Malladi brothers -Vocal
Sri. Embar Kannan - Violin
Sri. Mannargudi Eswaran - Mridangam
Arabi - sarasijamukhi, varnam
Ananda Bhairavi - NIkE theliyaka
Poornachandrika - chanka chakra gathA, R
Kalyani -sundari nI divya
KambOji - Koniyadina, R, N, S,
Thani
thElisithE mOkshamu - hamsanAdham-annamAcharyA composition tuned by Sri. Nedunuri Krishnamurthi, R
KaraharapriyA - DayavillayE dayAlO
Neelambari - ennaka
Bhajan in Desh tuned by their father, R,S
Tharangam in Jog tuned by their father, R,S
Mangalam
The brothers started off the concert with a reposeful Arabi varnam.
The majestic raga KAmbOji - with staunchly authentic hold of the raga and the gradual progression of the swaras during the alapana delineating the raga’s nuances sensitively by taking the raga to great heights through tara sthayi sancharas that brought out the gravity of the raga in all its grandeur with each note glowing individually. They delivered kOniyAdina in a diction demonstrative of the raga's charm at a slightly accelerated pace punctuated with refined expressions and melody.
DayavillayE dayAlO came out with a pleading intimacy making the textual and musical contents totally compatible through their robust form of vocalization.
In raga DEsh, sketching the outline of the raga with longing, the brothers took time to color individual notes in their ascending and descending order in great detail with moments of delicious frisson in SUr dAs bhajan tuned by their father followed by a liltingly rendered tharangam in rag jOg. It was a delight to watch their endless stream of pristine phrases, amazing akaras and oscillations in hamsanAdham, Desh and jOg gush in with an effortless ease and precision. Sri. EmbAr Kannan’s and Sri. Eswaran’support and the tani avartanam marked by rhythmic accuracy enhanced the concert.
With emphatic accents and commingling of aesthetic sensibility and a feel for the lyrical components in their native language with telling effect, drenching the lyrics of nIkE theliyaga, koniyAdina, sundari nI divya, thElisithE mOkshamu in the melodic appeal of the ragas, creating a feeling of serene exaltation -the concert was an intimate blend of the styles of Sri. Oletti gArU and Sri. NEdunuri gArU. They left the stage to a standing ovation, leaving the discerning listeners craving for more.
For me, this was the best Malladi brothers's concert so far.