Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

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hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

Dear Friends,

Lalgudi fans have uploaded a rare Vocal concert by Maha Vidwan Lalgudi G Jayaraman Sir.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6H2zLpsDAY&t=2589s

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

Such a big forum, No response to the Vocal concert of Lalgudi Sir a rare event posted by Lalgudi fans.

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

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by CRama »

Heard the above concert. Very sublime and melodious. One song in Sudhasaveri- Orulanataka – I have never heard it. Other songs are rendered beautifully with clarity in the sangatis. Raga alapanas of Thodi, Kambodi bring out the life in the ragams quite eloquently.

I have heard the vocal music of Lalgudi once in Swati Tirunal Sangeetha Sabha, Trivandrum in the early eightees. Lalgudi and Vellore came to accompany R.K.Sreekantan in the Thyagaraja Utsavam. After the Pancharathna kritis, Lalgudi Jayraman and Vellore Ramabhadran sang some Thyagaraja kritis. We were all pleasantly surprised- for we have never heard their vocal concerts till that time. Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair was another Mridanga vidwan who presented some songs that day.

Lalgudi Jayaraman also released vocal version of the Lalgudi Pancharathan kritis as a commercial cassette.

HNB, Regarding your comments that no body has bothered to hear the concert posted by you , I had kept it pending as I was busy with Narayaneeyam blog. The attitude of forumites nowadays is that they will respond only if it concerns TMK or any other controversial issue. Even for concert reviews hardly any one respond. Even for my identification of the 100 ragams in Narayanaeeyam of Thrissur V Ramachandran- which is not an easy task, or creation of a blog by RSR for Guruvayur and Narayaneeyam, responses had been scanty.

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

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by rajeshnat »

THere was one recording in todi that was put where LGJ and his daughter Viji were singing a great T song in a temple setting in a video recording . Song slips me .

This concert is excellent recording of maestro LGJ i adore when concerts start with mAkelarA with a dash of swaras and moves on with vaagadeshwari where he is gently singing intactly the paramAthmudu inbuilt muse. I can hear Lalgudi Teacher as a great teacher when he splits the words and also swaras- unprententious and clear music. I am assuming nagarajan is Kanjira artist, if it is right the uploaders can also add his name.

Ofcourse also nice to hear Lalgudi GJR krishnan that is also bit rare as an accompaniment. What can one say with the gentle non overbang mode of naadabadran especially in sarvalaghu swaras in mA kelara. I have personally heard few times SP Ramh as a vocalist, now I am correlating how he sings as close to his guru LGJ.

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

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by cienu »

rajeshnat wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 14:11 THere was one recording in todi that was put where LGJ and his daughter Viji were singing a great T song in a temple setting in a video recording . Song slips me .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q57HF9Yy6A

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

Dear friends,

Thanks for your views.No offense meant.
It is a very emotional concert.The lyrics are so clear as expressed by C Rama,Rajesh etc.
Wish some more concerts are uploaded!

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

cienu wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 15:26
rajeshnat wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 14:11 THere was one recording in todi that was put where LGJ and his daughter Viji were singing a great T song in a temple setting in a video recording . Song slips me .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q57HF9Yy6A
It is the third in the Lalgudi Pancharatnam series.

This sounds a bit clearer:

https://youtu.be/SUhjxU-z100

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

In a 1967 Krishna Gana Sabha concert Lalgudi Sir starts singing the first few lines of kambodi Lalgudi Panchrathnam Mahite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcTxsu93D

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

rajeshnat wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 14:11 THere was one recording in todi that was put where LGJ and his daughter Viji were singing a great T song in a temple setting in a video recording .
The setting: the Sapta Rishishwarar temple in Lalgudi.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

hnbhagavan wrote: 10 Jun 2020, 17:04 Such a big forum, No response to the Vocal concert of Lalgudi Sir a rare event posted by Lalgudi fans.
I’m sorry. I listened to this lovely, enjoyable concert on my own, without seeing this post. I haven’t been looking at Concert Reviews much as there hasn’t been anything going on lately, AFaIK.

Lalgudi Mama is known for the special style that makes the violin speak, it is something that I used to think even as a kid! But in this concert I heard him try to imitate his violin, and that is not an easy task even for him. This happens early in the concert, probably before he could settle down. His voice does not fully cooperate and you are left participating with him in his imagination. But there were other moments: he gets into the swing of things where he forgets himself and it is the violin you hear in his voice. Fabulous little moments, that happen, for example, during the swaras in kambhoji. That is the end of the concert, but it occurred earlier too. By the time he arrives at the Kaapi alapana, he has forgotten both voice and violin and is truly into the music and the performance, but it’s not just him, we too, certainly I and regrettably, that’s where the concert ends!

I do like SP Ramh’s singing, but here I did not enjoy his vocal support. The two voices did not blend well at all and I wished it was Viji who was singing with him. I think that there was even a lag during kritis where Ramh’s voice sounded like a very quick echo.

The tani was amazing, just loved the kanjeera for how interesting it was, even adding interest to the mridangam too, at times, and for the utter precision and clarity.

This was not my first time listening to a voc as l concert of his. I attended one in Vani Mahal in the early ‘90s. I’m surprised to learn here that he sang in the ‘80s. I was under the impression that the Vani Mahal concert was the first time, or at least one of the first.

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

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by rajeshnat »

Ranganayaki,
LGJ sir is not in vocal concert circuit. I think I like his imagination and it is more a professor addressing with his vidwat at most time . May be voice power is not there in much places or he is a vidwan who is not that blessed with great sustained voice power for a performance.

I also noticed the volume of violin at few places was slightly more than the vocal, at times we losing the experience of right balance. I have personally not heard Lalgudi Viji singing other than the video, i donot like that much of male-female combo as there is way too much intrinsic mismatch of shruthis. May be the recording device is an external device and not a line in recording.

Do you recollect what he sang in Vanimahal?

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

As per Lalgudi's biography authored by Lakshmi Devnath due to his lower pitch voice and strain which may be on his vocal chords Lalgudi Gopala Iyer decided that Lalgudi Jayaraman would do better as a Violinist.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

Yes, that’s what I thought. There was a good reason he was not a vocalist but a violinist. But I’m wondering about the date of this concert. I can’t help wondering if he actually sang in the 80s as this video says in the description.

SP Ramh had his arangetram in the late 80s at the earliest. I attended it. Here he has a mature voice and I feel this concert cannot have been in the 80s. I just checked now, and there is a line in his official page that says that he came under the guidance of Sri LGJ in 1988. So he cannot have had his arangetram earlier than 1990 - just a reasonable guess, though I’m almost certain it was not later than 1991. In any case given his own mention of ‘88, the arangetram was not before 1989.

Could he have given Mama vocal support even before his arangetram? I can’t help doubting it. I never heard of it then.

ram1999
Posts: 534
Joined: 26 Nov 2015, 17:20

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by ram1999 »

rajeshnat wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 14:11 THere was one recording in todi that was put where LGJ and his daughter Viji were singing a great T song in a temple setting in a video recording . Song slips me .

This concert is excellent recording of maestro LGJ i adore when concerts start with mAkelarA with a dash of swaras and moves on with vaagadeshwari where he is gently singing intactly the paramAthmudu inbuilt muse. I can hear Lalgudi Teacher as a great teacher when he splits the words and also swaras- unprententious and clear music. I am assuming nagarajan is Kanjira artist, if it is right the uploaders can also add his name.

Ofcourse also nice to hear Lalgudi GJR krishnan that is also bit rare as an accompaniment. What can one say with the gentle non overbang mode of naadabadran especially in sarvalaghu swaras in mA kelara. I have personally heard few times SP Ramh as a vocalist, now I am correlating how he sings as close to his guru LGJ.
Gati Neevani - Thodi.
All the five kritis are shot in the resepctive temples and the lord in whose name the kriti was composed and he sings the pallavi and the first line of anu pallavi and charanam. A DD recording with Lalgudi and his daughter
Lalgudi and his sister Sreemati Bhramanandam have also given a duet concert on Lalgudi Pancharatnams where in he sings the first line.

Lalgudi is a fine vocalist and his voice is as sweet as his violin.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by SrinathK »

I have a lot to respond to. Unable to right now as I am caught up in relocating and work issues - it is very difficult for me to find time to listen to an entire concert. Let me get a little free and will listen to the whole concert.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

ram1999 wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 15:28

All the five kritis are shot in the resepctive temples and the lord in whose name the kriti was composed and he sings the pallavi and the first line of anu pallavi and charanam. A DD recording with Lalgudi and his daughter
Lalgudi and his sister Sreemati Bhramanandam have also given a duet concert on Lalgudi Pancharatnams where in he sings the first line.
You seem to know that these are five kritis that make a set, you mention the Lalgudi Pancharatnams, but this first sentence of yours in my quote above does not make sense. The five kritis are the Lalgudi Pancharatnams, and there are no separate “respective temples.” All the five were sung in the Lalgudi temple in the video and all five songs are about the deities there.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

ram1999 wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 15:28
Lalgudi is a fine vocalist and his voice is as sweet as his violin.
Yes.. his voice is very sweet. It comes from within his heart I think. it is a sweetness of being that is conveyed in the voice. That must be rare and precious. The concert is very enjoyable throughout, but I do sense an evolution in the two hours. That evolution is not about sweetness. I think he forgets himself more as the concert progresses. That’s the difference I feel.

vgovindan
Posts: 1865
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 20:01

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by vgovindan »

On hearing 'durmArga cara', only comment I would like to make is the choice of spot or word for elaboration. The key word is 'dharmAtmaka'. One can make wonders by elaborating on this word. That's what a HM artist would do in a given situation.

ram1999
Posts: 534
Joined: 26 Nov 2015, 17:20

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by ram1999 »

Ranganayaki wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 22:53
ram1999 wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 15:28

All the five kritis are shot in the resepctive temples and the lord in whose name the kriti was composed and he sings the pallavi and the first line of anu pallavi and charanam. A DD recording with Lalgudi and his daughter
Lalgudi and his sister Sreemati Bhramanandam have also given a duet concert on Lalgudi Pancharatnams where in he sings the first line.
You seem to know that these are five kritis that make a set, you mention the Lalgudi Pancharatnams, but this first sentence of yours in my quote above does not make sense. The five kritis are the Lalgudi Pancharatnams, and there are no separate “respective temples.” All the five were sung in the Lalgudi temple in the video and all five songs are about the deities there.
what i wanted to say was the 5 kritis are on the dieties but was inadvertantly typed as it was ! THinking of MD and listening to his kritis and type on Swami Thyagaraja, this is what happens :)

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPA-gsoCtTk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeUWUyAadCo&t=613s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRcTxsu93DI&t=585s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV5izYQu2oQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDV863TJF0

It is reported all the above Krithis were played by Lalgudi Sir and his sister in a concert at Krishna Gana sabha in 1967.
The Video is a graphic presentation of songs rendered in the concert and not shot in location.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

In fact I think that the video of both LGJ and Viji singing in the temple is also not the original sound. They sing there, but the music in the video is a different recording, from the collected Lalgudi Pancharatnam album.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by Ranganayaki »

Ranganayaki wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 13:22,

SP Ramh had his arangetram in the late 80s at the earliest. I attended it.

....

Could he have given Mama vocal support even before his arangetram? I can’t help doubting it. I never heard of it then.
I mis-remembered, it was not his arangetram that I attended. It was a concert, it seems he has been performing for much longer.

I enquired with him, he was kind enough to respond, and he said the first time he ever accompanied Mama was in 1990. So this concert was not in the ‘80s as described on YouTube.

hnbhagavan
Posts: 1655
Joined: 21 Jun 2008, 22:06

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by hnbhagavan »

Good Information. The Concert itself hold emotive appeal that what a fine musician Lalgudi sir was. Very nice experience to listen to clear lyrical expression in every krithi rendered.

ram5223
Posts: 1
Joined: 20 Jun 2020, 20:39

Re: Lalgudi G Jayaraman - Vocal concert

Post by ram5223 »

Hi Sir / Mdm
Can i humbly request for the notations ?
Thank you so much.

Sriram

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