Vignesh Eshwar with HK Venkatram (violin), Praveen Sparsh (mridangam) and Guru Prasanna (kanjira). , Photo courtesy: K. pichumani
Vignesh Eshwar is one of the most promising young singers of the new age. His current training under TM Krishna has helped shape his talent, as well as further hone his presentation style in line with his guru, as was evident in his concert for The Music Academy’s 2024 December fest . There were moments that seemed straight out of Krishna’s concert book.
Vignesh’s talent chart is excellent, with his powerful voice adding to it. He has a good mix of pace and mass which the older giants are famous for. ‘Munnu Ravana’ (Todi, Tyagaraja, Mishra Jhampa), ‘Sankachakra’ (Poorna Chandrika, Dikshitar), ‘Epamu’ (Atana, Tyagaraja, Mishra Chapu) and the intense ‘Ninnu Juchi’ (Saurashtra, Patnam Subramaniam Iyer) shine Example.
Presenting ‘Munnu Raavan’ through a strong voice in a fast tempo with many accented syllables was a great start. Vignesh’s fast tempo immediately raised expectations for the concert. It is a moot point whether you can amplify the sound of the Canon further, as Vignesh chose, or let the sound system control it slightly to reach the ears at the optimum frequency. Vignesh followed the opening part with ‘Sanchachakra’ in Purna Chandrika, with distinctive vocals in catchy aarohas and avarohs, with emphasis on rishabham and ‘pdi p’ phrases. The softly sung Hameer Kalyani raga showcased the quieter half of Vignesh’s skills. A fine rendition of ‘Venkata Salavihara’ by Subbaraya Sastri, with its Dikshitaresque gait, balanced the initial frenzy.
Manodharma was well delivered in the first three songs – Niraval in ‘Munnu Ravana’, Swaara in ‘Sankachakra’ and Raga Alapana in the Hamir Kalyani piece – this intelligence is not known to many musicians as there are trucks full of Swaaras in concerts. is heard hitting. With sensitivity.HK Venkataram’s excellent accompaniment for ‘Venkatasaila Viharaya’ deserves special mention, as his alapana was authentic and crisp.
Vignesh’s Atana Alapana was bright and on generally predictable lines. The communications in top voices were fascinating. ‘Epaamu’ in Mishra Chapu is one of the few original creations of this raga for elaboration. The first line of Pallavi is filled with such a vast environment of accompaniments that the raga seems complete in itself. Further depiction of the kriti and especially the Niraval in ‘Rajasekhar’ by Vignesh seemed unnecessary, as repetition is difficult to avoid in such ragas. It was here that he came closest to becoming a carbon copy of the Guru’s signature performance.
Parveen Sparsh’s Mridangam was organized and at times even encouraging when required. His playing for the slow ‘Venkatasaila Viharaya’ was remarkable, matching the mood well. Tani along with Guru Prasanna was well modeled using the Mishra Chapu figure.
Vignesh Ishwar makes a lively start to the concert with ‘Munnu Raavan’ Photo courtesy: K. pichumani
Even though Atana Krithi took more time than the norm, Vignesh still got generous time for his Ragam Tanam Pallavi in Rithigowala. His raga alapana and Venkatram’s raga were soothing and concise. Tanam presented some challenges to Vignesh because, perhaps, a structure was not particularly clear.
Starting with the first section in Tisra Triputa, the Triputa Pallavi ‘Ambe Kadavul’ was competently presented in both Niraval and Trikala stages. Presumably, Pallavi is attributed to her guru Krishna. Ragamalika swara in Nattakurinji, Mukhari, Desh and Surutti attracted the audience.
Vignesh’s appetite for raga alapanas was displayed in Sahana and Sindhu Bhairavi in Virutham, followed by the Tamil composition, ‘Nadantha Kalagal’ in an interesting Nadai. It was a concert that offered strong psychedelia and sophisticated creativity while clearly underpinning conservation. How Vignesh combines the trump card of voice with aesthetic qualities will determine his further progress.
published – December 30, 2024 12:46 am IST
