CD/Cassette Reviews

[Oldposts]

Sowmya albums (I got these while in India last month - don't know if they're new releases): Try the Marga Music Festival 2 tape HMV release of her live concert at the Krishna Gana Sabha in 1996. The Aruna Sayeeram album in this series is good too. Also, Sowmya's chinnanjiru kiliye, bharathiyar songs, and kavadi chindu albums on AVM. The Marga album has a very nice nekkurugi (papanasam sivan/abhogi). chinnanjiru kiliye is an all-tamil album in the traditional mode (i.e. - no orchestration), but there's not a lot of scope for elaboration ( 10 songs in 60 min). I liked kaanavenum laksham kangal seetha devi than kaalukku nigaraamo pengal by arunachala kavirayar on side A. Haven't listened to side B yet. The bharathiyar songs album has several standards like theeraatha vilayattu pillai, aasai mugam maranthu poche as well as some unusual ones like munnai ilankai, kaalaa unnai, ninnai chila varangal. Haven't tried this either. The kavadi chindu album is a must buy - arunachala reddiyaar's melodies as well as others like azhagu deivamaaga nindru, kaalamaam vanathil, and thedi unnai charan adainthen desa muthumaari. I also got a AVM Classic Series album titled Classical vocal Sowmya which has her singing kanden kanden (vasantha, arunachala kavirayar), vaa velava (sivaranjani, S ramanathan). As you can tell by now I'm partial to albums with multiple tamil songs in them That's b'cos I can understand only tamil and sanskrit and some malayalam. BTW, there is a video CD called nadhopasana with a bharathiyar song concert (15/16 songs) acc. to an interview she gave to Sun TV's vanakkam thamizhagam program around Pongal.

[Oldposts]

chandra, I agree with you that these trends are not encouraging for the long-term, but that's the difference between the indian and us economies IMHO. Information and trust are things we take for granted here, but not in India - oh, well a topic for another day and forum

[Oldposts]

Kishore Krishna,
thanks a lot, i think you covered all the main albums of sowmya
is it possible for you to give me the list of songs in Krishna Gana Sabha 2-cassette album.

[Oldposts]

I am looking for a somewhat complete LIST of all
audio cassettes entirely devoted to Dikshitar Krithis. The following is a partial list, that comes to my mind. Could anyone please update/add
this list? Thanks
Narayanaswami (swami@math.mun.ca)

S. Ramanathan: Navagraha Krithis
B. Rajam Iyer: Navagraha Krithis
Bombay Sisters: Navagraha Krithis
Balamuralikrishna: Navagraha Krithis
Balamuralikrishna: Kamalamba Navavarana Krithis
Mani Krishnaswamy: Kamalamba Navavarana Krithis
S. Rajeswari: Kamalamba Navavarana Krithis
D.K.Pattammal: Dikshitar Krithis (LP album)
Santha Subramaniam: Dikshitar Krithis (LP Album)
Balamuralikrishna : Dikshitar Krithis (Sangeetha 6ECDB 2358)
Balamuralikrishna: Dikshitar Krithis (Sangeetha 6ECDB 497)
Balamuralikrishna: Dikshitar Krithis (Sangeetha ECDB 7158)
M. Santhanam: Dikshitar Krithis (Vani 6SEI 595)
B.V.raman, B.V.Lakshmnan: Dikshitar Krithis (Sangeetha 6ECDB 113)
Bombay Jayashri: Dikshitar Krithis
Sudha Raghunathan: Dikshitar Masterpieces (Music Today)
Hyderabad Brothers: Dikshitar Masterpieces (Music Today)
U. Srinivas: Dikshitar Masterpieces (Music Today)
N. Ravikiran: Dikshitar Masterpieces (Music Today)
Salem jayalakshmi : Great Composers (Dikshitar)(IMT SCC 113)
Kumari Devi: Shakti Sahita Ganapatim (nottu svara
melodies of Dikshitar) (Sangeetha)
N. Vijaya Siva: Dikshitar Krithis (??)
S. Sowmya: Dikshitar Krithis (??)
M. Balamuralikrishna: Dikshitar Krithis (new)

Thanks
Narayanaswami

[Oldposts]

The site:
http://www.kalvi.com

contains a detailed overview of the Thirkkural Isai Malar album I had mentioned earlier.

[That site also seems to sell Tamil Learning Software for kids. It seems to be an interesting software.]

chandra

[Oldposts]

The following albums have been reviewed in Sruti.

- GANA KARPAKAM. By T.V. Sundaravalli (Vocal). [Sangeetha - 6ECDB 647. Rs. 39].
- TIRUCHUR V. RAMACHANDRAN (Vocal). [AVM Audio - 45B 1246 & 1247. Rs. 74].
- DR. M.L. VASANTHAKUMARI (Vocal). [AVM Audio - 60 B 9260 & 9261. Rs. 74].
- GANA RASA SOUNDARYAM. By Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan (Vocal). [Sangeetha - 6ECDB 659. Stereo. Rs. 39].
- S.P. RAMH (Vocal). [HMV Marga - STHVS 847953. Stereo. Rs. 45].
- AANANDA GEETHAM. BY Geetha Rajashekar (Vocal). [Sangeetha - 6ECDB 663. Stereo. Rs. 39].
- KUNNAKUDI - KUNNAKUDI - KUNNAKUDI. Violin Trio. [Sangeetha - 6ECDB 7130. Rs. 39].
- SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR (Flute). [HMV Marga - STHVS 847943. Stero. Rs. 45].
- KALPANA'S SWARAM. By Kalpana Kishore (Violin). [Kalavardhani - REC 014. Price not mentioned].
- EESHA - The First Ray of the Sun. By Mukul Shivputra (Vocal). [NINAAD Premium - NC 0005. Stereo. Rs.75].
- BHAKTI PADALGAL. By D.K. Pattammal (Vocal). [HMV - TPHV 38022. Rs. 29].
- KRISHNA HARE. By Kalyani Menon (Vocal). [AVM Audio - 45B 1258. Rs. 35].

http://www.sruti.com/bks.htm

[Oldposts]

I bought Anoushka Shankar's cd on a whim. It was in a very comercial music store so it is obviously being marketed agressively. But hey, she is the daughter of the master. There may be sitarist out there more deserving of exposure but I have really enjoyed the cd. She does:
Bairagi
Tilak Shyam
Kirwani
Charukeshi
First Love (Pratham Prem)
She is accompanied by Bikram Ghosh and Arup Chattapadhyay on tabla.

Each piece is illustrated with a poem in English representing earth, water, fire, air, and love as metophorically as feminine. She is not only a good player, but also a poet.

I was shocked to learn that the cd was recorded last yeaar when she was 17 years old because of the quality of her playing is so good. Because of Ravi Shankars age I had assumed she was older.
So not only has she made a good cd, but she is an artist to look for in the future.

[Oldposts]

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 09:56:54 -0700
From: Seshadri Kumar <skumar@crsim.utah.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical

*****************

JVC World Sounds: Music of the Veena I
(S. Balachander) (JVC VICG-5036-2)

This was very good, a long rendition
of ragam Malahari (alapana and tanam).
There is no mridangam accompaniment ... something
Balachander did fairly frequently (witness all
his 72 melakarta tapes ... personally quite a
disappointment to me ... for one, melakartas
themselves are a little dry, and then when you
don't even have a krithi to hang on to, things
get a bit rough) ... but the performance here is
quite intense, and well done. Balachander just borders
on overdoing things but doesn't. A very creative
performance. Liner notes are rather sparse ...
even the raga is not mentioned.

******************
JVC World Sounds: Music of the Veena II
(Raajeswari Padmanabhan) (JVC VICG-5038-2)

This was the pick of the lot. I came to know
only recently that Raajeswari Padmanabhan belonged
to the Karaikudi family, from a friend. I immediately
ordered this, and was not disappointed. I fell in
love with the Karaikudi bani the first time I
heard it, in an AIR National Program recording
of the great Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer (the only
recording of that great soul that I know so far to
exist) ... every piece in that concert is etched
in my memory. I still remember the time when I had
a roommate who really didn't care much for Indian
classical music ... he would always dismiss my
other recordings, but he said he loved the way
Sambasiva Iyer played that opening nATTai
("sarasIruhAsanapriyE") ... the gait, the elegance,
the sheer beauty of that rendition has to be heard
to be believed. The "varanArada nArAyaNa" that
followed was another treat for the ears, and
I have never heard such a sweet "sarasa sAma dAna
followed was another treat for the ears, and
I have never heard such a sweet "sarasa sAma dAna
bhEda danDa catura". But the piece de resistance
was the shaNkarAbharaNam AlApana followed by a
not-so-common krithi (I found out what the krithi
was only a couple weeks back, when I heard it on
a vocal tape, but I cannot remember ... maybe someone
can post)

Anyway, as to this CD, I was delighted to see that
Raajeswari Padmanabhan was truly the grand-niece
of Sambasiva Iyer (reminds me of a story I once
read in Dan Neuman's book, I think ... that in the
1920s, the vocalist Sinde Khan, son of the Gwalior
gharana great Amir Khan, met the great Balkrishnabua
Ichalkaranjikar at a music conference and introduced
himself. Balkrishnabua said, "my eyes aren't very
good, why don't you sing something for me?" After
Sinde Khan had sung a couple of cheeza for Balkrishna
bua, the old man said, "hmmmm ... now that you have
sung, I can very clearly see that you are indeed
Amir Khan's son) ... every piece is a gem, from the
opening varnam in nATTakuranji (calamEla) to the
gauLa krithi "praNamAmyaham", to the simhEndramadhyamam
"ninnE nammiti naiyyA" ... actually in this piece
they begin with the anupallavi rather than the
pallavi ... I know musicians sometimes do this, but
does someone know if this is deliberate or an
editing goof? The final piece is titled RTP in
shaNkarAbharaNam ("svara rAga sudhArasa") but there
is no AlApana ... I don't know if this is because
the artists decided against playing an AlApana and
went straight to the tAnam (after all tAnam is the
most important thing in vINA) or whether we have
another editing goof. Does someone know? Anyway,
editing goofs or not, an AWESOME CD ..

********************

The Fast Side of Dhrupad: Bidur Mallik and Sons
(Wergo SM 1517-2)

Absolutely Incredible!!!! I just loved this one.
These people are complete masters of sur! I'd been
curious for a long time about the Malliks ... I
had my first chance about a year ago when I bought
the Playasound CD of Ram Chatur Mallik (Darbari
and Multani, I think), and later when I bought the
AIR release of Ramchatur mallik (Bhoop, Shuddh Basant
and Khamaj) and I was already in love with their
style of singing ... that probably has something to
do with my love for the Agra gharana style ... it
seems like RCM's style is very much like Agra.
Anyway, these recordings are about 7 pieces, an average
of 10 minutes or so per piece. The opening Bhairav
took my breath away...such beauty. Most of
the dhrupads are in jhaptal and sultal. A must-have!
(BTW, that AIR release of RCM is very interesting
because it features a thumri!!! by a dhrupadiya ...
and VERY MASTERFULLY DONE! loved it.)

**********************

[Oldposts]

Date: 10 Mar 1999 08:14:08 GMT
From: S Suresh <sureshss@sequent.com>
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Rare Krithis of Syama Sastry - A recording


Hi,

I happened to pick up a tape of Rare Syama Sastry krithis.
These are sung by Sulochana Pattabhiraman and party. I was
initially a bit hesitant to buy this tape since I had no
clue about the singer. Since the songs were of Syama Sastry
I went ahead and bought it. It was the second time when the
surprise was pleasant. The earlier occasion was when I bought
"Prahalada Bhakthi Vijayam" by Sita Rajan and party.

I can beleive the "Rare" part of the title since I havent heard
any of these songs earlier. Syama Sastry was not a very
prolific composer. I think only around 50-60 of his songs
are available. Even in these 50-60 songs, only a very small subset
is sung in concerts or are available on tape. So this is a welcome
addition.

The krithis are rendered without any raga alapana or kalpanaswaras.
This is good since the idea is to have more krithis. This is a
group rendition and not a solo one. The diction is very clear and the
songs are rendered in the appropriate pace. The songs and the ragas
are very pleasing. An additional surprise is the inclusion of Tamil
songs. Syama Sastry was the only one out of the Trinity to compose
in Tamil. Though I knew this fact earlier, I hadnt heard any one of
his Tamil compositions.

A brief look at the contents :

Side A :

1. Pahimam SriRajaRajeshwari - Nattai - Rupakam
A Sanskrit song. Set to a brisk pace.

2. Palayasumam - Aarabhi - Tisra Triputam
One more sanskrit song. Keeps up the pace set by the earlier song

3. Enneramum - Poorvi Kalyani _ Tisra Triputam
This is one of the Tamil songs. Steady pace. Lot of sangathis on each line. But to me, not in the same class as NinnuviNaga.

4. Kamakshi - Begada - Adi
The best song on the tape. All the hallmarks of a Syama Sastry krithi are present. Telugu Song. Slow and Begada unfolds very well. The lyrics are typical Syama Sastry. Surprised that this song has not been popular.

Side B :

1. Raave Parvata Rajakumari - Kalyani - Misra Jhampa Telugu Song. This is also a very good song. Possibily got overshadowed by other classics of Syama Sastry in Kalyani

2. Akilandeshwari - Kaapi _ Adi
Comes very close to being called the best of the tape. Begada beats it by a small margin. Again a very typical Syama Sastry song. Slow development of Kaapi. Wish this were a solo sung by someone like KVN.

3. Enneramum - PunnagaVarali - Mishra Chapu
This is the second Tamil song in the tape and has the same opening words as the PoorviKalyani song. This sounds almost as if it had been translated from Telugu. Lyrics are typical Syama Sastry and maybe that is the reason that there is a Telugu "feel".

4. Kamashi Loka Sakshini - Madhyamavathi - Tisra Triputa Excellent Madhyamavathi.

As you can see the talas are varied as can be expected from Syama Sastry's compositions.
Definitely worth buying if you are interested in listening to only krithis.
A must buy for anyone interested in Syama Sastry. Originally a Sangeetha release, now re-released by HMV. Costs Rs.45/-.

Warm Regards,

S.Suresh

[Oldposts]

Author: james pokorny <j.pokorny@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 1999/03/18
Forum: rec.music.indian.classical

Some other dilruba / esraj recordings:

There are 2 nice recordings on the German Nataraj Music Label; the first is called "Music for Meditation - Indian Classical Music - Raga Yaman" (CD NM 001) by Dakshina Mohan Tagore playing dilruba. He plays a full alap, then vilambit and drut gats. This is a lovely recording.

The second Nataraj disc (CD NM 006) "Evening Raga - ICM" features a full performance of Raga Rageshri by Ud. Allaudin Khan (NOT Maihar Allaudin
Khansahb). He plays the "dilrubaesraj" (sic) which as far as I can make out from the photo is an esraj equipped with a brass resonator like those seen on sarods. This too is well-recorded and well played.

These CDs are somewhat difficult to find, but I believe that some of the online music outlets carry them.

Some harder-to-find cassette recordings are:

HMV STCS 850360 "The Magnificence of Esraj" by Ranadhir Roy, a live recording of Raga Bageshri.

HMV STCS 02B 6254 "In Memoriam - Ranadhir Roy" featuring Shri Raga, Raga Bhupali, and Raga Sindhu Gandhar.

Magnasound C4HI0219 "The Magic of Dilruba and Tarshehnai" by Pt. Vinayak Vora, featuring short selections of Shri, Komaldhwani, Jhinjhoti (dilruba) and Basant and Bhairavi on tar-shehnai. The tar-shehnai, as Amit noted, does have a shehnai-like quality which comes from the addition of a small horn on the face of the instrument which serves to increase volume and resonance.

Swarashree Enterprises GV001 features a jugalbandi performance between Arvind Gajendragadkar on bansuri and Vinayak Vora on tar-shehnai. They play a full performance of Raga Puriya Kalyan, then a short Pahadi dhun, after which each performer has a solo, with Pt. Vora playing Raga Gawoti.