The Chinmaya sisters, Uma and Radhika, who have young and melodious voices, presented a lively concert. Singing in high hymns, the sisters were able to cross the octave without cracking at any point.
The first song of the evening was ‘Sarsiruhasan Priya’, composed by Puliyur Duraisamy Iyer in Nattai. With a sharp imagination in the phrase ‘Saraswati’ in the charanam, Uma displayed her skill of moving from the lower Rishabham to her counterpart in the upper octave and touching the Mel stable Pancham effortlessly. The verse before the work was ‘Yakundendu’.
Launching Muthuswamy Dixit’s ‘Sri Saraswati’ straight in Arabic, the singers presented the composition with samashti charana without any unnecessary frills. The elaborate Kirwani that followed was sung by Radhika and had interesting creative flair. The Karvai in the Madhyamam and the movement of the upper Rishabham created the beautiful features of the Raga Kuan. Harikesanallur Muttiah Bhagavatar’s ‘Amba Vaani’ along with ‘Vara Veena Pani’ showered Niraval and Kalpanaswar’s showers of praise. The soothing notes of veteran violinist MA Krishnaswamy make it a pleasant listening experience. Vijay Natesan’s interesting chorus on the mridangam for this piece encouraged Sunil Kumar to come up with a similar pattern on the kanjira.
sweet appeal
Both percussionists anticipated and kept pace with the singers through the concert. Dixit’s Ghanta Raga Kamalamba Navavaranam ‘Sri Kamalambike Ava’ was presented with a good literary sense, which was the necessary melodious effect for the work. A flamboyant ‘Sudha Madhurya Bhashini’ composed by GN Balasubramaniam, which reflects his singing style, came forward. Although the fleet of accompaniments demands fast speeds, a little restraint could have made it more captivating.
The rhythm pattern displayed by Vijay Natesan and Sunil Kumar embellished the songs on the lines of ‘Kamallay Tata Nivasini’. Mohana Raag by Uma was a campaign in the spectrum of Alapana Raga. Krishnaswamy’s violin in the distinctive Parur style added freshness to the illustration. The main section was not a work, but a few lines from Lalita Sahasranama. Beginning with the line ‘Bhavani Bhavanagamya’, the singers performed a two-line verse as Pallavi, the next verse as Anupalavi, the following two verses as Charanam and the next two stanzas in the Madhyamakala pattern. He set up the Kalpanasvaras in the first line of the shloka and stacked the swaras brilliantly in both slow and fast tempo.
Some delightful metal phrases from the singers, matched with equal passages by the violinist, spoke to their creative abundance. The Adi Taal in the two buds and the vocal pattern established by the singers may have inspired the percussionist’s imagination as well, resulting in an energetic Tani Vartanam. Subramaniam Bharati’s ‘Thedi Unnai Sarnadendhe’ in Sindhubhairavi was eye-catching with graceful embellishments in the line ‘Nambinar Keduvadilai’. Thoughtful pauses by the percussionists reveal the song’s lyrical elegance.
The sisters performed a song, ‘Bhajasva Sri Tripurasundari’ from the Kamakshi Navavaran masterpieces of Othukadu Venkatakavi, Anupalavi in Nadanamkriya with verses in Madhyam Kalam in both Charanam, followed by Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Karpagame’ at Madhyamavathi, concluding the concert .
Critics from Chennai write on classical music.
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