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 …
With a voice that negotiates curves with ease, Nisha Rajagopalan lit her concert up with ragas that shone further with her involuntary loops. Syama Sastri’s ‘Parvati ninnune’ in the lesser-heard Kalgada came second, with sangatis proceeding nicely on predictable lines. The singer’s nasal notes steered a vocal-violin rally in Semmangudi spirit.. Varali, as sub-main, opened with a bold alapana journeying …
In his concert, Aditya Prakash brought his grounding in Carnatic music to the fore despite being a part of international musical projects. Sowkhya bhava that reigned supreme during his rendition of ‘Swara raga sudha’, continued during the swarakalpana too. ‘Sogasu juda tarama’ set the mood for Aditya’s Varali raga exploration, followed by the violinist’s equally impressive interpretation. The niraval/swaras at …
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 …
The new generation of vocalists has been groomed to deliver a high standard in many aspects — voice management, repertoire, manodharma, subtle embellishments, and strong self-belief. Gayatri began her line-up with Tyagaraja’s Kovur Pancharatna kriti, ‘Eevasudha ni vanti’, in Sahana. The Varali raga alapana that followed took a more bhava course with its characteristic karvais presented in good measure by …
