Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry 1973 Ramanavami
Reflections by R. Sachi
We present this festive season a wonderful instrumental ensemble- the redoubtable maestros Vid. Emani Sankara Sastry and Vid. M. S. Gopalakrishnan, accompanied by Vid. Guruvayur Dorai and Vid. Manjunath. They performed to a full house in the Ramanavami festival of 1973 at Parvathi, Mysore.
The concert has a wonderful flow of melody and a beautiful dialogue between the two masters, Emani and MSG. Emani fills the concert with musical masterpieces from Saint Thyagaraja and presents his trademark virtuoso melody, combined with great musical understanding between the accompanists. MSG produces his trademark violin responses, filled with an incomparable sweetness and matching the main artiste’s manodharma, throughout.
The main ragas are Vachaspati, Shankarabharana and Shanmukhapriya. Of course there are Jagadanandakaraka, Ganamurthe, and Nadaloludai, songs made famous by Emani’s renditions on many occasions. But the raga elaborations and song presentations in Vachaspati and Shankarabharana are vintage classics. The RTP in Shanmukhapriya is warrants that we will listen to it a few times to soak up its beauty. The Tanam is unforgettable.
The Thyagaraja composition in Vachaspati celebrates Lakshmana’s devotion as a true karma yogi. His construction skills when he erects the hermitage in Panchavati are so impressive that Rama feels ecstatic. He embraces Lakshmana and says Lakshmana’s deep empathy, righteousness as well as craftsmanship are such that Rama feels the presence of their dear father in Lakshmana! The hermitage construction is wonderfully described by Valmiki, the Adikavi:
The main ragas are Vachaspati, Shankarabharana and Shanmukhapriya. Of course there are Jagadanandakaraka, Ganamurthe, and Nadaloludai, songs made famous by Emani’s renditions on many occasions. But the raga elaborations and song presentations in Vachaspati and Shankarabharana are vintage classics. The RTP in Shanmukhapriya is warrants that we will listen to it a few times to soak up its beauty. The Tanam is unforgettable.
The Thyagaraja composition in Vachaspati celebrates Lakshmana’s devotion as a true karma yogi. His construction skills when he erects the hermitage in Panchavati are so impressive that Rama feels ecstatic. He embraces Lakshmana and says Lakshmana’s deep empathy, righteousness as well as craftsmanship are such that Rama feels the presence of their dear father in Lakshmana! The hermitage construction is wonderfully described by Valmiki, the Adikavi:
Come, let us relive this vintage concert!
Concert Details
Emani Sankara Sastry --------------- Veena
Parur M.S.Gopalakrishnan ------------- Violin
Guruvayur Dorai -------------------------- Mridangam
K.S Manjunath -------------------------- Ghatam
on 19-4-73 at Parvathi
Song List
01 Jagadanandakaraka-Nata- Thyagaraja *** 02 Shobillu Saptaswara-Jaganmohini- Thyagaraja *** 03 Vachaspati –Kanta Judumi-Thyagaraja *** 04 Nadaloludai -Kalyana Vasantha –Thyagaraja *** 05 Nee Bhajana-Nayaki- Thyagaraja *** 06 Swararagasudha- Shankarabharana – Thyagaraja *** 07 Shanmugapriya RTP *** 08 Surdas Bhajan(Emani sings with Veena) *** 09 Folk song(Emani sings with Veena) *** 10 Krishna nee begane- Yamuna Kalyani- Vyasaraya *** 11 Japa (Veda) *** 12 Mangalam ***
Emani Sankara Sastry --------------- Veena
Parur M.S.Gopalakrishnan ------------- Violin
Guruvayur Dorai -------------------------- Mridangam
K.S Manjunath -------------------------- Ghatam
on 19-4-73 at Parvathi
Song List
01 Jagadanandakaraka-Nata- Thyagaraja *** 02 Shobillu Saptaswara-Jaganmohini- Thyagaraja *** 03 Vachaspati –Kanta Judumi-Thyagaraja *** 04 Nadaloludai -Kalyana Vasantha –Thyagaraja *** 05 Nee Bhajana-Nayaki- Thyagaraja *** 06 Swararagasudha- Shankarabharana – Thyagaraja *** 07 Shanmugapriya RTP *** 08 Surdas Bhajan(Emani sings with Veena) *** 09 Folk song(Emani sings with Veena) *** 10 Krishna nee begane- Yamuna Kalyani- Vyasaraya *** 11 Japa (Veda) *** 12 Mangalam ***
