Sanjay at BGS - 15 DEC 2010

[sridrect]

Vocal: Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Violin: Nagai Muralidharan
Mridangam: Tanjore Murugabhoopathy
Kanjira: Alathur T. Rajaganesh

Song List:
1. ? - Varnam - Kaanada - ?
2. ?
3. ? - Jaganmohini - ?
4. Rama Nee Samaana Mevaru - Karaharapriya - Thyagraja - RNS
5. Kapali - Mohanam - Papanasam Sivan - RS (Thani - Main)
6. Enna Rakshiso - Subhapantuvarali - Purandaradasa - Rupakam
7. Maarga Hindolam - RTP
Pallavi - Kandanai Vandanai Sei Maname with ragamalika in Sahana, Saaranga, Chalanaattai, Sindhubhairavi followed by -
Manadhirkku Ugandhadhu Murugan Roopam - Sindhubhairavi - Thanjavur Sankara Iyer
8. Vettaveli Thannil - Chenchurutti - Folk - Kudambai Sittar
9. Samayam Idhe Ra Ra - (Javali) - Behag - Patnam Subramania Iyer
10. Karuvutra Naal Mudhalai - Viruttam - Poorvikalyani
Petra Thaai Dhanai Magamarandhaalum - Viruttam - Sriranjini followed by
Kana Vendamo - Sriranjini - Papanasam Sivan - Adi
11. Mangalam

A stand out concert with an exhillarating Karaharpriya, a stunning Mohanam, a surprise Maarga Hindolam and a touching Kana Vendamo. The entire concert lasted a full 3hrs and 25 mns. Mohanam was the main item of the concert and was dealt in complete detail. The kalpanaswarams were a real delight and tested Nagai sir to an extent.

MASTER is in complete form in the early part of the season as this is just his 3rd concert. Cannot wait for the Vani Mahal concert on 19th !!!

Someone please help complete the song list as I forgot to note down the first 3 songs !

[bharathi]

The concert of Sanjay Subrahmanyam at Brahma Gana Sabha was absolutely satisfying. The “season flavour” was set in well in this concert. He began with a kaanada varnam set to Adi Talam. And detailed raga elaborations that are his forte were presented in Jaganmohini, Karaharapriya, Mohanam with RTP in Marga Hindolam.. the last of which I haven’t heard from him in any of the large number of recordings I have come across. It was followed by a delectable set of ragamalika swarams using ragas Sahana, Saranga, chalanattai and sindhubhairavi. True to his style followed a song in the last raga of the ragamalika, Manathirukkuvanthathu muruganin rupam. Vettavali thanil, samayamide raa raa in Behag and Kaanavendamo in sriranjani were the tail pieces. On the whole a very good concert not belying my expectations.
I liked Jaganmohini a lot, seemed to have a lot of vakra prayogas. Until I heard the concert yesterday, I couldnot have imagined that the raga has such a grand stature. I liked rendering of the Samana-evarru kriti: The neraval at palluku palluku was very interesting seemed to span the entire range of Karaharapriya pretty well. Mohanam ragam and the wonderful Kriti was rendered very well too. In swara singing Sanjay seemed to be carried away at the top pancham.. I felt it was a bit repetitive..
As usual the RTP was glorious.. in particular his swaras in Chalanatai were literally mesmerizing. Samayamidhe rA rA in behag was new to me and the final piece KANaVendAmo was very moving..

Here is my version of the song list
1. Varnam-KAnada_Adi_tAlam_ tiruveTTiyUr tyAgayya
2. BudamAsrayAmi_NAttaKurinji_Jhampa_Dikshithar
3. DayAPayONidhe_jaganmohini_Adi_MeesuKrishnaiyyar
4. SamAnam evvaru_Karaharpriya_roopakam_Tyagarajar
5. KapAli_Mohanam_Adi_Papanasam
6. Enna_rakshiso_Shupantuvarali_PurandaraDasa
7. RTP_MargaHindolam_”Kandannai_Vandannai_Sei Maname_thandayAi thAyAi vandarullum”- Adi Talam _ragamalika swarams_sahana,saranga,chalnattai,sindhubhairavi
8. Manadirkkuvandathu Muruganin roopam-sindubhairavi_TanjAvoor Shankaraiyyar
9. VettaveLi thannil-?_ KudambAi Siddhar
10. samayamidhe rA rA tAmasinchukura nAsAmi-Behag-?-Patnam?
11. Viruttam-KaruvitraNAL mudalAga-poorvikalyani;
12. Viruttam_Petra thAithanai_sriranjani
13. KANavenDAmo_Sriranjani_Papanasam
14. Pavamana

[grsastrigal]

Sanjay Subramanian
Nagai Muralidharan
Tanjore Murugaboopathy
Alathur Rajaganesh-Ganjira

Brahma Gana sabha- Petachi Auditorium- 15.12.2010

When I entered the hall, he was finishing

.....Kanada varNam

2) Budhamasrayami-Natakurinji-Dikshitar
3) Brief Alapana-Jaganmohini followed by "Dayapayonidhe"
- Meesu Krishnaiyer
4) Karaharapriya Raga followed by "Rama nee" neraval in
"Paluku Paluku lagutena" and swaram - Thyagaraja
5) Mohanam Raga folowed by "Kapali" and swaram in "Kapali"
-Papanasam Sivan
6) Tani
7) Enna rakshito-SubhaPantuvarali-Purandaradasa
8) RTP-MargaHindolam-
"pallavi as Sridirect mentioned..
Sahana,saranga,Chalanata-Sindubhairavi followed by
"Mandirku ugandadhu" Shankara Iyer kriti on SinduBhairavi
8) Vetta veli-Chenchurutti-Kudhamba chittar.
9) Samayam Idhe Ra Ra- Behag - Patnam Subramania Iyer
10) Virutham
"Karuvurra NaaL mudalaga- Tevaram-Purvikalyani
"PeRRa Tai tanai- Siranjani followed by
"KaaNa VeNdamo" Papanasam Sivan.
11) Pavamana-Mangalam

SRIDIRECT. I actually thought of YOU after the concert since YOU had a truncated
2 hours concert of Sanjay. Your list is 95% ok and I added some spice to it.

Let me have my review:

What would you need if you have a concert of SS for 3 hours 20 minutes and
sitting in dias just right side of the artist and enjoying Nagais "Aha" and
Sanjay's Circastic smile after his scintillating "pudis"

This is my first concert of Sanjay for this season. Bravo to Sanjay for keeping his
energy till the last song.

This may come as a recording by Charsur since they had extra coloured mic before each
artist.

His Budhamashrayami "dated" (wed) sajay and his "Paluku" neraval was outstanding. I did
not hear any neraval in karaharapriya live by any artist.

His mohana alapana had got MMI pudi, SSI pudi, Somu pudi and of course Mah.pudi. But,
when Nagai returned he did not venture into any of this and performed a different but
beuatiful Mohanam. It was truly marvellous.

Marga Hindolam- deftly handled by him. It has got a dangerous saramati,natabhairavi.
Actually, he announced this. His Hindustani "pudi" made me wonderstuck. Having mohanam
and Karaharapriya his rendition of around 30 minuts ragam/Tanam was truly....

when nagai and SS perform together- they looked like 2 Valis of Ramayana. When Sanjay
performs, he takes half the energy from Nagai and vice-versa.

Truly, the concert was a revelation. for more than 3 hours concert, half the people
would have gone. Surprisingly, the hall was almost full incl dias till Pavamana. Great
going Raskas... Claps to them too.

The Ganjira-Rajaganesh had been struggling to get the talam correct from the beginning.
When he started the Tani, he was good and at the end he could not get it correct again.
Followed that tani, he lost interest and sort of patting the ganjira instead of
messing it up. Strange. Tanjore was at his best. His kaNakku was CORRECT and great
in his Tani from the beginning !!!!


PS- SRIDIRECT- You could have seen me as I gave him a chit for singing "KaNa VeNdamo"
and our MASTER accepted with a smile and rendered prefixed with a vruttam.....

[psmani]

A small correction grsastrigal in ur list
--Kharaharapriya kriti shld read as "Ramanee samanam" and not Chakaniraja.

[arasi]

A miss on my part--sounds like a 'master' concert. Note: I called the concert a master.
Kharaharapriya I have heard in detail from Sanjay two years in a row. Last year, it was a 'master'piece. kOri sEvimpa at KGS.
Yes, there have been several masters among performers in the past, There are, in the present too. Sanjay has mastered his art and is still at it wholeheartedly which sets him apart, I guess. His total involvement in music makes Sriram call him a master, I suppose! Any list of Sanjay's is appealing. What variety--in rAgams and in compositions!

Did he give hints of SS in his singing when he sang the nereval for 'paluku paluku'?

That enna rakshisO (of PD) can be heard on Sanjay's blog.

calamElarA is one of my favorite songs--and an RTP in MArga hindOLam (such an emotive rAgam) would have been something.
Can't wait till I get to hear several new and old gems this season from one of the masters.
Well, I'm almost in Chennai!

[kssr]

It is always a delight when Sanjay is in form.
What is interesting is his being repeatedly referred to as MASTER. I thought that this title was popularised by chinese martial arts people- kungfu, etc, ( an old thin bearded man who can perform more feats than the juniors) especially in movies. This, I think is their equivalent of our Guru. Also a master is always in relation to another, a servant or a disciple.

I would prefer that such great artists are referred to as Mahavidwans, if you feel so.

[sureshvv]

I think MASTER is going to stick. And may be Grand Master in a few more years

[sridrect]

I always refer to Sanjay as MASTER for the great mastery shown. The single most important element for me in a Sanjay concert is that energy and a compelling urge to elevate the concert to a higher plane. Take for instance the "Pallukku Pallukku...." neraval in Karaharapriya. Before we assimilate and enjoy one sangadhi comes another in a totally different texture. This is what makes MASTERs concert a scintillating experience !

The swarams for Mohanam (with the evergreen masterpiece KAPALI) bears a great testimony to his unsatiated and fertile imagination. He is not into the business of just singing the lyrics and doing with the sampradhaya sangadhis.

Wait for Vani Mahal, NGS and Kalarasana concerts before we jump the gun as to which one will make it to Charsur CD release. If it is this concert then it is a MUST buy (as I have been buying since 2000 !!!!)

[sureshvv]

Interesting. Would you care to enumerate the venues that made the list from the recent past?

[VK RAMAN]

Very rarely we get three rasikas covering the same concert. Good job and that shows Sanjay has many followers.

[arasi]

VKR,
Masters ARE supposed to have followers

[sreecons]

when nagai and SS perform together- they looked like 2 Valis of Ramayana. When Sanjay performs, he takes half the energy from Nagai and vice-versa.

I absolutely agree - they are dynamic together!!!

[arasi]

Yes. Then there is S.Varadarajan who follows Sanjay like LakshmaNA...

[kssr]

Talking of "paluku paluku" I also recommend a beauty from Semmangudi- the best of palukus! It comes with a kulukku!

Also, recent concert in Bangalore by Sowmya has an excellent rendition, including the ragam as well as the pallavi itself. Lost count of the number of sangathis.

[ganeshkant]

sridrect,

Since U urself have confessed that U listen 2 only SS U might not have heard the other doyens.I recollect TVS's neraval in paluku - paluku on 01/01/2007 in IFA.It was one of the best I've ever heard.

[sridrect]

ganeshkant ---> My reference to listening only to Sanjay is from a LIVE concert point of view during season and off-season & ignoring most of the current OTHER performers (both pure carnatic, carnatic + cinema and saree shop models !!!!!!). I do listen to some of the old greats like Ramnad Krishnan (my favourite), MMI. SS and ofcourse old TNS recordings.

[kssr]

and saree shop models !!!!!!). .

Sudha Raghunathan is a top class pure carnatic musician and she has risen to this level by long years of hard work and dedication to CM. People may or may not like her music but if we try to cheapen her we cheapen ourselves and our great music form. When cricketers and cine actors can model why not a carnatic artist. After all let our artists too make an extra buck when they still can

[ganeshkant]

sridrect, I am amazed about your gnanam.Good.

[MV]

This maybe the wrong thread but I heard Sanjay @ Chettinad where he sang the 3 (other) Bharatis. That was simply superb and I thought he was in mid-Seaon form then. His Kanakangi and Begada alapana was amazing. Then he went on to whole new level in Kalyani. Hope to hear him again soon. Thanks for the review

[karthikbala]

Sudha Raghunathan is a top class pure carnatic musician and she has risen to this level by long years of hard work and dedication to CM. People may or may not like her music but if we try to cheapen her we cheapen ourselves and our great music form. When cricketers and cine actors can model why not a carnatic artist. After all let our artists too make an extra buck when they still can

Amen. Leading and highly respected classical musicians in the West have endorsed products since the turn of the last century. Rolex watch ads come to mind for instance (Kiri te Kanawa, Domingo, Yo Yo Ma etc.). Somehow in India, we seem to be uncomfortable when it comes to celebrating professionalism and success of CM artistes. It is consequently no surprise that we still don't have *one* world-class CM institution run on thoroughly professional and financially sound principles. Patronage networks are what we must make do with in the meantime.
I found this recent article somewhat of a change compared to the inane music season hype usually featured in the Hindu:
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/arti ... epage=true

[sridrect]

sridrect, I am amazed about your gnanam.Good.

Dear Ganeshkant ---> I am certain that yours is a sarcastic comment. Let me accept it with all humility.

I dont claim to possess as much gnanam on CM (as you or other forumites here) and I dont believe that gnanam is needed to enjoy the bliss of CM. I merely enjoy Sanjay and some of the old stalwarts. I am so fond of their style of singing and hence other singers dont appeal to me.

BTW I did not pick any names here.........!!!!

CM in my opinion is highly divine and the purity and bhakthi bhava of the compositions of the trinity and other post trinity composers is a humbling experience.

BTW do singers / musicians have to appear on stage as if they are straight from a jewellery shop? Is it not totally out of sync ?

[sureshvv]

CM in my opinion is highly divine and the purity and bhakthi bhava of the compositions of the trinity and other post trinity composers is a humbling experience.

BTW do singers / musicians have to appear on stage as if they are straight from a jewellery shop? Is it not totally out of sync ?

Not really. CM is many things. It is an inordinately beautiful, intricate and highly refined art sculpted with a careful eye for perfection. May be the jewellery helps to demonstrate these aspects of the music.

[ganeshkant]

Dear Ganeshkant ---> I am certain that yours is a sarcastic comment. Let me accept it with all humility.


BTW do singers / musicians have to appear on stage as if they are straight from a jewellery shop? Is it not totally out of sync ?

Dear friend,my sahrudhaya,

I pull up people when I like them and love them.This I do even with my friend who himself is a professional musician.Understand my love for you.

Not all musicians are coming directly from jewellery shop.Do U take stock of the
bullion market ?
For those who are naturally beautiful just a simple chain or muthu mAlai adds beauty.No need for them to wear or exhibit all the jewellery they have in their lockers.I like simplicity and my favourite artist is dignity personified with her simple looks and great music.

[kssr]

I found this recent article somewhat of a change compared to the inane music season hype usually featured in the Hindu:
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/arti ... epage=true

Anil Srinivasan appears to be a professional businessman, capable of bringing everything incl. Monalisa into the ambit of "rooba- aNa-paisa" Not much is known about him as a musician, though- may be looking for ways to make the highest value kill.

[ganeshkant]

Heard in AIR broadcast today morning the scintillating RTP.Vetta veLithanil was sedate and put me in a contemplative mood.Excellent.

[litmus]

I heard him sing the pallavi split as "Rama NeeSama Namave Rrrru"? The R of the Ru had a truly Gallic roll to it. Sangathi-s are more than welcome but should they be sung at the cost of butchering the lyrics this way?

[sureshvv]

Sangathi-s are more than welcome but should they be sung at the cost of butchering the lyrics this way?

"Butchering" seems too harsh. In this case, "carving" would be more appropriate.

[hema]

I just joined this forum about a week ago. I am no expert -- just enjoy Carnatic Music. I liked this concert. But I was not too happy with the rendering of Nee Samaana Evaruu - it was too "dhadabudal" for me -- felt he shd perhaps have chosen "Chakkani Raja/Rama madhura." I prefer the peaceful rendering by the Lalgudi school -- heard the same song sung by Jayashri (MA 2008).

I really loved the Mohanam, though. As Bharathi says -- his Jaganmohini was great -- actually Jaganmohini reminds me of "sobillu" which I am pretty much BORED of, but this was really, really refreshing.