Talent speaks for itself

The strength of the crowd at Chowdiah Memorial Hall during Kadri Gopalnath’s recent performance in the City spoke volumes about the artiste’s popularity. The entire hall resounded with his strong, even notes and was full of innovations and beautiful melodies.

The show was held as part of the ‘Academy of Music Chowdiah Awards’ and ‘Sri KK Murthy Memorial Music Festival 2012’.Kadri Gopalnath was accompanied by ‘Vidushi’ A Kanyakumari on violin, B Rajashekar on morsing, Rajendra Nakod on tabla and B Hari Kumar on mridangam. The recital started with a piece set in ‘adi taal’ and began with a small composition which introduced the artistes to the audience.

 It was followed by a detailed recital of the ‘raga’. What made this recital interesting wasn’t just the genius of Kadri Gopalnath — it was also the contribution of those accompanying the artiste. The small innovations on stage were noteworthy. The best part was the excitement that prevailed on the faces of the artistes throughout the performance. 

The recital had a lot of variety and was obviously well-rehearsed. The icing on the cake was the ‘jugalbandi’ between the artistes. The ‘jugalbandis’ between the saxophone and violin, the tabla and morsing and the tabla and mrindangam — which concluded with all of them playing together — was particularly astounding.The second piece performed was ‘raga shivranajani’ set in ‘adi taal’. It was slow and melodious. 

The audience was engrossed in the show and could be seen applauding very often. “He makes the show so exciting — it is nothing short of a suspense-filled drama, where you don’t know what is coming your way.

He and his team always manage to surprise the audience and that is why he is one of the most sought-after musicians,” says Vaibhavi, a member of the audience.Though the proportion of youngsters who had come for the show was less as compared to the senior citizens, the select few who made it were very involved in the show. 

“I like Carnatic music — as I learn it — and Kadri Gopalnath is one of my favourites. His performances have a lot of variety. For instance, he used the tabla this time. The ‘jugalbandi’ between the artistes was remarkable,” says Kaveri, a young member of the audience.DHNS