One of MDR's best concerts - MDR-LGJ-VR-VN

One of my favorite MDR concerts with Lalgudi Jayaraman, Vellore Ramabhadran and V. Nagarajan

01_Viriboni_Bhairavi.mp3
02_Vathapi_Hamsadhwani.mp3
03_Ramachandram_Vasantha.mp3
04_OJagadamba_Anandabhairavi.mp3
05_Natajanaparipala_Simmhendramadhyamam.mp3
06_Brochevarevarura_Khamas.mp3
07_Nagumomu_Abheri.mp3
08_Kaddanu_Thodi.mp3
09_Manasasancharare_Saama.mp3
10_Rarasita_Hindolavasantham.mp3
11_Srirama_Yadukulakamboji.mp3
12_RTP_Saveri.mp3
13_Bhavayami_Ragamalika.mp3
14_Varugalamo_Manji.mp3
15_Thillana_Sankarabharanam.mp3
16_Mangalam_Sowrashtram.mp3

Each song is a lesson in itself. It's clear from the outset that he was going to be in great form in this concert.

Viriboni

He starts off with Viriboni in a medium tempo which is a departure from his usual slow tempo for Ata tala varnams. This is one of my favorite renditions of Viriboni by MDR and by any artist in general though he doesn't repeat phrases as much as he does usually. For the mukthayi swarams, instead of finishing off with 'Sa Ni da pa, pa ma ga ri, Sa Ri Ni Da', he finishes with 'Sa,,, Pa,,, Sa' allowing VR and Lalgudi to fill in the gaps. MDR uses this technique often maybe because he believed that the listener sings in the mind. VR and Lalgudi are in great form in this concert as well. Lalgudi's glides in the background should be paid close attention to and he's ever alert in filling the gaps.

Just when you think he's done, he surprisingly starts off with swaras at Chirrunavvu. He completely reveals Bhairavi in those few minutes of swarams. Lalgudi's replies are crisp and shining. The last round where MDR starts off with 'Ri Ri Ri Ri' will probably remain in my mind forever.

Viriboni

To be contd..

 

Why MDR?

It's a well-known fact that I'm a huge MDR fan. My wife on the other hand has never understood my penchant for MDR's music. She prefers artists like Kalyanaraman, Sanjay, Balamurali, etc. She has often asked me to explain why I like MDR so much. Being a náive rasika, I have always found it hard to explain the X factor that MDR's music has. I'm going to try and explain through this blog along with a few recordings.

Teratheeyaga Gowlipantu

MDR left his stamp so hard on some krithis that it's really difficult to listen to other renditions no matter how hard you try. This is one such example. Each and every syllable and swara oozes with bhavam. This is stripping music to its bare bones and presenting it in all its beauty.

Obsessed with Bhairavi

Bhairavi has been running in my head for the past 3 days. MDR's Balagopala, Thanam in Bhairavi are the main culprits. Need to have a marathon Bhairavi session to appease myself. :-)

Krithi - [audio:http://shripathi.com/music/mdr_balagopala_1.mp3]

Neraval,Swaram - [audio:http://shripathi.com/music/mdr_balagopala_2.mp3]

Listen to the way he sings the word 'Maanicka'.... Pure bliss.

TNK and MDR

At SIFA, we recently had a T.N.Krishnan concert a few weeks back. It was in fact the final concert for 2006. After the concert, we were having dinner at one of the committee members' house and I had a chance to talk to Shri TNK. I was naturally curious about MDR since MDR was supposed to have admitted in private that TNK and UKS were his favorite accompanists.

TNK revealed something that increased my already high regard for him a few thousand notches higher. Apparently, Mali was supposed to play in a concert with TNK as an accompanist and he played truant as usual, not showing up for the concert. It was TNK who recommended MDR as a replacement!! I was like whoa. Mentally I was thinking, "May God keep you alive as long as possible". Apart from that he told me that MDR lived and breathed music and was a simple man.

Even if TNK had done nothing else in his whole life, he'd still be the person I'd respect the most among living musicians.

Frog in a well

I've not written in a long while which is so typical of me. I've been quite busy being lazy that I couldn't find time to blog though I've had quite a few interesting thoughts come to my mind in the past few months.

Abbreviations:

MDR - M.D.Ramanathan

MMI - Madurai Mani Iyer

GNB - G.N.Balasubramanian

Ariyakudi - Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar

SSI - Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

KVN - K.V.Narayanaswamy

TMK - T.M.Krishna

TRS - T.R.Subramaniam

I think I may be a little too prejudiced when it comes to Carnatic music possibly influenced by my propensity to sing along with the music most of the time. I'm at a stage in Carnatic music where I'm not 'qualified' enough to understand the greatness of GNB, Ariyakudi or Alathur's music but have gained sufficient listening experience to abhor (extremity is a passion of mine) the music of Yesudas, Aruna Sairam et al. The latter stems from being a passionate listener of MDR, MMI with frequent visits to SSI, TRS, KVN, S.Balachander to name a few. MDR and MMI were stalwarts in their own right with MMI having a mass following then and now. MDR, on the other hand, has come to be appreciated only recently though he did have a few dedicated fans then. Regardless, both these musicians were unorthodox in their own right. MMI developed a distinct style of his own, introducing 'la la' phrases in his alapanas, predominantly singing sarva laghu swarams and from my observation, not laying too much emphasis on the krithi rendition. MDR distinguished himself by his slow pace (when speed was the name of the game), nonchalant and laidback approach to music using the krithi itself as a vehicle for manodharma.

This is just a theory and I'd be glad if people can prove me wrong. The common factor in both their music is that, from a musician's perspective, it's difficult to learn from them. Though MMI was successful as a performer, his success was primarily due to his ability to present complicated music in a simple manner thereby making it appealing to the layman (depends on the layman though :-) ). It is difficult for someone to mimic his style and become as successful. The fact that TVS has done a fairly good job of it is laudable but he is still considered by some to be a poor copy of his uncle. Again, I don't blame him given that he had the unenviable task of carrying on his uncle's bani and trying to be different at the same time. The same logic applies to MDR and in his case it's fairly obvious that no musician is going to succeed singing at his pace. I have heard people criticizing TMK for singing too slowly. (D'oh!! Just when I was thinking that that was the best part of his music).

So, this alienates me from people who are learning/have learnt music since they tend to listen to say GNB, Ariyakudi more. But having listened to MDR, MMI, I also cannot listen to Yesudas, Santhanam since they don't sound very good to my ears. This alienates me from a lot of newbies and people who seek less from music than me. Understandably, it's difficult for newbies to appreciate MDR or MMI. Due to the reason mentioned in the beginning of this post, I also do not tend to listen to female artistes much except MLV. This puts me in a position where the number of people I can relate to, in terms of music, is a handful.

Well, I forgot the point I was trying to make. I leave it to the reader to make his own conclusions. :-)