Lyrical notes
|
Chandan Kumar's recital was graceful and melodious
|
FULFILLING Vedavalli's singing was profound; Chandan Kumar's flow remained undistorted
Shri Krishna Seva Samiti
Charitable Trust in Mysore,
had arranged
Chandan Kumar's flute
recital as part of Shrikrishna
Janmashtami Celebrations
at Alvar Kalamandira. H.K.
Narasimha Murthy (violin),
B. Ravishankar (mridanga)
and V.S. Ramesh (ghata) accompanied
him.
The artiste had ideally restricted
the number of presentations
to a few on which
he could bestow honest attention.
Varna ("Viriboni" -
Bhairavi - Pachimirium
Adiappayya) established the
artiste's style in both the areas
of competence and imagination.
Even in faster paces,
while connecting the swaras
and the phrases through
graces, which were deep and
graceful, the flow remained
undistorted and the melody,
undiminished.
Of all the numbers, three
drew special attention:
"Kannanai" (Shanmukhapriya
- Papanasham Shivan),
"Venugana Loluni" (Kedaragowla
- Thyagaraja) and "Satatham
Taavaka"
(Kharaharapriya - Swathy
Thirunal). He elaborated
these ragas, of which the last
two convinced the audience
from the perspectives of
technique and creativity.
Relatively, the lyrical and
swaraprastara sections were
more absorbing - having presented
in the desired pace.
Though the alapanas were
scholarly, due importance
given to slower movements
would have brought them on
par with the rasa-bhaava
component he infused into
the compositions. The senior
violinist's approach to Shanmukhapriya
was exemplary -
he demonstrated appreciable
imagination and restraint
in revealing the finer emotions
the raga inhered.
The rhythm accompanists'
soft touches aptly supported
the gentle style of the flautist.
A sudden plunge into beatdominated
passages
("Anaathudanu" -Jingla -
Thyagaraja) immediately
following a melody and
mood-oriented composition
"Venugaana Loluni", was in
fact an antithesis.
"Gopalabalam" (presented
in Revagupti - Swathy Thirunal),
"Harithirtha Satya"
(Jaunpuri) and Tillana (Pahadi
- Lalgudi Jayaraman)
were other highlights.
***
Vedavalli, a veteran artiste
presented vocal concert under
the patronage of
SPVGMC Trust, as part of
Ganesha festival music concerts.
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
(violin), Tumkur B. Ravishankar
(mridanga) and Tumkur
B. Shashishankar (ghata)
accompanied the artiste.
In the present instance,
the artiste revealed all signs
of profound scholarship and
expertise.
She sang in a very low
pitch and that weakened the
vigor.
As a consequence she
failed to provide the lift
which was necessary to infusing
vitality into the progressions.
In addition, it
muffled the lyrics too.
Setting aside the above
shortcomings, one may now
take a look at the merits: "Vanajaksha
Ninne Kori" (Varna-
Mandaari) and
"Varasiddhi Vinayaka" (Kaanada)
both composed by
Muthayya Bhagavathar, provided
an excellent opportunity
for the listeners to enjoy
the lesser- known compositions.
Alapana in Raamapriya
was another treat leading to
Patnam's "Korinavara". She
appended the krithi with a
neraval at "Varijastra" followed
by swarakalpana. In
all these stages, the contribution
of the violinist and the
percussionist proved
immense.
Similarly, Dikshitar's
"Chetashri Balakrishnam"
(Dvijavanthi), "Ekamresha
Nayakim" (Shanmukhapriya
- featuring an alapana, a neraval
at Kanchinagara and
strains of swarakalpana) and
Thyagaraja's "O Rangashayi"
(Kamboji - the main composition
of the evening) entertained
the audience.
Nevertheless, "Nagumomu"
(Abheri- Thyagaraja) did not
carry either the mood of the
raga or the sentiments of the
lyrics.
V. NAGARAJ
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