CARNATIC GUITAR ARANGETRAM
Pranav Balasubramanian
Saturday, 10 August 2024
3-9 PM
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Sri. Sundar is an A-graded artiste of the All India Radio. An IT professional, Sri. Sundar and his wife, Smt. Padma, run Trinity Academy of Fine Arts in Troy, Michigan. Many of his students have become performing artistes on their own merits.
Sri. Jayshankar Balan hails from a family of musicians. He started his music training from the age of 6 and was under the guidance of Smt. Alamelu Subramanian and Shri T.S.Krishnaswamy in Bombay and later under the guidance of Shri. Madurai Sundar. He has worked and performed along with all major stalwarts in the present musical arena, including T.N.Seshagopalan, Dr Yesudas, Nedunuri Krishnamoorthy, Ravi Kiran and several others. He was invited to perform along with Dr. Yesudas at the United Nations in Paris for the last UN meeting of the century. He is a graded artist of AIR and Doordarshan and has represented India in major cultural festivals including Festival of India in Russia and Middle East. In 2009, he received the very coveted Best Teacher Award at the Cleveland Aaradhana Festival. He has trained multiple students in the art of carnatic violin. He holds a Master’s in Computer Science and a MBA in International Finance and is settled in Michigan and currently a CTO for a leading Automotive Supplier Company.
Sri. Vinod Seetharaman is among the most accomplished and sought after first generation Carnatic percussionists in the United States. His Mridangam performances have won him wide appreciation from audiences. His training in Mridangam started at the age of seven from Shri. Ardhanareeswaran, and he continues his advanced training from Bangalore Shri. Arjun Kumar and Shri. Umayalpuram Sivaraman. The purity and sophistication of Vinod’s mridangam training has enabled him to not only accompany an astonishing variety of musicians, but also given him the freedom to innovate and create meaningfully. Vinod has shared the stage with at least four generations of Carnatic musicians that includes R K Srikantan, Dr. M Balamuralikrishna, T N Seshagopalan, Dr. N Ramani, Chitravina Ravikiran, Sudha Raghunathan etc. Vinod is passionate about keeping up the purity of his traditional legacy even in collaborative ventures. He has composed and arranged the rhythm for many percussion ensembles. He is a popular teacher, and his students are regular features in music festivals and competitions. His vision is to work with a variety of musicians and propagate Indian percussion to diverse audiences across the globe. He has a Master’s degree in Industrial Technology and is currently the Director of Manufacturing in a EV charger company.
Varnam : Maathe Malayadwaja
Ragam : Khamas
Talam : Adi
Composer : Sri Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar
“Mathe Malayadwaja” is a unique Dharu Varnam with jathis, sahityam and swarams. This varnam is in praise of Goddess Chamundeshwari, Universal Mother, the daughter of King Pandya of Malayadwaja and mother of Ganesha and Guha. The mukthayi swara in this varnam has two different types of sahitya. The first is a rhythmic poetry describing the king and has the Raja mudra and the second is a liting Solkattu swara which is very nicely embodied in expression by bharatanatyam dancers.
Krithi : Vatapi Ganapathim
Ragam : Hamsadwani
Talam : Adi
Composer : Sri. Muthuswami Dikshithar
This krithi, one among the Sodasha (16) Ganapati krithis that Dikshitar has composed in and around the grand temple of Tiruvarur, is among the most popular in Carnatic Music and grasps the attention of the listener thanks to its lyrical and melodic beauty. This is an invocation to Lord Ganapati, the remover of all obstacles and is composed in the lucid pentatonic scale of Hamsadwani and is packed with multiple references to purAnic episodes. Today’s rendition will include improvisation of the Raga Hamsadwani as a prelude, a special chittaswaram composed by Mridangam Maestro Sri. Trichy Sankaran and exchange of Kalpanaswarams by the artists.
Krithi : Paripalayamam
Ragam : Reethigowlai
Talam : Rupakam
Composer : Sri. Maharaja Swati Tirunal
The melody/raga Reetigowla is sometimes called the “Chocolate of Carnatic Music” as it is enjoyed by everyone including those not familiar with technical details of Carnatic Music. This enchanting composition is in praise of Lord Padmanabha deity of South India and requests the Lord to take away all the misery of the devotee performing the song.
Krithi : Isha Pahimam
Ragam : Kalyani
Talam : Rupakam
Composer : Sri. Tyagaraja
This is 1st of the two Krithis from the group of Lalgudi Pancharatnams of Sri. Tyagaraja to be performed today. It is set in the Majestic Queen of Carnatic Ragas Kalyani, and in praise of Lord Saptarishisha deity of Lalgudi. This composition describes the highest qualities of Lord Shiva and mentions that those who get to Darshan the deity at this Saptarishishwar temple in Lalgudi, India will be gifted with all their sufferings removed. The song will be preceded by a detailed exploration of the Raga by the artists and the Krithi will be followed by a Neraval exchange by the artists at the Pallavi Line “Isha Pahimam Jagadeesha Pahimam”. As any carnatic music rasika would know, Kalyani is one of the 6 main Ragas of the Carnatic music artform.
Krithi : Lalithe
Ragam : Bhairavii
Talam : Adi
Composer : Sri. Tyagaraja
This is the 2nd Krithi from the Lalgudi Pancharatnams of Sri. Tyagaraja. This is set in praise of Goddess Srimathi, also a deity at the Tapas Tirthapura temple in Lalgudi, India. Today the artists will perform the 3rd charanam Kanna Thalli in this composition. Interestingly, in this charanam Sri. Tyagaraja reveals his closeness to Lord Rama and refers to him as the brother of Goddess Srimathi. Bhairavi is another major raga of Carnatic music.
Krithi : Paridanamichite
Ragam : Bilahari
Talam : Khanda Chapu
Composer : Sri. Patnam Subramanya Iyer
Bilahari is one of the brightest carnatic raga melodies. It immediately creates positive thoughts and energizes the listeners. This brisk composition does full justice to the raga and the increasingly complex sangathi variations clearly bring out the beautiful aspects of the raga. In this popular composition, the composer questions what favors he needs to do or pay to attain the mercy and blessings of Lord Venkatesha.
Krithi : Karthikeya
Ragam : Thodi
Talam : Adi (2 Kalai)
Composer : Sri. Papanasam Sivan
Being the main song of today’s concert, this is a majestic magnum-opus composition on Lord Subrahmanya with alliterative beauty, metrical grandeur, lyrical profundity, and to cap it all, the musical element. This does full justice to this special raga Thodi, which is a challenge to any musician, especially an instrumentalist. The melody in this composition sets up edifices at Ga, Ma, Da, & N, with lovely glides and ornamentation. This is analogous to the glorious mountain peaks inhabited by Karthikeya, with delightful valleys and rivers. The song will be preceded with an elaboration of the difficult but elegant raga followed by multiple slow & fast rounds of Kalpanaswarams with kuraippu & a finale korvai culminating with the Rhythmic Thani Avartanam.
Krithi : Akhilandeshwari
Ragam : Dwijavanthi
Talam : Adi (2 Kalai)
Composer : Sri. Muthuswami Dikshithar
This well-known soothing creation attributed to Sri. Muthuswami Dikshithar, shows the inspiration the creator derived from the North Indian Hindustani musical artform showcased in the choice of the raga Dwijavanthi. The dual “Ga” notes particularly add a special flavor to this raga. This composition has been composed in praise of the Goddess at TiruvAnaikkAval near Trichy. A beautiful temple where JambukEshwara is the presiding deity and AkhilAndEshwari is the Goddess.
Muthai Tharu (Thiruppugazh)
Ragam : Shanmukhapriya
Talam : Misra Chapu
Composer : Sri. Arunagiri Nathar
His tongue twister of a composition is part of a series of Thiruppugazh compositions by Sri. Arunagiri Nathar. As the story goes, Arunagiri Nathar wanted to change his careless lifestyle and went to Lord Muruga for his blessings and after a miracle was influenced by the Lord himself to compose some of the most amazing creations in Tamil language. This fast-paced and popular piece is a delight to any listener.
Sharade Karunanidhe
Ragam : Hamir Kalyani
Talam : Misra Chapu
Composer : Sringeri Acharya
This composition by Sringeri Acharya was set to tune by violin vidwan Sri. R K Shriramkumar. The choice of another Hindustani Raga Hamir Kalyani used for the tune creates a calming feel to the rasika and is a popular and easy to learn composition.
Enna Thavam
Ragam : Kapi
Talam : Adi
Composer : Sri. Papanasam Sivan
This catchy composition in Tamil is extremely popular and brilliantly asks what the blessings and boon were received by Yashoda to have the Lord Vishnu himself call her as “Amma” while taking the avatar of Krishna.
Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma
Ragam : Madhyamavathy
Talam : Adi
Composer : Sri. Purandara Dasa
Sri. Purandara Dasa from the 15th century is widely known as the Father of Carnatic Music, thanks to the formal lessons that he developed that are extremely useful even today. His compositions are mostly in the Kannada language including this creation that invocates Goddess Lakshmi in Madhyamavathy Raga, a pentatonic scale that is aptly known as an auspicious Raga that brings out positive energy, wealth and prosperity to the performer and the listener. This composition will conclude the concert.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Pranav's multifaceted journey. Stay connected to discover more about his passions, interests and aspirations beyond the realm of music.
