Violin : H N Bhaskar
Mridangam :
Kanjira :
(Unfortunately the names have escaped my memory and the details were not available in the links. Sorry. That's why the live review is so important.)
Bhavan's Cultural Festival
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Main Hall
Date : 13/12/2018
Time : 7:00 p.m.
Reached at around 7 45 so could not hear the first part of the concert. If someone was there, please help fill up.
Song list as far as I heard it :
1) tAyE yashoda - tODi - Adi - Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer - N - Neraval at kAlininchilambu
2) kANa kAn kODi vEndum - kAmbhoji - Adi (2 kaLai) - Papanasam Sivan - R,N,S,TA - Neraval and Swaras at mAnikkam varnam mudal
3) sArasamukhi sakala bhAgyatE - gowDa malhAr - roopaka - Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar
4) azhwar pAsuram (viruttham) - yamunA kalyANi
krshNA nee bEgane bArO - yamunA kalyANi - mishra chApu (2/7 eDuppu) - vyAsatirtha
5) eppO varuvArO - jonpuri - Adi (2 kaLai 3/4 eDuppu) - Gopalakrishna Bharati
6) English Note - chatushra Ekam (tisra naDai) - Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar
7) viruttham followed by karpagamE kaDai kanpArAi - madhyamAvati - Adi (3/4 eDuppu) - Papanasam Sivan
8) nee nAma rupamulaku (mangaLam) - sourAshtramam - Adi - Thyagaraja
At 73, father time has fortunately left the magic of TVS's powerful and manueverable voice untouched. His open throated singing, power, range, swaras, brighas and raga phrases and his timbre are as vibrant as they've ever been. And it was vintage TVS all the way last week at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (concert was free btw).
TVS is one of my favourites and I have listened to him for many years both on tape and live. All the numbers were staple fare from the MMI school (and the rasikas in turn want exactly that every time, despite the vast repertoire that both TVS and MMI had, but hey, Lord Kapali and Karpagambal are next door, so there), but since I'm hearing TVS after like 6 years now in Delhi, for me it was indeed fresh.
So as I walked in, he started the neraval at kAlininchilambu and did the patented MMI shruti bhEdams on R1, G2 and M1. This is actually a very difficult exercise given the positions of these notes.
After that, TVS presented a masterly alApana of kAmbhoji with very good reply by H N Bhaskar (who provided great support throughout and looked like he was in awe of the master's prowess in manodharma all concert), followed by kANa kAn kODi vEndum, with neraval covering long avartanams and very detailed sarvalaghu kalpanaswara with endings on various notes both in the higher and middle octaves. TVS prefers the modern style for odd pattern punchy endings, but did occasionally showcase the flowing even pattern endings that the MMI school owns thoroughly (in fact it was H N Bhaskar who excelled in his turns using more even endings). His unique signature in swara singing lies in the final ending, when he just decides to end it right now right there, throws out an instant korvai and finishes it out of the blue on the dot.
TVS had no issues hitting the topmost notes or singing complex phrases and throwing out brighas at will, though singing open throated like that on back to back days gave a bit of soreness in the lower notes towards the very end. He however now has a penchant for grand finale style ending aesthetics.
A very good tani followed. Regretfully, I lost the details of the percussion artistes. But they helped keep the energy level of the concert high throughout in line with TVS's high octane singing.
Post tani, TVS sang sArasamukhi (on request?) and then took up an azhwar pAsuram (someone tell me which) on Lord Krishna and presented a very elaborate and moving rendition of yamunA kalyANi that would have been a masterclass to any student of music interested in knowing the inns and outs of this raga with 2 madhyamams. There was no doubt that it was going to be krshNA nee bEganE bArO after that and so it was. What an alApanA! If I had to pick my favourite of the day, it had to be that yamunA kalyANi.
eppO varuvArO and the English Note are a necessary religious practice for anyone from the MMI school now - it might not be ever accepted otherwise. Trademark renditions by TVS.
TVS then sang the viruttham on Karpagambal and ended with Karpagame (starting from the anupallavi, which he does for many krithis) and finished with mangaLam. He later explained to some rasikas ahead of me that as per his gurus, if you sing about Kapaleeshwarar, you must not fail to sing about Karpagambal in the concert as well and that was the tradition.
The rasikas were also amazed at how TVS's voice is nearly ageless in its quality and the enthusiasm with which he sings every number even today. His open throated singing is also one of the reasons for his longevity. One rasika seated next to me even wondered aloud if anyone singing today could generate so much power at 73.
Overall, a traditional Mylai Fest with some matchless singing by the master.