rajeshnat wrote:I just love this mAl marugan , it is a composition of TM ThyagarAjan's and not TSI.

There are two varnams both starting as mAl marugan and in Hindolam - one is by TM Thyagarajan and one by TSI

The varnam in this page is by TM Thyagarajan

http://sangeethamshare.org/tvg/UPLOADS- ... LIKRISHNA/

The one on the following page is by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer

http://www.sangeethamshare.org/nanda/Va ... _list.html

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 14 Oct 2008, 00:09

manikand28 wrote:waiting for concert at SIFA today. in San Jose hopefully some experts will have a review here

I attended the SIFA concert partly - Items Sri Ramachandran presented included Sahana varNa, anudinamunu (bEgaDe), pariyAchakamA ( vanaspati), evvarE rAmayya (gAbgEya bhUShaNi), kuzhalUdi manamellAm ( kAmbhOji). I had to leave as he started with an AlApane in varALi.

I really enjoyed it. Both the vivAdi rAgas were handled very well, and I liked the rendition of both compositions.

-Ramakriya

manikand28 · Post by **manikand28** » 14 Oct 2008, 00:20

Why is Maharajapuram Ramachandran not featured in http://www.maharajapuram.in site? It has viswanatha iyer, santhanam, srinivasan and ganesh.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 14 Oct 2008, 01:49

mmmmm......manikand28....you are allowed one guess !!

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 14 Oct 2008, 11:57

Sibling feud?! Even if it were Srinivasan's website, surely he could've acknowledged the existence of his brother at least!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 15 Oct 2008, 21:58

sramaswamy wrote:
rajeshnat wrote:I just love this mAl marugan , it is a composition of TM ThyagarAjan's and not TSI.
There are two varnams both starting as mAl marugan and in Hindolam - one is by TM Thyagarajan and one by TSI

sramaswamy
Tx for pointing out TSI, not aware of that . I see references that MLV has sung TSI's composition . TMT's varnam starts with mAl mArugan murugan KolAkalan, and I was assuming that .

Lji,
Do you have the starting lines of TSI's varnam.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Oct 2008, 23:13

Rajesh,
Last season, Shriranjani Santhanagopalan sang TSI's varNam very well at Carnatica's series at Swamy Hall. Of course, her father sings it too!

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 15 Oct 2008, 23:27

rajeshnat wrote: sramaswamy
Tx for pointing out TSI, not aware of that . I see references that MLV has sung TSI's composition . TMT's varnam starts with mAl mArugan murugan KolAkalan, and I was assuming that .

Lji,
Do you have the starting lines of TSI's varnam.

TMT's composition as I have learnt it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mAl marugan murugan (tv). rAgA: hindOLa. Adi tALA. Composer: T.M.Tyagarajan.

P: mAl marugan murugan kOla halan kumaran
A: vElAyudan vaDivElan pAlAbhishekhan paNirukaiyan
C: vaLLi maNavALan varam aruLvAn

TSI's lyrics given below is from an earlier posting of Lakshman.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mAl marugan (varNa). rAgA: hindOLa. Adi tALA. Composer: Tanjavur Shankara Iyer.

P: mAl marugan murugan SaNmukhan manam kAttaruL dayALan
A: vEl aNindu viLangubavan mayilEri vandaruLbavan
C: anbAnavan azhagan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 16 Oct 2008, 03:41

MSR sang TMT's version only in this concert. Wonder if there are any recordings of the TSI composition floating online.

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 16 Oct 2008, 23:32

bilahari wrote:MSR sang TMT's version only in this concert. Wonder if there are any recordings of the TSI composition floating online.

I have a copy of the varnam on the Sangeethapriya Varnam page

http://www.sangeethamshare.org/nanda/Va ... _list.html

The link does not seem to be working now. I can send it to you if are interested.

cmvenkat · Post by **cmvenkat** » 29 Oct 2008, 10:32

The song "vande mukundam" was actually sung in what sounded to me as jOnpuri even though the tamil verse sung before that was in shanmukhapriya.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 30 Oct 2008, 12:01

Yeah, I wasn't very sure about that song, so I just put the raga of the preceding verse...