Ok.. I m going to quickly summarize the pros and cons of a truly liberating Carnatic vocal concert by renowned Sudha Ragunathan.
Pros
1) It lasted 3.5 hours and was sheer joy and bought back fond memories of the December music season back in India
2) Most songs were fairly popular ones (and she even sang a varnam - a slightly unexpected event at a concert)
3) The accompanying musicians were damn good
4) Some audience requests were entertained
5) Right here at UC and importantly FREE!
Cons
1) Sudha was a li'l hoarse - not her best performance
2) The audio at DAAP left a lot to be desired for
3) One keerthanai was about 45 minutes long with huuuuuuuge gaps of vocal performances, completely interspersed with a lot of mridangam and the morsing (well it was all good.. but really, we were there for Sudha.)
All said n done... a carnatic concert is a treat for the soul, especially for someone like me who has learned it for a better part of my life.. And I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Kudos to SABHA for organizing the event and lets hope there are more to come, before I leave UC, selfishly so...
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6 comments:
nice post.
am looking forward to the dec season when all the carnatic music royalty will parade in naradha gana sabha every evening... even tho i know very little, i like the last 30 mins of all concerts - rocking impromptu stuff which is kinda popular music also happens...
enna edho december la Music Academy laye kudi irundha madiri ezhudirukkey :-)
Jokes apart.. it was great that you got such a golden opportunity at UC doorsteps!
super post J..
but honestly am a little surprised at your comment on the 45 minute long rendition which had intermitten vocals...
surprised because you also mentioned that you have learnt carnatic music sometime back...somehow i always find it annoying when people walk off during the last part of a song, wherein the thaniavarthanams are played.. After all without the "pakka vaadhiyams" the vocal artists are as good as bathroom singers maybe ? no offense meant.. but just always felt a music concert is to be enjoyed 'wholesomely'.. :)
Sudha is performing in Atlanta..me might go there and check it out.. :) about DAAP.. you should know better..right ? ECSS and all.. hehe..
cheers mate!
Arun-> Completely share yr views... The musicians make the vocalist look good. But the keerthanai was 45 min loooong! Hehe... I know its pretty common.. But I didnt expect it in this concert where she'd made an effort to pick out popular songs. Oh yes, I learned carnatic music for 12 yrs types.. :)
GO n c her if u can in Atlanta.. Its a treat for sure
I want to echo the views of the above comment as in with a 12-year music knowledge it is surprising to find that you did not like the 45-minute keerthanam.
Also, why are you surprised about the varnam - I think it is quite common - some singers consistently sing varnams like Dr. KJ Yesudas, who I've been listening to for years now always sing a varnam as his 2nd or 3rd item.
Are you a fan of Sudha or a fan of music - if your a fan of music you should goto the annual Thyagaraja aradhana in Cleveland every april (not too far illa), we've been going for two years now!
My first tryst with Carnatic music, as in on a full fledged concert was a few months ago when Sowmya was touring Melbourne. i enjoyed the show though i cannot understand or appreciate Carnatic music that well.
Seems like u enjoy it!!!!
On a completely different note, if i may add, reading ur blog is hard on the eyes, because of eth dark background and the light coloured font.
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