Navarathri Mandapam
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It's a bit ironical this (BMK being the guru of RV), considering BMK had been one of the key players (alongside Veena Balachander) in the 'Swati controversy'! The royal family had kept him at a distance for a while.Of course it is a shame to miss an opportunity to miss a performance by my very modest friend Rama Varma, student of my most-respected Balamuralikrishna...
How times change...
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Staying with navarathri mantapam concerts: when the thanam is sung for the main piece of the day, it is accompanied on the mridangam. Even in normal concerts I have seen rasikas involuntarily keep thalam during thanam singing. Why is it then that this has not become the norm but remains an exception. For example, we see thavil keeping time even during raga alapana in nadaswaram playing. Why this restriction on laya when we glorify laya as pitha ?
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The 'talam' of thanam is irregular. If it is 'regularised' to, eg, adi talam (if the artist is putting talam, some kind of regularisation must have taken place) then it won't be too hard for the mridangist.
But I wonder if this is a bad trend? Is it leading to 'easy' thanam?
I remember seeing TVG in London, being accompanied by my guruji Balachandar on mridangam, indicating that it should join with his thanam. With huge experience in dance accompaniment as well as kutchery playing, he can accompany a fly crossing a room! It was obvious that the thanam accompaniment was challenging.
I once saw L Subramaniam request the morsing player to accompany his thanum. I thought the result was excellent (yes, maybe I would say that ) --- but these were guys on a world tour, not musicians meeting on the platform.
I have this idea: the only really appropriate rhythm accompaniment to thanam is the tala strings of the veena. Any reactions to that?
But I wonder if this is a bad trend? Is it leading to 'easy' thanam?
I remember seeing TVG in London, being accompanied by my guruji Balachandar on mridangam, indicating that it should join with his thanam. With huge experience in dance accompaniment as well as kutchery playing, he can accompany a fly crossing a room! It was obvious that the thanam accompaniment was challenging.
I once saw L Subramaniam request the morsing player to accompany his thanum. I thought the result was excellent (yes, maybe I would say that ) --- but these were guys on a world tour, not musicians meeting on the platform.
I have this idea: the only really appropriate rhythm accompaniment to thanam is the tala strings of the veena. Any reactions to that?
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>I have this idea: the only really appropriate rhythm accompaniment to thanam is the tala strings of the veena.
It is an appropriate accompaniment for thanam, I think. I also think that vocal and veena go together in general. Prof. SRJ had the Veena accompany him during a Lec-Dem on MD Krithis and he said that it is quite appropriate for this occasion since MD was known to be both a Veena vidwan and a vocalist.
It is an appropriate accompaniment for thanam, I think. I also think that vocal and veena go together in general. Prof. SRJ had the Veena accompany him during a Lec-Dem on MD Krithis and he said that it is quite appropriate for this occasion since MD was known to be both a Veena vidwan and a vocalist.
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I was thinking in terms of veena 'accompanying' itself
I've never heard it as accompaniment to a vocalist. I suppose there must have been a time before the violin entirely took over?
I've got nothing against the violin. I never particularly liked it as a solo instrument in Western classical: when I first heard Carnatic violin I had the feeling, Ahh! That is how a violin should sound! But perhaps it would be nice of there was some variety of accompanying instrument...
I've never heard it as accompaniment to a vocalist. I suppose there must have been a time before the violin entirely took over?
I've got nothing against the violin. I never particularly liked it as a solo instrument in Western classical: when I first heard Carnatic violin I had the feeling, Ahh! That is how a violin should sound! But perhaps it would be nice of there was some variety of accompanying instrument...
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For many of Smt. MSS' early concerts, her mother Shanmukhavadivu accompanied her on the vINA (and her brother Shaktivel played the mridangam).nick H wrote:I've never heard it as accompaniment to a vocalist. I suppose there must have been a time before the violin entirely took over?
Davalangi has posted tracks of Smt Kalpagam Swaminathan on the vINA and her daughter-in-law singing along...
And you are correct: it sounds awesome!
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bharath
I'm informed: the Navarathri concerts they are normally not recorded, which is very sad .
But Prince Varma started to record them during the past years just for preservation.
Video cameras are NOT allowed inside the mandapam. So the cameras are placed outside and rec. through a peephole
Since the lighting is very poor there, he had to use the 'night vision' mode on the camera which is why the thing is in black and white!
I'm informed: the Navarathri concerts they are normally not recorded, which is very sad .
But Prince Varma started to record them during the past years just for preservation.
Video cameras are NOT allowed inside the mandapam. So the cameras are placed outside and rec. through a peephole
Since the lighting is very poor there, he had to use the 'night vision' mode on the camera which is why the thing is in black and white!
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