Carnatic music concerts by top musicians were the highlight of this year's festival of the Ernakulam Siva Temple. Enchanting vocal concerts by Sudha Raghunathan and Malladi Brothers, and a violin duet by M. Chandrasekharan and G. Bharathi drew music rasikas in large numbers. ‘Mrytham,' a Carnatic fusion concert led by percussionist K.V. Prasad, was another attractive feature of this year's festival.
Sudha captivated music lovers with her melodious singing. Her repertoire included popular kritis and it helped the singer to strike a chord with the listeners.
She began the concert with ‘Vatapi…' in Hamsadwani. Manodharama swarams at the end of the charanam ‘Hamswadwani Bhushitha herambam' was a novel experience for the listeners.
Impressive rendering
Her rendering of ‘Broche Vaa…,' the Mysore Vasudevachar kriti in Kamas, was impressive. A viruttham that Sudha sang before the kriti ‘Saravanabhava…' in raga Shanmukhapriya was apt and the brisk start of the sahithya delighted the audience. The experienced vocalist transported her listeners to a realm of melody through her rendition of ‘Akhilandeswari' in raga Dwijavanthi.
Her flamboyant singing of the main kriti – ‘Pakkala nilabadi...' in Kharaharapriya – enthralled the audience. Thukkadas included ‘Kattinile varum geetham,' ‘Eppadi padinaro…,' ‘Krishna nee begane...,' and ‘Kurayontumilley…' V. Raghavendra Rao, who accompanied on the violin, did a good job. His middle tempo recital for Kharaharapriya raga was exceptionally good.
The taniavarthanam by percussionists Palladam Ravi on the mridangam and R. Raman on the morsing was impressive.
The vocal concert by the Malladi Brothers, Sreeramprasad and Ravikumar, was soulful and enchanting. Their voice quality and range, especially that of Sreeramprasad, was excellent. Accompaniment provided by local artistes Edappilly Ajith on the violin and Balakrishna Kamath on the mridangam was commendable and their rapport with the singers was praiseworthy.
Beginning their concert with the varnam ‘Swamidaya…' in raga Kedaragowla, they followed it up with ‘Jayajaya swamin' in Natta and a captivatingly rendered ‘Sreevalli devasenapathe' in Nata Bhairavi. ‘Pahaimam….' in raga Huseini was melodiously sung by the duo and it often revived memories of maestro K. V. Narayanaswamy, who popularised the kriti.
The raga Karnataka Devagandhari was brilliantly elaborated by drawing out all the nuances of the raga and then the kriti ‘Panchashath peedaroopini' ensued.
‘Akshaya lingavibho' in Sankarabharanam was the main piece of the concert. The niraval that the duo sang for this was praiseworthy. They started it briskly without any gap between pallavi and niraval and it was aptly followed by the percussionists. Taniavarthanam by Balakrishna and Udupi Sridhar (on the ghatam) was impressive. The morai and koruvai were brilliantly set in the pattern of a niraval.
The violin duet by Dr. M. Chandrasekharan and his daughter Bharathi was an exceptional musical feast for the audience. Right from the start, the violin maestro struck a rapport with his listeners and he evoked a serene and devout ambience. Dr. Chandrasekharan also sang most of the songs to enable the listeners to grasp the ‘sahithya' of each song.
Bhava-laden recital
The duet began with ‘Viriboni' varnam in raga Bhairavi. ‘Vathapi…,' the Dikshitar kriti in Hamsadwani, followed. The bhava-laden recital of the Tygaraja kriti ‘Nada tanumanisam' in Chittaranjini raga preceded an outstanding rendering of ‘Sambho Mahadeva…,' the Neelakanda Sivan kriti in raga Bowli.
‘Ninne Nammi…' in Simendramadhyamam was next. Bharati's raga alapana was praiseworthy. After playing ‘Sarasijanabha sodhari' in raga Nagagandhari and a brisk recital of ‘Manavyalakim' in raga Nalinakanti, the main piece of the day, ‘Kana kann koti vendum' in Kamboji raga was played. Chandrasekharan was at his best during the ragalapana and manodharama sessions. Taniavarthanam by Balakrishna Kamath on the mridangam and Thrikkakara Y. N. Santhram on the ganjira was a treat.
‘Mrythm,' a ‘Carnatic fusion concert' led by K.V. Prasad, did not have much to offer as a fusion concert. But it captivated the listeners with a wide array of songs. Six multi-talented and versatile young musicians under the stewardship of Prasad came up with an interesting aural display. Apart from Prasad, the group consisted of Parur M.S.Ananthakrishnan (violin), Nandanellur Ravisankar (vocals and keyboard), Leon James (key board), Trichi Murali (ghatam), and Prasad's son Krishna Kishore (rhythm pad).
The concert began with the Dikshitar kriti ‘Vatapi…' Most of the numbers in the concert were the musician's own compositions. Compositions based on ragas Saraswathi, Brihudari, and rag Jog were enjoyable. A piece based on a Scottish rhythm pattern delighted the audience.
The ragam tanam pallavi based on Hindolam was the main piece of the concert. The grihabhedam segment with Sudhasaveri, Madhyamavati, and Mohanam had solo percussion interludes in which percussionists Prasad, Murali and Krishna Kishore played taniavarthanam in a novel way. A ghazal by Ravisankar was also impressive.
