Album Title: Murugan Pamalai Vol. 1
Amutham Inc.
CD
Tracks
1. Konji Konji Vaa-Khamas
2. Mohanakkara-Neethimathi
3. Nekkurugi-Abhogi
4. Vidalahuma-Devagandhari
5. Muruga Muzhumadhi-Saveri
6. Orumaiyudan-Ragamalika Idhayak Koyilil-Soothradhari
7. Kundruthoradum-Kalyani
8. Eru Mayil Eri-Anandhabhairavi
9. Mayil Meedhu-Charukesi
Accompanists: Kalpana Venkat (violin), Poongulam Subramaniam (mridhangam), Adambakkam Sankar (ghatam)
I need to thank Venkadesh and especially to Govind. Without both, I could not have reviewed this album today.
REVIEW
Nithyashree begins the album with a 30-second raga alapana in Khamas, following it with Periyasami Thooran's "Konji Konji" in the same raga. Being a krithi on occasion rendered by her grandmother, D.K.Pattammal, one can see how alike their versions are. Perhaps the only difference is pitch!
The next song "Mohanakkara" (Koteeswara Iyer) in Neethimathi and Rupakam starts off as a very controlled rendition and is rendered competently, however her voice does get irritating as she tries to reach gandharam in the upper octave during her sangathis in the pallavi.
A very nicely rendered Abhogi alapana outline follows. The transition from the previous song seems terrific (though this may be because of the huge improvement from the previous track). Kalpana Venkat plays her solo part beautifully and flawlessly here too. This is followed by Papanasam Sivan's "Nekkurugi". Sangathis flow effortlessly from both the vocalist and violinist, and the tempo is perfect. She strains her voice in the charanam a little, and (perhaps a little too quickly) hurries back to the anupallavi. An average nereval at the anupallavi follows, and to the listener's relief, her voice gets a brief break. As she takes another line, while her voice sounds better for the listener's ear, the nereval remains average. The violinist supports her well. She (perhaps a little too quickly) starts kalpana swarams. While the speed is quite fast, her voice begins to show signs of straining. However, during one of the brief breaks, her voice improves again, and her swaras sound much more pleasant. Kalpana Venkat's swaras are terrific throughout the sequence. During the final lines of kalpana swaras, the standard moves up a notch. Room for improvement in the nereval and kalpana swarams, but otherwise, ok!
Nithyashree then moves onto a song beginning "Vidalahuma" in Misra Chapu, very clearly in Devagandhari. She controls her voice effectively, sings the sangathis and gamakas of the raga almost perfectly bringing out Devagandhari's beauty. Last but not least, like the violinist, she renders the song with a lot of bhava. I wish Nithyashree could control her voice this way more often. Very pleasant, and very enjoyable!
The main artist then launches into the main raga, Saveri. Her alapana is quite good, and so is the violinist's. Papanasam Sivan's "Muruga Muzhumadhi" follows. Poongulam Subramaniam's plays effectively during the krithi (up until this point, his playing was just average, if not less). The krithi is rendered very well, and this time, she moves into kalpana swaras much more naturally. Her swaras seem more natural, and are terrific. A nice thani avarthanam follows, without any annoying bangs. Another terrific track.
Nithyashree then sings a rather-famous virutham, "Orumaiyudan" (Ramalinga Swamigal) in Sahana. This is well rendered like most of her other viruthams, and in a ragamalika sequence, she glides through Shanmukhapriya and Valaji likewise, effortlessly. She ends on the rare raga, "Soothradhari" - for those who don't know it, it's a janya of Natabhairavi. She sings the raga and the song that follows beautifully, also in Soothradhari, "Idhayak Koyilil". Kadaloor Subramaniam's (the composer's) excellence usually shows through Nithyashree, and this is no exception. She reveals the beauty of the raga and composition in this track. Also, like throughout the album, Nithyashree's pronounciation of the sahithya is outstanding, expressing herself both musically and lyrically, very clearly.
After a brief raga outline of Kalyani, with some impressive bruga sangathis, Nithyashree proceeds to render Kundruthoradum (Kumara) in the same ragam. She controls her voice throughout this rendition too. Some pleasing swaras in the composition add to the pleasant listen.
A beautiful rendition of Arungirinathar's Thiruppugazh "Eru Mayil Eri" in Anandhabhairavi follows, and gives the listener a reminder of Pattammal's influence. The 2nd kaalam is also very pleasant. Her ending is perfect.
An interesting raga outline of Charukesi follows, marking the last item, much to the disappointment of the listener, yours truely. Thanjavoor Shankara Iyer's composition "Mayil Meedhu" in the same raga is rendered flawlessly and filled with bhava, overall, a reminder of D.K.Jayaraman's (Pattammal's brother) training under the composer. Beautifully rendered. The accompanists accompany Nithyashree in this track. The amount of bhaavaa Nithyashree puts into this song is simply breath taking, the melancholic melody is infectious, making it an effective conclusion to the album, and simultaneously making the listener, especially yours truely, yearn for more (and want an encore).
Nithyashree Mahadevan's pronounciation of the sahithya is terrific. Her understanding of raga, thala, bhava, sangathis and other technicalities continues to grow. While the beginning of the album has room for improvement, the overwhelming majority gets my vote. The accompanists support her well, and she demonstrates her extensive repertoire in this album. Her selection is superb, and her transitions are outstanding. This thematic album on Thamizh Carnatic Murugan songs is brilliant, and definitely one of my favourites. I thoroughly recommend you get it if you haven't already!!!
