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Fluid melody
Name of the company not mentioned - Carnatic classical instrumental Veena - Nadha Veena - Kalpagam Swaminathan and Priya Venkataraman - Price not mentioned.
KALPAGAM SWAMINATHAN, an accomplished veena exponent and a well-respected guru, is responsible for lighting many a candle in the sphere of classical Carnatic veena music. She, along with her disciple Priya Venkataraman, has recorded an hour's concert with Thrissur C. Narendran on the mridangam and Palakkad S. V. Ramani on the ghatam. The not too often heard Kannada varnam by Patnam Subramania Iyer in Adi Tala raises the curtain with melody and dignity. A smooth alapana of Hamirkalyani marked by fluidity of movement prefaces Dikshitar's "Purahara Nandana".
"Pavanathmaja" by Dikshitar in praise of Anjaneya is a spick and span rendition with a catena of sarvalaghu swara sequences in the Pallavi. Dikshitar's "Viswanadhena" in raga Samantham is truly an aural delight. The expansive delineation of Kalyani with mellifluous time-honoured prayogas traversing the octaves, and the tanam bear testimony to the artiste's musicianship. Mysore Vasudevachar's "Srimadhadhi" with neraval and kalpanaswaras reflect praiseworthy levels of professionalism. The well-organised tani avartanam by the percussionists is followed by a soothing Tulsidas bhajan in Lalith.
Music Today C-00030 - Carnatic Classical instrumental - violin - Strings of Harmony - A. Kanyakumari - Price Rs. 65.
A. Kanyakumari, violinist who is an able performer in the traditional classical idiom, is a dynamo of ceaseless mental activity coupled with a gusty spirit to explore fresh avenues and capture the attention of the public.
In this audio cassette, Kanyakumari with her disciples Embar S. Kannan and T. Hemamalini has played on three violins and on three octaves simultaneously. The accompanists are K. V. Prasad on the mridangam and T. V. Vasan on the ghatam.
A very melodic introductory essay of Hamsadhwani is a prelude to Indira Natesan's "Mahaganapathim" with imaginative swara passages attached to the pallavi. The playing on the lower and middle sthayis is strong and arresting but the volume in the higher octave is understandably feeble although the playing is fluent.
Tyagaraja's only kriti, "Nadathanumanisam" in the nishadyanta raga Chittaranjani, G. N. Balasubramaniam's "Samana Rahithe" in Sarangatharangini (incorrectly mentioned as Saranga in the inlay card), a Tharangam in Durbari Kanada and a Sai Bhajan in Revati are indeed music to the ear and heart.
The Natabhairavi elaboration is a telling exposition with relevant prayogas adorning the exercise on all three sthayis. The swara prastharas by Kanyakumari, laced with confidence and precision, are topped by a simple but effective swara finale. — S.P.
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