melam72 wrote: ↑27 Mar 2017, 07:46
I still believe that it was Charumathi who deserved that Sangeetha Kalanidhi.
Just look at her credentials versus his! She is an accomplished composer, her music is technically perfect, she seldom panders to her audience, and she revitalised the art of Pallavi rendition in the 70s and 80s.
....
This is not abhiprayam (opinion). This is unmai (truth)
It is not as if I have not heard Smt Charumathi before her U.S visits - she sang couple of years in my locality in Madurai - but I was a child sitting thru tyAgaraja utsavams - so I would not have understood much.
I have heard her in Dayton early 2000s - my impression was she was a blank performer - no ruchi in her singing - may be that's what you mean by she does not pander to the gallery?.
Somebody very close to music circles remarked after the concert that she is a great vidushi but she does not practice that much. Now you are putting me in a dharma sankaTam. Ideally I would like to not judge women artistes for performance effectiveness - especially Women in family etc - because they have too much to bear other than music - a child birth will take away their breathing effectiveness - diaphragm etc - I also am a believer in their (specific) divinity post that event - not that they are NOT before that - for e.g kanya pUja!
I have to say these things in response to your too strong comments which you should have thought about before you posted.
Just to be sure I just listened to few recordings ( Sorry I did not have the motivation to listen to her due to that Dayton experience) - I listened to just run of the mill tyAgaraja kriti renditions - ni Bhajana gAna, niravadi sukada etc - I am sorry to say - in spite of their weakness in voice or breathability - if they cannot provide ruchi at any age - using tyAgaraja's viSranti - I am not sure I would get into even considering their technical capabilities , pallavi etc. They can miss tAlam by slowing down fine, slip a note - fine - they cannot not acknowledge the viSranti in tyagaraja - that should be in their bones and it is a life time work signature!
May be this what TMK means by - we don't accept females if they don't sing like males? Well you asked for it by comparing her technicalities to that of TVR!
But then how come "we" accepted the other Women names you mentioned - and in addition the Bhakti / Bhajanai of MSS in her later years. So "we" cannot include all the women folk ( men folks too
) who appreciated all of this? It has to be the experts committee and the wizards of Mylapore only? Or the snubbing snobs - the muzhu chApATTu reviewer from Mylapore who writes reviews like - idukku svaram pOdala - adukku neraval paNNala etc.?
So that is my version of Truth if you will!
melam72 wrote: ↑27 Mar 2017, 07:46
His brigas are but pale imitations of that of GNB
kArvai pesalEnnalum adaiyAvatu ozhunga senjAr! Reminds me of TNK's reply to somebody saying he imitates dwaram - "I am flattered!".
If you want technical weaknesses of TVR I will give one more - he has a rush into arudhi - speeds up - but somehow he makes it not matter to us. It matters to mridangists - as they have to pause and see how it goes before entering the fray many times!
TVR, unfortunately, doesn't fall in the category, in my opinion. He, to me, sings to the galleries.
Ramachandrans both of them cannot be on the same line as the term Gallery - not that TVR may not have pandered. You may have better information - but based on my data which is NOT from 70s / 80s - Mylapore / Bangalore , he had also sung for 4 people in Maryland - where they waited for people to come for an hour too. If he was indeed immensely popular in Meccas of music - or the gallery was that much filled - I don't think the captial zone in U.S even in 80s will bring 4 people to his concert.
I have heard him with UKS @ CLT in Chennai too early 90s / late 80s - it was only spottily filled - and there were two tanis. I have seen CLT fill better for many other artistes who are not the popular ones ! May be you are right he doesn't sing that good and people know probably