Saturday, January 3, 2009

My exposure to Carnatic Music

I had been to two concerts during the music season. One was Ranjani -Gayathri and.the other one was Sanjay Subrahmanyam. I enjoyed both the concerts with my SIL- B. Brilliant performances by them.
I am unable to accept musicians who sing without much ‘Gamakam’s’. I am not sure if I am moving from an average-carnatic-joe to a connoisseur. I sincerely feel that a true artist should spend a lot more time on singing the ragas than just the plain ‘text’ format.
I do agree that performance is for a varied audience with different degrees of exposure to Carnatic music. The balance the Professional Artists is able to establish during a 2-3 hr concert is more like walking on a tight rope. Overindulgence on Gamakas or Neraval might spurn the novice and the other way around would anger the purists.
Over the years the established artists have attained an impression which works well with audience. When a rasika chooses to attend (or to avoid) a concert, he or she knows what he is paying for…more like choosing between a Thalaivar film and other films :): )
Personally, I am able to relate the artist to a pre-conceived notion.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam- Traditionalist, Creativity within a set boundry.
Ranjani - Gayathri - A blend of Hindustani and Carnatic, Fast paced.
Aruna Sairam - Good in sahitya rendition.

p.s Check
this wonderful data collection during the 2003-04 season. I liked the pie-charts on composers and songs.

1 comment:

ammani said...

The comparison to thailavar padam etc is an apt one. Very well analysed!