Vechoor Sankar inherits his musical lineage from his uncle Vechoor Hariharasubramanian, a direct disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. His concert in Kochi was remarkable for its purity in patanthara.
After a varnam and ‘Sreeganapathini' in Sourashtra, he ventured into an exposition of Abhogi raga, successfully rendering swaras for the kriti ‘Sabhapathiku vere daivam samanamakuma.' This was followed by ‘Gopalakapahimam anisham,' a Swati Tirunal kriti in Bhoopalam, Misra chappu tala.
The chaste rendition of the compositions in the right tempo made the concert delectable.
However one wished the vocalist was subtle in his gamaka oscillations. This was projected in the Vachaspati raga alaapana, which was followed well by Viju S. Anand on the violin.
The Papanasam Sivan composition ‘Paratpara parameshwara' was noted for its precision and clear enunciation of lyrics. The composition was popularised by MS in her tapes and the niraval at ‘Ariyayanum kana ariya jyothi' magnified the MS feel to the composition.
The vocalist forgot the lyrics of the composition ‘Nannukanna thalli na bhagyama' in Sindhu Kannada raga and he apologetically left it unfinished!
The Todi raga alaapana was varied and had all the essential phrases of the raga.
Well-coordinated Tani
It was a well-coordinated Taniaavartanam from Thripunithura Manikantan on the mridangam and Mangad Pramod on the ghatam. Manikantan filled the gaps in between the rhythm cycles well and he guided Pramod well. This understanding led to a systematic and clean approach to the rhythmic exercises, which created a thrilling experience for the audience.
Sankar concluded the concert with a tillana in Kundala Varali raga. The concert was organised by Rasikapriya.
