It's Ramanavami - Another Music festival begins .....

[Sumanth Sharma]

It's Ramanavami today, for a couple of weeks, Bangalore music enthusiasts are all set to gain as the best of artists will descend to enthrall the audience to help them forget the sultry weather and the World cup debacle !!.

    Under this thread I will make an attempt to put down some concerts that really went well with the audience, I am in a hectic schedule, but I hope I will be able to attend a few concerts at least.

    Am sure a similar feast is being served across the globe and hence I request each one of you Irrespective of your longitude/latitude to write your scraps about your experience of Ramanavami Music this year.

[hundredstrings]

This is a wonderful idea.  I really look forward to hearing a lot about Ramanavami concerts in Bangalore.

[Sumanth Sharma]

It's a problem of plenty in Bangalore.

Day before, on the same day at the same hour [6:30 pm local time], there was music stalwart RKS, then elsewhere in Sheshadripuram you had another Carnatic sensation - Sudha Ragunathan, in Vijaynagar there was Vidyabhusan's concert, in Chamarajpet Fort high school [the high profile Narayan Swamy tradition ...] there was Yesudas and In Jaynagar you had Maharajpuram Ramachandran and  .... more .....

I finally chose to attend Maharajpuram Ramachandran [simply because I had never been to his concert live ever before]. No guesses, he was at ease effortlessly rendering, his Ragamalika piece starting with Saramati - Mohanam - Todi - Bilahari - ... was a master piece. His allap on Mohanam was simply too good. I am more exposed to Hindustani classical hence not much I can say about it.

If you are not in Bangalore, then I would request you to look at the program list arranged @ Fort High School - till May 2nd - I will guarantee that you will kick yourself for not being around.

Also, on April 7th, Purvankara has organised a 1 day extravaganza @ Koramangala Inddor stadium.
It begins with Rajan & Sajan Mishra, behold, it's Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath and Ronu Majumdar next, and next is a tabla Solo by some artist new to be but supposed to be creating waves off late - all for a ticket starting from Rs 150.


Moral of the story....: Bangalore beckons!!

[hundredstrings]

Wow! Great to hear about all this.  Is Maharajapuram Ramachandran related to the great Santhanam?  Is his style similar to Santhanams?

Excited to hear about the concert at Koramangala indoor stadium.  Such great musicians.  Don't miss it.  Wish I were there.  I am a big fan of Ronu Majumdar.  He has played many ragas on bansuri that Hariji hasn't released: Gorakh Kalyan, Kedar, Parameshwari,  Bhim (Gavati), Gunkali, Rageshree etc.  Please let me know the full details of what each of these three maestros present.

[Sumanth Sharma]

Ok HPR

But am not as knowledgeable as you are. I will but down my bit

[Sumanth Sharma]

Here's some reading about Maharajapuram Ramachandran
"http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2006/05/19/stories/2006051902080400.htm"

[hundredstrings]

Cut & Paste from their (since it is easier to read it here):

 Maharajapuram Ramachandran is the inheritor of a prolific musical legacy bequeathed by his grandfather Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer and father Maharajapuram Santhanam.

In his concert featuring the kritis of Mysore Vasudevachar under the auspices of the Music Academy, he capitalised on his considerable assets — a powerful resonant voice in peak form, a selection of kritis in appealing ragas and contrasting kalapramana, the unstinting cooperation of veteran accompanists, a large, empathetic audience and a sound system on its best behaviour — to ensure the programme's success.

Strong gust of Hindolam

Hindolam blew in as a strong gust, bracing and robust, rather than as a delicate breeze. The alapana had a central focus and component elements fused to form a cohesive whole.

A torrent of sancharas, emerging from the tara sthayi shadja and gandhara flowed effortlessly, intensifying the momentum and aural impact. A measure of quietude was achieved during the descending phase as languid curves arced downwards to reach for the mandira sthayi shadja with no trace of showiness — it was a spontaneous expression that demonstrated the clear 2-1/2-octave reach of the voice. The kriti, "Maamavathu Sri Saraswathi'' (Adi) incorporated sarvalaghu kalpanaswaras that were contoured as much for easy flow as for effect.

The soothing strains of Shama in "Paraakelanaiyya Rama'' (Rupakam) were followed by the composition, "Pranamaamyaham'' (misra triputa), a welcome addition to the sparsely populated clique of kritis in the esoteric Ranjani land.

Dedicated seekers of raga signature-bearing kritis were in clover as the raga's name surfaced in the charanam.

In Madhyamavati, the crux of the exposition was to be found in the higher reaches circling the tara sthayi shadja and rishabha, powered by a vibrant undercurrent and the chosen kriti was "Raamaabhi Rama".

Purvikalyani being the piece-de-resistance, the lower and middle suites would have benefited from slower exploratory phrasing and subtle interjections. At the tara sthayi shadja, long-drawn nagaswaram-style patterns and selective shadja-eschewing sancharas proved stimulating. While the exposition was impressive in parts, it lacked the emotive core to pull it all together.

Sensitivity marked the kriti rendition in "Marachithivemo." The layered build-up towards a hard-hitting finale in the neraval and swaras at the line "Pathitha Paavana Neeve" was accomplished with élan. Violinist Nagai Muralidharan presented appreciable delineations of Madhyamavati and Purvikalyani. Guruvayur Dorai with his masterly command over laya intricacies and a complex fretwork of rhythmic permutations on the mridangam was well complemented by the skilful responses of Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan on the ghatam. The duo served up a tani to be savoured.

[Sumanth Sharma]

Here is what the Fort High scool Ramanavami concerts have got to offer .....


27-March-2007, 6:45 PM - Kadri Gopalnath, A.Kanyakumari, B.Harikumar, N.Amruth, B.Rajasekhar
28-March-2007, 6:30 PM - K.J Yesudas, Mahadeva Sharma, B.Harikumar, T.K Radhakrishnan
29-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Suma Sudhindra (Veena), Shubhendra Rao (Sitar), Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, Ravindra Yavagal
30-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Dr.N.Ramani (Flute), Nagai Muraleedharan, K.V Prasad, N.Amruth
31-March-2007, 6:30 PM - Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Nagai Muraleedharan, Guruvayur Dorai, M.A Krishnamoorthy
01-April-2007, 9:00 AM - A.Kanyakumari (Violin), K.V Prasad, N.Amruth, B.Rajasekhar
01-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Hyderabad Brothers, Mysore Shrikanth, D.S.R Murthy, D.Mohite
02-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Vidyabhooshana, M.A Krishnaswami, K.V Jayachandra Rao, B.N Chandramouli
03-April-2007, 6:30 PM - S.Sowmya, Embar S.Kannan, H.S Sudhindra, Sukanya Ramgopal
04-April-2007, 7:15 PM - T.N.S Krishna, Jyothsna Shrikanth, M.T Rajakesari, Shrishailam
05-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Vijayalakshmi Subrahmanyam, Usha Rajagopal, M.T Rajakesari, Guruprasanna
06-April-2007, 6:30 PM - O.S Thyagarajan, T.K.V Ramanujacharulu, Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman, D.Mohite
07-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Ranjini & Gayathri, Nalina Mohan, H.S Sudhindra, Sukanya Ramgopal
08-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Gundecha Brothers (Hindustani Drupad Style Vocal)
09-April-2007, 6:30 PM - M.S Sheela, Nalina Mohan, C.Cheluvaraju, B.R Ravikumar
10-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Pantula Rama, M.S.N Murthy, C.Cheluvaraju, A.S.N Swamy
11-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Anuradha Madhusudanan (Veena), C.Cheluvaraju, D.Mohite
12-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Trichur V.Ramachandran, Mysore M.Nagaraj, Mannargudi Easwaran, M.A Krishnamoorthy
13-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Nityasree Mahadevan
14-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Mysore M.Nagaraj & Mysore M.Manjunath (Violin Duet), Thiruvaroor Bhakthavalsalam, B.N Chandramouli
15-April-2007, 6:30 PM - U.Srinivas & U.Rajesh (Mandolin Duet), H.K Venkitaram, Thanjavur Govindarajan, S.V Ramani
16-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Bangalore S.Shankar, Parur M.A.Krishnanswamy, C.Cheluvaraj, M.A.Krishnamurth y
17-April-2007, 5:00 PM - Manda Sudharini, Charulatha Ramanujam, M.T Rajakesari, Krishna Prasad
17-April-2007, 7:15 PM - Sikkil Gurucharan,H. K.Venkataram, Praveen V, Sreeshailam
18-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Vijay Siva.N, R.K.ShriramKumar, Manoj Siva, B.R.Ravikumar
19-April-2007, 6:30 PM - T.V.Shankaranarayan an, Nagai Sriram, B.Harikumar, Alathur Rajaganesh
20-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Lalgudi.G.J. R.Krishnan & Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi( Violin Duet) Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, D.Mohite
21-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Priya Sisters(Shanmukhapr iya & Haripriya) & Party
22-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Kunnakudi R.Vaidyananthan( Vioiln Solo) & Party
23-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Bombay Sisters (C.Saroja & C.Lalitha), Charulatha Ramanujam, K.R Ganesh, Sukanya Ramgopal
24-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Sudha Raghunathan & Party
25-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Shashank.S (Flute), Embar S.Kannan, Sathish Kumar, N.Amruth
26-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Neyveli Santhanagopalan, V.V Ravi, Thiruvarur Bhakthavalsalam, N.Amruth
27-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Madurai T.N Sheshagopalan, S.Varadarajan, K.V Prasad, Giridhar Uduppa
28-April-2007, 6:30 PM - Mysore Manjunath (Violin) & Vishwamohan Bhat (Mohanaveena) , Sathish Kumar
29-April-2007, 5:00 PM - Malladi Brothers, Embar S.Kannan, K.V Prasad, Giridhar Uduppa
30-April-2007, 6:30 PM - N.Ravikiran (Chitraveena) , Akkarai Subbalakshmi, Thiruvaroor Bhakthavalsalam, Vaikom Gopalakrishnan
01-May-2007, 6:30 PM - Bharathanatyam By Shobhana (Film Actress) & Party
02-May-2007, 6:30 PM - Kathak & Bharathanatyam By Nirupama & Rajendra
03-May-2007, 5:00 PM - Ragavaibhavam (80 artists) lead by Kunnakudi R.vaidyanathan"

[hundredstrings]

Wow!!  That's a pretty impressive line-up.  I am intrigued by the last entry -- 80 artists playing together!  I think that is the grande finale.

[Sumanth Sharma]

I have some bad news for music lovers who are not fortunate enough to attend the Ramanavami Music festival.

Because of an untoward incident two years back, where a cassette vendor made a clandestine recording of a couple of concerts including Yesudas's, from this year the artists' are not comfortable with any release of the proceedings and hence NO recordings will be released of any of the Ramanavami concerts.

[hundredstrings]

That's not the solution!  May be all the recordings should be released by the Ramanavami committee itself, instead of any recording company.  That way, artists can be sure of getting their royalty.  Digital music might be the best way to go for.  Much depends upon how well the concerts have been recorded.

[hundredstrings]

I found this new item related to the concluding concert:

Kunnakudi’s music ensemble enthralls audience in City

It was a perfect venue for the Carnatic music pundits to perform their best. And, it was also a perfect evening for the music lovers to spend an evening. But, when the evening ended, many in the audience went home disappointed while an equal number of audience left the venue enriching their knowledge about music.

Sri Ramaseva Mandali of Chamarajpet on Thursday concluded its 38 days of Sri Ramanavami music festival, with the presentation of a Carnatic music orchestra, conducted by renowned violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. He had nearly 70 musicians to perform at his behest. All the musicians had come from Chennai.

The ensemble on the dais had vocalists, violinists, flautists, mrudangam, morching, and veena and khanjira players. The expectation was running high among the audience which was eagerly waiting to enjoy the Raaga Vaibhava of Raaga Research Centre of Vaidyanathan. He began the programme one hour behind the schedule. After a brief introduction, Vaidyanathan directed the ensemble to perform a Sri Thyagraja's Keerthane composed in Sourashtram raaga. Then followed the presentation of Gambhira Nata raaga.

But, later Vaidyanathan began his raaga teaching session. Vaidyanathan, while making the musicians present well-known raagas, instead of allowing them to complete the keerthanes, intervened often to explain the significance of each raaga. At times, he also explained the medicinal effects of raagas like Sourashtra, Bilahari and Aarabhi. When Vaidyanathan went on to explain his interactions with late music director R D Burman, a lady from the audience walked up to Vaidyanathan and requested him in Kannada to allow the musicians on the podium to perform. She said that the audience wanted to listen to the music rather than hear his theory on music.

Immediately, Vaidyanathan said that he was here not present a music concert but to explain the significance of raagas. Irked by this, the lady left the venue. One aspect appreciated by the audience was Vaidyanathan’s efforts to speak in Kannada. From the beginning till end, he spoke in Kannada with overtones of Tamil and Telugu. He also said “Bangaloreans being a cosmopolitan city, all languages are accepted”.