CHENNAI: The mellifluous strains of the tanpura pulled us into vocalist S Sowmya’s performance on day 3 of Madras Music Academy’s 94th annual concerts (digital). A rendition of Era napai inta cauka in ragam Todi, composed by Carnatic music composer and singer Patnam Subramania Iyer, marked the beginning of the Sangita Kalanidhi recipient’s 90-minute-long kutcheri.
The scintillating concert was followed by a divine rendition of Varna Mukha in Hamsadhwani — the work of pioneer music composer Koteeswara Iyer. Accompanied by Embar S Kannan on the violin, Neyveli R Narayanan on the mridangam and HP Prasanna on the ghatam, the singer also went on to perform Arunachala Natham Smarami, among other songs, presenting a musical feast to the rasikas.
Talking to CE, the artiste said, “The inevitable changes have pushed performers across the globe to adapt to the new reality. It’s an entirely different experience when you are not performing to a live audience. However, the impeccable arrangements that were made by the Academy — from the aesthetic stage setting to wonderful lighting and acoustics — made it favourable for all the artistes to give their best.
Through the digital concert, we have been able to reach people from across the globe.” With the arts taking the digital route, Sowmya shared that she missed attending the myriad lec-dems that are conducted as part of the December music season. “Attended by music students, rasikas, researchers and scholars, these academic sessions have a lot to offer. Besides missing performing for a live audience, I also miss attending these lec-dems,” she added.
The day also featured performances of Vishnudev Namboothiri (vocal) accompanied by Shraddha Ravindran on violin and BS Prashanth on mridhangam; JB Sruthi Sagar on flute with KP Nandini on the violin and R Akshay Ram on mridhangam, and Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan accompanied by S Varadarajan (violin) Neyveli B Venkatesh (mridangam) and Bangalore B Rajasekar (Moharsing).
For details, visit: musicacademymadras2020. eventvirtually.com