It's not just in the mind
SVK
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A concert, minus the contemplative element, becomes a mere vocal exercise.
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Studied vidwat display and vocal contrivance do not touch the heart. Music is great when it goes well beyond technical nuances. Craftsmanship seems to be the main concern of even top-ranking artistes today.
Many do not realise that a plethora of sancharas in alapanas alone cannot make a raga lyrically radiant.
Ritualistic interpretation of songs cannot convey their true joy at deeper levels. These are contrivances that devalue the extremely contemplative base of Carnatic music. The creative process calls for more than just mechanical and intellectual expression.
Monotonous
O. S. Thiagarajan's concert for the Krishna Gana Sabha exemplified these characteristics. Bereft of gamakas, replete with churning, swirling sancharas in the alapanas of Sriranjani (Sogasuga-Mridanga-Taalamu) Malayamarutham ("Dhanyudevvado) and Bilahari (Swara-Sadhaa-Maanasa) and with the same pattern in neravals,his exposition was cast in a monotonous mould.
"Biraana-Vara" (Kalyani) "Ganamoorthe" (Ganamurthi) and "Sri-Valli-Devasenapathe" (Natabhairavi) were the other songs, all in a uniform kalapramana, without distinction of Vilamba, Madhyama and durita kalas. The ragas and songs had more bounce than beauty.
Bound by an accompanist's dharma, Nagai Muralidharan (violin) in his solo sessions held the mirror up to the vocalist. At least in one or two places, he could have shown his individuality. The heart warming part of the whole recital was mridangist Umayalpuram Sivaraman's play soaked in Nada Sookshmam and nadais well-tuned to suit the sangati movements in songs. Sri Sundarakumar (kanjira) was literally in the background.
The mark of progress of a musician depends on an understanding that maintenance of standards is a slippery thing. Voice, aesthetic understanding of ragas and kirtanas, terseness of exposition, and well-preserved repertoire have to be integrated to constitute the core of a good performance.
It is facilely assumed that a good voice is enough. If an artiste reflects back on the quality of the day's recital, it would lead to improvement.
Smooth
Vasundhara Rajagopal clothed the raga alapanas of Dhanyasi and Madhyamavati and the kirtanas "Raa Raa Maayinti" (Asaveri) "Sangita-Gnanamu" (Dhanyasi) "Adiki-Suramu" (Madhyamavati") in a smooth and appealing style. There was pleasantness in the items presented, though she could have paid attention to making them gripping.
Neither the violinist Akkarai Subhalakshmi nor the mridangist T. K. Ramakrishnan could impart liveliness.
The violinist, in her solo version, treated the ragas with clipped phrasings, but overall the full image of the ragas failed to appear. The laya support was not an inspiration in any sense.
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