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MADRAS MUSIC MELA 2001

    

M S Gopalakrishnan – smooth and delectable

    
Unlike stringed instruments of Indian origin, the violin has a main playing string tuned to the Panchama of the middle octave. While this offers an advantage for speed, because of the reduced speaking length, most violinists use a technique that involves changing to a different string in the midst of a phrase that ought to be continuous from the Carnatic music perspective. The resultant loss in continuity is then sought to be masked by other means, resulting in an illusory feeling of smoothness. This is not a problem faced by the Parur bani, which specializes in playing long phrases on single strings. Perhaps unavoidably, this also results in a profusion of jaru-type gamaka-s, which is well suited to the requirements of Hindustani music, and it is apt, therefore, that M S Gopalakrishnan is well known for his mastery over it.

    

Accordingly, it was with an expectation of listening to a highly Hindustani-ized rendition that this reviewer attended his concert at the Narada Gana Sabha on December 21, and it was with great satisfaction at being proved wrong that he walked out of the hall three hours later.

M S Gopalakrishnan’s individual style is characterized by smooth and precise bowing, which makes for a very pleasant listening experience. The only dark point in the concert occurred at the very beginning of this concert, in which he was accompanied by his daughter, Dr. Narmada, Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam (Mridangam) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (Ghatam). In the opening Ata Tala Varnam, Kanakangi, the conception of the Raga Todi by the father-daughter duo left one with an odd feeling of unease. The rendition of each phrase was extremely fluid, often unnecessarily so, and the frequency values given to ri, ga, dha and ni were all much higher than required for Todi. The resultant effect was a feeling of lost stability and of substantial deviation from sruti. However, if the childhood of the concert was difficult, its adolescence was lively and adulthood was mature and responsible.

The concert came to a more even keel when Gopalakrishnan and Narmada took up Dikshitar’s Siddhi Vinayakam (Shanmukhapriya) and Kanjadalayatakshi (Manohari) next. The compositions and kalpanaswara-s were well rendered, revealing a high level of mastery over the instrument. The instrumental virtuosity was not overdone. Narmada was given the opportunity to take the lead in playing swara-s, and she acquitted herself admirably. Aparadhamulanorva in Rasali and Paridanamichchite in Bilahari kept up the concert tempo, with crisp alapana-s. In the latter composition, the artistes chose to play the Charanam and kalpanaswara-s at sama eduppu, instead of offsetting it as done routinely. The swara-s in Tisra gati were well executed and received very favorably by the audience.

After Evaritone, a rare Tyagaraja composition in Manavati (5th mela), came Nidhichala sukhama, the main piece of the day. MSG’s raga alapana was a very agreeably pleasant surprise, as it was a satisfying Carnatic exposition of Kalyani, with hardly any shades of Hindustani music in it. Full justice was done to this composition, with neraval and kalpanaswara-s in the Charanam. However, the Ragam Tanam Pallavi in Kambhoji was a trifle unsatisfactory. Phrases like s m g m and g m n d pmg m occurred in the alapana, which were not kosher for Kambhoji, although they did not cross over to the forbidden territory of Khamas. While the Tanam was of a superior quality, the Pallavi set to Khanda Triputa (Rajamatangi Pavani Paripurani Ratnabhushani Manonmani) featured only Neraval and kalpanaswara portions, without the customary Trikalam developments. As some compensation, the ragamalika swara-s in the Pallavi featured classical ragas like Saveri, Saramati and Natakurinji. The post-Pallavi session of Tukkada-s was short and sweet.

The Tani Avartanam in Misra Chapu (for Nidhichala) was a treat – not too loud and not too extravagant a display. Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam’s left hand spoke with telling effect and the right hand with clarity. Vaikom Gopalakrishnan’s nadam on the Ghatam was of very good quality and he provided a very supportive role. The gati variations in the Tani were done very imaginatively. The percussion accompaniment for kriti-s was highly enjoyable, as it was characterized by a good degree of anticipation and sensitivity.

It was a rainy day, and the hall was less than half-full. The air-conditioning was kept at a comfortable level. The decibel levels were comfortable at the beginning of the concert, but after the artistes asked for more loudness, the hall volume was increased to too loud a level. It is a pity that one has grown to accept this as an inevitability in Carnatic music concerts nowadays. The mike has become a bane, not so much by its mere presence, but because it is being abused. Loudness is detrimental to sensitivity, and one hopes that artistes and organisers will realize this and act accordingly.

Ratings:

Sruti - 90 % (except for Todi Ata Tala Varnam, which gets 60%)
Kalapramanam - 85%
Item selection & rendering of Compositions - 90 %
Manodharma - 85 %
Sowkhyam - 80 % 

Overall effect:


Violin - 80 %
Mridangam - 75 %
Ghatam - 70 %

Concert - 85 %

Estimated audience ratings:

Audience in hall - 40 %
Response - Good

- Nisshanka

      

Posted on December 24, 2001

   

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