DESCRIPTION:
Rāgam Tānam & Pallavi in Tōdi Adi
- A narration by Smt. Kamini Dandapani.

I believe that Todi and Balamurali are a match made in heaven. There is just something about that deep, rich voice and how it caresses and fondles the notes of Todi that I have heard no other musician do. And there is his genius of making the familiar seem fresh and new. Todi can be a “heavy” ragam, difficult to appreciate by the non-Carnatic ear. But Balamurali sings it with such lightness, teasing out joy and brightness in a ragam not known for these qualities.

One runs out superlatives when describing Balamurali’s music. In the alapanai he once again displays perfect control as his voice glides and corkscrews its way up and down Todi. The tanam is brisk and both melodically and percussively engaging. The pallavi - Maye Twam Yahi - is quiet, calm, no fireworks or excessive ornamentation. There is a short gathi bhedam section that progresses smoothly, picking up speed. This was something I did not hear much of at all - so it was exciting to listen to. It is not so uncommon today, but far too often these days, the gathi bhedam section is quite unpleasant to listen to with its jerky, choppy rhythms and the mathematical intricacies crushing any melodic beauty.

The kalpana swaram section is also such fun, as Balamurali has fun with patterns, both melodic and rhythmic. His playful nature is in full display here. And - I have to use the word yet again - how smoothly he gets to the Ma - both the note and the first syllable of the pallavi lyrics (Maye)! Annavarapu Ramaswamy does the same and is a fine match for Balamurali and Guruvayur Dorai’s accompaniment is absolutely on point. The final korvai is something that can only be conjured up by the mind of Balamurali!

Guruvayur Dorai’s tani accompaniment matches the clean and simple beauty of this entire concert. I lack the expertise and vocabulary to describe his solo so again I have to urge you to listen and enjoy it for yourself.

oOo

Please read the detailed narration of the concert by Smt. Kamini posted in the Description section of Track 1.

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to the following for their contribution in the restoration project of this concert.

1. Smt. Kamini Dandapani, who was actually present in the concert on that evening of 27th December 1976, reminiscences through a stimulative and absorbing narrative of the concert.
2. Sri. Ravi Joshi, who has tirelessly worked with a ‘never give up attitude’ to find, locate and source the spool tapes of the concert and for investing his time and effort in digitising the spools to get an excellent audio quality.
3. Sri. Palghat Ramaswamy, an avid music collector, who was generous enough to kindly donate the spools for our posterity project of Murali-gānam.
4. Sri. Scott Dorsey, a German reel to reel technician at San Jose, California who was able to fix some technical issues with the player and calibration of speed.

- Sreenivasa