Young singer Vignesh Krishnamurthy’s concert for SAFE had a powerful voice that crossed octaves effortlessly. What stood out from his performance was his knowledge of the nuances of music that define classical music – raga bhava and clear pronunciation. He was accompanied by Mantha Sri Ramya on Violin, R Rajesh on Mridangam and S Sunil Kumar on Kanjira.
The sincerity and commitment of the team was visible at every stage of the two-hour concert.
Vignesh began his performance not often heard with Gavala Raga Varnam, ‘Chelimi Kori’ by Vennai Kuppayar. It was indeed little surprise that he immediately chose to elaborate the raga Karaharpriya. He penetrated deeply into the raga to express its innumerable shades. Ramya also introduced the raga in great detail on the violin.
Vignesh’s choice was Tyagaraja’s ‘Ram ni Samanamveru’, which was comfortably rendered to suit the mood of the composition. Niraval was in ‘Paluku Paluku Lakuthene’, while the elaborate swara sections were impressive.
Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s Yamunakalyani work ‘Jamboopathe’ which followed, was sung in a slow tempo, followed by a lively Bilhari work, ‘Paridaan Michithe’ by Patnam Subramaniam Iyer.
accent on melody
A grand little concert was the main part of the show. Vignesh felt that he was in no hurry when it came to words and actions. He gave them enough attention while presenting them in a gentle and steady manner to enhance the appeal of the raga that gained more color with Shyama Shastri’s Thodi Swarajati, ‘Rave Himgiri Kumari’.
Vignesh presented vocals in ‘Kalyani Kanchi Kamakshi Ni Padme Dikku’ with a good mix of Kies and Melakala vocals. The notable aspect was the accent on the melody rather than the overzealous performance of the vocals.
After a precise but capable Tani Avavartanam by Rajesh and Sunil Kumar, the concluding section consists of Kalyani (a Javali by Dharmapuri Subbarai Iyer), ‘Tirupati Venkata Raman’ in Sindhubhairavi (Purandaradas) and ‘Entati Kuluke’ in ‘Irakkam Varmal’ in Behag. was broadcast. (Gopalakrishna Bharti).
It was heartening to see that instead of packing in a lot of raga essays and swara prastras, this young singer preferred to highlight the special features of the ragas and compositions selected for the concert.
Critics from Chennai write on classical music.