Vidwan A.S. Murali’s vocal recital on Saturday last at Nada Inbam was a memorable recapitulation of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s repertoire, as represented by the contemporary doyen, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Showcasing the Semmangudi bani was the precise task assigned to this many-sided virtuoso by Dikshitamritham. Founded by T.M. Krishna’s disciple G. Ravikiran, the young organisation was commemorating the 19th-century composer’s birth anniversary with day-long concerts and lecture-demonstrations. A.S. Murali, a fifth generation musician from Anikode Agraharam near Palghat, is a vocal music lecturer at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation. An accomplished ghatam player, Murali has been training under the veteran vocalist P.S. Narayanaswami, scion of Semmangudi school, for over two decades.
Vigorous alapanas, brisk and energetic recitation of kritis and ‘sarvalagu swaraprastharam’ are among the many hallmarks of the Semmangudi style of singing. By any account, Murali’s recital was a resounding replication of some of these aspects. A proof of that claim came from the anchor of the event, Anuradha Kannan. She contrasted the brisk tempo the artiste maintained right through the performance with the well-known Dhanammal bani featured in the morning.
Placing in context his opening composition, ‘Tyagaraja palayasumam,’ Murali observed that Semmangudi had featured this kriti, set to ragam Gowla, during several of his concerts in the 1950s. Moreover, the maestro set store by the compilation by Subbarama Dikshitar of his grandfather’s repertoire, reflected Sri Murali, later on. Strong evidence of the Semmangudi imprint were to be found especially in the two lead pieces of the evening. The grand kriti in ragam Mohanam, ‘Narasimha agacha parabrammha pucha,’ was simply a give away, as Murali’s audience was in thrall of the different ‘gamakas’ and improvisational spells.
Equally apt to the occasion was the varali raga kriti ‘Mamava Meenakshi,’ even if the alapana led some to anticipate ‘Seshachala Nayakam.’ The other songs featured in the recital were the famous ones set in Hindolavasantham, Narayanagowla and Madhavamanohari. With All India Radio’s M.R.
Gopinath on the violin matching the vocalist, melody could never be wanting. The percussion duo of B Shree Sundarkumar (mridangam) and Anirudh Atreya (ganjira), was equally impressive.
G. Ravikiran’s album of Dikshitar kritis released on the occasion will undoubtedly induce fresh thought and insight on the illustrious composer’s rich repertoire.
