Concert Review - Tanjavur Sankara Ayyar

After numerous iterations of the "to go or not to go" question, I finally went to Cleveland to listen to Tanjavur Sankara Iyer's concert. In retrospect I think the to and fro drive of about 12 hours was more than rewarded by the 2.15 hour concert. The following is a review of sorts of the same.

Ramana

To most Karnatic music listeners, the name tanjAvUr Sankara iyer would only signify a composer. However, I am sure many of those who were in Drinko Hall, Cleveland State University on Monday, April 17, 1995, from approx. 4.45 PM to 7 PM, would also think of him as a vocalist of exceptional merit. It is our misfortune that he never received much fame or many opportunities to display his prowess as a singer.

A disciple of great musicians like tiger varadAchAriAr and sAthur krishNa iyengar, tanjAvUr Sankara iyer never seemed to vie for the limelight. Instead he spent his energies in teaching and composing. His earliest composition (composed in 1943) was rAma nAma in dEsh. This was perhaps one of the first instances of a vaggEyakArA composing a *kriti* in this rAgA. I will post an incomplete list of his kritis in a separate posting.

Sankara iyer was honoured this year at the Cleveland thyAgarAjA Aradhana with the title of sangIta ratnAkarA (which happens to be the title of a treatise on music by sArangadEvA). In the concert he gave at the festival, he was accompanied on the violin by nAgai muraLidharan and on the mridangam by vellore rAmabhadran.

The list of songs he sang in his concert and the improvisational items offered along-with (A = Alapana, N = neraval, S = swaraprastArA) :

girirAja sutha - bangALA (S)
mEru samAna - mAyAmALavagauLA (NS)
yOchana - darbAr (AS)
apparAma - pantuvarALi (ANS)
manasu - nAtakuRinji (AS)
lEkhana - asAvEri (A)
emAnadi - sahAnA (AS)
evarikai - dEvamanOhari (AS)
anurAgamulEni - saraswati (NS)
sarasa sAmadhAna - kApinArAyaNi (NS)

thani Avartana by vellore rAmabhadran

2 thEvArams in traditional paNNs (seemed close to nIlAmbari and
yadukulakAmbOji) 
rAma nAma - dES
manadirkkugandathu - sindhubhairavi

It is not often that one gets to listen to a composer of the stature of tanjAvUr Sankara iyer singing. So it was with high expectations that I went to Cleveland. I was quite gratified by what I heard there and the trip was well worth the effort. The concert was a delight to listen to. Sankara iyer's insight into the melodic aspects of various rAgAs was apparent throughout the concert. In his AlApanas, especially the introductory phrases, he established the identity of the rAgA with very non-standard "pidis" - but at no point did the phrases suggest other rAgAs. I think it is a tribute to his creativity that he could explore standard rakti rAgAs without resorting to cliched usages. His whole approach (and his demeanour to some extent) seemed to suggest that he was playing with rAgAs, always trying to bring out new facets. Perhaps this is how a composer's mind works. An example : in pantuvarALi he used various varja prayOgAs such as s' n m d n s' to great effect. His swara prastArAs were also quite novel. While eschewing the standard kOrvais, he nevertheless demonstrated several swara patterns involving subtle kaNakkus. While I would not describe his voice as great, I felt there was a lot to learn from the way he used it - especially in the way he approached swaras.

I was somewhat disappointed that Sankara iyer chose to sing mainly the songs of tyAgarAjA since it would have been nice to see how he approached other composers. It was very pleasing therefore, that after the thani, in response to a request from a member of the audience, he sang a couple of sambandhar thEvArams in their traditional tunes. The contrast was quite striking, as it should be. After *numerous* requests from the many vidwAns and vidushis seated in the first row, he finally sang a couple of his own compositions. It turned out to be a great treat.

In his concert, Sankara iyer was ably supported by nAgai muraLidharan on the violin and vellore rAmabhadran on the mridangam. The contrast between the approaches of Sankara iyer and muraLidharan to various rAgAs was quite pleasing. While Sankara iyer's AlApanas could be described as unconventional, muraLidharan chose, perhaps deliberately, to sweetly elaborate the rAgA along standard lines. rAmabhadran demonstrated once again why his mridangam playing has been often described as melodious. His accompaniment enhanced the beauty of the songs - "pAttai pOshittu vAsittAr". I doubt if I would forget his accompaniment to "manasu vishaya" very soon. His thani was succinct and pleasing.

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