Violin trio paints an ethereal landscape

T.N.Krishnan at The Music Academy on Sunday. Photo: D. Krishnan

Synergistic synchrony among the violin trio in a concert led by Sangita Kalanidhi T.N. Krishnan along with his daughter Viji and son Sriram, was a breezy touch of class at The Music Academy on Christmas morning. The concert was of vintage value as the octogenarian vidwan — active in the field for nearly seven decades — chose to play from the choicest list of the best of the stalwarts he has accompanied over the years.

The concert began with Maguva ninnekori , a rarely heard Narayanagowla varnam of Veenai Kuppaiar in Ata tala that was played in two speeds with an excellent understanding between the trio. Though TNK said that the raga has been almost out of vogue, Neyveli Santhanagopalan presented a beautiful sketch of the same just a couple of days ago at the same venue. The straight ga -s and the glides from ga to sa in the opening phrase, with just the right intonation, were absolutely delightful to hear.

The ever fascinating

Evarani in Devamritavarshini that followed was a painting of an ethereal landscape of colour and peace blended in one. The long notes of right measure woven with aesthetics in the

nirnayinchira ending of the pallavi filled the auditorium with tones of elevated artistry.

Devadeva, a kriti immortalised by the resounding voice of Semmangudi, was relived by the strings of the TNK trio; a good raga sketch, sublime in nature suited the devotional content of the composition. The neraval and the kalpana swarams in the never boring jatarupa nibhachela phrase were a true tribute by TNK to Semmangudi and exhibited the same verve and the briskness.

The brief polished delineation of Kanada with predictable patterns, and plenty of long stretched phrases, almost touching the northern shores of music, was wholesome and enjoyable. A blissful exposition of Sukhievvaro won a deserved applause.

Though

Gananayakam in Poornashadjam was a surprise at this point in the concert, it broke the almost sombre pace and made the audience sit up ready for the RTP in Todi to follow. Todi sailed along the classical contours without frills and fireworks as old schools have done. The tanam that followed was in Todi, Sahana, Kapi and Behag. The pallavi line was in 2-kalai Adi and the absence of sahityam did not give a clue to the placement of syllables, which felt like a miss.

Once again, devoid of any complex arithmetic, the pallavi ended with well-understood exchanges of kalpanaswaras between the three and usual kuraippu (reduction) culminating in a standard korvai . The understanding between the three, the support, respect and warmth by the son-daughter duo to their master-artiste father were observable throughout the concert.

The percussive support by Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam (mridangam) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (ghatam) was mellow and supportive of the trio, if not embellishing. After a well-played taniavartanam, a quick array of tail-enders, Eppovaruvaro in memory of Madurai Mani Iyer, the Tiruppavai Vangakkadal in Suruti and mangalam, concluded the concert.

Note: This story has been corrected for factual errors.

(Ashok Subramaniam is an engineering professional, a musician and teacher, based in California, USA)