Abhijnana Thyagaraja sangeetham

Music and dance reviews

Abhijnana Thyagaraja sangeetham

The Bharatiya Saamagana conducted its eighth annual music festival Abhijnana Thyagaraja Sangeetham at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall, last week. Apart from Dhanvantri concerts, several young musicians’ concerts were held under the series ‘Yuva Savishkara.’ Padma Bhushan Sudha Raghunathan was conferred with the Saamagana Mathanga Award on the occasion.

Dr Kadri Gopalnath, who gave a saxophone recital on Friday is a recipient of “Padmashri” award and “Gana Kalabhushana” award from the Karnataka Ganakala Parishat. A true Indian music ambassador, Kadri has performed in many prestigious auditoriums of the world and is a sought after musician.

In the current concert, a composition of Papanasam Sivan gave Kadri a steady start. ‘Raghuvara’ stood out for its clarity and deep felt phrases. “Jaya Jaya Padmanabha” of Swati Tirunal was decorated with brief swara, while Bindumalini was another sweet raga for “Entha Muddo Entha Sogaso.” Then he chose Bhairavi swarajathi as the main item of the evening.

This is a legendary piece of the Shyama Sastry, which brings out the essence of the raga effectively. A new instrument called ‘Kitar’ which accompanied, was a pleasant surprise.

Vittal Ramamurthy on violin, Trichi Harikumar on mridanga, Rajendra Nakod on tabala and B Rajasekhar on morching - supported with good understanding. The post ‘Tani’ devotionals also pleased the gathering. The popular devaranamas Jagadoddarana, Karedare Barabarade, Ambiga Na Ninna Nambide, Bho Shambo and Vaishnava Janatho - listeners immensely enjoyed and he concluded with Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma.

Yuva Savishakara concert

Vignesh Ishwar, who sang under the series “Yuva Savishkara concerts,” is a disciple of T M Krishna and holds a master’s degree in sound and music technology. He is currently involved in CompMusic project instituted by the prestigious European Research Council, developing computational methodologies for analysis, archival and retrieval of Indian art music. Vignesh has proved is mettle in many forums like Music Academy (Best Vocalist Award), Spirit of Youth Award (Chennai), The Tyagaraja Award (The Times), Government of India (scholarship) etc.

Vignesh Ishwar was supported by M P Aditya on violin, K Praveen Kumar on mridanga and Chandrasekhar Sharma on ghata. He gave a good version of “Brocheva Revare” with brief swara and “Ananda Natana Prakasham” is popular in both music and dance concerts. While it was rendered in a majestic “Vilamba Kaala,” in contrast “Brova Baramma” was good in “drutha kaala.” “Koluvamaregada Kodandapani” is a popular keertane and was a choice of stalwarts of old Mysore, for long time.

In this composition, Saint Tyagaraja says - "What a grand royal seat, it has been my privilege to offer Sri Rama, the wielder of the “Kodanda” in my humble abode .............. To get up at dawn, to lose myself in singing His glory and extolling. His divine attributes ............ What a rare, what an enviable blessing.” Vignesh Ishwar gave a impressive alapana of Todi to make the concert an impactful one.