|
Entertainment
Enveloped in aesthetics
GURUGUHANJALI HAS to be thanked for providing two performances in succession, defining the two distinctive dimensions of Carnatic music, on the same day — one with succulent sukha bhavam and the other sterile cutcheri bhavam, leaving it to the rasikas to enjoy according to their preferences. Classical in style, slicing in musical expression and with tapering cadences, Ranjani and Gayatri sang nothing without wrapping it up in aesthetics. Their recital proved that maintaining a brisk tempo and paying respect to sukha bhavam are not mutually exclusive. Melodic stimulation with full-throated akara applying appropriate gana-naya was the decisive factor of their performing technique.
The way they delineated Todi sent rays of revelation of the raga's beauty. More pertinently, it was vocal Todi they presented and not the usual humdrum nadaswara bhani Todi. The vocal bhani enabled them to go to the deeper domains of the raga. In the exposition, Ranjani laid a strong foundation in the madhyama sthayi sancharas with precision and poise. In their musical equipment there is the rich gift of ready and felicitous expression that is remarkably energetic. The kriti ``Kamalambike'' was rendered with great involvement.
Though the Todi piece grabbed the limelight the other items sung earlier were equally impressive. The very start of the performance with the composition ``Balambikaya'' in Kanada (Karnataka Kapi in Dikshitar parlance) was indicative of what was to be expected from them. ``Brihadambikaayai''(Vasanta) and "Sri Rajarajeswari''(Poornachandrika) only served to whet the enjoyment of the listeners. The interpretation of the kirtanas strongly echoed the grandeur of the compositions.
Young Sanjeev on the violin was equally arresting in the alapana of Todi in solo session and his accompanying competence in kirtanas and swara sessions was effective. Thanjavur Kumar handling the mridangam was pleasing.
Dextrous vocal manipulation
The performance of Ranjani and Gayatri was followed by that of O.S. Thiagarajan, a picture of contrast in musical objective marked by unfeeling routine rendering of songs and robot-like swaraprastaras. There was a passionate drive in the performing technique with less of sensitive merit. Studded with spiral sancharas, the Sankarabharanam alapana and song``Sri Kamalambikayai''was the main item with dextrous vocal manipulation of the raga's scale. The other items``Rajagopalam'' (Mohanam), "Senapate" (Kasiramakriya),``Renuka Devi''(Kannada Bangala) and ``Ananda Natana''(Kedaram) were text book expositions. The Sankarabharanam solo version of violinist Delhi Sundararajan had tonal warmth with sensitive phrasings. Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam) and E.M. Subramanyam (ghatam) peppered the performance with glittering percussive patterns.
"For some their very graces serve them but as enemies''wrote Shakespeare. Veena today shares the same fate at the hands of patrons of music. The ear has to be cultivated to sense the micro-tonal subtleties inherent in veena. How that quality gets revealed depends on the motivation of the vainika. One has only to hear the graceful curves of the anupallavi of the Dikshitar Sankarabharanam kirtana ``Dakshinamurte'' to realise the difference in emphasis when rendered vocally and when played on the veena. In the latter the notes ebb and flow in mellifluous sweetness for the instrument is incapable of noisiness unless the vainika chooses to bang on the strings.
The performance of P. Vasanta Kumar focussed on tone and content and was distinguished by tenderly touch. With deep delicacy, he played the Sankarabharanam Dikshitar song "Dakshinamurte''and brought out the bhava of the kirtana. The raga alapana earlier was animated with sensitive phrasings laying stress on the salient moorchanas and its charm sprang from the simplicity of approach. Though the Dhanyasi alapana ("Paradevata" was the song) received perceptive clarity it was Sankarabharanam that appealed with primacy of melody. The other items that Vasant Kumar played included``Panchamaatanga''(Malahari)``Sri-Ramachandro" (Sriranjani) ``Sri-Satya Naarayanam'' (Sivapantuvarali) and ``Amba Nilaayajaakshi''(Nilambari). His performance proclaimed the vainika as firm of faith in sampradaya and well schooled in refinement. Umayalpuram Sivaraman muffled the beats on the mridangam to chime with the veena's meettu.
SVK
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
|
