bala747 wrote:His Ninnuvina in Purvikalyani was particularly godawful.
I created an account just to respond to this. Pretty belated, but hey. First off, this forum is wonderful - many thanks to you folks for creating this treasure trove of information.
I'm pretty much a noob in CM; but I'm spell-bound by MSG's music, specifically this song. I downloaded every single rendition of this song from Sangeethapriya by MSG - each one is better than the other!
I do appreciate the importance of sahityam. The words do convey the feel of the song , but... sometimes it just doesn't matter. For example, I listened to a random vocal rendition of the same song, from Sangeethapriya(TM Krishna, I think), after hearing MSG's version. It was like eating a teakada bun after eating a delicious Black forest with cherries on top! Where are the mind-blowing neravals, swarams, and the sheer torrential outpour of music? To me, MSG's version is the reference. I'd write a song to that, if the sahityam is important.
No offense to you sir, I would fully submit I'm an ignoramus as far as technical details are concerned. Sometimes, music transcends everything.
sunayanaa wrote:I heard that Sri MSG was affected with stroke and he is undergoing phsyiotherapy for this. And it seems he made it a point to attend Sri TNK's sathaabhishekam with his condition.
Any one knows about this ???
The reliable version is that Sri MSG has an inoperable varcose vein problem in his leg that prevents him from sitting on the floor
Sam Swaminathan wrote:Kris, Ariyakudi apart, don't you think that kind of playing is refreshingly nice?
ARI was narrow minded. He belonged to the old school of considering accompanying artists as "extras". Good that ARI-MSG pair did not work out as it would not have brought the best out of MSG
Suji Ram wrote:A Somu MSG combo- ( I think I got this from s priya site- cannot locate now)
Sensitive playing by MSG
The solo by MSG following Somu's alapana is in the same mood set by Somu.
I am a fan of Sri MSG for the past 5 decades. During the college days after listening to many of his concerts, I will not be able to sleep on that day .The extraordinary rendering of the songs in the Parur style and with his own experiments in bringing out wonderful bowing techniques; he mesmerized the audience time and again. Being able to converse with him frequently (though he is a man of few words), Sri MSG used to say that he was a fan of Sri Dwaram Venkatasamy and after listening to Dwaram's music only he has developed his own bowing techniques to perfection.
Last year after giving a performance in Mumbai he had slipped in the bathroom and had a fracture in his leg and flown back to Chennai and had an operation in his leg to rectify the fracture. After the fracture he couldn’t sit down in the traditional way while giving performances in the sabhas. Nowadays he is able to give concerts by sitting in a chair specially made.
Being a fan and moving with him freely, I used to visit him frequently and give him copies of memorable performances where in he used to accompany ( to keep him in a happy mood ).
Yesterday I visited Sri MSG along with my grand daughter who is singing many songs by listening to the CDs /Cassettes well for her age .She sang a few songs and Sri MSG has appreciated the child.
After seeing the reports in this thread about his ill heath ( varicose operation, Stoke etc ) I just enquired and confirmed that except for the operation for his fractured leg last year he is fine otherwise.
Hence the rasikas can be rest assured that Sri MSG is fine except for the operation last year.
Meanwhile enjoy MSGs excellent RTP. K.H.Priya.
The K.H.Priya ragam played by Sri MSG is unique and quite different from the traditional way played by many Artists,
Technical experts of the Forum members may explain the differences if any. .
( Mod note: Thanks Nageswaran. We fixed the broken link on item 2 and also changed the links of all three to point directly to the song, so a single click will play the song )
Nageswaranji, looking forward to listening to MSG's Kh'priya.
I am a great fan of his thanam techniques, especially the way he introduces flat notes and his divinely smooth cut-bowing. Here is a shaNmugapriya RTP that all MSG fans would enjoy: http://sangeethapriya.org/Downloads/msg ... apriya.mp3
Speaking of shaNmugapriya, MSG's accompaniment to TSK in a concert featuring an elaborate RTP in the ragam is just brilliant, with MSG following TSK note for note, brigha for brigha. This concert is somewhere in Sangeethapriya; I'll try to find it tomorrow.
MSG plays all the major ragas in a distinct manner. His shankarAbharaNam, tOdi, kalyANi (another famous pallavi in yaman), bhairavi all have his creative stamp.
There is also an excellent RTP in tODi by MSG in which he plucks the strings midway through thAnam- it's very interesting. However, I'm unable to locate it on Sangeethapriya. If people are interested, I can upload the piece.
bilahari wrote: Speaking of shaNmugapriya, MSG's accompaniment to TSK in a concert featuring an elaborate RTP in the ragam is just brilliant, with MSG following TSK note for note, brigha for brigha. This concert is somewhere in Sangeethapriya; I'll try to find it tomorrow.
I would like to hear from a few connos to give their verdict on this version of KHP by MSG sir, pardon me, but, in certain places, I thought I was not hearing KHP but Sriranjani....but then, I stand corrected if my observation is fallacious.
Last edited by Sam Swaminathan on 30 Mar 2009, 07:59, edited 1 time in total.
Even though I am not an expert in Carnatic music, I understand that K.H.Priya is a Sampoorna Raga with all the 7 notes, while omitting Panchamam from the K.H.priya, Sriranjani is derived, and omitting Panchamam and Nishadam, Abhogi is derived.
I stand corrected if I am wrong.
"The K.H.Priya ragam played by Sri MSG is unique and quite different from the traditional way played by many Artists,
Technical experts of the Forum members may explain the differences if any."
Dear Rasikas,
I am eager to know why I am feeling that the K.H.Priya ragam played by Sri MSG is different from the traditional way played by many artists.
Expert’s opinion may elicit more interesting aspects.
The Link for the Ragam is given below for easy downloading and listening.
That Shanmukhapriya RTP by TSK with MSG is truly excellent! One matching the other, all the way along. Some of the Brighas reproduced by MSG are amazing! Heard only the Ragam part as of now. Shanmukhapriya has virtually been exhausted by the two masters put together!
Regarding my post no 165, I am yet to get an opinion as to why in the raga alapana of MSG doesn't look like the K.H.Priya raga alapana sung by/ played by the majority of the singers /players (instrument).
I will be happy if any experts in this forum can clarify.
Heard the Shanmukhapriya RTP fully. Well, to me, this sort of provides an answer to the violin 'trinity' thread put up a while back. In my personal opinion, it is highly debatable if someone today could match up to such levels of accompaniment as in this clip, or say to a few instances of Kanakku tackling by LGJ in some recordings - especially with Alathur Brothers/TNS.
Sathej
Last edited by Sathej on 25 Apr 2009, 11:16, edited 1 time in total.
bilahari wrote:There is also an excellent RTP in tODi by MSG in which he plucks the strings midway through thAnam- it's very interesting. However, I'm unable to locate it on Sangeethapriya. If people are interested, I can upload the piece.
Bilahari, please upload it. Even I want to hear it!! Please!
Sri Nageswaran,
Thank you so much for providing that fantastic raga aalapana of kharaharapriya. I loved it. I have never heard such a different exploration of this raga!! Thanks a lot. I owe so much to you. Really grateful.
I am really sorry that I am posting so late. I had no time to listen to music the last few days. But anyway, to my knowledge, I have written the salient features of the raga aalapana. I am reiterating the fact that I am not an expert. I am just a normal rasika. There may be some wrong interpretations. It is the duty of the expert members in this forum to correct me of I am wrong.
Here it is:
* Sri MSG, not only in this alapana, but in all alapanas(as far I as have heard), plays a brief outline of the raga i.e. he explores the full scale of the raga and exhibits its scope first to indicate to the audience what raga it is and its important features. Then, he moves on progressively. That too, not in any marked pattern, it is a free flow of manodharma. But, he explores the raga progressively in stages like most singers do.
* Sri MSG in this alapana, provides excellent balance between gamaka and flat notes. i.e. he plays the gandharam of kharaharapriya as a gamakam in rishabham as well as a flat note(normal). This provides an entirely new outlook to the raga. Many singers do this but they do not have such fine sense of balance. Singers stress more on the gamaka aspect and not touch flat notes(as far as I have heard).
* This may be a repetition to the previous point but, regarding his use of gamakas, it is very judicious and justified.
* One of the different sounds produced by him is in the descending phrases. I do not know how to explain this. It is present in descending phrases like M,,G,R, . As a vainika, I felt it is similar to the splitting of fingers and positioning them in the Veena. Vainikas would know better about this. MSG produces a sound like that here. It is very different and pleasing.
*MSG, even while progressing in stages, covers the scale of the raga in such an amazing manner!! Even in progressions, he renders razor sharp ascents and descents that clearly define kharaharapriya.
* The most unforgettable is the brigas. He is an expert at this and renders excellent briga-like phrases. They are perfect in terms of raga exploration.
* He also makes characteristic pauses at notes like mel Sa or mel Ri and renders fast ascending and descending phrases which is exemplary. The pause itself is so pleasing. The sudden outburst of ascent and descent is really refreshing.
* He makes judicious use of the raga with jantai phrases and in the end, he plays phrases that sound western. I have never ever heard this kind of sound in any kharaharapriya aalapana. I don't know if this occurs only to me. If anybody else heard it, please tell me.
* The few years of my violin playing showed me why this whole aalapana is different. MSG uses long bows. Long bowing means he uses 1 full stretch of the bow for playing. This is the reason why his aalapanas are different. I noticed everywhere, from the start to the end, that MSG uses long bowing technique. Also, the free flow of the raga is impossible if we use many fingers at the same time. The effect is more pronounced if we use one finger to slide on the violin. This is what MSG does. To be frank, I am a 'zero' on the styles of violin playing. As the above two features of MSG were noticed by me,Incidentally, I thought I could search for information about the Parur style on the web. To my utter amazement, this is what was written in their website:
"The Parur-MSG bani, incorporates fingering of international standards and approach beyond time , making every stroke of the bow an enchanting appeal to the mind of the listener. The technique stands for perfection in bowing and fingering based on scientific methods for complete mastery over the violin. One finger playing, long-bow are some of the special attributes.
The bowing and fingering incorporate complex gamakas of Carnatic , the lovely meend of Hindusthani Music and the lovely taanam patterns."
I was shocked that what I noticed was absolutely true!! So, Sri Nageswaran, all these differences are because of the incorporation of the Parur style by MSG!! This provided a new dimension to aalapana playing!! This was quite a news for ME, as I did not know anything about this Parur style. But, it is quite obvious that MSG is the pioneer of the Parur bani.
So, I hope your question is now answered. Sri Nageswaran.
Sorry for the late reply. Thanks a lot for this educative assignment. All the best!!
Thank you for your elaborate analysis of Sri MSG'S style of playing and the excellent prayogams of the Alapana using full length playing of the bow.
Meanwhile Sri R.Parthasarathy, Veena player came to my home recently, I have asked the same question to him as to why I am feeling that the KHP raga Alapana appears different from the traditional alapana played by many other artists [both vocal and instrumentalists].
After listening to the Alapana of MSG, Sri Parthasarathy opined that while majority of the musicians build up the phrases of the alapana around the Panchama note more,
Sri MSG used the building up the phrases of the alapana more around Madyama note. Again referring to the song "Andavane" krithi of Sri Papanasam sivan, where in the madyamam prayogam is more when compared with other krithis of Sri thyagaraja.
I am only a long standing Rasika of Carnatic music and heard the KHPriya raga alapana by all legendary artists. However I am quite sure that the alapana of KHPriya by Sri MSG is differant.
I will be happy if any of the experts in the forum is able to throw more light on this subject.
Dear brother-member, Nageswaran, Particularly, in this rendering of his Kharaharapriya, the unparalleled Violinist, Shri MSG, being the master of the instrument both in Karnataka and Hindusthani treatment of notes, had very rarely given the full oscillation of either Sadharana-gandhara or Kaishiki-nishada of Karnataka treatment and mostly played with lesser oscillation of them. That is the singnificance of this Kharaharapriya.
In our music, I feel, there are two kinds of renderings and among them while one is of sangathi-controlled the another is of note-controlled. While all the traditionalists are well aware of the former the later is far more sensitive and difficult to handle and manage with. In general, while all the vocalists and instrumentalists are used to sing or play the former, in vocalists, Shri M.Balamuralikrishna, though well versed in any technique, is mostly used to sing the later to keep his identity. And, in Violinists, Shri MSG, though well versed in any technique, is used to successfully follow the technique of the main artist without loosing his identity. This could be observed while playing Ragas like Nalinakaanthi or Vardhani or Hindola or Sindhubhairavi or Kalyani or even Todi or Bhairavi. amsharma
The thanam in this kIravANi piece is excellent, with great use of plain notes. I had expected a greater Hindusthani influence, but it was not to be
Thanks again, Nageswaran sir!
Thanks a lot shri Nageswaran avl.
BTW can I have the pleasure of listening to elaborate Begada either in the form of RTP or RP either vocal or instrumental? Will you please arrange to upload from from your librarary? Many thanks in advance.
Thanjavooran
You're welcome, all. Srinivas had requested more RTPs of the maestro, so here is the first of several that I have. This RTP is the best pallavi of MSG I have ever heard, and is by far one of the most brilliant kalyANi renditions I have heard as well. The thanam is particularly brilliant (especially the spiccato phrasings).
Most of you may have heard it before, but for the benefit of newer members, here it is once again: