It was heartening to see a full auditorium for a flute recital. And the young flautist, J.A. Jayanth, did not disappoint either.
Ritigowla Ata tala varnam ‘Vanjaksha’ (Veenai Kuppaiyar) and ‘Tulsidala’ in Mayamalavagowla (Tyagaraja) with sprightly swara surge established the quality of the concert. ‘Nandagopala’ in Yamuna Kalyani (Dikshitar) came next.
With this impressive preamble, Jayanth went ahead with the raga essay of Khambodi. It was done aptly with phrases that projected the grandeur of Khambodi, adding a few frills, exclusive to the flute, without any over-indulgence.
The kriti was ‘O Rangasayee’ (Tyagaraja) with its plethora of sangatis in the pallavi; Jayanth directly moved into swarakalpana on ‘Bhooloka Vaikuntham’ taking the audience on a joyous journey of exciting exchanges with the violinist M. Vijay. Jayanth had 20 minutes for the RTP and he chose Dharmavati. The pallavi was ‘Unathu Padam Uruthunai Ena’ set to Adi tala. The kalpanaswara unfolded in an amazing speed giving way to another thrilling exchange with Vijay.
One significant aspect of Jayanth’s recital is his awareness of the advantages and limitations of presenting instrumental music. One couldn’t but enjoy his spirited, stretched out, spiralling phrases and sangatis, and rapid-fire swaras, through it all the melody was intact.
Every piece he presented, carried immaculate musical value. Another point in his favour was that he informs the audience about the compositions.
M. Vijay belongs to the same class as Jayanth and his responses connected with the main artist’s vision. Thanjavur K. Praveen Kumar on the mridangam justified his presence by playing responsibly.
‘Bhogindra Sayinam’ in Kuntalavarali (Swati Tirunal), ‘Chinnanchiru Kiliye’ in ragamalika (Bharati) and ‘Pibhare Rama Rasam’ in Ahir Bhairav (Sadasiva Brahmendra) were also part of Jayanth’s repertoire.
