CHENNAI: Music cannot be comprehended to the fullest, unless one has strong foundation in the concert technique to bring out the ‘subtleties’ of classical music. Vocalist TV Ramprasad’s concert for Brahma Gana Sabha at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium showed the artiste’s deep involvement is classical music, which was rooted in a traditional concert technique. When he presented the concert, he did sacrifice the ‘sukham’ aspects, which is generally expected of the rendition and subsequently leads to the question which is important in music -- if it is voice or delivery? His swara proyogas in Arunachala Natham of Dikshitar in Raga Saranga indicated his padaantharam. And his alapana in Raga Subapanthuvarali, Ennaya Rama of Bhadrachalam Ramadasar, revealed the brevity of the Kirtana and the charm of the raga. The musician was interested only in the delivery of the songs but not on the nuances. Raga Ananda Bhairavi O Jagadamba of Syama Sastry was rendered in vilamba kalam, displayed the subtleties of the kriti, in its true splendour, but the niraval at Ninnu Nera was majestic and not enjoyable.
Ramprasad’s elaborative skills were evident throughout the recital. His voice modulations blended the intuitive and reflective elements of the art, and his rendition brought out his penchant for deft musical versions, as he proved that he is a musician well-rooted in the classical diction. As an artiste of calibre, he embellished his recital that highlighted his strengths of delivering kirtanas. And that made his presentation ‘sound and solid’.
Ramanuja Charyulu on violin, as usual brought out some exceedingly sensitive touches to the alapanas, while Sundaram on mridangam and Suresh on ghatam, provided liveliness in their percussional support.