Overzealous expression
G. SWAMINATHAN
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The vocal recital of Chinmaya Sisters was a tad too aggressive.
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HIGH-PITCHED: Uma (left) and Radhika. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan.
A ringing soprano voice may be a gift, but exploiting it for overzealous expressions can turn perilous. The sound (literally and figuratively) performance of Chinmaya Sisters, Uma and Radhika, is an example.
Uma's vocal prowess is firm and as expected she dominated. Radhika's tone is lighter but more agreeable. Because of this, Radhika's tentative projection of Hindolam ("Samaja Varagamana") was more stirring than Uma's authoritative high-pitched Keeravani ("Kalikiyunde Gada"). Uma's unrelenting sharp excursions in tara sthayee jarred beyond a point. The good elements like her profound kaarvais and well-collated brikhas were eclipsed in the vociferous articulation.
Luckily, in the kalpanaswara segments the two were more controlled and quite professional in "Veda Siroma" (Hindolam) and "Baguga Sriraghu" (Keeravani). To be specific, the exchange of swaras by the sisters landing on `Ri' and `Sa' in Keeravani were imaginative and set in neat permutation. ``Ramanannu Brovara" in Harikambodi, "Ganamoorthey" in Ganamurti and "Sativikam Sankaram" in Amritavarshini figured in their agenda. Melakkaveri Thyagarajan's violin was a tame accessory in this case. Nellai A. Balaji on the mridangam and Nanganallur Swaminathan on the ghatam matched the sisters' tempo well.
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