Sandeep Narayanan @ Lanham, Md.

[Ranganayaki]

List of songs:

1. Varnam: Mana Mohana.. - Mohanam – Ata Tala Muthiah Bhagavatar

2. Janaki Ramana – Shudda Seemantini – Adi Tala – Thyagaraja (S)

3. Ganamudha paanam – Jyotiswaroopini - Misra Chapu – Koteeswara Iyer(A, S)

4. Shri Raamam Ravikulabdhi Somam – Narayana Gowla - Adi Tala – Dikshitar

5. Chalalamela Ra – Marga Hindolam – Adi Tala – Thyagaraja

6. Swara Raga Sudha – Shankarabharanam – Adi Tala – Thyagaraja (A, N, S, T)

7. Sadhu Tadha Nija Bhamineem – Vakulabharanam – Adi Tala – Swati Tirunal

8. RTP in Kaanada – Trisra jati Triputa Tala
Pallavi: Kaa va va, Velav, Ten Pazhani Malai Muruga va va
Ragamalika Swaras in Kaanada, Ranjani, Komalangi, Sindhubhairavi

9. Pagaivanukkarulvaay – Shanmukhapriya? - Bharatiyaar

10. Thirisila giriar Darisanam – Senchurutti? – Adi - ???

11. Viruttam (on request) Oorilen kaani illai followed by Brindavanam iduvo Suddha Dhanyasi

12. Tillana – Taam Taam Taam Udana… - Khamas - Adi Tala - Patnam Subramanya Iyer

13. Mangalam: Pavamaana

This concert, in my impression, seemed to have an implicit focus on the kritis, and not on virtuosity, yet the artistes’ talents came shining through. All the artists collaborated effectively throughout the concert and Mysore Srikanth and Neyveli Venkatesh were completely equal to the task of accompanying Sandeep Narayanan in the sensitivity of his performance.

Every kriti selected was treated like a gem and the approach of Sandeep Narayan seemed to be to identify the most beautiful elements of the work and shine a light on it. I was moved by Sandeep’s powerful voice as he sang raga Shankarabharanam and the kriti... The alapana itself and all the manodharma seemed to be in concordance with the contemplative mood of the song. There was complete harmony between improvisation and composition and I was constantly aware of Sandeep Narayanan’s sensitivity of approach. It was really all about anticipating the beauty of the composition in the alapana and highlighting it while singing the kriti.

Neyveli Venkatesh did a great job, it is rare for me to have any comment about the percussion, but I really felt the strong, tight control over the taala in his playing which was very clear to the ear, no blurred sounds, and the mridangam really seemed to speak out loud to me.

Mysore Srikanth kept up with Sandeep Narayanan through his nuanced playing - his alaapanas and kalpana swarams seemed to mirror and reprise the ideas of the singer, and his support was very much a key aspect of my enjoyment of Sandeep Narayanan’s ideas. It was good to see the smiles between them, the appreciative handshake between singer and violinist.

Sandeep amused me by seeming lost in thought at moments (without losing hold of the music) and then suddenly bursting into laughter as he sang.. I guess he just remembered something funny, probably associated with the song he was singing, or may be not.. He quickly collected himself to continue to sing with focus and he did not miss a beat.

There was a long-winding speech by a member of the audience and while his comments were nice, I think it was rather rude to just walk in and interrupt the concert with so much talk. I’m going to go out on a limb here and give my opinion: Committees should consider the need to respect the artists, the audiences, and the mood so painstakingly created and so deeply enjoyed. Interrupting the concert, just walking in and talking is rude and disrespectful to all, and the thanks (and the accompanying on-the-spot review) need to be saved for the real end of the concert. No talking is so important that the concert should be interrupted, not even for the fear of losing the audience at the end. I just could not imagine Sandeep Narayanan going back to singing after he had been thanked and the end of the concert implied. But he was a sport and rather cutely kiddish – giggling at all the praise and openly laughing sometimes. I imagine him to be an unassuming person, from the humor with which he received the praise.  He did continue at the end of the speech with the Viruttam.

It was a great concert, and I left feeling glad to have driven 40 x 2 miles to get there and back.

[rshankar]

Ranganayaki, great review! Sandeep is a member here IIRC, his ID is deepsands.

[rajeshnat]

Ranganayaki
The few concerts that I attended I could see the same body language of Sandeep that you had described . As usual great review with excellent choice of words

[arasi]

Way to go, Deepsand! And such good accompanists for you too!

Ranganayaki,
Thanks again for your brand of a sensitive review and for the mention of the unwelcome interruption of a mike-hawker--who could have empathized with the audience and artistes about lengthy speeches