Steeped in sampradaya
SVK
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Aesthetics and style marked the two violin concerts heard this past week.
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The violin concert of T. N. Krishnan and his daughter Viji for the Fifty-Fifty club was rich in aesthetic passion breathing charm into the items he played. It sprang from the commanding heights of competence with the happy blend of melody and spontaneity. There was a sense of calmness behind his softened exposition.
Of the ragas he elaborated Kharaharapriya was an aural delight, brilliant in concept content and depth. The kirtana was "Rama-Nee-Samaana." The Devagandhari alapana was rich in colour with manodharma high in the scale of the violinist's vision of the raga. The song "Karuna-Samudra," not often handled, was delightfully first rate. The heightened resonance of the kirtana was a product of intense musical motivation.
The Todi vinyasa and kirtana "Koluva-Maregada" was racy. The three songs at the start of the programme — "Nada Tanumanisam" (Chittaranjani) "Teratee-Yaga Radha" (Gowripandu) and "Entaraani" (Harikambhodi) — laid the foundation for the exhilarating progress of the concert. Steeped in the ideals of sampradaya, which forms the fabric of his technique, Krishnan represents the quintessence of Carnatic music. Trichur Narendran (mridangam) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (ghatam) tightly knit their rhythmic beats to reveal percussive brilliance, both while accompanying songs and in their tani.
Dignity
The violin recital of M.S. Gopalakrishnan and his daughter Narmada brought out the dignity and grace of Carnatic music. They directly transferred their years of performing experience on the delineation of ragas and interpretation of songs in their concert for the TTD Information Centre. The management of music was a stylistic achievement at their hands.
Narmada in her alapanas of Shivaranjani and Todi presented the sancharas with sharp precision. The kritis, "Maarubalka" and "Kaddanu-Vaariki," respectively in those ragas lent distinction to their Spartan discipline. Gopalakrishnan, in his elaboration of Hamir-kalyani, laid special stress on melody, peppering the raga with sancharas. The Parur parampara was showcased in the rendition of "Venkata-Saila-Vihara."
Trivandrum Vaidyanathan (mridangam) played with great restraint.
A musician is normally motivated by two vital elements - visranti and even tempo. Lethargy or liveliness is determined by the predominance of the former or the latter. It is a judicious mix of these two factors that keeps a recital at a uniformly high level.
T. M. Krishna's performance for the Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha swayed widely between pools and peaks. The Nattai pancharatna "Jagadaa Nanda Karaka," brisk in pace, raised hopes of a sparkling presentation, but the Todi raga alapana, kirtana and neraval for "Kaddanu-Vaariki" dropped to depressive depths.
Perhaps sensing loss of tempo Krishna raced through "Rama-Ninne" (Hareni) only to wallow in the Kapi alapana and kirtana "Inta-Sowkhyamanine." Again he woke up to the calls of tempo in the song "Sarasasamadana" (Kapi Narayani). It was lethargy again in the Saveri alapana and song "Rama-Bana." His voice, however, carried the day.
Arun Prakash, the miradangist, played the true role of a dharmapatni by gentle raps and sudden bursts of thunderous beats reflecting the the vocalist's moods. S. Varadarajan on the violin was more instinctive in shaping the sancharas sagaciously with a proper balance between the slow and sprightly shades. Poor Anirudh Atreya, the ganjira artiste, remained an onlooker.
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