December CCC, Sunday 9, 2018

Carnatic Chamber Concerts – 9th December 2018 CCC Event
Authored By: Sashwat Mahalingam, Anirudh Ramadurai, Srishiva Manikantan, Shreya Virunchipuram, Sripradha Manikantan, and Pranav Satyadeep

Introduction:
Since the advent of trinity compositions,
various styles of musical thought have arisen in the past few centuries of Carnatic Music. These styles shed new light on aspects of layam, sangeetham, and raga rasam and give new ways to appreciate the subtleties and nuances of our music. The December CCC
event shed light on some of these modern/semi-modern styles of composition. The lineup of performances this month was jam-packed with musical content spanning across various musical eras, from the Trinity to present-day composers who still contribute new ideas
every day to the community. Each performer did justice to the musical style embodied by the composition presented, making sure to highlight its specific rhythmic/melodic uniqueness, and making the performance as a whole riveting for the audience to engross
in.

Yuvanand
Saravanan:
The final CCC event of 2018 commenced with
a vocal performance by Yuvanand Saravanan, accompanied by Aparna Basavapatna on the violin and Anirudh Rao on the mridangam. Yuvanand began his recital with a soulful rendition of Govardhana Giridhara in Darbari Kanada, a janyam of the 20th melakarta, Natabhairavi.
This krithi on Lord Krishna is set to Adi talam and was composed by Narayana Teertha, a great saint and devotee of Sri Krishna. Yuvanand’s perfect shruti allowed him to render the song in a very soothing manner, and the slow pace of Darbari Kanada brought
about a sense of serenity that captivated the audience’s attention throughout the beautiful composition. Following the melodious rendition of Govardhana Giridhara, Yuvanand moved on to singing Jalandhara Supeetasthe, a composition of Harikesanallur Muthiah
Bhagavathar. This composition on Goddess Devi is in Ragam Valaji (a janya of the 16th melakartha, Chakravakam) and is set to Roopaka talam. Yuvanand did justice to his beautiful song with his melodious singing, perfect diction and meticulous execution of
sangathis. Aparna’s confident playing and embellishments along with Anirudh’s active percussion support thoroughly enhanced the concert and made it an enjoyable one for all.

Sadhana
Arvind Chari:
Following Yuvanand was another vocal performance
by Sadhana Arvind Chari, who was supported by Vandana Chari on the violin and Kishore Lakshmanan on the mridangam. Sadhana started with a krithi composed by Saint Thyagaraja, “sObillu saptaswara” in ragam Jaganmohini, set to Rupakam Talam followed by a composition
from Subramanya Bharathi’s Kavadi Chindu, “villinai oththa” set to Tisra Ekam Talam. Through both the compositions Sadhana showcased her bold voice well-aligned with shruthi. Both Vandana and Kishore provided a steady support to Sadhana on their respective
instruments.

Monisha
Murali:
Following Sadhana’s performance was Monisha
Murali on the vocals, Deeksha Venkateswaran on the violin, and Sathvik Prasanna on the mridangam. Monisha began her performance with Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar’s famous composition, “sakthi gaNapathim,” in the ragam Nata, set to Rupakam Talam. This
was followed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s, “hiraNmayim lakshmim,” in the ragam Lalitha, set to Rupakam Talam. Throughout her performance, Monisha charmed the audience with her mellifluous voice. Deeksha’s responses to Monisha’s expositions were equally skilled,
and Sathvik’s accompaniment on the mridangam was on point, appropriately matching the mood of the krithis and their ragams.

Arya
Venkat:
Following Monisha was a performance by Arya
Venkat on the vocal, Vishnu Srinivas on the violin, and Akshay Suresh on the mridangam. Arya began the performance with a brief outline of the ragam Mayamalavagowla. His outline was characterized by precision as he carefully detailed the ragam’s classical
phrases without deviating to its subtly different janyas (such as Lalitha, Saveri, etc.) This was followed by Deva Deva Kalayamithe, a composition by Maharaja Swati Tirunal set to Rupaka Talam. Throughout the krithi, Arya successfully emphasized the single-note,
bold aspect of Mayamalavagowla characterized by its strong sustenance of swarams, while also displaying his comprehensive voice range. Vishnu’s accompaniment on the violin also opened up another dimension of Mayamalavagowla, one involving a more fluid approach
to the ragam. This was followed by brief rounds of swarams on the pallavi, beginning with keezh kalam. Arya’s keezh kalam swarams embodied simple but elegant patterns, as well as kanakku, that was flawlessly executed with precision and clarity. Vishnu’s responses
to these added an equally melodic and unique aspect as he attempted to emulate the same patterns. This was followed by a rapid-fire mEl kAlam set of swarams, where both Arya and Vishnu spontaneously exchanged single avarthanam swarams in a sharp and effective
manner and was concluded with a brief swaram essay and eddam-to-eddam korvai (with eddam being the samam). Throughout the performance, Akshay’s accompaniment on the mridangam could best be described as synchronized, as he perfectly fits the rhythm and tone
of the song from beginning till end. He concluded the krithi with a short mohra-korvai from samam-to-samam, in which the korvai employed a mathematically clever tactic of tishra, chatushra, and kanda nadais in successive iterations. The trio then concluded
with a brief Thiruppavai in Purvikalyani, Koodarai Vellum, set to Misra Chapu.

Oviya
Srinivasan:
Next was a sweet vocal performance by Oviya
Srinivasan, supported by Shravya Srinath on the violin and Lalit Kovvuri on the mridangam. They performed Sri Krishnam Bhajare, a composition of Sri Mutthuswami Dhikshithar, in the ragam Rupavati, in Rupaka thalam. Oviya rendered the kriti with energy and
confidence. The support from Shravya accentuated the melody aspect of the kriti, while Lalit’s mridangam playing highlighted the layam of the song.

Meera
Iyer:
Meera Iyer’s veena performance was accompanied
by Vaibhav Prakash on mridangam. Meera started with a varnam, Jalajakshi in Hamsadhwani raga, janyam of 29th melakartha, Dheera Sankarabharanam set to Adi talam. Jalajakshi is a classical composition of Sri. Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbaiyer. Meera played the
varnam nicely with required nuances. She moved on to a popular composition of Sri Papanasam Sivan, Devi Neeye thunai in 21st melakartha raga Keeravani set to Adi talam. The krithi was played with melody weaving different shades of the raga and clarity in sangathis.
Vaibhav gave an energetic and rhythmic accompaniment on the mridangam.

Diya
Krishna:
Diya Krishna’s vocal performance was accompanied
by Tanisha Srivatsa on the violin and Rishi Kodungallur on the mridangam. Diya rendered a famous composition of Sri GN Balasubramaniam, Amboruha Padame varnam in raga Ranjani, janyam of 59th melakartha Dharmavathi set to Adi talam. Diya delivered an attractive
raga ranjani beautifully with bhavam. Violinist, Tanisha demonstrated her skills by matching the raga bhavam in every aspect. Mridangist, Rishi did an excellent job with his brisk and synchronized accompaniment throughout the performance.

Vishnu
Parthasarathy:
Following Diya’s rendition of the Ranjani
Varnam was a vocal performance by Vishnu Parthasarathy accompanied by Tanisha Srivatsa on the violin and Rishi Kodungallur on the mridangam. Vishnu sang a rare varnam in ragam Kamalamanohari. This varnam on Goddess Saraswathi is a composition of Rasipuram
Venkatapati and is set to Adi Talam. Kamalamanohari, an Audava-Shadava ragam is a janya of Sarasangi, the 27th melakarta ragam. Dikshitar’s Kanjadalayatakshi Kamakshi is a popular krithi also in this ragam. Vishnu sang the varnam in a leisurely pace with good
kala pramanam. He sang the purvangam of the varnam in both kizh kalam and mel kalam, and the uttarangam in mel kalam. Tanisha shadowed Vishnu continuously throughout the varnam and ably supported his performance, and Rishi’s vibrant support undeniably enhanced
the overall presentation as well.

Amruta
Turlapati:
Following Vishnu was a performance by Amruta
Turlapati on the vocal, Sahas Ramesh on the violin, and Rajeev Devanath on the mridangam. Amruta commenced the performance with a varnam in ragam Hamirkalyani, composed by Vid. Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. Amruta’s rendition of the varnam underscored the
handling of brigas and effortlessly flowing gamakams with absolute clarity, while she also took on the challenges of the intricacies embedded in the varnam’s many unique chittaswarams. The varnam was followed by Thyagaraja’s composition, Manasu Swadhina, in
ragam Shankarabharanam, set to Misra Chapu. Throughout the krithi, while continuing to explore the briga-laden aspects of the ragam, Amruta simultaneously brought out the most classical aspects of its distinguishable flavor. Sahas’s accompaniment on the violin
helped to add a melodic dimension to both songs, while Rajeev’s spirited accompaniment on the mridangam added to lighting up the musical environment on the stage.

Vibha
Raghavendran:
Vibha Raghavendran’s vocal performance was
accompanied by Sahas Ramesh on the violin and Rajeev Devanath on the mridangam. Vibha rendered Sri Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaiyer’s famed krithi, Muddu Krishna memudam in raga Cenjuruti, a janyam of 28th melakartha Harikamboji set to Adi talam. Vibha’s rendition
was filled with full of melody in her mellifluous voice. Sahas’s accompaniment on the violin gave a strong support to the vocalist as he helped to bring out more nuances during krithi rendition. Percussionist Rajeev did an awesome job by keeping up the lively
tone of krithi with his dynamic support.

Preetha
Kumar:
Preetha Kumar’s vocal performance was accompanied
by Tejas Bharadwaj on the violin and Avinash on the mridangam. Preetha has chosen a heart-warming classical composition of Saint Thyagaraja, Sujana Jeevana in raga Kamaas, janyam of 28th melakartha Harikamboji set to Roopaka talam. Preetha started off with
a bright raga alapana showcasing different shades of Kamaas combined with good range of lower and higher octaves. Tejas’ response on the violin was excellent that demonstrated his knowledge and familiarity with the ragam. Preetha did few rounds of niraval
on the charanam line “Charu tetra shri kalatra” in both first and second speeds followed by swarams. She started with few keezh kala swarams and moved on to mEl kalam after few rounds leading to a nice korai. Tejas’ response to niraval and swarams were very
quick and creative. Avinash’s response on the mridangam was outstanding. He followed the krithi and swarams well with full of rhythm and involvement. His Tani at the end was very enjoyable.

Harini
Venkatesh:
Next was a vocal performance by Harini Venkatesh
and her accompanists Aishwarya Anand and Arush Gopal. Harini Venkatesh started her performance with a soulful aalapanai in the ragam Varali which was replete with traditional Varali phrases. This was followed by a bhavam-filled aalapanai by the violinist,
Aishwarya Anand, incorporating some phrases that the vocalist sang. They then presented the popular composition of Sri Mutthuswami Dhikshithar, “Seshachala Nayakam”, in Rupaka thalam. Harini chose the line, “Aravinda patra nayanam” to do kalpana swarams. She
integrated many sarvalaghu and kanakku Swarams in Mel kaalam. Aishwarya’s apt responses to these Swarams portrayed her skill. Harini then sang a korappu with some tisra nadai elements and finishing off with a mel kaala tisra nadai korvai. Arush Gopal’s enthusiastic
support on the mridangam added zeal to the whole performance. Arush concluded the performance with a brief mohra korvai.

Conclusion:
To conclude, the presentations of all the
performers made the program into yet another fascinating, educative and entertaining event that CCC always promises its
members month after Month, the last ten years! Wishing CCC and its team of volunteers the very best on their completion
of ten fantabulous years! Looking forward to all the performances in 2019!