With consummate ease
PVK
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Shubashree Ramachandran renders both oft-heard and rare kritis of Annamacharya in this album.
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Sri Balaji Samkirtanamala
Annamacharya Kritis
Ekantha Seva
Swathi Soft Solutions
Shubashree Ramachandran
A lot of responsibility rests with performers who happen to be the off-springs of reputed musicians. Shubashree Ramachandran, daughter of Charumathi Ramachandran and Trichur V. Ramachandran, successfully lives up to the responsibility and expectatio
ns in her recently released audio compact disc of Annamacharya kritis. The disc has been brought out by Swathi Soft Solutions.
A dozen compositions of the saint composer have been rendered by Shubashree in various ragas and talas. Music has been scored by established vocalists. The opening and closing devotional chorus of ‘Venkataramana Govinda’ provides a religious fervour to the proceedings.
Shubashree does well to include frequently heard compositions and a couple of rare ones in her selection. The opening kriti is ‘Okapari’ in Kharaharapriya sung with a few cycles of sarvalagu swara passages at the charanam. A Khamas sankirtana ‘Shringara’ follows and the choice of the raga suits the lyrics of the composer.
Melodious Hindolam
Following suit is the popular ‘Garuda Gamana’ in Hindolam. A telling alapana of the melody precedes the song. The vocalist’s voice is similar to that of her mother Charumathi’s.
The alapana is replete with slow phrases which are finely matched with the brighas that flow with commendable ease from Shubashree’s voice. The Hindolam suite, comprising vinyasa, kriti and solfa passages, fall pleasantly on the ears.
‘Palukathey’ (Abheri with chatusruthi daivatham), a popular creation of Annamacharya, is a good rendering by the artist. The vocalist offers an essay of Kalyani with time tested sancharas and pidis, capped with manodharma. The alapana is creditable and displays a lot of maturity which the singer has gained over the years. The composition which follows the raga is a delightfully tuned one by the talented late Srirangam Gopalarathnam. The rendition of the kriti, the kalpanaswaras, the kuraippu and the final korvai stand testimony to the sincere approach and commitment of the vocalist to the art.
The accompanists whose names are not mentioned in the inlay card offer anticipatory and right support. Kritis in Mukhari (‘Brahma Kadigina’) and ‘Alarulu Kuriyaga’ (Sankarabharanam) on Goddess Alarmelmangai enshrined in the temple at Tiruchanur are rendered with composure.
Shubashree’s voice is tailor-made to suit ragas such as Yamunakalyani and Sindhubhairavi.
The descending brigha employing ‘sndpmgrs’ during the course of ‘Bhavayami Gopalabalam’ has great clarity and makes an impact on the listener.
A Saindhavi (Kharaharapriya in the madhyama sruti) kriti, ‘Meluko Sringara’ is a bhava-laden exposition and the tunesmith of this composition is the vocalist’s mother whose musical expressions come to the forefront in the setting of this composition. This kriti stands out in this disc.
The tail-enders are kritis in Kurinji (‘Muddugare’), Mishra Tilang (‘Emako’) and Sindhubhairavi (‘Adi Deva’). A brief sloka preceding the song in Sindhubhairavi brings this disc to a good finish.
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