The word passion doesn’t seem enough to describe Abhishek Raghuram’s relentless pursuit of musical excellence. Abhishek began with a virutham ‘Naanadhedhu neeyadhedhu’ extolling Rama nama in Sahana as a prelude to the varnam ‘Karunimpa’ by Tiruvotriyur Tyagayyar. Tyagaraja’s ‘Endundi vedalithivo’ in Misra Chapu and the swara passages at the pallavi opening provided the full spectrum of the raga. Abhishek’s Varali …
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 …
Listening to Vishnudev K.S. In his concert at Bhavan, he began with a refreshing ‘Saketha nikethana’ by Tyagaraja in Kannada with madhyamakala swaras at the pallavi lines set to Rupaka tala. Tyagaraja's ‘Makelara vicharamu’ in Ravichandrika was quick and precise, and an expansive Saveri kriti ‘Devi pavane’, one of Swati Tirunal’s Navaratri compositions, followed. Vishnudev did not disappoint with his …
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 …
