Carnatic vocal concert of Salem Sriram
Carnatic Vocal Concert by Salem Sriram
Feb 3, 2008, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland
This is not a review of the concert as I am not an expert or knowledgeable enough to write about Carnatic music. With an ear for appreciation, I am sharing my feelings and observations about the concert.
Sri. Salem Sriram's concert marked the finale of two weekend celebrations of Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland conducted by Sri. Raju Soundararajan and his team of volunteers. Super bowl sunday took a toll on the strength of the audience but whoever stayed back represented a knowledgable core. Wrong choice of concert day for an amazing performer.
I have not heard of Salem Sriram before and attended the concert only because I had nothing else to do and there is a carnatic concert happening nearby. I was very skeptical because the previous day's concert of Smt. Kiranavali was unsatisfying. But, during the mike test, Sriram sang few lines of 'Nadhopasana' and that was enough to lift my spirits thousand folds. I was very excited by the sheer voice and was bowled over. A majestic voice with minimum nasal accent at higher pitch. At higher pitch, he sounded very much like Sri. TNSeshagopalan.
A student of Sri. Calcutta Krishnamoorthy, Sriram is based out of Tennessee now. He gave a stunning start with Saranga and maintained the tempo till the Madhyamavati mangalam. The list of songs rendered, in the same order, are:
1. Saranga, (forgot the song), Adi
2. Reetigowla, Dvaitamu Sukama Advaitamu Sukama, Adi
3. Kamas, Srujana Jeevana, Rupakam
4. Subhapantuvarali, Ennalu Unnagae, Misrachapu
5. Bilahari, Dorakuna Ituvanti, Adi - main piece with Tani avartanam
6. RTP in Gowrimanohari...Un Darisanam Kidaikumo Nataraja - Dayanidhae (Pallavi in Misrachapu)
7. Nilambari, Uyyalaloogavayya, Kandachapu
8. Kapi, Jagadho Dharana, Adi
9. Madhyamavati, Sapthaprakara Madhyae and Ninama Roopamulagu Mangalam
No prayogams were redundant in his singing. Every nuance and essence of each raga was brought out beautifully and confidently like an unhindered river. He was literally a sculptor, deligently working on each raga and unfolded each Kriti with prisitne beauty.
The RTP in Gowrimanohari deserves special mention. These days, RTP has become a means for just talent display with a ragamalika trailing the Pallavi almost certainly taken-for. Sriram stuck to Gowrimanohari. I especially liked it for its conservative(or traditional) simplicity.
Another observation is his limited (very minimum) gimmicks. I tend to get distracted by the actions of singers sometimes. His way of rendition helped me to focus more on the ragas.
The tani avardhanam of Sri. Jayanth on Mridangam and Sri. Vijay Ganesh on Kanjira were remarkable with their splendid theermanams. I am usually impatient with the tani but this time I listened keenly thanks to the lec-dem of Sri. Shivakumar the day before. He asked rasikas to observe the tanis and develop an appreciation for them. I did and loved it. Not very impressed with Sri. KVS Vinay on violin though. His violin sounded too often out of tune.
The next time I hear the name of Salem Sriram in performance, I am definitely game. I request other rasikas to listen to his music too.
Feb 3, 2008, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland
This is not a review of the concert as I am not an expert or knowledgeable enough to write about Carnatic music. With an ear for appreciation, I am sharing my feelings and observations about the concert.
Sri. Salem Sriram's concert marked the finale of two weekend celebrations of Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland conducted by Sri. Raju Soundararajan and his team of volunteers. Super bowl sunday took a toll on the strength of the audience but whoever stayed back represented a knowledgable core. Wrong choice of concert day for an amazing performer.
I have not heard of Salem Sriram before and attended the concert only because I had nothing else to do and there is a carnatic concert happening nearby. I was very skeptical because the previous day's concert of Smt. Kiranavali was unsatisfying. But, during the mike test, Sriram sang few lines of 'Nadhopasana' and that was enough to lift my spirits thousand folds. I was very excited by the sheer voice and was bowled over. A majestic voice with minimum nasal accent at higher pitch. At higher pitch, he sounded very much like Sri. TNSeshagopalan.
A student of Sri. Calcutta Krishnamoorthy, Sriram is based out of Tennessee now. He gave a stunning start with Saranga and maintained the tempo till the Madhyamavati mangalam. The list of songs rendered, in the same order, are:
1. Saranga, (forgot the song), Adi
2. Reetigowla, Dvaitamu Sukama Advaitamu Sukama, Adi
3. Kamas, Srujana Jeevana, Rupakam
4. Subhapantuvarali, Ennalu Unnagae, Misrachapu
5. Bilahari, Dorakuna Ituvanti, Adi - main piece with Tani avartanam
6. RTP in Gowrimanohari...Un Darisanam Kidaikumo Nataraja - Dayanidhae (Pallavi in Misrachapu)
7. Nilambari, Uyyalaloogavayya, Kandachapu
8. Kapi, Jagadho Dharana, Adi
9. Madhyamavati, Sapthaprakara Madhyae and Ninama Roopamulagu Mangalam
No prayogams were redundant in his singing. Every nuance and essence of each raga was brought out beautifully and confidently like an unhindered river. He was literally a sculptor, deligently working on each raga and unfolded each Kriti with prisitne beauty.
The RTP in Gowrimanohari deserves special mention. These days, RTP has become a means for just talent display with a ragamalika trailing the Pallavi almost certainly taken-for. Sriram stuck to Gowrimanohari. I especially liked it for its conservative(or traditional) simplicity.
Another observation is his limited (very minimum) gimmicks. I tend to get distracted by the actions of singers sometimes. His way of rendition helped me to focus more on the ragas.
The tani avardhanam of Sri. Jayanth on Mridangam and Sri. Vijay Ganesh on Kanjira were remarkable with their splendid theermanams. I am usually impatient with the tani but this time I listened keenly thanks to the lec-dem of Sri. Shivakumar the day before. He asked rasikas to observe the tanis and develop an appreciation for them. I did and loved it. Not very impressed with Sri. KVS Vinay on violin though. His violin sounded too often out of tune.
The next time I hear the name of Salem Sriram in performance, I am definitely game. I request other rasikas to listen to his music too.
Aarthi, I'm coming here after a long time. Just wanted to say you write splendidly. Your reviews are simple, honest and from the heart.
ReplyDeleteKeep it going!
Archana (guess you know which one!)
Thank you very much Archana(I guessed and now am sure which one). You are very kind.
ReplyDeleteAarthi,
ReplyDelete--- To be politically right, the Aradhana is conducted by the SSVT Cultural Committee.
--- It is heartening to see people actually listen to my husband's lec/demo's.
--- You echoed my views on the concert..well said...
--- You blogs are very interesting.. music or otherwise..
Although the aradhana conducted by SSVT, one cannot forget to notice the effort and hard work put by the man behind the festival. I have been attending the function for last 15 years and it has always been the best aradhana, starting to end including all the (most of the) concerts. I enjoyed your comment. Very well said.
ReplyDelete