Smt. Suguna Varadachari - Vocal
Dr. R. Hemalatha - Violin
Kallidaikurichi Sri Sivakumar - Mrudangam
Nerkunam Sri Sankar - Khanjira
Kum. Vidya Kalyanaraman - Vocal Support
1. ErA nApai - tOdi - adi [2] - kottavAsal venkaTarama iyer
2. paramEshvara jagadIshvara - nATa - adi - dIkshitar [S at 'shankara pAhi mAm - Eduppu 5 aksharams before samam]
3. slOkam 'guravE sarva lOkAnAm' - shankarAbharaNam + shri dakshiNAmUrtE - shankarAbharaNam - jhampa - dIkshitar [N at 'sukhatara pravrttE svAgnAna nivrttE', S]
4. kanna taNDri nApai - dEvamanOhari - adi - tyAgarAjA
5. entani nE varNintunu - mukhAri - rUpaka - tyAgarAjA [R, S at 'kanulAra sEvinCi']
6. varuvArO varam taruvArO - sAmA - adi - gOpAlakrishNa bhArati [R sketch]
7. maraCitivEmO - pUrvikalyANi - adi [2] - maisUr vAsudEvACar [R, N at 'nijamukha satatamu nammiti sarasija lOCana, S at 'satatamu', T]
8. bhOgIndra shAyinam - kuntalavarALi - khaNDa CApu - svAti tiruNAL
9. rAgam.tAnam.pallavi - tODi - tisra jhampa [6 beats], misra gati [7 aksharas per beat], eDuppu 2 aksharas after samam
'krishNA mukundA giridhAri, rAdhA samEta'
krish - 1 NA - 5
mu -1 kun - 2 dA - 4
gi - 1.5 ri - 1.5 dhA - 1.5
rI [arudi] - 8
rA - 2 dhA - 4
sa - 1 mE - 4 ta - 4
10. gOvindA harE gOvindA - rAgamAlikA - adi - Suguna Purushottaman
11. tillAnA - gambhIravANi - adi - T. K. Govinda Rao
12. pavamAna - saurASTra - adi - tyAgarAjA
Smt. Suguna Varadachari at SFAS, Mumbai - 16.02.2009
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shankarabharanam
- Posts: 296
- Joined: 24 Apr 2006, 09:12
I missed the initial few krithis..but from devamanohari, it was a real treat..Her thodi alapana still is fresh in my mind...Hemlatha accompanied really well, filling in the gaps..Will post OSTs review by today evening...But shanmukhapriya was the highlight in his concert, followed by a nice rendition of Ekambreshwara Nayakam
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prashant
- Posts: 1658
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:01
A few observations:
- Smt. Suguna Varadachari's music represents classicism of the highest order. Her krithi renditions are filled with saukhyam and beautiful gamaka ornamentations. Each and every krithi was rendered with utmost sincerity and passion. The nATa piece, especially had some great sangatis, and the seldom-heard pUrvikalyani krithi was sung in a tranquil and unhurried fashion.
- The sense of proportion in her music is fabulous. Each manOdharma segment was 'just enough' leaving the rasika feeling content. There was no excess of mathematical calculations, even though the pallavi proves that Smt. Varadachari is more than capable of the highest level of laya intricacies, no flights of fancy in the tAra sthAyi during rAgA exercises and no meandering through niraval. In all manOdharma segments, it was as though Smt. Varadachari was meticulously and systematically picking out the best-of-the-best sangatis to present to the audience. The rasikas present were the beneficiaries of the decades of hard work and dedication which this Vidushi has put into her music.
- A special mention to the niraval in pUrvikalyANi - as my kutcheri companion Vijay and I were talking about, Smt. Varadachari sang a comprehensive niraval for 15+ minutes without any loss of tranquility in the faster passages, without any speeding up of kAlapramANa, with minimal repetition of ideas and phrasing. Both of us were amazed when the swaras were begun and we realized how much time had passed since the beginning of the niraval. Fantastic stuff and an education in how niraval should be treated with dignity as a concert item and not just as a bridge to swara singing.
- Dr. Hemalatha's playing was a revelation to me. I had not heard her in person before and was treated to some fantastic stuff. Her swaras for nATa and shankarAbharaNam were lovely, but the highlight for me was a very sensitive mukhAri. Her bowing was fluid and she had a wonderful stage rapport with Smt. Varadachari. Their ideas were clearly in sync, and it was a pleasure to watch them interact musically and personally on the stage. The violin accompaniment played a pivotal role in the success of this concert.
- The percussion bench was extremely competent in an unobtrusive and melliflous way. Kallidaikurichi Sri Sivakumar played with a adept understanding of Smt. Varadachari's style and it was clear that he was playing with very good knowledge of the krithis and sangatis that were to be sung. His playing displayed keen musical acumen especially during the pUrvikalyANi piece where he embellished the grand vAsudevACAr krithi with some intelligent tIrmAnams. Our forum member Nerkunam Sri Sankar gave him very good support and played some very nice sollus especially during the sankarabharaNam niraval and the tani. Both of them played a pleasing tani with a short tisram interlude. Kum. Vidya Kalyanaraman who is a promising young singer, supported her Guru capably during the krithi renditions.
- It was rather sad to see an extremely thin audience [on a Sunday, that too!] for a concert of such high quality. When music of decidedly questionable quality is met with thronging rasikas, volleys of shouted requests, and rains of paper chits being thrown by frenzied crowds, it was dejecting that there were only about 100-150 people in the hall at the most. That this did not deter the team from giving of their best is a testament to their vidvat and professionalism. Kudos to the SFAS for regularly arranging concerts of high quality musicians like Smt. Varadachari and her team.
- One small quibble - a concert of this musical scale would have undoubtedly been enhanced further by the substitution of the large Radel box on the stage by a well-tuned tambura.
- Smt. Suguna Varadachari's music represents classicism of the highest order. Her krithi renditions are filled with saukhyam and beautiful gamaka ornamentations. Each and every krithi was rendered with utmost sincerity and passion. The nATa piece, especially had some great sangatis, and the seldom-heard pUrvikalyani krithi was sung in a tranquil and unhurried fashion.
- The sense of proportion in her music is fabulous. Each manOdharma segment was 'just enough' leaving the rasika feeling content. There was no excess of mathematical calculations, even though the pallavi proves that Smt. Varadachari is more than capable of the highest level of laya intricacies, no flights of fancy in the tAra sthAyi during rAgA exercises and no meandering through niraval. In all manOdharma segments, it was as though Smt. Varadachari was meticulously and systematically picking out the best-of-the-best sangatis to present to the audience. The rasikas present were the beneficiaries of the decades of hard work and dedication which this Vidushi has put into her music.
- A special mention to the niraval in pUrvikalyANi - as my kutcheri companion Vijay and I were talking about, Smt. Varadachari sang a comprehensive niraval for 15+ minutes without any loss of tranquility in the faster passages, without any speeding up of kAlapramANa, with minimal repetition of ideas and phrasing. Both of us were amazed when the swaras were begun and we realized how much time had passed since the beginning of the niraval. Fantastic stuff and an education in how niraval should be treated with dignity as a concert item and not just as a bridge to swara singing.
- Dr. Hemalatha's playing was a revelation to me. I had not heard her in person before and was treated to some fantastic stuff. Her swaras for nATa and shankarAbharaNam were lovely, but the highlight for me was a very sensitive mukhAri. Her bowing was fluid and she had a wonderful stage rapport with Smt. Varadachari. Their ideas were clearly in sync, and it was a pleasure to watch them interact musically and personally on the stage. The violin accompaniment played a pivotal role in the success of this concert.
- The percussion bench was extremely competent in an unobtrusive and melliflous way. Kallidaikurichi Sri Sivakumar played with a adept understanding of Smt. Varadachari's style and it was clear that he was playing with very good knowledge of the krithis and sangatis that were to be sung. His playing displayed keen musical acumen especially during the pUrvikalyANi piece where he embellished the grand vAsudevACAr krithi with some intelligent tIrmAnams. Our forum member Nerkunam Sri Sankar gave him very good support and played some very nice sollus especially during the sankarabharaNam niraval and the tani. Both of them played a pleasing tani with a short tisram interlude. Kum. Vidya Kalyanaraman who is a promising young singer, supported her Guru capably during the krithi renditions.
- It was rather sad to see an extremely thin audience [on a Sunday, that too!] for a concert of such high quality. When music of decidedly questionable quality is met with thronging rasikas, volleys of shouted requests, and rains of paper chits being thrown by frenzied crowds, it was dejecting that there were only about 100-150 people in the hall at the most. That this did not deter the team from giving of their best is a testament to their vidvat and professionalism. Kudos to the SFAS for regularly arranging concerts of high quality musicians like Smt. Varadachari and her team.
- One small quibble - a concert of this musical scale would have undoubtedly been enhanced further by the substitution of the large Radel box on the stage by a well-tuned tambura.
Last edited by prashant on 16 Feb 2009, 10:35, edited 1 time in total.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
As Prashant has already said, it was a completely absorbing concert throughout presented by a set of artistes who were extremely sensitive, not only to the art, but also to each other. A lesson in how proportion and minimalism need not imply a boring concert. The Neraval for the Purvikalyani krithi - much of it in vilamba kala - was just out of the world - it was only Prashant pointed it out to me that I realized that she had been going on for so long!
It's indeed sad to see artistes of her calibre draw modest crowds but, except in rare cases, this is quite normal for such refined art. It is nevertheless heartening that such artistes continue to get the highest stage from the musical community. As long as that does not change, I am content with the state of affairs.
It's indeed sad to see artistes of her calibre draw modest crowds but, except in rare cases, this is quite normal for such refined art. It is nevertheless heartening that such artistes continue to get the highest stage from the musical community. As long as that does not change, I am content with the state of affairs.
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shankarabharanam
- Posts: 296
- Joined: 24 Apr 2006, 09:12
I think there was also hamsanandi and behag in the ragamalika...Now the concert brings out the debate of populism vs classicism..It was really sad to see a poor response for the concert..I completely agree with Prashant..Throughout the concert there was never a point when I felt that she had overdone it.It was just perfect...But those who didn't make it to the concert well it was their loss and hope the music community continue to support such musicians and not really bother about shrinking numbers...
Last edited by shankarabharanam on 16 Feb 2009, 13:43, edited 1 time in total.
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rbharath
- Posts: 2333
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50
I was told this concert was rather outstanding. he called me right after the concert and poured all his feelings over the phone for a full 15 minutes giving minute details of all he enjoyed.
Considering that it was somebody like Suguna mami, i was sure all his feelings were indeed much warranted.
Prashant's post only adds more the same. nice to see the list and review...
Considering that it was somebody like Suguna mami, i was sure all his feelings were indeed much warranted.
Prashant's post only adds more the same. nice to see the list and review...
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shyamsundar
- Posts: 3
- Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 15:25
Yeah, it was an inspiring concert to say the least.
The vilamba kAlam pUrvi kalyANi was way too good. The thOdi RTP was rendered with great depth, cant agree more with "Mr. Shankarabharanam" .
She was well supported by Hemalatha ,KS Sivakumar and N Shankar throughout the concert.
<The organizing member actually introduced him as Kallidaikurichi Srinivasan initially.
>
Overall an outstanding concert, with very high quality carnataca sangeetham.
Hope I can coordinate with you chaps for such concerts in the future. ([email protected])
This is the second concert I have attended in Shanmukhananda after Nedunuri Mama's concert last year. (2 really awesome kutcheris I must say. ).
The vilamba kAlam pUrvi kalyANi was way too good. The thOdi RTP was rendered with great depth, cant agree more with "Mr. Shankarabharanam" .
She was well supported by Hemalatha ,KS Sivakumar and N Shankar throughout the concert.
<The organizing member actually introduced him as Kallidaikurichi Srinivasan initially.
>Overall an outstanding concert, with very high quality carnataca sangeetham.
Hope I can coordinate with you chaps for such concerts in the future. ([email protected])
This is the second concert I have attended in Shanmukhananda after Nedunuri Mama's concert last year. (2 really awesome kutcheris I must say. ).
Last edited by shyamsundar on 16 Feb 2009, 16:26, edited 1 time in total.
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rbharath
- Posts: 2333
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50
vijay, we have sandwiched HIM here...vijay wrote:BHarath, "he" being?
Shyam Sundar look forward to bumping into you next time!
it was shyamsundar. an alumnus of iitm and close friend for years now. though he is a newbie here.
Last edited by rbharath on 16 Feb 2009, 22:12, edited 1 time in total.
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shyamsundar
- Posts: 3
- Joined: 16 Feb 2009, 15:25
And yeah ... I am the chap who was in front of Prashant in the concert. 3rd row center first from left. I told him the saama krithi she sang !!!
Last edited by shyamsundar on 17 Feb 2009, 09:54, edited 1 time in total.
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n s sankar kanjira
- Posts: 49
- Joined: 21 Jan 2008, 19:28