Vocalist Shobana Vignesh, always proves to be a resourceful vocalist, showcasing her generic quality of layam expected of a flowering artist and I have been witnessing her growth and maturity in delivering, understanding the various nuances of executing a vocal concert.
Begining with Lalgudi Jayaraman’s pada-varnam Innamen in raga Charukesi at Bharath Kalachar, she proceeded with Ananda Narthana of Oothukadu Venkatakavi, rendering Kalpana swaras for the Samasthi Caranam lines, in the raga Nattai, revealing her ability to render with a good grip of the contours of the raga.
She transcended on to raga Gayaka Priya (13th Melakarta) Nadanillai Kanduranga naan, set to Khanda chapu talam, of Koteeswra Iyer, which was enchanting, with emphasis on melodic contours, and bhava was very appreciable.
The main piece of the concert, was ragam, tanam and pallavi, set to Dharmavathi ragam and the Kalpana swaras in Ragamalika (Dharmavathi, Vagadheeswari, Sunada Vinodhini, Revathi and Saraswathi) was rendered with commendable clarity. The ending pieces indeed (Manameganamum) in Abheri, composed by Papanasam Sivan and Oothukadu Venkatakavi’s Sindhu Bhairavi Thillana, indicated her propensity, to handle the madhyama kakla and Duridhakala kritis, making listening a great pleasure.
Undoubtedly the artist, who has lived abroad in the US for many years and now settled in Chennai, winning prestigious state award for her artistic excellence from the state government of Maryland, USA, believes it was a fantastic experience, enjoying the cultural aspects of both the worlds.
She says, “My aspiration has always been to become a musician and with a research bent of mind, I completed my doctorate in music.”
Karaikal Venkatasubramanian (violin), MS Venkatasubramanian (mirdangam) and N Sunder (morsing), proved to be competent accompanists.