Amrutha Venkatesh @ BTM Academy on 27.1.16

[kssr]

Amrutha Venkatesh
H.M.Smitha
B.C.Manjunath
Phanindra Bhaskara
Bharadwaj Sathavalli

SHYAMA SASTRI ONLY

1. Varnam in Sourashtram
2. Himadri suthe- kalyani- talam in tisra nadai. N and S @ Shyama Krishna
3. Himachala thanaya brochutaki- anandabhairavi- ragam outline.
4. Yadukulakambhoji swarajathi Kamakshi
5. Triloka mata nannu brovu - paraju - viloma chapu
6. paraa kela nannu paripaalimpa - kedara gowla?
7. Main Sankarabharanam- saroja daLa nethri himagiri putri- N & S @ saama gaana vinodini
8. Thani
9. kanaka saila vihaarini amba- punnagavaraaLi
10. Song on Shyama Sastry by MDR - saveri

Comments:
a. Concert is part of BTM Academy weeklong festival. Good selection of artist for Shyama Sastry compositions.
b. Very good concert. One needs a special feel for the sahitya to bring out the beauty of SS kritis. This is an intangible entity which cannot be described. Amrutha definitely has this. This is besides the general top class merits of her singing like perfection in swarasthaanams in any ragam and any speed, ease and unstrained flow of music and of late also emphasis on the importance of sahityam.
c. I felt the voice had a better throw right from the varnam and it made a great impact on the listener. Amrutha's very successful run during Chennai season 2015 has probably boosted her confidence level further. Very nice.
d. In the beginning there was a bit of a kara-kara in her voice. I thought that it could also be due to the sound system adjustment. But it cleared after a couple of songs (or did I get used to it?) Nothing serious to impede the concert, of course.
e. Some info about the compositions were given for most of the numbers. The anandabhairavi piece is on Thanjavur bruhannayaki amman as against his standard prayers to kanchi kaamakshi. (Doesn't make a diff for me, anyway). Also some things about the thaaLam preferences of SS. Triloka maata was in Viloma chapu, we were told. Could not follow the beat. I need to talk to experts!!
f. Rolling during sankarabharanam alapana with thruthru thruthru thruthru nam, was lapped up by the audience with delight. Some way to break the monotony of long sankarabharanams. My friend once told me that the ragam is like uppuma- large quantity can be prepared with less effort - no one is greatly pleased - but generally fills the appetite You understand, I am not a great fan of SB. However the grandeur of Saroja daLa netri offsets the boredom.
g. Amrutha is definitely going up the ladder and we are delighted.
h. Smitha was very good understanding accompaniment. The percussion trio also gave support with a lot of commitment. Also the thani was very impressive. I was particularly impressed by Sri. Bharadwaj's morsing. I think I have not heard him before.
I. Met Smt.Arasi after a long time, when I was leaving.
j. My sincere thanks to Sri.Anantharamiah of BTM Academy for bringing such a wonderful concert to us.

[Rasikapriya2013]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

The tala used for Triloka Mata nannu is called Viloma Chapu.

As I have not heard about this tala before, did some digging and this is what I found.

" There are five Chapu talas which are

1. Thisra Chaapu Tala

2. Chathusra Chaapu Tala

3. Kanda Chaapu Tala

4. Misra Chaapu Tala

5. Sankeerna Chaapu Tala


Shyama Shastri uses a special chapu called Viloma Chapu which is just the reverse of Mishra Chapu i.e. 4+3 count Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha Ki Ta is the jathi.

Note: Chatusra Chaapu Tala is obsolete in Carnatic Music Applications and this tala is used in Bajans for the purpose of showing the beats with sound similar to clapping the hands."

Courtesy of this was taken from this site : https://ramyasspace.wordpress.com/2011/ ... apu-talas/

Amrutha must have chosen to sing in this talam, rightly, as a mark of obeisance to the great composer!

[kssr]

Thank you Rasikapriya. Text corrected.

[Rsachi]

Thanks KSSR!

Viloma chapu is under discussion in another thread!

AmV (my abb. for Amrutha Venkatesh) taking up SS exclusive is very significant for me.
Shyama Shastri has a triumvirate of specials = raga bhava, laya and beautiful, simply intrinsically musical words. AmV tackling such laya-dominated compositions augurs well for her scaling new peaks.

TNS lecdem in Parivadini 2015 highlights Shyama Shastri genius esp in Sarojadalanetri.

[Rasikapriya2013]

Was able to watch the concert right now from

http://livestream.com/shaalelive/btmca

The concert starts at 45:00minutes

[bilahari]

Thanks for the review, kssr, and the link, Rasikapriya. Looking forward to watching it later.

VilOma cApu is just miSra cApu reversed, per my understanding. Both 7 beats. MiSra cApu is tha ki ta - tha ka - di mi. VilOma is tha ka - di mi - tha ki ta.

[bhakthim dehi]

There is one another chapu variety; Ata chapu. Knowledgeable forumites can educate me regarding this.

[arasi]

Sachi,
'That' vilOma chApu is not a discussion, but he/she discusses For those who don't get the drift, it's the handle of one of our new members. Had not heard about such a tALA until he/she appeared

As for Amrutha's concert, KSSR has spelled it out in detail. It was a very good concert. Being a thematic one, we couldn't hear more of detailed AlApanAs, except for the main. Still, her imagination was at work throughout the concert. Her feeling for the lyrics and emoting them with clarity appeals to me. SS krutis are tailor-made for them.

And yes, "the ease and unrestrained flow of music', as KSSR puts it, was very appealing.

sarOja dala nEtri had 'sAmagAna vinOdini' taken up for the neraval line (nice) instead of the usual 'kOri vachinavAru', but Amrutha landed on 'kOri vaccina' as she made room for the tani--but came back to 'sAma gAna vinOdini' as the lively tani came to an end

Yes, excellent mukha Sanka playing by the young man Bharadwaj. He displayed more shades in playing than mere gimmicky sounds. Karnataka has a number of them now, not forgetting our woman player Bhagyalakshmi.

Young violinist Smitha is a surprise find for me. Last year, I heard her accompany Neela Ramgopal for the first time.

[Rsachi]

Arasi,
there have been two Viloma chapu discussions recently that I know of:
1. http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic ... loma+chapu
2. http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic ... loma+chapu

Others may find even more discussions in rasikas.org

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Bharadwaj has been on the rise last few years!

If I may add, he comes from the same talented family that has given us Vinay Sharva. They are cousins.

[keerthi]

The anandabhairavi piece is on Thanjavur bruhannayaki amman as against his standard prayers to kanchi kaamakshi. (Doesn't make a diff for me, anyway).

Music Historian V.Sriram too is of the view that these songs may have very well be dedicated to the 'periya nAyaki' of the tanjAvUr shrine. I think ShAma Shastri's songs referring to BrhannAyaki, are on bRhannAyaki of PudukoTTai. While in the song KaruNAnidhi ilalo, it is clear beyond doubt [there is a reference to Gokarneswara of PudukoTTai], the other songs dedicated to brhadamba [there are quite a few] must also have been composed here.

PudukoTTai [SubbarAma Diksitar calls it kottakOTa] was one of the many centres where the 4 itinerant families accompanying the caturbhuja icon of rAjarAjeswari and the two-armed svarNa kAmAkSI [bangAru kAmAkSi]lived for a while. The shrines in Udayarpalayam, Pudukottai [and even tiruvAnaikkAval, iirc] all housed these icons for short periods, and they all have 'kAmAkSI maNDapa-s'.

So, while ShyAma Shastri may have payed signal respect to the kSetra Devata, by inscribing her name in the song, we know whom the songs were intended for.

p.s. ShAma ShAstri's family continued to have connections with PudukkoTTai for (at least) 4 subsequent generations.