Imaginative flights
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Nagavalli Nagaraj’s concert was vibrant and had good style
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HIGHLIGHT Subtle sancharas
Nagavalli Nagaraj and Ranjani sang (Ganabharathi, Mysore), accompanied by Sheshagiri Rao (violin), H.L. Shivashankaraswamy (mridanga) and Dasappa (morsing). Clarity, fluency, diction and imagination characterised their vibrant extempore.
Further, the overall style and the method of presenting the numbers, including the way in which they had planned the concert, left no moment of slackness either in mood or in verve. Their voices synchronised admirably irrespective of the speed or the pitch.
As the day was dedicated to the memory of Muttuswami Dikshithar, major part of the concert comprised his compositions of high rank, like “Divakaratanujam” (Yadukula Kamboji), “Govardhana Girisham” (Hindola), “Dakshina Murthe” (Shankarabharana) and “Shri Kanthimathim” (Hemavathi).
Though the general tempo was ideally maintained between vilamba and madhyama kaala-s, fostering melodic and meaningful tunes, inclusion of a true vilamba kala composition would have added more weight.
Subtle sancharas characterised systematic expatiations of the ragas, Shankarabharana and Hemavathi. They explored the nuances of the ragas, freely traversing the scales reaching easily and wondrously even the very high octaves, without losing melodic features of the well-trained chords.
However, very frequent insertions of fast sancharas, while narrating the lyrics, interfered with the tuneful experiences (observe, “Yamuna Nadhi Maadida” – Maru Bihag). Further, more emphasis laid on expositions in tara sthayi appeared unnecessary. Though such feats proved their vocal competence, they interfered with smooth and pleasing flow of the movements. *** Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha had conducted Yuva Sowrabha in collaboration with Department of Kannada and Culture, at Vidyabharathi Prarthana Mandira.
Melodic waves emerged from young Rakesh’s flute. Two more young accompanists, Sangeetha (violin) and Shashishankar (mridanga) shared the platform, tastefully treating the audience.
Both the volume and the tonal qualities are consistent in Rakesh’s renderings. He would not drift himself away from a gentle and dignified path expected of an ideal musician, and the result - the concert had all the pleasing features.
By providing appropriate accentuations, in consonance with the mood of the ragas, intonating with the theme of the sahitya and coinciding with patterns of the tala, he presented Patnam’s Varna (“Valachi Vachi” - Ragamalika) in two speeds. Unhurried approach made provisions for imaginative nilugades also.
Such balanced predispositions favourably influenced alapana and the lyrics in “Vathapi Ganapathim” (Hamsadhwani - Dikshithar) and “Nidhichala Sukhama” (Kalyani -Thyagaraja).
Particularly in Kalyani, which was the focus of the concert, he developed the movements in a systematic fashion, reaching refined and gentle climaxes in progressive increments. He enlarged the magnitude of the theme embedded in composition by elaborating the charana at “Mamatha Bandhanayutha”.
The versatile Sangeetha followed all the intricacies of the flautist, adding her own interludes wherever necessary to enhance the general appeal. Observations supported similar ideal findings in the approach of the percussionist Shashishankar.
Purandaradasa’s three compositions — “Venkatachala Nilayam”, “Jagadhodharana” and “Bhagyadalakshmi” made up the rest of the concert.
V. NAGARAJ
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