Right from the beginning Kadri Gopalnath appeared unsettled. First, the concert began late and then he had his struggles with the sound system. So it took some time for the sax maestro to get warmed up. And even when he did, he seemed to be in a hurry. Kadri started off with Tulaseevanam's Bhaja manasa…' in Bahudari. What makes Kadri and his saxophone so special is that he is able to transfer the bends and quavers that are associated with the nadaswaram to the saxophone with amazing thoroughness.
A Tyagaraja gem
He followed this up with the Tyagaraja gem ‘Samaja varagamana…' in Hindolam. Swaras lit up like fireworks; they danced in gay abandon to various combinations, different speeds. The lines unfurled gracefully, the staccato phrases rendered in brisk tempo. The accompanying artistes, V. L. Kumar (violin), Changanassery Harikumar (mridangam), Manjoor Unnikrishnan (ghatam), and Bangalore Rajasekhar (morsing) backed him up sensitively.
Moving so quickly into the taniavarthanam was certainly a bit disappointing. Perhaps Kadri was forced into this because of time constraints. The usual brief and intervening pieces that really adds flesh to a concert was skipped. Harikumar, Unnikrishnan, and Rajasekhar provided a rollicking tani that was well-packed, creative and neatly executed.
Vyasaraya's immortal ‘Krishna nee begane baro…,' (Yamuna Kalyani), the popular bhajan ‘Chalangai katti odi odi…,' a magical magudi or snake song and Purandaradasa's ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi baramma…' (Madhyamavathi) completed the concert.
The concert was at the Government Sanskrit College, Tripunithura, under the aegis of G.N. Swamy Trust Sangeetha Vidyalaya, as part of the memorial day of the mridangam vidwan G. Narayana Swamy.
