Vishnudev is among a growing crop of young musicians who raise the bar with each concert
Hearing Vishnudev KS at two concerts has reinforced the impression that he is among an emerging group of young musicians who try to raise the bar with each performance.
Most of the works sung by him in his 70-minute performance at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan had sharp imaginations. A similar streak can be seen in his singing for Charasura on the theme ‘Sarvam Vishnu Mayyam’. The common feature in both concerts was the fast opening and the search for innovative ideas.
In his concert at Bhavan, he began with a refreshing ‘Saket Nikethana’ by Thyagaraja in Kannada, in which the Pallavi lines set a metaphorical tala with Madhyamakala vocals. He opted to present a brief singhendramadhya alapana with abundant Brigas in Mysore Vasudevachar’s work ‘Ninne Nammithinayya’. He displayed remarkable ease in rendering interesting patterns in both slow and fast motion in vocalizations.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Makelara Vicharamu’ in Ravichandrika was quick and precise, and followed an elaborate Savari work ‘Devi Pavane’, one of Swathi Tirunal’s Navratri compositions. Leaving Niraval, he swung the Kalpanasvaras in Ragamalika, seven ragas in Keez Kalam and nine ragas in the fast-paced section for each verse. L Ramakrishnan gave a competent response on the violin. The accompanists of Taal, Dilli Sairam (Mridangam) and S. Krishna (Ghatam), remained with the spirit of the singer.
In Charsur, the subject gave Vishnudeva an opportunity to present some beautiful compositions. Ata Taal Varnam in Shankarabharanam, ‘Chalmela’, was a great opening with the western scale in the final note. His depiction of a lathangi in a layered structure in ‘Alarmal Mangai Manala’ in Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Venkata Raman’ and the twirls in the niche were a treat for the ears. Alapana for a raga like Jayantasena is a tough step and Vishnudeva handled it with care, leaving no trace of Karharpriya. But in this work and in the subsequent ‘Paridanamikachithe’ (Bilahari, Patnam Subramaniam Iyer) the overly intense vocals warn of the need for restraint.
Breezy Hamirkalyani
While Hamirkalyani, the main raga, flowed bright and airy with its emotional content, it fueled the anticipation of the listeners. Vishnudeva did not disappoint with his beautiful version of Subbaraya Shastri’s ‘Venkata Shaila Vihara’, a verbatim composition, the phrase ‘Manimaya Mantapa’ accompanies the lyrics well and during the nirval in the charanam line ‘Vintinin ni Varguna’. Dhrupad-style phrases stood out in the Manodharma section. Harmonious dialogue between the singer and the violinist (Vittal Rangan) can be seen in the vocals of this work as well as in the earlier Jayantasena work.
The synergistic percussion team – Pati Satish Kumar on Mridangam and Anirudh Athreya on Kanjeera – blended well with the flow of ideas of the vocalist and violinist. In his Taani Avataram, which lasted for about 10 minutes, he displayed his skills in interesting patterns. coreappus,
After Thani, Vishnudeva presented Periyajvara’s Pasurama ‘Manikkam Katti’ in Ragamalika with Nilambari, Khamas and Surutti, returning to Nilambari with agility after each quadrangle. Three more Hindustani ragas followed. While ‘Sri Madhava’ in Behag was sterile, ‘Hariguna Gaavat’, a Meera hymn, was sung by master-composer Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman in Raga Deepali. Kalyanaraman brought out the beauty of both the mediums used in succession. It was conceivable for the singer to conclude his concert in tune with the theme, with the words ‘Vishnu’ from Panchapaksha Shastri’s ‘Sapasyat Kaushalya’ at Jhonpuri.
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in Carnatic music.
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