MES Kalavedi, Bangalore, conducted the ‘Vidyasagara Prof. M.P.L. Sastry Music Festival’, a three-day festival of vocal and instrumental music, recently.
Vocalist Chandanabala Kalyan, who performed on the second day, was accompanied by Mathur R. Srinidhi (violin) and Prashanth (mridanga). The concert began with a brisk rendition of ‘Chalamela’, the adi thala varna in Nattakurinji. A compact, bhava-laden alapana of the raga Sourashtram then led to Thyagaraja’s ‘Sri Ganapathini’ in adi thala, sung at a sedate pace and embellished with kalpana swaras in two speeds.
The following elaboration of “Ganamurthi”, replete with melodious phrases and fine touches that illumined the compelling beauty of its vivadi structure and rounded off with a sequence of brighas, was a worthy prelude to Thyagaraja’s “Ganamurthe” in adi thala. The krithi was suffixed with a finely crafted neraval at “Navamegha Theja” and a cascade of kalpana swaras in the second speed concluding with an extended segment that ascended note by note to run the entire gamut of the scale.
An audience request for Amrithavarshini was accommodated effortlessly, with a raga essay that incorporated multiple intricate phrases, symmetrical passages and brighas drawing on impressive improvisational resources and attesting to remarkable voice control and range. A greater sense of repose and full-throated pauses at crucial junctures would, however, have further underscored the beauty inherent in the raga. The Deekshithar composition “Anandamrithakarshini” in adi thala was presented in an unusually fast tempo and supplemented with a spate of kalpana swaras in a variety of intricate patterns.
The main raga of the evening, Kamboji, was taken up for a comprehensive alapana. Spontaneity and clarity marked the progress upwards, with a plethora of sancharas at each of the crucial notes such as the gandhara, madhyama and panchama and in the thara sthayi, highlighting the classical grandeur, lilting allure and special usages of the raga as ordained by tradition. The magnificence of “Evari Mata”, the Thyagaraja composition in adi thala, was accentuated with a neraval at “Bhakthaparadhina” which began with a series of flourishes and eventually settled down to a conventional and more temperate articulation. The kalpana swaras in two speeds, fluent, brimming with technical skill and aesthetic appeal, concluded with diminishing thala cycles landing at the panchama, and culminated in a thani avarthana. Expert violin accompaniment with excellent manodharma inputs completely in tune with the lead artiste’s intent, and exemplary percussion support, anticipation and understanding were notable features of the concert.
