Ensembles are hard to pull off, particularly because the director of an ensemble needs to iron out the many different musical views each member brings while reinstating his own. For me, the greatest ensembles are those composed by Emani Shankar Shastry, Ilaiyaraja, Sharang Dev and Taufiq Qureshi. Of course, what Pt. Ravi Shankar showcased at Moscow decades ago remains a masterpiece, and the more recent Indian National Orchestra led by Jayanti Kumaresh is yet another phenomenal attempt.
At the concluding session of the three-day festival of the Percussive Arts Centre, an orchestra directed by the veteran percussionist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma provided a thrilling climax, what with 20 young musicians scorching the stage. The 75-minute orchestra by Laya Lavanya had 12 vocalists, male and female, and eight percussionists.
In what could be seen as a unique beginning, the orchestra opened to the recitation of the achamana mantra, “Keshavaya svaaha, Narayanaha svaaha” to the background of staccato drum beats. The choral recitation of the mantra had a deep resonating effect and filled the hall. The gradual transition of the beat pattern giving a take off to the Abheri varna was exciting. This piece which stressed more on the vocals was rather low on emotion and sounded monotonous. A higher octave would have perhaps made a difference. However, as a build up to the next piece which was a shloka, “Aganitha”, the percussions worked up a dramatic beat, with huge passages of silence. There were some lovely chord progressions with the voices before the group magically led us to “Bhootadi sam sevita charanam” for the “Vatapi Ganapathim” kriti. The choice of this kriti seemed to suit the vocal group aptly since they could pick up the inherent drama in the kriti. The muktaya for this piece, which was a blend of konnakol and drums, was particularly creative. The entire ensemble was a no-stop rendition, one piece leading to the other.
Through the remaining portions of the orchestra, tani interspersed with the vocal pieces, gave a lot of strength to the overall structure of the orchestra. From achamana mantra to kriti to bhavageethe, the orchestra was an ambitious musical journey. Nisar Ahmed’s “Jogada siri belakinalli” began at “Itihasada Himadallina” and the team kept beat through vocalised sounds, followed by tani which weaved in several interesting nadais into the eight-beat cycle. Some of the percussionists played two instruments – one with left hand and the other with right. For instance, mridangam and chande, tabla and pakhawaj, and with such style and perfection. The drums added a nice effect to the vintage, Kalinga Rao’s “Adu Betta Idu Bettavo”. What began as simple beat and one percussionist, acquired additions along the way and the entire rhythm landscape became beautifully interpretative.
The Hindola piece had overlapping swara patterns – it gave a lot of colour and did achieve a harmony. As they moved to “Vande Mataram” from Mayamalavagoula it got too noisy and suddenly sounded non-musical. The mellow charm of “Vande Mataram” got drowned in the overwhelmingly loud climax. Throughout the orchestra, the singing was not as nuanced or as rich as the percussion set.
The audience, which was a packed house, gave a long, standing ovation to the impressive performance. And no doubt, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma had yet again proved his creative ingenuity.
Published - July 16, 2015 05:32 pm IST
