Guru Vandanam |
SEMMANGUDI - HIS MUSICAL PROWESS - PART 2 |
HIS CONCERTS |
Our Vedic scriptures declare that music
emanated from God. This has been portrayed by Tyagaraja in his composition
"Nadatanumanisam" in the Raga Chittaranjani, where he says that the Sapta swaras flowed out of the five faces of Lord Siva. Most of our musical creations have been outpourings of Bhakti and traditional music and are considered a spiritual exercise for the upliftment of the soul. Presentation of kritis in the form of a concert began in the post-trinity era (the second half of the nineteenth century), by the disciples of the great composers and has steadily developed to its present stature. Concerts of the nineteenth century were mostly held in royal houses for private listening. Public concerts for large audiences, came into being only by the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century. Sri Semmangudi's ascendance to the concert platform coincided with this. His first concert was held at the National Congress convention held in 1926 at Madras. And that was the year of the birth of the Music Academy, Madras. A concert artiste's success and popularity depends entirely on the person's capability to please the audience. The audience, in those days, were familiar with no other form of music except the Carnatic variety and being fairly knowledgeable, were hard to please. |
The first step for a
successful concert is its thoughtful and planned structure and execution, so that the
audience would have no dull moment during the concert. Every one of Semmangudi's concerts
is well-planned. This does not mean that he prepares a list of items that he
intends to sing and meticulously adheres to it. He usually tells his disciples (who render
vocal support), the kritis that he proposes to sing at the concert and expects us to be
prepared with them. But almost always it so happens that he presents an entirely different
set of kritis at the concert. This happens in accordance with his form, the mood of the
audience and the accompanying artistes of the concert. His concerts usually open with a
piece in medium tempo with a short neraval and a few crisp rounds of kalpanaswaras, which
sets the tempo and the mood of the concert. Following this would be a less racy (2-kalai)
piece with kalpanaswaras in slow and fast tempos. Next would be a kriti with a
comparatively short raga-alapana. He thus builds up the concert towards the main piece, a
Ragam Tanam Palllavi (RTP) or a major kriti, with elaborate alapana, neraval,
kalpanaswaras etc. The concerts generally taper off with Javalis, Ragamalika slokas and a
Tillana. V Subramanyam |
Note: The author is one of the premier disciples of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. |
Semmangudi - His
Musical Prowess Part 1 Semmangudi's handling of Raga alapana - Part 3 Semmangudi's handling of Tanam and Pallavai - Part 4 |