SANKARAKRTAM
Musical Vision of Thanjavur Sankara Iyer.
MRP not mentioned.
Thanjavur Sankara Iyer can be rightly described as a musician's musician. His forte is strict adherence to classical values, both in his expositions of kalpitha and manodharma sangeetam. He has been a great source of inspiration to many performers, many of whom have made a mark for themselves in the field of Carnatic music.
This double disc album is a recording of a live concert by the veteran in Chennai in March 2008. One of Sankara Iyer's earlier compositions which has remained very popular over many decades is ‘Rama Namame Thudhi Maname’ in Desh.
Adhering to tradition, Sankara Iyer begins with the K. Ata tala varnam ‘Viriboni’ in Bhairavi. The brief kalpanaswaras for the charanam are
engaging.
The other compositions featured are the vocalist's own creations. ‘Sakthi Ganapathiye’ in Gowla is a neat rendition sans kalpanaswaras. The vidwan offers a chaste vinyasa of Sahana followed by ‘Saravanabhava Guha.’
Violinist Padma Shankar is in her element in this recital. She translates to perfection the ideas of the vocalist during raga vinyasas. Her brief sketch of Sahana is hauntingly beautiful and offers the raga in its essence.
Sankara Iyer moves on to paint Purvikalyani, which is not overdone. What is not palatable is the unwanted singing of a line from Muthuswami Dikshitar's ‘Meenakshi Memudam’ during the alapana. The lyric sung is ‘Veenavadana Dasa Gamakakriye.’ The reasons for resorting to this are best known to the singer, as Purvikalyani is quite a popular raga and easily identifiable by regular listeners of Carnatic music. The kriti ‘Dasan En Mel’ is bhava rich with just right dose of niraval and solfa passages.
Padma Shankar is once again at her best in her replies. It is interesting to listen to Sankara Iyer mention that the current Purvikalyani was called as Kalyani in earlier times. He also jokes that the present Kalyani is Naveena Kalyani. With these statements he gives room for thought for those interested into researching into the history of Carnatic ragas.
‘Sri Rama Dhoota’ in Thodi ( Misra Chapu ) is the main piece. The portrayal of Thodi is devoid of any adventure and is built with traditional phrases and sancharas which are easy on the ears.
B. Sivaraman plays a thani avarthanam that is dignified and in perfect
alignment with the sruti.
Sankara Iyer winds up with kritis in Lalitha (‘Thaye Dayapari’), Kedaragowla (‘Aadidum Paadathai’), Chenchurutti (‘Shanthi Alithidum’) and a mangala kriti ‘Manamalar Alithu’ in Suruti.
The entire fare is refined and non-dramatic.
