Melodious fare
B.R.C. IYENGAR
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The 7th Annual Cultural Festival of Chandrasekharendra Sangeetha Educational Society featured some of the best concerts this season.
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The vocal concert of sisters Ranjani and Gayathri was reduced to a farcical two-hour itinerary
Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
SISTER ACT Ranjani and Gayatri during their performance.
The 7th Annual Cultural Festival of Chandrasekharendra Sangeetha Educational Society started off at Keyes High School last week with all fanfare. On the inaugural day, much of the valuable time was lost in speeches , each praising the other and the vocal concert of Sisters Ranjani and Gayathri was reduced to a farcical two hours itinerary. The audio system was again under clash, the performers asking for more amplification, for what they demand as `feedback' and the audience rejecting it for the annoyance of shattering volume. Ranjani and Gayathri, renowned duet violin players, have recently switched over to vocal music and in the process have cut a niche for themselves. That they have relentlessly rehearsed their assets and updated them is evident from their flawless renderings, particularly the krithis. The highlight of the concert was the raga delineation of sriranjani (Marubalka) by Ranjani and kalyani (ethaunnara) by Gayathri. The other items that were well received were balakrishnan in dhanyasi, mamavaminakshi in varali. B.S. Narayana on the violin was assertive and contributed facets which were missed by the singers. It is intriguing why he is not provided more opportunities. Skandasubramaniam was grand in his discipline and the concert eventually proved to be one of the best in the series.
Saxophone is an instrument specially designed for western music to a limited degree. To harness and tame this defiant and obstinate instrument to adapt to classical Carnatic music is a miracle. The notes are defiantly flat, frightening and it needs great skill to bring out the most essential feature, the gamaka. Kadiri Gopalnath has intelligently overcome these snags and adopted a style most suited. Speed, a special skill and a unique technique are the norms to be adopted. Gopalnath has it in boundless measure.
In nine out of ten concerts Gopalnath plays the sriraga pancharathna. This concert too had it. The highlight of the concert was in projecting the rakthi raga hindusthani kapi in detail. The krithi inthasowkhyamani ne was played with emotion and the swarakalapana took lengthy analysis. It was interesting and a included a good part of histrionics. Ninnivina namadendu in navarasakannada is an ideal piece framed for instrumental players. It was played to the hilt. Kanyakumari on the violin was exigent in her approach and met every challenge with equal force. Unnikrishnan is a popular singer. His fame to a degree is due to his status as a playback singer. The concert was enjoyed by all in spite of it being a customary performance. The two items that generated praise were seshchalanayakm in varali and kaligiyunte in keeravani. The alapana of the ragas, the accompanying neraval and swarakalpana were all commendable, although it was felt that at moments that they were excessive and therefore repetitive. An item in the raga gurjari was attractive.
Rudrapatnam family membersareknown for their proclivity for Carnatic music. Right from the senior most R.R.Keshavamurthy through Kalanidhi R.K. Srikantan to Rudrapatnam Brothers, every one of them is talented and uniformly has a style, which is highly classical though not vibrant. The highlight of their concert was the rendering of the alapana, krithi (ethaunnara), neraval and swarakalpana of the raga kalyani.
R.K.Sriramakumar, yet another from the Rudrapatnam family who was on the violin gave a graphic analysis of the raga, kalyani. In terms of quality and logic of music the Hyderabad Sisters (Lalihta and Haripriya) seem to have turned a leaf in their musical career.
The alapana of the raga amrithavarshini by Lalitha was something the like of which has not been heard in recent years; the rare krithi thripurasundari naapai was equally graceful. Haripriya chose madhyamavathi as her choice for elaboration and the composition adigisukhamu of Thyagaraja was a symphony of words. There was perfect balance in all the disciplines of the concert and the audience enjoyed every bit.
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