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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

In Memoriam: Vocalist and AIR Director S. Krishnamurthy



S. Krishnamurthy - In the lineage of Mysore Vasudevacharya


It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the passing away of another luminary from Mysore and from the world of Carnatic Music. Vocalist Sri S. Krishnamurthy, grandson of one of the famous composers in Carnatic Music, Vasudevacharya, died on Saturday December 5, 2015. He was very instrumental in having written down for posterity all of the books, compositions and memorials of his grandfather as well as the compositions of the Mysore Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyer.

For the majority of his lifetime Mr. S.Krishnamurthy served All India Radio in Mysore and elsewhere including being Station Director of Akashvani-Dharwad. In later years he was also associated with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan as its Programme Director. Besides his familiarity and deep knowledge in Carnatic Music, he was also well versed in it's vocalisation. He was also very adept in Western Classical Music having trained at the London Trinity School. He was known to have played the Piano and Jaltarang very skillfully and had produced many musical programs, as well as penning books, the most famous of which was the one on his grandfather Vasudevacharya.

We direct you to a beautiful vignette on him, earlier, in The Hindu ( click ).

As we recall Sri Krishnamurthy’s life, and as our thoughts and prayers go towards his family, we also recall the days of his grandfather Vasudevacharya about whom we shall speak separately in connection with a Home called “Parvathi”.


Friday, December 4, 2015

Committed to Classicism


Vid. Pattabhirama Pandit, Putturao Memorial 2013


An Appreciation by R. Sachi




The many excellent young vocalists shining in Carnatic music today bring credit to a continuing tradition. One of the best examples is Vid. Pattabhirama Pandit. We quote from a 2014 review in the Hindu:

“Pattabhirama Pandit, trained under the extraordinary maestro K.V. Narayana Swamy, is undoubtedly a Carnatic vocalist who needs to be taken seriously. Having had his early lessons from Vallabham Kalyana Sundaram and S. Ramanathan, Pattabhirama Pandit’s music is backed by sound training, honed by talent and competence which makes him a musician of immense merit.”

Pandit is a well-placed technology professional as well as a busy musician. Such parallel careers can flourish only with a deep commitment to tradition and classicism. His guru, the great KVN, was also several times featured in Parvathi concerts over 3 decades. Sri K. Srikantiah, in his vote of thanks, handsomely compliments Pandit’s music with the KVN stamp and his take-off in Kharaharapriya, which incidentally is a favourite raga of Parvathi audiences!

The violin accompaniment in this concert is ably provided by the young Karthik, son of Vid. M. Nagaraj. The mridangam and ghatam accompaniment in this concert by Vid. Shivashankara Swamy and Vid. Manjunath are also commendable.


Concert Details:

Pattabhirama Pandit ------------------- Vocal
N.Karthik ---------------------------------- Violin
Shivashankara Swamy --------------- Mridangam
Manjunath ------------------------------- Ghatam
on 31-8- 2013 during K.Puttu Rao Music Festival.

Song List:

01.ChalamelaJesavayya-Natakuranji-Rangaswami *** 02. Sadinchane-Aarabhi-Thyagaraja *** 03. DinamaniVamsha-Harikamboji- Thyagaraja *** 04. Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam-AnandaBhairavi- Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 05. Deva Deva Jagadeeswara-Poorvi Kalyani- Swathi Thirunal *** 06. Rama Neeyeda-Kharaharapriya- Thyagaraja *** 07. Gopalaka PahiMam-Revagupti- Swathi Thirunal *** 08. Shloka & Hari Hara Ninnanu-Sindhubhairavi- Purandara Dasa ***




Thursday, November 5, 2015

Ramanavami Music from Mysore - In the good old days


Vid.TV Sankaranarayanan, Ramanavami 1974 at 'Parvathi'


Reflections by R. Sachi



Nothing enhances the value of music like nostalgia. And surely, it’s better to be nostalgic about the good music one enjoyed long ago rather than recall bygone memories with perhaps sadness. Music heard long ago can still remain in our hearts and give us much joy. This is one of life’s blessings indeed.

The good old days of Ramanavami music from Mysore are very much in our thoughts as we hear this vintage recording from Vid. TV Sankaranarayanan. A protégé of the great Madurai Mani Iyer, he came into his own strongly in the 1970’s. His concert at Parvathi in 1974 was a classic, with some wonderful accompaniment from the doyens.

The concert recording is not available in full, but we HAD to share these gems with rasikas worldwide. In these days of quantity, it is better to go back to those days of quality indeed!

Happy Listening!


Concert Details

T.V.Sankaranarayanan -------------- Vocal
V.Sethuramiah ------------------------Violin
T.K.Murthy--------------------------Mridangam
K.S.Manjunath ---------------------Ghatam
on 3-4-1974 at "Parvathi" during Ramanavami.

Song List

01 Vatapi- Hamsadhwani- Muthuswami Dikshitar
02 Ora joopu- Kannadagowla-Thyagaraja
03 Niravadi sukhada- Ravichandrika- Thyagaraja
04 Nitya Rupa-Darbar-Thyagaraja
05 Raghuvara-Kamavardhini-Thyagaraja
06 Brochevarevarura-Khamach-Vasudevachar




Saturday, October 24, 2015

In Memoriam: Flute Vidwan N. Ramani





Reminiscences by K.Srikantiah

" In the passing away of N.Ramani recently, not only have we lost a veteran Flutist, but I have also lost a dear friend. He has left behind a void in the carnatic music world which is indeed very difficult to fill. Yet another illustrious musician from my generation has passed into eternity.

My association with Ramani lasted for nearly five decades. He used to be a regular performer at the Ganesh and Ramanavami Music Festivals in our house.

As a person, Ramani was generally a man of few words, soft-natured and dignified. But there was always that sense of humour lurking behind that quiet nature. His music was comprehensive with melody (which is the first requisite for a flutist), vidwat, manodharma and balanced class-mass appeal. No wonder he was always a crowd-puller.

I vividly remember Ramani sitting on the stone bench in the lawns of our house after a three-hour concert, all by himself, rewinding and playing his own music in his head, enjoying the finer parts.The musician enjoying his own music seemed to me the mark of a true artist !

The melody of N.Ramani's flute will always echo in my mind and ears.

May Lord Rama bless his soul with eternal peace. "




We urge Rasikas to take in a fill of the Maestro's great Concerts that were performed in "Parvathi", chronologically, over the '70s:

DATE - Accompanists - Link

April 19, 1970 - K. Alagiriswamy - violin, U.K. Sivaraman – Mridangam, M. Manjunathan - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-god-beckons-to-man-flutes-eternal.html

March 25, 1972 - Chalakudy Narayanaswamy - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, H.P.Ramachar - Khanjira
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-rare-artiste-n-ramani.html

Sept 12, 1972 - M. Chandrasekharan - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, K.S. Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2013/10/establishing-instrumental-solo-concert.html

April 17, 1973 - M. Chandrasekharan - Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran - Mridangam, K.S Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2010/03/great-flautist-master-vidwan-dr-n.html

April 4, 1974 - M.S.Gopalakrishnan - Violin, Tanjore Upendran - Mridangam, K.S.Manjunath - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2011/03/worship-through-music-dr-n-ramani.html

April 22, 1975 - Chalakudy Narayanaswamy – Violin, Vellore Ramabhadran – Mridangam, H. P. Ramachar – Khanjira
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2012/03/remembering-god-without-list-of-demands.html

April 19, 1981 - M.Chandrasekharan - Violin, Srimushnam Raja Rao - Mridangam, M.A Krishnamurthy - Ghatam
http://chowdaiahandparvati.blogspot.com/2015/08/enriching-carnatic-music-through.html

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Instrumental Tribute to the Great Masters


Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry 1973 Ramanavami


Reflections by R. Sachi

We present this festive season a wonderful instrumental ensemble- the redoubtable maestros Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry and Vid. M. S. Gopalakrishnan, accompanied by Vid. Guruvayur Dorai and Vid. Manjunath. They performed to a full house in the Ramanavami festival of 1973 at Parvathi, Mysore.


The concert has a wonderful flow of melody and a beautiful dialogue between the two masters, Emani and MSG. Emani fills the concert with musical masterpieces from Saint Thyagaraja and presents his trademark virtuoso melody, combined with great musical understanding between the accompanists. MSG produces his trademark violin responses, filled with an incomparable sweetness and matching the main artiste’s manodharma, throughout.

The main ragas are Vachaspati, Shankarabharana and Shanmukhapriya. Of course there are Jagadanandakaraka, Ganamurthe, and Nadaloludai, songs made famous by Emani’s renditions on many occasions. But the raga elaborations and song presentations in Vachaspati and Shankarabharana are vintage classics. The RTP in Shanmukhapriya is warrants that we will listen to it a few times to soak up its beauty. The Tanam is unforgettable.

The Thyagaraja composition in Vachaspati celebrates Lakshmana’s devotion as a true karma yogi. His construction skills when he erects the hermitage in Panchavati are so impressive that Rama feels ecstatic. He embraces Lakshmana and says Lakshmana’s deep empathy, righteousness as well as craftsmanship are such that Rama feels the presence of their dear father in Lakshmana! The hermitage construction is wonderfully described by Valmiki, the Adikavi:




Come, let us relive this vintage concert!


Concert Details

Emani Sankara Sastry --------------- Veena
Parur M.S.Gopalakrishnan ------------- Violin
Guruvayur Dorai -------------------------- Mridangam
K.S Manjunath -------------------------- Ghatam
on 19-4-73 at Parvathi

Song List

01 Jagadanandakaraka-Nata- Thyagaraja *** 02 Shobillu Saptaswara-Jaganmohini- Thyagaraja *** 03 Vachaspati –Kanta Judumi-Thyagaraja *** 04 Nadaloludai -Kalyana Vasantha –Thyagaraja *** 05 Nee Bhajana-Nayaki- Thyagaraja *** 06 Swararagasudha- Shankarabharana – Thyagaraja *** 07 Shanmugapriya RTP *** 08 Surdas Bhajan(Emani sings with Veena) *** 09 Folk song(Emani sings with Veena) *** 10 Krishna nee begane- Yamuna Kalyani- Vyasaraya *** 11 Japa (Veda) *** 12 Mangalam ***




Friday, August 28, 2015

Celebrating Thyagaraja’s Immortal Songs


Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan
"Parvathi" Ramanavami Concert 1998


An Appreciation by R. Sachi

Ardent rasikas enjoying the Parvathi concerts have already been treated to a great concert of Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan that we featured earlier from the 2012 Putturao Memorial Concert series ( click here )

This time we go back 17 years and give you a classic concert filled with Saint Thyagaraja’s immortal songs like Nadatanumanisham, Appa Ramabhakti, Brova Bharama, and Nanu Palimpa. The vidwan is in an expansive mood and gives each raga and song a very melodious treatment. Vid. Manjunath on the violin is an equal partner and gives us many wonderful moments.


Sri Neyveli has given critically acclaimed concerts in Vidwath sabhas in the presence of other erudite musicians and has been recognized with several accolades and titles. He is also an excellent speaker known for his wit, timing and sense of humour which make him a very wholesome entertainer and performer. He also presents engrossing lec-dems. His excellent theoretical depth with extensive research of the best approaches makes him a distinctive musicologist. This multi-faceted musician is also proficient at playing the Veena and percussion instruments with distinct strengths in ‘laya’ exposition.

Sri Neyveli has forayed big time into e-training of students in Carnatic music. Sri Neyveli has now a global student enrolment. His latest presentation at the Cleveland Aradhana, called the Epic Carnatic Choir, was an interesting effort with his training students remotely for a different type of group singing. The quality of music and innovation can be witnessed in this You Tube clip, where under his guidance, a large ensemble of dozens of young vocalists and instrumentalists, presented a medley of Thygaraja’s ever-popular Deshadi tala compositions. The quality of singing and the ingenuity of the composition prepared by Sri Neyveli are indeed commendable.

( Sri Neyveli conducting the Epic Carnatic Choir at Cleveland, 2015 )
( photo from his website )


Come, let us enjoy this delightful concert.

Concert Details

Neyveli Santhanagopalan ------- Vocal
Mysore Manjunath ----------------- Violin
T.A.S. Mani --------------------------- Mridangam
G.S.Ramanujam -------------------- Ghatam
0n 12-4-98 during Parvathi Ramanavami festival, Mysore.

Song List

01 Nadatanumanisham –Chittaranjani-Thyagaraja ***
02 Appa Rama-Pantuvarali- Thyagaraja ***
03 Bahudari Raga ***
04 Brova bharama-Thyagaraja ***
05 Mohana Raga ***
06 Nannu Palimpa –Thyagaraja +Tani(cut) ***
07 Manasa sancharare –Sama- Sadashiva Brahmendra ***
08 Chandrachooda- Darbari Kanada- Purandara Dasa ***
09 Thiruppugazh-Hamsanandi ***
10 Mangalam ***




Thursday, August 20, 2015

Aug 31, 2015 - Sri K. Puttu Rao Music Memorial


Inviting all Rasikas