Vid. T. N. Seshagopalan, 1984 Ramanavami at 'Parvathi',Mysore
Preview from R. Sachi
We are delighted to share this time, with rasikas everywhere, a lovely RTP concert of Vid. T. N. Seshagopalan in the able company of vidwans Mysore Nagaraj, Srimushnam Raja Rao and Bangalore Venkatram.
The time of this concert is the 1980’s, when Vid. Seshagopalan stormed the Carnatic music scene with his exuberant style, vocal range, and ever-innovative manodharma. Young stars of today are often guided by the methods of the early innovators in Carnatic music, and that list includes for sure GNB, BMK, and TNS. Being a thinking musician with a pliant voice, TNS wowed audiences all over with his impactful concerts in that period. He also had good accompanists always, and this concert is no exception.
The format of Raga-Tana-Pallavi or RTP is of great importance in Carnatic music. Its history goes back several centuries, and the concept of Pallavi is said to be traceable to concepts in Sangita Ratnakara. Many great musicians made their name in the past centuries based on their mastery of this idiom and an RTP concert would last several hours. Mr. Srikantiah recalls how Mysore Vasudevacharya was unmatched for his tana singing, in three octaves and three speeds.
In this concert, only a few portions of which survive on the spool tapes available, the RTP in Shankarabharana, with raga-malika swaras, lasts over 70 minutes. Even though the pallavi starts off in Khanda Triputa tala, it is presented with delightful laya and raga variations. We can begin to fathom the manodharma of a great artiste in the way he approaches the Raga-Tana-Pallavi, in the sense of whether it is a mere “check in the box” affair, or is meant to showcase some “cleverness”in sahitya, or he really explores its scope in a grand scheme of interpretation.
So come, and enjoy, the feast of TNS’s manodharma music! Mysore Nagaraj has played a highly competent accompanist role, especially in the raga-malika swaras. The percussion support too is admirable from Vid. Srimushnam Raja Rao and Vid. Venkatram.
The time of this concert is the 1980’s, when Vid. Seshagopalan stormed the Carnatic music scene with his exuberant style, vocal range, and ever-innovative manodharma. Young stars of today are often guided by the methods of the early innovators in Carnatic music, and that list includes for sure GNB, BMK, and TNS. Being a thinking musician with a pliant voice, TNS wowed audiences all over with his impactful concerts in that period. He also had good accompanists always, and this concert is no exception.
The format of Raga-Tana-Pallavi or RTP is of great importance in Carnatic music. Its history goes back several centuries, and the concept of Pallavi is said to be traceable to concepts in Sangita Ratnakara. Many great musicians made their name in the past centuries based on their mastery of this idiom and an RTP concert would last several hours. Mr. Srikantiah recalls how Mysore Vasudevacharya was unmatched for his tana singing, in three octaves and three speeds.
In this concert, only a few portions of which survive on the spool tapes available, the RTP in Shankarabharana, with raga-malika swaras, lasts over 70 minutes. Even though the pallavi starts off in Khanda Triputa tala, it is presented with delightful laya and raga variations. We can begin to fathom the manodharma of a great artiste in the way he approaches the Raga-Tana-Pallavi, in the sense of whether it is a mere “check in the box” affair, or is meant to showcase some “cleverness”in sahitya, or he really explores its scope in a grand scheme of interpretation.
So come, and enjoy, the feast of TNS’s manodharma music! Mysore Nagaraj has played a highly competent accompanist role, especially in the raga-malika swaras. The percussion support too is admirable from Vid. Srimushnam Raja Rao and Vid. Venkatram.
Concert Details
Madurai T.N.Sheshagopalan ----------- Vocal
Mysore Nagaraj --------------------------Violin
S.Raja Rao ------------------------------ Mridangam
Bangalore Venkatram ------------------ Ghatam
on 16-4-84 at "Parvathi" during Ramanavami.
Concert Excerpts
01. Endaro Mahanubhavulu – Sri raga – Thyagaraja *** 02. Ksheerasagara Shayana – Devagandhari – Thyagaraja *** 03. Shankarabharana Raga *** 04. Tana-Pallavi-Ragamalika (Vasantha, Dwijavanti, Maru Bihag, Hindustani Kapi) ***
Madurai T.N.Sheshagopalan ----------- Vocal
Mysore Nagaraj --------------------------Violin
S.Raja Rao ------------------------------ Mridangam
Bangalore Venkatram ------------------ Ghatam
on 16-4-84 at "Parvathi" during Ramanavami.
Concert Excerpts
01. Endaro Mahanubhavulu – Sri raga – Thyagaraja *** 02. Ksheerasagara Shayana – Devagandhari – Thyagaraja *** 03. Shankarabharana Raga *** 04. Tana-Pallavi-Ragamalika (Vasantha, Dwijavanti, Maru Bihag, Hindustani Kapi) ***
