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A concert structure has no written rules. Rithvik Raja’s concert for Mylapore Fine Arts Club swayed between excellent alapana and niraval moments and placid meander. The swarakalpana speed was reset midway at the 52nd minute of the concert, as Rithvik’s boat accelerated to its due speed. Vaidyanathan is adept at playing for a range of speeds, and is particularly impressive …

Niraval

A musician derives greater joy if he or she can also enjoy the music while performing. ‘Neerajakshi’ rendered in Ati-Vilamba kala was bright but one is not sure the tactic serves well in a two-and-half-hour concert. ‘Sadasivam upasmahe’ by Dikshitar was also a tad slower but sparkling sangathis and an impressive niraval at the madhyamakala lines of ‘purana purusham’ added …

The vocal recital by K. Gayatri was full of energy. Gayatri’s niraval and swaras at ‘Nee padambujame sada’ carried well the sahitya and raga bhava. Gayatri’s sonorous voice, which is capable of traversing the different sthayis with ease, brought out the best shades of this raga. She sang Papanasam Sivan’s magnificent ‘Aadum deivam arulvai’ and the extended niraval and swarakalpana …

Shertalai Ranganatha Sharma’s concert was pleasing not just for his selection of ragas and compositions but also in how he balanced the concert between the various songs. Ranganatha Sharma provided a poignant niraval at ‘Samayamu juchi delpu vaarevaro’, embellishing it with a few rounds of kalpanaswaras. Ranganatha Sharma offered a powerful alapana of Kalyani, with Tyagaraja’s ‘Endugo nee manasu’ as …

Shruthi S. Bhat’s concert for Naada Inbam stood out for its poise and finesse. The Kamboji raga had dignity and emotive character, in line with the kriti, Tyagaraja’s ‘Marimari ninne’, one that’s rarely heard these days. Shruthi took up the charanam line, ‘Karunato Dhruvanikedhu’ for niraval and swaraprastara. Shruthi then took up the prolific Mysore Vasudevachar’s popular Sunadavinodini piece, ‘Devadi …

A pleasing tonal quality, a neat presentation capturing the mood of the lyrics, and imaginative phrases in niraval and kalpanaswara segments made Vasudha Ravi’s concert enjoyable. She presented a rarely heard Papanasam Sivan composition ‘Gomathi thaaye’ in Yadukula Kamboji, on the goddess of Sankaranarayana temple, with elegant and crisp madhyamakala swaras in the charanam lines ‘shruti purana’. This style with …

A five-day Carnatic music festival was held in Kochi, the first of its kind in the city after the pandemic outbreak and lockdown. This was especially evident for the first line niraval renditions for ‘Kana vendamo’ in Sriranjani and the Tyagaraja masterpiece ‘Jagadanandakaraka’ in Natta raga. The famed ‘Samyamakannorudyanam’ from the second day of Nalacharitham in Poorvikalyani raga went well …

Leading artistes enthralled music aficionados at the 11th National Music Festival in Palakkad. ‘Vanajakshi’, a varnam in Kalyani, and Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Maha Ganapathi ravathumam’ in Gowla, which were the opening pieces, were suffixed with fine swaras. The niraval and the imaginative manodharma swaras in the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Dasarathe’ were the best part of the recital. Niraval and well-conceived swaras …