Monday, January 13, 2014

A peek into my concerts in December 2013...


Bharati Vizha - 8.12.13:

Though not part of the Margazhi season, singing at Bharati Illam, Triplicane is something that I cherish, year after year.


This concert was held on the occasion of Bharatiyar Vizha.

Sri.V.V.S.Murari - Violin
Sri.B.Sivaraman - Mridangam









As a tribute to the great poet Mahakavi Subramanya Bharati, I presented
karpaga vinAyaka (gowLa)
ujjayini nitya kalyAni (kalyANi),
Chandiran oLiyil (chandrakauns),
kAkkai chiraginilE (brindAvana sArangA)
chuttum vizhi chudar (rAgamAlikA)

Karthik Fine Arts - 11.12.13:

This was the first concert of the Music Season for me. At Narada Gana Sabha Main Hall.

Mysore Srikanth - Violin
Poongulam Subramanian - Mridangam
Sreesundar Kumar - Kanjira


This concert was webcast by CMANA, USA for rasikas in the United States.

This was the first time that I presented kumbhEshwarAya namastE (kalyANi, Muthuswami Dikshitar) in a regular concert. (I had presented it in one of the earlier episodes of the thematic series, Myriad Forms of Lord Siva.)







(A rasika, after the Karthik Fine Arts concert, expressed his disappointment that I had not sung any Tamizh Kriti in this concert.
Point noted :-) and I made ample amends in all my forthcoming concerts :-)

Chennai Cultural Academy - 13.12.13:
I took up punnagai onrE pOdumE in raga Hamsanandi (composition of Smt.Ambujam Krishna) for detailed elaboration and also presented nambikkettavar evarayya preceded by a virutham in raga HindOlam. Akshayalinga vibhO, shankarAbharaNam was taken up as the main composition in this concert.


Hamsavinodini - 16.12.13:

Venue : Arkay Convention Center, Mylapore.

This was the first time I performed at this hall. Nice, compact auditorium with excellent acoustics.




B.Ananthakrishnan - Violin
B.Ganapathiraman - Mridangam











Almost every December, I do an elaborate subhapantuvarALi at some sabha or the other. This time, it was here :-).
Also presented a detailed ShudhadhanyAsi (azhagA azhagA- composition of Smt.Ambujam Krishna)






Meenakshi Sundararajan Trust - 18.12.13:

It is a delight to sing for the Mambalam/Kodambakkam audience every year at Meenakshi College !

















Sri.M.R.Gopinath - Violin
Sri.Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan - Mridangam
Sri. Sreesundar Kumar - Kanjira









Being the occasion of Arudra Darisanam, I began the concert with a mallAri in rAga gambhIra nAtai and presented many Kritis on Lord Siva. There were many requests from the audience and it is always a pleasure to sing them ! I took up shanmukhapriya(pArvati nAyakanE, pApanAsam sivan's composition) for a detailed elaboration in this concert.

Indian Fine Arts Society - 20.12.13:

Dr.Hemalatha on the Violin, B.Sivaraman on the Mridangam and Chandrasekhara Sharma on Ghatam.

nAsikAbhUshaNi (mAravairi ramaNi) and kIravANI(innamum sandEha) were taken up in detail.

Sri Krishna Gana Sabha - 21.12.13:

I did a thematic presentation " Compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar on Lord Shiva" at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha.



Sri.V.Sanjeev - Violin
Sri.Mudikondan Ramesh - Veena
Sri.Poongulam Subramaniam - Mridangam
Sri.Trichy Krishnaswamy - Ghatam







On the same lines as the ongoing monthly series "Myriad Forms of Lord Shiva", I gave a powerpoint presentation of the same.









Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha - 24.12.13:


Mysore Srikanth - Violin, Poongulam Subramaniam - Mridangam, Sreesundar Kumar - Kanjira

After a long time, I took up mInalOchani (tOdi, harikEsanallur muthiah bhAgavatar) in this concert. harikAmbhOji(dinamaNi vamsa) was taken up for elaboration and I presented a short RTP in raga madhukauns. Also presented the kriti jambUpatE, a personal favorite !

Valayapatti Nadhalaya Trust - 27.12.13:



In this concert, I took up simhEndramadhyamam(ninnE nammitinayya - mysore vAsudEvAchAr) for elaboration.

Tried something new in the neraval, I think it came out well :-)





 




V.V.S.Murari - Violin
Toronto Gowrishankar - Mridangam
Madipakkam Murali - Ghatam









Every year as the music season draws to a close, I always end up with mixed feelings. Sometimes, euphoric at having delivered and sometimes wistful that I perhaps didn't do enough. This time around, I was disappointed that I could not present a detailed RTP anywhere. I could attribute it to paucity of time but paradoxically was quite happy with my rendition of the madhukauns RTP, even though it was presented in slight haste.

Now I look forward in eagerness to this New Year which I hope will be musically a very satisfying one.

And my mission, quest and journey continues......







6 comments:

Revanth said...

"A rasika, after the Karthik Fine Arts concert, expressed his disappointment that I had not sung any Tamizh Kriti in this concert.
Point noted :-) and I made ample amends in all my forthcoming concerts " Now, that shows how much importance you give to rasikas making you one of the most loved musicians. It was wonderful reading the post on your december concerts. For us, who stay far away from Chennai, these updates are a source of joy. Extremely happy to know that you did an RTP in Madhukauns. Your concerts are always interesting. You always have a perfect way to entertain and enlighten the rasikas with your concerts. Wish you a wonderful year ahead with lots of happiness and music! :)

Gayathri Girish said...

Great hearing from you Revanth :-). Your Akka wishes you a very happy pongal :-)

Revanth said...

Gayathri Akka,
Thank you so much! :)
Wishing you and everyone at home a very Happy Pongal! :)

Shivakumar said...

Enjoyed your post. You are such a wonderful singer. But, I also realize that you are such a gifted writer. I hope the New Year launches you to greater heights in all of your pursuits!

Unknown said...

I was hoping to see the list of songs in each of the concerts, like you used to previously. That would give us some idea...
Surprising to note that you listened to a rasika's request and started singing all Tamil songs!!! I have a feeling that rasikas can potentially be hijackers (include me too) - it is my personal opinion though. But any song in any language when presented with involvement, bhakti and bhakti bhava should be fine. If the song is able to reach out to the Lord and subsequently bring out tears or touch the hearts of rasikas, I think, you did your job.

Teliya leru Rama bhakti margamu:-)

Meghashyam said...

Namaskarams Akka!
May I please request you to list down the songs you sang for Krishna Gana Sabha, the thematic Shiva-kriti concert, please?
Thank you very much. And lotsa love :)