How a good concert wins half the battle

Ritwik Raja Photo courtesy: M. Srinath

The structure of a concert has no written rules. Nevertheless, some key principles remain in practice, particularly how to structure a nearly two-hour concert. Ritwik Raja’s concert for Mylapore Fine Arts Club flowed between exquisite alapana and niraval moments and peaceful turns.

The last 70 minutes of the concert was something Ritwik would have loved as it cemented his strength as a singer with a subtle understanding of tradition and the ability to project modern flair. His Bhairavi Alpana began quietly but the journey from Panchamam was a bright, well-woven course with short and long flights. Raga was the essence underlying mood. A melodious performance by violinist HN Bhaskar and some impressive renditions of ‘Ni’ and ‘Ri’ took the program forward.

HN Bhaskar, J. Ritwik Raja with Vaidyanathan and BS Purushottam. Photo courtesy: M. Srinath

After a good tanam, Rithvik sang the magnum opus, ‘Koluvaiyaunnade’ (Tyagaraja, etc.) in a purposeful virtuoso performance. ‘Manasu Ranjila’, Nirawal’s place, was almost Biblical. Ritwik and Bhaskar’s presentation had variations in both raga charm and rhythm. This was apparently the point at which the musical program achieved its height.

The evening began with the popular Natakurunji Varnam (‘Chalamela’), which set the classical expectations. However, the Sriranjani raga alapana which was impromptu, followed by ‘Kanavendamo’ in Roopakam (Papanasam Sivan) tested the metronome. Then the concert stopped. Kriti is often reserved for back-end round-ups, and so there was nothing obvious about Ritwik’s effort.

There was more stalemate at the anvil. The rendering of Mayamalvagaulai raga was good but below the impressive mark. ‘Srinathadi Guruguho’ (Dikshitar, etc.) also did not shine. The slow tempo highlighted the seriousness of the raga, but even after a 40-minute concert the melody was absent. The tempo of Swarakalpana was reset midway through the 52nd minute of the concert, as Ritwik’s boat accelerated to its proper speed. By this point, Pal was influenced by Bhaskar and mridangist J. Vaidyanathan had kept it high.

Khamas (‘Sitapathe’, Tyagaraja) brought some lively energy with a brief Niraval in ‘Premajuchi Napaai’. The clear tones enhanced the decorative value of this piece. The Bhairavi Alapana that followed was the main attraction of the evening. Ritwik presented a vibrant picture of the raga, displaying flow and control. Before this, that flow was elusive. ‘Koluvaiyunnade’ written by Tyagaraja in Aadi Taala had some high points. Paucity of time slightly reduced the grandeur of the vocal work and its importance.

Bhaskar, as always, was a natural accompanist and enriched the music with his tunes. Vaidyanathan is adept at playing for a variety of tempos, and is particularly impressive when playing with good Madhyamaka kala grandeur for works like ‘Koluvaiyayanade’. BS Purushottam provided good accompaniment in the second half of the concert.

Rithvik’s selection of pure medium works will remain a mystery throughout the concert. It was broken only by the final piece, ‘Niri Niri Ga Ma Ga Ri Sa’. People were taken aback by the singular Chatusra Naadai in the concert as well as the lack of dynamism at the beginning of the concert. Because, these are things that artists learn early in their careers.