Nithyasree Mahadevan Concert in Dallas Tx, 20th April 2012

[shruthicarnatic]

Vocal: Smt. Nithyasree Mahadevan
Violin: Sri B.V. Raghavendra Rao
Mridangam: Patri Satish Kumar

I had the opportunity to attend Nityasree Mahadevan’s concert on 20th April, 2012 in Dallas, Tx. This is the first time I am hearing her sing live and the concert was thoroughly enjoyable. The concert began at approximately 7:30 PM and ended at 11:00 PM. The hall was packed with rasikas and least did we realize that the concert was 3 and half hours long.

Nithyasree began her concert with the Ata tala varnam in Chalanaatai, composed by Thanjavur Ponnaiah Pillai after a brief alapana. The rendition was excellent and set a very vibrating atmosphere for more to follow. Even though the alapana was brief, it sounded very pleasing and soothing. This was followed a thiagarajar kriti in Devamruthavarshini ragam and Nithyasree delivered this simple and straight. The next kriti, also composed by saint Thiagaraja, in the ragam Chandrajyothi was just brilliant. Nithyasree began the kriti with a brief alapana and proceeded to render the pallavi, anupallavi and charam in an unimitable style. Just after the charanam, she started singing kalpana swarams beginning with a “D P M P D” pattern and rendered an array of swarams in multiple speeds. The mridangam artist was at his best and the entire hall was reverberating. It almost appeared like a one on one conversation between Nithyasree and the mridamgam. This kriti was very well received by the audience. One thing note worthy was that the organization (IFAA DFW) had made excellent arrangements and the acoustics were pretty good. This contributed to making the concert very enjoyable. The violin almost caught up with Nithyasree’s array of swarams effortlessly. It was amazing to see how much of coordination existed between the three artists. This personally was my favorite piece of the concert.

The next to follow was an elaborate alapana in Atana packed with birgas followed by the kriti Ye Paapamu Jesithi. I have always admired Nithyasree for her excellent control over her notes and breath. She was as usual at her best here. The artist on Violin was excellent on this kriti as well and kept up almost close to Nithyasree’s redition. She then went on to render a kriti in Ahiri ragam (Mayamma) simple and straight, filled with bhavam. I felt like I was melting away with the flow of this song. The next kriti was in Bilahari sung without any alapanas or swarams, but the tempo and suttle birgas underlying this kriti (Vaa Saravana Bhava) should be noted. This was followed by a kriti in Kamavardhini composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar. This song was a feast to the ears of the audience with an elaborate alapana that was filled with a vast array of notes and suttle gamakas again. The highlight of this kriti was the neraval done at “Kumaara guru guha mahitham”. The violin was excellent throughout the song, but the artist got a roaring round of applause during the alapana and neraval pieces. Nithyasree then went on to render swarams after half beat at “Kumara guruguha mahitham” using a “G M P D N” pattern in multiple speeds while keeping the talam constant. The mridam was excellent on this one, not too loud and blended with the violin and vocal very well. There was a thani where the mridangam artist was simply at this best. He got a roaring round of applause from the audience. This kriti is another personal favorite of mine.

While I have provided the song list below, the RTP in Kapi was excellent too and well received by the audience. It was full of bhavam and the violin was excellent in supporting the vocalist. The pallavi “Kaliyuga Velaa Vara Dhanda Kadhir Velaa Kumaraa Gurupara Shanmugaa Parama Dayaala” was rendered in multiple ragams (atleast 16 other ragams). I could right away catch Bowli, Hindolam, Ranjani, Varaali, Mohanam, Durbar, Nattai, Hamir Kalyani, Gowla and Begada. It was a great RTP all together, fully packed with emotions.

Below is the list of songs:
1. Chalanattai Ata Tala Varnam composed by Thanjavur Ponnaiah Pillai.
2. Evaranee Nee Naa – Devamruthavarshini-Adi (2 kalai) – Thiagaraja Kriti.
3. Shashi Vadana Bhakta Janaavanaa – Chandrajyothi – Adi – Thiagarajar Kriti.
4. Ye Paapamu Jesithi – Atana – Misrachapu.
5. Mayamma Yani – Ahiri – Adi (2 Kalai) – Shyama Shastri.
6. Va Saravana Bhava – Bilahari – Adi – Kotishwara Iyer.
7. Ramanatham Bajegam – Kamavardhini - Muthuswamy Dikshitar – Rupakam
8. Krishnaya Vasudevaya Viruttam – Sindu Bhairavi – Tisra Adi followed by purandaradasa kriti Tambura Meetidava in Sindhu Bhairavi.
9. Naan Oru Vilaiyaattu Bommaiya – Navarasa Kaanada – Adi – Paapanaasam Shivan, rendered simple and straight.
10. RTP in Kaapi followed by pallavi “Kaliyuga Velaa Vara Dhanda Kadhir Velaa Kumaraa Gurupara Shanmugaa Parama Dayaala” rendered in raga maalika.
11. Govardhana Giri Daare – Meera Bhajan – Misra Hindolam – Adi Talam
12. Sada Sandosham Thandhidum – Bageshri – Tisra Adi – Ulundur Pettai Shanmugam
13. Jaavali – Paras – Cheli Nenetla Sahinchune

Overall, it was an impressive concert packed with power and energy. I loved Nithyasree for the fact that she had an excellent control over her voice and breath and even after a long performance (3.5 hours).

[squims]

Long pallavi line! What taalam was it set in?
And glad to see Smt. Nityashree get such glowing reviews this year.

[shruthicarnatic]

Chatusra Adi Talam.

[shishya]

The pallavi was in duritha kaalam and ys it was mouthful yet very vibrant. It was in Adi talam with atheetha eduppu.