A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
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CRama
Posts: 2939
Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by CRama »

Ram Seva Mandali 1973 concert.
Accompanists
V.V.Subramaniam- Violin
T.K.Murthy- Mridangam
V.Nagarajan- Ganjira
K.S.Manjunath- Ghatam.


Youtube is nowadays flooded with live concerts. A challenge for rasikas to hear all concerts. Chanced upon the above concert recently. This concert contains all heavy weight songs, many songs which normally do not form part of MS concerts. Five raga alapanas in one concert. Can we imagine such a scenario nowadays. I am listing the important songs.

Rama nannu brovara (N,S)
Chalakallaladu- (R,N,S)
Biranabrovaide- (R,N,S)
Giripai- (R)
Kamakshi swarajathi- Bhairavi (R)
Koniyadina na pai (R,N,S) Main song

The voice of M S in very good form resembling her concert in 60s. Gushing sangathis in alapana, no restraint, abundant manodharmam in raga, neraval and swaras. This is not a review of the concert. But I want people to hear this concert. Hence this brief introduction. The accompanying vidwans have excelled in embellishing the concert. The link is given below. Full three hours of bliss and enchantment.

https://youtu.be/3CPSDyVjJ70

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by cienu »

Thank you so much Sri Ramakrishnan for posting this concert at Sree Ramaseva Mandali. One of the best concerts and excellent audio. As you said difficult to hear alapanas of 5 ragas nowadays in concerts.

Sachi_R
Posts: 2174
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by Sachi_R »

Thanks, CRama. You and I know how important MSS was to the growth of Ramaseva Mandali, Gayana Samaja and many other sabhas and festivals. We always and even today believe that the Mother Goddess had come down to sing for us.

🙏

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by rajeshnat »

After HarikambOdhi, arabi and Kalyani (ramanannu, tsaala kalla and birana brova) she drops two thukkadas of meera bhajan just to suit may be half the crowd who are about to melt away who had to go home .I have heard this concert recording, my top two picks are the Giripai and swarajathi bhairavi, if I am allowed to make a cheeky comment Return to serious Carnatic music. Then the mighty koniyAdina in stormbOdhi

I personally feel no one has handled all three swarajathis as much as ms amma and in particular the yadhukulakambOdhi. Very very few musicians know the YK swarajathi .Here she takes bhairavi swarajathi , what finesse and polish with briga filled crisp alapana. Also the magic of VVS and definitely TK Murthy Sir is aesthetics at its best . TKM maama is just fantastic always in the meera bhajan he gives tabla like gumkhis and then when Giripai rolls he rolls in the sadguru thyagaraja carpet , see how he changes skillfully when pallavi falls and goes to anupallavi - no wonder TKM is a great peer of the one of the greatest PMI. TKM Ably assisted by artists Sri.V.Nagarajan-Kanjira and Sri.K.S.Manjunath-Ghatam. Also special mention to Radha mami she is always has her higher register support and ensures zero sag. Magic is there as the concert is 3 hours....

@cienu I am assuming you are seated behind and in between the 2 great vidushis. In. the photo the violinist is Kandadevi Alagiriswamy right not VVS , is the audio and photo a mismatch.

CRama
Posts: 2939
Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by CRama »

Thanks for the detailed review Rajesh.
That two tukkadas in the middle is not to satisfy people who will leave in the middle. As a person who has attended RSM concerts for many years, hardly anybody will leave MS concert in the middle. My presumption is that that may be to adjust to a partial direct radio relay. Or an experiment to keep hindi bhajan in the middle. BUt it is a great challenge to return to core carnatic music after the two bhajans in the middle.

It is stated in the yt that the photo is not in respect of the concert.

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by cienu »

rajeshnat wrote: 20 Jul 2021, 12:45 After HarikambOdhi, arabi and Kalyani (ramanannu, tsaala kalla and birana brova) she drops two thukkadas of meera bhajan just to suit may be half the crowd who are about to melt away who had to go home .I have heard this concert recording, my top two picks are the Giripai and swarajathi bhairavi, if I am allowed to make a cheeky comment Return to serious Carnatic music. Then the mighty koniyAdina in stormbOdhi

I personally feel no one has handled all three swarajathis as much as ms amma and in particular the yadhukulakambOdhi. Very very few musicians know the YK swarajathi .Here she takes bhairavi swarajathi , what finesse and polish with briga filled crisp alapana. Also the magic of VVS and definitely TK Murthy Sir is aesthetics at its best . TKM maama is just fantastic always in the meera bhajan he gives tabla like gumkhis and then when Giripai rolls he rolls in the sadguru thyagaraja carpet , see how he changes skillfully when pallavi falls and goes to anupallavi - no wonder TKM is a great peer of the one of the greatest PMI. TKM Ably assisted by artists Sri.V.Nagarajan-Kanjira and Sri.K.S.Manjunath-Ghatam. Also special mention to Radha mami she is always has her higher register support and ensures zero sag. Magic is there as the concert is 3 hours....

@cienu I am assuming you are seated behind and in between the 2 great vidushis. In. the photo the violinist is Kandadevi Alagiriswamy right not VVS , is the audio and photo a mismatch.
Yes Rajesh.
It is me sitting behind on the Sruti Box. 😀
As C Rama pointed out there is a photo mismatch. However this picture too (used as a thumb nail on YouTube) is from Sree Rama Seva Mandali kutcheri of 1980.
Again as C Rama points out, in an MS concert not a single person would walk away midway. Usually the venue would be house full half an hour before a concert. (One of the reasons my Grandparents were never ever late for a concert.)Usually they would be present at the venue one hour before the program. My Grandfather used to mention two reasons for starting so early for concerts (as far as I can remember.)
1. In case something has been left behind, we can still have time on hand to come back , collect the same and yet be early for the program.
2. Both my Grandparents had enormous respect for the audience who used to assemble so much ahead of time. "We should not make them wait" my Grandfather used to say. And so 2.minutes before the scheduled time, the curtain used to go up, with my Grandmother standing on the stage with folded hands , greeting the audience.
As far as this particular concert is concerned, the then Governor of Karnataka was Mohanlal Sukhadia who was also a former Rajasthan CM. I am quite sure he may have been in attendance. That explains the reason for the 2 Mira Bhajans :)
I remember Kadayanallur Sri Venkatraman once telling my Grandmother that she was probably the only musician who could seamlessly bring on a Meera Bhajan before an "O Ranga Sayee" and the audience wouldn't mind this at all.

thenpaanan
Posts: 635
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 19:45

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by thenpaanan »

cienu wrote: 21 Jul 2021, 08:58
I remember Kadayanallur Sri Venkatraman once telling my Grandmother that she was probably the only musician who could seamlessly bring on a Meera Bhajan before an "O Ranga Sayee" and the audience wouldn't mind this at all.
*Spot on* The detailed troubles of performing are only known to those who have performed. I don't know how the greats manage the Ariyakudi method of instant raagam exposition and quicksilver mood changes. Not to equate myself in any way, but I can attest from personal experience and know of several vidwans who have shared the same, that changing mood (and genre, in this case) and pulling it off seamlessly is very very difficult to pull off on stage with all the distractions and audio challenges. On top of that, to be able to do this *in the middle of a concert* and then switch back to the hardcore stuff blows my mind entirely.

-T

shankarank
Posts: 4042
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: A MUST HEAR CONCERT OF M.S SUBBALAKSHMI

Post by shankarank »

I am yet to hear this fully. However , yet there are people still writing books on change of her music from 70s to 80s etc. after what, some 40 years in the field. In fact as much as I am thrilled by the tsAllakalla of the fire and fury variety, I have to say that, that is indeed a redundant waste of her musicianship to do these stuccato sangathis of her male counterparts - "yes she is also now an approved mainstream classical platform artist" kind of silliness.

In fact it is good in a way that she was moved off of this , slowly out of vogue approach to music. When we have abandoned real people, especially female artists who focused on true layam and paddhati, we have no right to comment on why the leading voice of all times musician is not conforming to some criteria of ours.

And the lack of core support for these other musicians is not any doing of the popular artists. The latter attracting of large mass of rasikas ( lets do give those people that "rasikas" status too don't we!) has nothing to do with the lack of focus in the core community. Why should the latter look over the shoulders to these other rasikas?

Remember, Dr. Balamurali Krishna , the popular golden voice and a male with all the so called advantages that gender brings, was heading to Delhi and doing Bhajans telecast live by Doordarshan with Rajiv Gandhi seated in the front - all in the 80s only.

For anything, we have only one set of people to blame. Informed rasikas!! Those in the know! We should write books on these people and if I had a band of street activists , I will burn all these other books written on musicians down!

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