Friday Review
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Skilfully woven swaras
Lalgudi Srimathi
The power of experience, and unceasing focus have the key to unlock the doors of success in any profession — more so with any form of art. Lalgudi Srimathi is an artiste to reckon with in the field of Carnatic music, and it is not surprising si
nce she is an important limb in the contemporary Lalgudi tradition that has its own impeccable values in maintaining the classical dignity of South Indian music. In her audio volume for Sri Records, she is accompanied by R. Ramesh on the mridangam and B. Sundar Kumar on the kanjira.
‘Sri Ramya Chitta’ in Jayamanohari, a rarely heard kriti of Tyagaraja, is a pleasant harbinger. The rich gamaka nuances of Devagandhari are exemplified to the optimum in the version of ‘Ksheerasagara Sayana,’ the monumental song of Tyagaraja in praise of the Lord reclining on the ocean of milk.
Hindolam is an endearing raga that receives instant response from all sections of the audience. Srimathi’s alapana with melody running as the leitmotif, and Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Maaramanan’ are instances of perfect presentation. The swaraprastaras as is customary with the Lalgudi bani, are woven with skill and keen rhythmic accuracy.
Scholarly alapana
Koteswara Iyer’s Rasikapriya (72 mela) composition on Lord Muruga is a pure one off, stressing the mellifluence of the scale convincingly. The violinist’s rendition with sensitive care on the vivadi swaras, shatsruthi rishabham and shatsruthi dhaivatam reflects her lakshana awareness. Bhairavi is a scholarly alapana, packed with time-honoured prayogas that always satisfy quality parameters.
‘Koluvaiyunnade,’ a madhyama kala kriti of Tyagaraja on Lord Kothandapani, is invested with spirit while the swara chains in the two kalapramanams, the kuraippu and the finishing sarva lagu sequences crowned by a simple korvai yet effective, extend the boundaries of performance levels impressively.
Kanakadasa’s ever-winning ‘Krishna Nee Begane’ in Yamuna Kalyani and Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Kanada do raise the melodic and laya barometers considerably. R. Ramesh and Sundar Kumar are enthusiastic percussionists, and have supported with precision, while the thani avartanam with resounding beats and imaginative patterns has flowing rhythm.
Rasikapriya
Lalgudi Srimathi – Classical violin
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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