Karaikkal Venkatasubramanian & R Raghul, Fiddle Duet, Chamber Concert

Karaikkal Venkatasubramanian & R Raghul - Fiddle Duet
B Sivaraman - Mridangam
D V Venkatasubramanian - Ghatam

Chamber Concert
25 April 09. 6 pm

chalamEla jEsE - nATTaikuranji - Adi - Rangaswami Nattuvanaar (short sketch)
vAtApi gaNapatim - hamsadvani - Adi - MD (short sketch, S)
marivErE gati - Anandabhairavi - misra cApu - SS (R - KV)
Ananda naTamADuvAr - pUrikalyANi - rUpakam - NS (R - RR)
nAdatanumanisam - cittaranjani - Adi - T (S)
svara rAga sudhA - shankarAbaraNam - Adi - T (RtNS)
rAgamAlikA tAnam in shankarAbaraNam, varALi(KV), hamsanAdam(RR), malayamArutam(KV), valaji(RR)
tani
cinnanjiru kiLiyE - rAgamAlikA
tillAnA - pUrNacandrikA - Adi - RSI
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
suruTTi short sketch

It was a good concert. The violinsts, though from different schools, shared a good rapport and presented a good concert together. The pieces were rendered well and the AlApanais and svarams were all good also. They both used some nice phrases, from rare compositions in developing the ragams and during the neraval svarams also. The accompanists played very well and accompanied the piece properly.

I enjoyed the concert.

Prasanna Venkataraman, Nada Inbam

Prasanna Venkataraman - S Varadarajan - K Arun Prakash - K V Gopalakrishnan

SVK Birthday Series. Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
18 April 08. 6 pm

ninnE kOri - kAnaDA - Adi
santAna gOpAlakrishNam - khamAs - rUpakam - MD (S)
rAmA nI vAdu - kalyANi - tisra Adi - T (RNS)
maravakavE O manasA - sAmA - rUpakam - PSI (RNS)
pAhimAm bruhannAyikE - husEni - rUpakam
nAdOpAsanA - bEgaDa - Adi - T (RNS)
tani
sOdanai - kApi - Adi - PS
mukti aLikkum - navarOj - misra cApu - GKB
tillAnA - gambIravANi - Adi - TK Govinda Rao
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was a good concert. The AlApanais of kalyANi, sAmA and bEgaDa were all quite elaborate and very heavy and fitting for the songs that were rendered. The kriti renditions were very weighty. The neraval and svarams were all very good and done in a very emotive fashion. The accompanists were very good and did a wonderful job in accompanying for all the kritis and during their solo versions. Overall a very enjoyable concert.

T N Krishnan, Nada Inbam

T N Krishnan - K V Prasad - Vaikom Gopalakrishnan - Srirangam Kannan

SVK Birthday Series. Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
16 April 08. 6 pm

viribhONi ninnEkOri - bhairavi - aTa - PA
kAmavardhani
marivErE - Ananda bhairavi - misra cApu - SS (RS)
arivAi - mukhAri - misra cApu - AK (R)
padavini - sALagabhairavi - Adi - T (R)
tAyE yashOdA - tODi - Adi - OVK (RNS)
tani
khamAs
nIlAmbari, sahAnA, dEvagAndhAri, sAvEri, suruTTi, sindubhairavi
venkaTAcala nilayam - sindhubhairavi

It was a great concert. I entered while he was playing Anandabhairavi. It was a treat to hear such an elegant Anandabhairavi as i entered. The mukhAri was very moving. The sALagabhairavi was very nice and gave nice insights into the rAga svarUpam. The main tODi was very elaborate and rendered very well. This was followed by a nice khamAs (the kriti, i couldnt identify) and the rAgamAlikA AlApanai was very nice as well. I left during the sindubhairavi piece. The accompanists were very good and played in perfect match for the main artist. On the whole a very good concert.

R Vedavalli, Nada Inbam

R Vedavalli, V Sumitra - Pakala Ramdas - K Arun Prakash

SVK Birthday Series, Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall.
14 April 09. 6 pm


sankari samkuru - sAvEri - tisra Adi - SS ?NS)
ennALu UragE - shubapantuvarALi - misra cApu - T
ambA nIlAyatAkshI - nIlAmbari - Adi - MD (R)
brOva samayamidE - gauri manOhari - Adi - GPV
srI raghuvara - kAmbhOji - Adi - T (RS)

I reached late.

The sAvEri kriti and the neraval svarams were all elaborate and done in a very elite manner. The AlApanai of nIlAmbari was out of the world. The phrases woven into one another, made it a really touching AlApanai. The kriti was rendered beautifully. The main kAmbhOji AlApanai was differently structured and was very classical and very heavy. The kriti rendition was stunning. The shubapantuvarALi and gauri manOhari pieces were both rendered very well also. I was totally satisfied with the concert till kAmbhOji.

Smt. Sumitra sang some parts of the nIlAmbari and kAmbhOji AlApanais and also shared the neraval, svaram parts. The accompanists were very good. The violinist played well and gave good responses. The mrudangist played very appropriately and gave wonderful support.

Bharat Sundar, Nada Inbam

K Bharat Sundar - B Anantakrishnan - Erode Nagarajan - Nerkunam Sankar

SVK Birthday Series, Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall.
13 April 09. 6 pm

chalamEla jEsE - nATTakuranji - Adi - Rangaswami Nattuvanar (short sketch)
karikalAbha mukham - sAvEri - rUpakam - MD
bhajana sEyarAdA - dharmavati - rUpakam - MV (RNS)
paritAnamiccidE - bilahari - kaNDa cApu - PSI (short sketch S)
sumasAyaka - karnATaka kApi - rUpakam - ST (short sketch)
brOcEvArevarurA - khamAs - Adi - MV (R)
intanucu - gunDakriyA - Adi - T
yArO enReNNAmal - shankarAbaraNam - Adi - AK
kAmAkshI bangAru - varALi - misra cApu - SS (RNS)
tani
anumanai anudinam - rAgamalikA - kaNDa cApu
tsallarE rAmacandruni - Ahiri - misra cApu - T
adala sEDanAr ADa - rAgamAlikA - kaNDacApu, rUpakam - Thiruppugazh
tillAnA - hamsadvani - kaNDa cApu - Bharat Sundar
nI nAma rUpamulaku - sarurAshTram - Adi - T

It was a good concert by the youngster. He did a good job in both kriti renditions and in manodarma parts. His alapanais were all very well and the vocalist has a good grip over the compositions as well. The accompanists were very good and did a good job in ably supporting the main artist. A very good concert

Trivandrum Venkataraman, Nada Inbam

Trivandrum R Venkataraman - Mannargudi A Eswaran - Vaikom R Gopalakrishnan

SVK Birthday Series, Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall.
11 April 09. 6 pm

calamEla jEsE - nATTaikuranji - Adi - Rangaswami Nattuvanar (short sketch)
ninnu jUci - saurAshTram - Adi (short sketch)
Ema ninnE - mUkhAri - Adi - Subbaraya Sastri (RNS)
sItamma mAyammA - vasantA - rUpakam - T (RS)
sukhi evarO - kAnaDA - Adi - T (R)
Emi jEsitEnEmi - tODi - misra cApu - T (RtNS)
tani
rAgamAlikA AlApanai/tAnam in aTANA, danyAsi, bEgaDa, hamsAnandi, nATTakuranji, dEvagAndhAri
rAma rAma pAhi - dEvagAndhAri - misra cApu - ST
sAramaina - bEhAg - rUpakam - ST (R)
nI nama rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

It was a fabulous concert. Each piece was rendered with great bhavam and the phrases were all totally moving and inspiring. The manOdarma parts were all totally classical and made a real treat to the listeners. The choice of songs and their renditions were all very good. mukhAri was very moving. The main tODi was very elaborate and bore the true colours of the ragam to the fullest. The accompanists were very good and played very very aptly.

It was a great concert. Truly inspiring and wonderful concert from the veteran musician.

Kuldeep Pai, Asthika Samajam Venus Colony

Kuldeep Pai - Akkarai Swarnalatha - Konerirajapuram Varadarajan

Asthika Samajam Venus Colony
9 April 09. 5 pm

rAmAya rAmabadrAya - slOkam in vasantA
sItamma mAyamma - vasantA - rUpakam - T (S)
rAmA nIvEgAni - nArAyaNi - Adi - T (RS)
raghuvIra raNadhIra - husEni - rUpakam - T
ninnADa - kannaDa - Adi - t
srI satya nArAyaNam - shubapantuvarALi - rUapakam - MD (RNST)
teliviyAlum mukham - punnAgavarALi - misra cApu - ST
slOkam in madhuvanti
mangApuri - madhuvanti - Adi - t
karacharaNam krutam - madhyamAvati

It was good concert. The vocalist has a good voice and keeps the vigour of the concert well. His renditions are quite innovative and catchy. Accompanists were good as well

Lakshmi Sriram, Astika Samajam Venus Colony

Lakshmi Sriram - K P Nandini - N C Bharadwaj

Astika Samajam, Venus Colony, Alwarpet
8 April 09. 5 pm

vakratuNDa - slOkam in mAyAmALavagauLa
dEva dEva - mAyAmALavagauLa - rUpakam - ST (S)
rA rA mA inTi - asAvEri - Adi - T
srI lakshmi varAham - AbhOgi - Adi - MD (RS)
sAmikki sari evarE - kEdAragauLa - misra cApu - PD (short sketch)
niravati sukhadA - ravicandrikA - Adi - T
ninnE nammitinayyA - simmEndra madhyamam - misra cApu - MV (RNST)
sApasyat kausalyA - jaunpuri - Adi
mAyanai maNNu - srI rAgam - Adi - ANDAL Thiruppavai
Ayi mOhE lAgO - yaman - Mira Bhajan

It was a very good concert. Smt. Sriram gave a very enjoyable and good concert. The kriti renditions were very heavy. Be it fast or slow paced kritis, the perfection in the rendition of each phrase was particularly catchy and made it a very good recital. The rAga AlApanais were very good. They were examples of unconventionally approached, yet traditionally fitting and inspiring elaborations of the rAgam. The svarams and neraval were all very well structured and fitting to the kriti. I was particularly happy to listen to AbhOgi with srI lakshmi varAham, taken up for submain and being given elaborate treatment. The kEdAragauLa piece was very moving. The main simmEndra madhyamam was very good as well. The violinst was good in her replies. The mridangist played very well and perfectly accompanied the songs and the manodarma parts. His tani was very good as well.

Being an accomplished Hindustani and Carnatic vocalist of a good standing, Smt. Sriram clearly draws the line and one can see her perfectly adhering to the system of music with almost no influence from the other, whenever she gives a recital. I have heard her sing concerts of Hindustani music before and after this concert as well, i m left to wonder how she manages to keep both at such a high level and yet clearly keeps them away from each other. Kudos to her for doing that.

Thirukkarugavur G Srinivasa Raghavan, Music Club IIT Madras

Thirukkarugavur G Srinivasa Raghavan - Usha Rajagopalan - Trichur C Narendran - S Ganesan

Music Club IIT Madras, CLT
7 April 09. 6:45 pm



ranjitamu kala - simmEndra madhyamam - Adi - Katsanam Srinivasa Avadhani [varNam] (short sketch)
vandEnisamaham - hamsadvani - Adi - MV (S)
ElA nI daya rAdu - aTANA - Adi - T
sivAnanda kAmavardani - kAmavardani - misra cApu - GNB (RNS)
bhuvinidAsuDanE - srI ranjani - Adi - T (S)
angArakam AsharayAmyaham - suruTTi - rUpakam - MD (R)
singAravElavan vandAn - Ananda bhairavi - Adi
tanayuni brOva - bhairavi - Adi - T (RNS)
tani
paripAlincuvani - suddha sAvEri - kaNDa cApu - Thiruvisanallur Venkataramana Bhagavatar
siru viral naRRaDavi parimAra - kEdAragauLa, mOhanam, hindOLam, nIlAmbari - Azhvar pasuram
mAdhava mAmava dEvA - nIlAmbari - Adi - NT
nERRandi nEratilE - husEni - rUpakam - Subbaramayyar [tamil padam]
sAramaina mATalendu - bEhAg - rUpakam - ST
agaramum Agi - suddha sAvEri - Thiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
srI rAmacandra srutapArijAta - slOkam in madhyamAvati

It is a story on how we got to have this concert arranged in the first place. During our discussions on whom to be featured for the concert, we were going through the musicians' directory and the President of Music Club, Prof. Narendran was pleasantly surprised to spot some of the names, which he said were those of people who were regular in concert circuits once upon a time, in the afternoon slots but have not been seen in chennai for a long time. Some of them were current contacts and some of them old. We got to finding whereabouts of some of them and eventually with the help of a fellow member at www.rasikas.org got the contacts of Sri Srinivasa Raghavan and asked him for a concert. He readily accepted and it was indeed an wonderful concert that he presented at our club.

Starting with a short sketch of simmEndra madyamam, one was clueless what was coming up. The rare varNam, a composition in praise of Saint Thyagaraja was beautiful. It made a very good start and it was followed up with a peppy hamsadvani piece, with a quick round of svarams. aTANA piece was rendered with all usual sangatis rendered in a very impressive fashion.

The first AlApanai for the evening, kAmavardani was rendered in a traditional fashion and the kriti, a GNB composition and a rare species on concerts these days, was taken up and treated elaborately with a detailed round of neraval and svarams.

The srI ranjani piece was rendered with a nice round of svarams. The AlApanai of suruTTi was very moving and made the perfect prelude to the vAra kriti that was rendered.

With the quick Ananda bhairavi piece, the main course bhairavi was sung in a very orthodox fashion with a lot of old school phrases beautifully woven together and making an elaborate, classical and weighty AlApanai. The kriti which followed was rendered very well with elaborate round of neraval and svarams. The rAgamAlikA pAsuram and the husEni tamil padam were all rendered well.

The whole concert was a very traditional affair and the music of yesteryears was effortlessly rendered with absolute bhavam and with vigour. Each kriti was rendered with a lot of azhuttam and with sangatis perfectly matched. The AlApanais were very classy and with a lot of vintage phrases carefully incorporated into them. The neraval and svarams were measured and fitting to the pieces that were rendered.

The accompanists lived upto the occasion and gave a thoroughly wholesome support to the main artist in all their parts totally making the concert very enjoyable. The violinst was perfectly matching the phrases that were sung. Her replies were very apt and totally in place. The mridangist followed the songs with great anticipation. His accompanying for the neraval svarams were also very nice. The tani was very enjoyable too.

It only leaves me to wonder, why have we forgotten such musicians...