the best alter ego ( accompanist)

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 24 Dec 2007, 11:43

Greetings freinds,

conoisseurs of music and avid listeners of CM. how do you relish the concerts? I mean do you focus always on the main artistes or have you observed the violinist throughout?

If your perception is holistic just a glance of the challenges the violinist goes through:

He or she has to follow the main artiste like a shadow but not overshadow the main artiste.

Has to stoop low to the MA ( main artiste) level if MA repertoire is poor.

Should embellish the MA's sangathis and singing.

Should fastly adapt to his style.

If the artiste si from a gamakam school you cannot showcase all your brigha practices. and vice versa.

Take care that the MA 's ego is never affected.

Should domonstrate your talent in a small little given time.

Keep your sound level a bit lower than the MA always.

Some times when the MA shows a tinge of wrong note or abaswaram you do not know what to do? As correcting it during your play is going to highlight his mistake. ...

MA may come up with marathon homework and with a new aboorva raaga. ( a weapon used to bang on the violinists head if he is feeling insecure.

With all these challenges who do you think manages them well with a cool composure and stands out successfully.

Who is your choice. The audiences's choice and the artiste's pet violinist.

I woudl appreciate your input , views , and your choice. All . past , present and the younger lot.

Ganesh

sindhu · Post by **sindhu** » 24 Dec 2007, 12:05

It is a kind of inspiration that gets ignited from artist to the other. Accompanying artists can lift the concert to a great level and induce MA to make him/her to MA (matured artist). Healthy competition always hold high place.

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 24 Dec 2007, 12:30

If it is healthy always the MA woudl not insist for a particular violinist. I feel that every MA feels secure and comfortable with only certain violinist and hence they are pet violinists.

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 24 Dec 2007, 12:51

I heard from a few senior vidwans that the most sought after violinist those days was Lalgudi.
the advent of Lalgudi was so welcoming that everyone wanted him.

TNK used used to be the violinist for GNB apart from chowdaya. But once he heard lalgudi playing sahana in an informal sabha meet ( sahana is one of GNB's fav) and he wanted lalgudi for most of his concerts.

Lalgudi's imagination was so fertile in music you could hardly hear him repeating phrases. there is no somehting like brigha and gamaka exercises phrases that letently run behind in raagas. It is real music. no showcasing circus. but sounds that imitated voice. Unique fingering.

My guru used to recollect and brief me some incidents of his time. one such was

Semmagudi prefered lalgudi always. Semmangudi , again known for his fertile and unfettered raaga singing used to say " jayaramaa nee vandhu okkaandhutta enakku onnume thona mattudhu daa. yennatha paadaporen. "

and lalgudi would politely say " enna maama chummaa paadunga maamaa".

This voice once overheard in the mic itself once. Such was the greatness of artistes. Semmangudi of that stature coming out with such humble comments unabashedly before his fellow accompanists.

I wonder if artistes share such rapport or relationship ever.

Ganesh

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Dec 2007, 13:49

The violinist is absolutely part of the concert for me; they are one of the vital organs without which there is no function.

One of my favourite things in a 'main' artist is to see positive enjoyment and concentration and appreciation of their accompanists (mridangam too).

One of the things I hate to see is a 'main' artist not allowing or giving time for the violinist's turns. I'm glad to say that I don't see this too often, but one well-known performer I have not been to see again since I saw him doing this.

Accompaniment is itself a great art, with many problems and challenges not present for the soloist. The first people to realise this should be the audience. The violinist's alapana is not a chance for people to chat.

Ponbhairavi · Post by **Ponbhairavi** » 24 Dec 2007, 17:16

I agree. The violinist operates under great handicaps.As it happens, sometimes the violinist gets spontaneously greater applause fromthe audience for a raga elaboration.Then you should see the face of the main artiste.Invariably all vilonists run a sack race(i mean with hands and legs chained) in an uneven competition with a free main artiste.Proof: All violinists want and long for a solo concert!!!. such is their urge for freedom! But I do not know whether the singers who make lot of fuss about THEIR copyrights give any consideration for the copyrights of their violin and mridangam .accompanists and realise that the product is a joint production. I do not want to say anything about sharing the honorarium received as it is a"copyrighted secret"

vvmri · Post by **vvmri** » 24 Dec 2007, 18:39

What are some people's thought on people like T.Rukmani accompaniment to dk school.Please start discussion.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Dec 2007, 23:07

There is such a thing as tact, I guess, on stage.

My guruji talked to me about this one day in these (paraphrased) terms. Knowledge and ability are not necessarily the same as playing on stage. He told me that he could play thani compositions which most singers would not succeed in putting talam to, but to cause such embarrassment would only shorten his career, as he would not be asked back again. He also stresses regularly in the classroom that if the accompanist makes the main artist look great, they will look great too.

Of course the violinist, in such matters as raga, has much more freedom than the mridangist.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 25 Dec 2007, 00:34

Just to illustrate how well Violin is integrated into the concert platform and not just a mere accompaniment, some vocalists try to sing the violin way. It is a full round trip. Veena was thought to reproduce the vocal closely and hence was an accompaniment to vocal which then gave way to violin and then with vocalists trying to bring violin techniques to their vocal repertoire.

In this context, has Violin as an accompaniment imparted long lasting changes to the vocal techniques in the past 50-80 years? I am reading a book which sort of hints at that possibility.

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 25 Dec 2007, 08:40

let us not forget sexism in violin and mirudangam. a recent burning statement by TM Krishna whre he quipped about this in a journal. though not relevant to this thread it carries significance.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 25 Dec 2007, 09:49

VK, you raise a really intriguing question. For some time now, I have heard vocal phrases in alapanais that seem to borrow from those played on the violin. I'm afraid it's just a feeling, so I can't give specific examples.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 25 Dec 2007, 10:02

A while back in relation to discussing Chembai's music, I recall vaguely someone mentioning that Chembai used violin gamaka techniques. I can not find that thread readily now. I guess if Vocalists can sing in Nadaswara bANi, it is not that far fetched to say some vocalists sing in the Violin bANi. It is all quite interesting since the prevailing and well accepted notion is that Voice is the predominant thing/instrument in Carnatic music and instruments try their best to come as close as possible to reproducing the voice. ( this notion itself may be part of the folklore, quite removed from the glaring reality for a long while now ).