MDR -1966 MA Concert - Youtube (by Sir Roderick Glossop)

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musicofmdr
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Joined: 16 May 2020, 18:36

MDR -1966 MA Concert - Youtube (by Sir Roderick Glossop)

Post by musicofmdr »

Recently, this concert got uploaded into Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNnxNZ3Oc0o
A good thing with a recorded concert is that one can hear it in parts. One can also repeat those parts which are interesting and catch the nuances.

This concert starts with the famous aTa tALa varNam: MDR's version of this varNam is amazing as always. This rendition is a precursor to what can be expected in the rest of the concert - the strength of his voice is clear from the beginning itself. His usual laya plays become noticeable from the muktAyiswara and is evident in the chiTTaswaras too. Ending of anupallavi is beautiful. During the chiTTaswaras, MDR moves between plainer notes and more traditional kalyANi notes nicely. In the fifth chiTTaswara, he also focuses on the sound produced and some interesting modulations can be heard there.

Then comes the hamsadhwani kriti. From 11:04, check around 50 seconds - the slow and impactful sound draws the listener into his music. The slow movements around 12:10 is so fresh and wonderful! When the listener is thinking that MDR is going for a short AlApana, at around 14:00, he launches a "second" round. Wonderful phrases again! The violin return also follows a similar style. My picks during the kriti rendering are 20:43, 21:00 (way he handles sAhitya), 22:00 (modulation and sound production, can be seen in few other places), 22:55 (effect added by mrudangam), 23:06 (delightful laya plays, again also found at other places) etc. And there is no hesitation to break in the middle of kalpanAswara (as usual :-)). kalpanAswara does not really follow any pattern, but has plenty of nice sequences and laya plays - note around 31:30 to hear some interesting swarAs and "MDR" style ending!!!

A slow and serene "budham AshrayaAmi" follows. I found kalpanAswaras interesting too as he switches the gear at the beginning - starting with faster swaras and slowing down in between giving a nice effect. Then comes the "fast" filler (sandEhamunu), which some people may still consider as "slow"! The extensive neraval and kalpanAswaras are interesting!

Anandabhairavi is a rAga which is a "perfect match" for MDR's style. AlApana is sweet and the kriti rendering is amazing, as usual. The slow rendering allows to introduce very subtle laya variations and this can be seen this rendition all across. Some of the parts that I loved very much are the pallavi sangatis (check repetitions around 1:22:45), swaras at 1:28:05 (the complete passage is amazing! And check the corresponding sAhitya part as well!), the way "akaLanka kalAdhari bimbAdhari" is spaced etc.

The energy that MDR is able to generate and concentrate into his music can be seen in "evarimAta" - it is so powerful, yet fully under control! And what a lovely "kAmbOji"! The same flow and control of energy can be observed in the RTP as well. By the time I reached this point, I stopped trying to pick the interesting parts, and started enjoying the "whole package" :-)

The shLOka rendition is beautiful - MDR brings a lot of voice modulation in shLOkas. This can be seen in this rendition as well.

Overall, a very memorable concert!

musicofmdr
https://musicofmdr.com

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